TheMarx Brothers were an Americancomedy troupe known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success invaudeville, onBroadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothersChico Marx,Harpo Marx, andGroucho Marx; earlier in their career, they were joined by younger brothersGummo andZeppo. They are considered by critics, scholars and fans to be among the greatest and most influential comedians of the 20th century, a recognition underscored by theAmerican Film Institute (AFI) selecting five of their fourteen feature films to be among thetop 100 comedy films (with two in the top fifteen) and including them as the only group of performers onAFI's 100 Years...100 Stars list of the 25 greatest male stars ofClassical Hollywood cinema.
Their performing lives, heavily influenced by their mother,Minnie Marx, started with Groucho on stage at age 14, in 1905. He was joined, in succession, by Gummo and Harpo. Chico started a separate vaudeville act in 1911, and joined his brothers in 1912. Zeppo replaced Gummo when the latter joined the army inWorld War I. The five brothers performed together in vaudeville until 1923, when they found themselves banned from the major vaudeville circuits owing to a dispute withE. F. Albee.[1] Failing in an attempt to produce their own shows on the alternateShubert circuit,[2][3][4] they transitioned to Broadway, where they achieved significant success with a series of hit musical comedies, includingI'll Say She Is,The Cocoanuts, andAnimal Crackers.
In 1928, the Marx Brothers made a deal withParamount Pictures to appear in a screen version ofThe Cocoanuts, which was filmed atParamount's Astoria Studios during the Broadway run ofAnimal Crackers.The Cocoanuts was released in 1929, followed the next year by a film version ofAnimal Crackers (1930). The success of these films made the brothers decide to devote their careers to motion pictures. They moved to Los Angeles, where they starred in three more films for Paramount:Monkey Business (1931),Horse Feathers (1932), andDuck Soup (1933).
When their Paramount contract expired following the production ofDuck Soup, Zeppo left the team and the Marx Brothers left Paramount. Groucho, Chico and Harpo were signed byIrving Thalberg atMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer where they starred inA Night at the Opera (1935), which they considered to be their best film.Shortly after filming began on their follow-up movie,A Day at the Races (1937), Thalberg died unexpectedly at the age of 37. While they continued to appear in films, they felt that the quality of their work as well as their interest in it, was waning.
After starring inRoom Service (1938) forRKO Pictures, they returned to MGM, forAt the Circus (1939) andGo West (1940). The Marx Brothers announced that their next MGM film,The Big Store (1941), would be their farewell picture. However, they returned to the screen inA Night in Casablanca (1946), reportedly because Chico needed money. In 1949, they starred together in their final film,Love Happy; originally intended as a solo vehicle for Harpo, Chico, again in need of money, also ended up in the film. After being informed that financing for the movie couldn't be obtained unless all three Marx Brothers were in it, Groucho reluctantly agreed to appear inLove Happy.
Groucho went on to a successful career as host of the quiz show,You Bet Your Life, while Harpo and Chico continued to make guest appearances on television and on the stage.
Julius Henry Marx (Groucho, left) and Adolph Marx (Harpo) holding a rat terrier dog, c. 1906
The family lived in New York City'sUpper East Side in theYorkville district centered in the Irish, German and Italian quarters. The eldest child in the household was their cousin Pauline, or "Polly", whom they often referred to as an adopted sister.[9] The Marxes' firstborn son, Manfred, died aged seven months, on July 17, 1886, ofenterocolitis, withasthenia contributing (i.e., probably a victim of influenza). He is buried inWashington Cemetery (Brooklyn, NY), beside his grandmother, Fanny Sophie Schönberg (née Salomons), who died on April 10, 1901.[10][11][12] Leonard Joseph "Chico" Marx was born on March 22, 1887; Adolph "Harpo" Marx was born on November 23, 1888; Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx on October 2, 1890; Milton "Gummo" Marx on October 21, 1892; and the youngest, Herbert Manfred "Zeppo" Marx, on February 25, 1901.[13]
Minnie helped her younger brother Abraham Schönberg (stage nameAl Shean) enter show business; he became successful invaudeville and onBroadway as half of themusical comedydouble actGallagher and Shean. His success, and the family's theater background, inspired Minnie to encourage her children to follow in his footsteps.[14] Minnie acted as the brothers' manager, using the name Minnie Palmer so that agents did not realize that she was also their mother. All the brothers said, at various points, that Minnie Marx had been the head of the family, the driving force in getting the troupe launched, and the only person who could keep them in order; she was also said to be a hard bargainer with theater management.[15]
Groucho made his stage debut as a singer in 1905. In 1907, Minnie approached vaudeville directorNed Wayburn to produce Groucho in a singing act with Gummo; together with his own discovery, Mabel O'Donnell, they went on the road as "The Three Nightingales".[16]By November of that year, Wayburn had moved on, and the act continued under Minnie's direction. She replaced O'Donnell with a singer named Lou Levy.[17][18]
The next year, having discovered at the last minute that she had accidentally booked the act as a quartet at a Coney Island venue, Minnie went to a movie house where Harpo was working, and demanded that he quit his job and join the act immediately.[19] Regardless of the fact that he didn't know the songs they were supposed to sing, Harpo went along, later remembering an inauspicious beginning: "With my first look at my first audience, I reverted to being a boy again. I wet my pants. It was probably the most wretched debut in show business."[20] Harpo had become the fourth Nightingale. By 1910, he had officially changed his name from Adolph, which he had never liked, to Arthur.[21] The same year, the troupe, renamed "The Six Mascots", briefly expanded to include their mother Minnie and their Aunt Hannah.[22]
One evening in 1909, a performance at the Opera House inNacogdoches, Texas was interrupted by shouts from outside about a runaway mule. The audience hurried out to see what was happening. Groucho was angered by the interruption and, when the audience returned, he made snide comments at their expense, including "Nacogdoches is full of roaches" and "the jackass is the flower of Tex-ass". Instead of becoming angry, the audience laughed. The family then realized that it had potential as a comic troupe.[23][a]
1911 newspaper advertisement for a Marx Brothers appearance (l–r: Harpo, Groucho, Gummo)1913 advertisement for "Green's Reception" at the Greenwall. Left to right, Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Gummo.
Over time, the act evolved from singing with comedy to comedy with music. The brothers' comedy sketchFun in High School (sometimes styledFun in Hi Skule) featured Groucho as a German-accented teacher presiding over a classroom that included students Harpo, Gummo, and, after he joined the act in 1912, Chico.[27] The brothers toured successfully withFun in High School for several years, sometimes alternating with a comedy billed asMr. Green's Reception, a similar production in which the schoolmaster and his students were portrayed as older characters.[28]
In early 1911, Chico was working at music publishing firmShapiro, Bernstein & Co., when the founder of that company, Maurice Shapiro, died.[29] Chico quit immediately,[b] convincing a young tenor, Aaron Gordon, to tour with him in vaudeville.[31][32] At the time, there was a successful vaudeville act calledThe Two Funny Germans, starring Bill Gordon and Nick Marx; with Minnie's encouragement, Aaron Gordon and Chico Marx adopted Italian accents (Chico's reputedly based on that of his barber) and toured as Marx and Gordon.[30] Gordon left the act in the fall of that year,[33] and, after failing to break through with two other partners, Chico finally joined his brothers' comedy act in September 1912.[34]
It was during their early years in vaudeville that the brothers received their stage names, which were given to them bymonologist Art Fisher during a poker game.[35][c] The nicknames were influenced byGus Mager's comic stripSherlocko the Monk, which featured a character named "Groucho", reflecting the "O" nickname fad of the era.[37] As Fisher dealt each brother a card, he addressed them, for the first time, by the names they kept for the rest of their lives.[38]
Most accounts attribute Julius's nickname "Groucho" to his notably moody temperament.[39] Alternative theories suggest that it derived from the Groucho character inSherlocko the Monk, or from the "grouch bag" he carried, containing money and necessities.[40][d] Leonard was named "Chicko" because of his reputation for chasing women (or "chicks").[40] "Chicko" was eventually shortened to "Chico", but still pronounced "Chick-o" rather than "Cheek-o." Arthur was dubbed "Harpo" because he played the harp.[40]
Milton's nickname "Gummo" stemmed from his habit of wearing rubber-soled shoes, although the details varied depending on who was telling the story. Harpo claimed that Milton earned the name by sneaking around theaters like agumshoe detective.[42] Other sources reported that Gummo was the family's hypochondriac, and therefore worerubber overshoes whenever he thought it might rain,[40] or that he was the troupe's best dancer, and dance shoes tended to have rubber soles.[43]
1914-1922:Home Again, World War I, and failure in Vaudeville
The Marx Brothers' early vaudeville shows often received mixed reviews; while critics were generally kind to the performers themselves, they frequently noted the low quality of the material. When the Marxes attempted to play larger venues, audiences were often unreceptive. One Chicago critic, for example, wrote: "The so-called Marx Brothers do well, but in the worst kind of vaudeville. In other words, they are so good that they stink."[44] Eventually, even local reviewers began to find the jokes stale, with one inHammond, Indiana, describing them as "musty."[45] Faced with dwindling appeal, the brothers turned to their uncle,Al Shean, a veteran vaudeville performer, to help them develop new material. Shean responded by writingHome Again, an expanded version of their earlier act,Mr. Green's Reception.[45]
Home Again proved to be a pivotal production, solidifying the Marx Brothers' distinctive comedic personas. Shean, who had portrayed a fast-talking German character in his own act, created a similar role for Groucho. This character began to incorporate Groucho's trademarkgreasepaint mustache and a stooped walk.[45] For Harpo, Shean intentionally wrote few lines, contributing to the decision for him to cease speaking on stage. Explanations for this varied: Shean attributed it to Harpo's lisp, while Harpo himself stated that positive reviews often included the caveat that he should not speak.[46][e] It was during this period that Harpo also adopted his signature wig and horn.[48] Gummo, and later Zeppo, assumed the role of the romanticstraight man, a partJames Agee famously described as "peerlessly cheesy."[35]
The reception toHome Again was overwhelmingly positive, with the show playing to packed audiences.[49] Confident in its success, the brothers even guaranteed that if theaters did not surpass their average revenue, they would perform for free.[49] A review inBillboard hailed it as "a good meaty character comedy," adding that "the company's work fully entitle them to their six [curtain calls]."[50]
By the end of 1914,Home Again had become popular enough to secure a contract with theUnited Booking Office (UBO), which controlled the highest-paying theaters in the country.[51] This allowed them to begin sharing bills with more prominent acts, such asJack Benny[52] andW.C. Fields. Fields, reportedly concerned about unfavorable comparisons, once feigned a broken wrist to avoid following them on stage.[53]
In 1915, theHome Again tour reachedFlint, Michigan, where 14-year-old Zeppo joined his four brothers for what is believed to be the only time that all five Marx Brothers appeared together on stage. The September 3, 1915, edition ofThe Flint Daily Journal documented this performance, noting that Zeppo sang "four or five songs" and "gives promise of becoming as much of a favorite as the rest of the family."[54]
Sheet music published in 1917 for the song "Sailing Away on the Henry Clay"; from left: Harpo, Gummo, Chico, Groucho
The outbreak of World War I in 1914 and the sinking of theRMS Lusitania in 1915 triggered strong anti-German sentiment across America, forcing the Marx Brothers to distance themselves from their German heritage.[55] Groucho abandoned his German stage persona entirely, dropping his exaggerated accent and changing his character's name from "Schneider" to the more American "Jones."[56]
As the United States entered the war, Minnie Marx attempted to secure draft exemptions for her sons by purchasing a 27-acre (11 ha) poultry farm nearCountryside, Illinois.[57][56] Despite these efforts, by summer 1918, Gummo was drafted into military service. Unlike his brothers, he had grown increasingly dissatisfied with performing and welcomed the change, later quipping that he "went to war to get a little peace."[58]
Gummo's departure created an immediate vacancy in the act. The youngest Marx brother, Zeppo, was working as a mechanic atFord when Minnie instructed him to leave his job and join his brothers on stage. He later recalled being so unprepared that he had to improvise his lines and abstain from dance numbers during his early performances.[59]
The origin of Zeppo's stage name, which he received around this time, remains contested. Several theories have emerged. Harpo claimed in his memoir that the nickname referenced a trained chimpanzee named Zippo from another vaudeville act.[42] Other family members suggested connections to the popular "Zeke and Zeb" rural humor of the era.[60] Chico's daughter Maxine maintained that the name evolved from a joke between her father and Herbert, beginning with "Zeb" and eventually becoming "Zeppo." Groucho offered yet another explanation, saying the name derived fromthe first transatlantic flights by zeppelins, although this did not happen until 1924.[60][f]
Humor Risk (1921), now long-lost, was the first Marx Brothers' film. Pictured in a photograph the same year, from (left to right), areZeppo,Groucho,Harpo, andChico.
In April 1921, during a break from their touring schedule, the brothers took their first foray into motion pictures, producing a short silent film titledHumor Risk. Written byJo Swerling, the film featured Groucho playing a villain, and Harpo playing a romantic lead named Watson. Following a poorly received single screening inthe Bronx - reportedly marked by disruptive children and impassive adults - the brothers decided against releasing the film.[61] No copies ofHumor Risk are known to survive.[62]
In the summer of 1922, facing a lack of bookings in the United States, the brothers took their act to the UK, where they performed shows inLondon,Bristol, andManchester.[63]E. F. Albee, who ran the UBO, required that acts that played in UBO theaters get his permission before playing in other venues. Not having asked Albee before traveling to Britain, the brothers were blacklisted from all UBO-controlled theaters upon their return to the United States.[64]
After their banishment from UBO theaters, the Marx Brothers produced a show calledThe Twentieth Century Revue on the smallerShubert circuit. The Shuberts were concurrently engaged in a lawsuit against the brothers' uncle, Al Shean.[65][2][3][4] The brothers made less money on the Shubert circuit, and their act was padded with other Shubert talent of mixed quality. The show was a failure: reviews of the Marxes were positive, but the other acts were met with antipathy. TheCincinnati Post of February 12, 1923, said "there are other periods where it seems everyone is sparring for time. This of course is not pleasant."[66] Former cast members of theRevue sued the brothers, alleging unpaid salaries. Sheriffs seized theRevue's assets, leading to the show's closure.[67]
Having been banned from the largest vaudeville circuit, and having failed on the second largest, the Marx Brothers were at a low point. In his memoirHarpo Speaks, Harpo remembered a plan to break up the team: “It had been decided that Groucho should audition as a single, Zeppo return to Chicago with Minnie, and Chico hire out as a piano player. To all of these decisions I said: ‘Nuts’”.[68]
Ned Wayburn, who had produced Groucho and Gummo in The Three Nightingales, introduced the Marxes to writers Tom andWill Johnstone, who had an idea for a new show. They were aware of Joe Gaites, another Shubert veteran whose showGimme a Thrill had failed. Gaites still owned the scenery and costumes from that production. The Johnstones felt that they could put together a successful show with the Marxes using the costuming, scenery, and the more successful songs and plot from that show.[69] They found a backer: a man named James P. Beury, who had recently purchased theWalnut Street Theater inPhiladelphia (and was reputedly looking for a starring vehicle for a chorus girl he was dating).[70][71]
The show, rewritten by the Johnstones, and now titledI'll Say She Is, premiered inAllentown, Pennsylvania in May 1923.[72] After successful initial showings, the production moved to Beury's theater in Pennsylvania for the summer. The show then played inBoston during September, followed byChicago for the remainder of the year, before embarking on a nationwide tour.[73] In May 1924,I'll Say She Is premiered on Broadway.[74] For this momentous occasion, their mother Minnie had been getting a custom dress made when she fell and broke her ankle. Determined not to miss the premiere, she attended the show on a stretcher.[75]
Casino Theatre, Broadway and 39th Street, Manhattan, whereI'll Say She Is ran
The Broadway premiere ofI'll Say She Is launched a new phase of the Marx Brothers' careers. Positive reviews appeared in most of the New York dailies, including theNew York Sun, theNew York Evening Post, theNew York Daily News, TheNew York Daily Mirror, andLife Magazine.[76] The production became a commercial success, running for 313 performances and consistently playing to near-capacity audiences.[77] The reviewer for theSun wasAlexander Woollcott, who was to become a lifelong friend of Harpo’s. Woollcott introduced Harpo to theAlgonquin Round Table, a collection of intellectuals who met regularly at theAlgonquin Hotel inManhattan. He also convinced the brothers - who had been billed to that point as Julius, Leonard, Arthur, and Herbert - to go by their stage names in public.[78]
The success ofI'll Say She Is attracted numerous producers eager to develop the Marx Brothers' next show. After being unable to come to an agreement withFlorenz Ziegfeld, the brothers settled onSam H. Harris, due to his association with composerIrving Berlin.[79] Harris recruitedGeorge S. Kaufman, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, to write the show. Kaufman, who knew of the brothers' tendency to harass writers and ignore the script, reportedly exclaimed, "Are you crazy?Write a show for theMarx Brothers? I'd rather write a show for the Barbary apes!"[80] Nevertheless, Kaufman signed on, believing that a show starring the Marx Brothers, with music by Berlin, was almost certainly going to be a hit.[81]
The Cocoanuts, penned by Kaufman, with music by Berlin, premiered in Boston in October 1925, and came to Broadway in December of that year.[82] Unlike their previous show, which had been essentially a revue,The Cocoanuts featured a coherent narrative - albeit one frequently interrupted by the brothers' anarchic comedy. Set during theFlorida land boom, the plot involved a hotel owner named Hammer (Groucho) trying to sell worthless real estate while navigating various romantic entanglements and theft schemes. The production showcased several now-classic Marx Brothers routines, including the "Why a Duck?" sequence, in which Groucho attempts to explain a map to Chico, leading to an increasingly absurd series of misunderstandings about the difference between "viaduct" and "why a duck."[83] The critics were glowing, with Woollcott saying, "It need only be reported thatThe Cocoanuts is so funny it's positively weakening."[84] The production ran for 276 performances on Broadway before touring.[82]
The Cocoanuts was notable for another Marx Brothers first: the inclusion in the cast ofMargaret Dumont, a former small-time vaudevillian who had married into wealth, become widowed, and then been forced to take the stage again.[85] Dumont played Mrs. Potter, a wealthy widow and object of Hammer's romantic pursuits. WriterMorrie Ryskind, who had performed uncredited work onThe Cocoanuts,[86] remembered that, from when she stepped on stage, "it became obvious [...] that the addition of Miss Dumont [...] filled a long neglected void, and that a great comedy team had been launched."[85] She would go on to reprise her role as straight foil to Groucho in their next Broadway production and in seven of their movies. Groucho later reflected that Dumont "never understood any of my jokes,"[87] though this was likely an exaggeration for comic effect, as interviews showed that Dumont was a skilled performer who understood precisely how to play opposite him.[88]
Sam Harris brought together many of the same creative talents for the next Marx Brothers production,Animal Crackers. Kaufman would again develop the book, this time with co-writerMorrie Ryskind receiving full credit.[89] Margaret Dumont would again play the foil.[89] In place of Irving Berlin, lyrics and music were provided byBert Kalmar andHarry Ruby.[90] Kalmar and Ruby supplied "Hooray for Captain Spaulding",[91] which was to become Groucho’s signature tune, and later the theme music for his television programYou Bet Your Life.
Animal Crackers premiered at the 44th Street Theatre on October 23, 1928, after an out-of-town tryout.[82] The plot centered on a high-society gathering at the Long Island mansion of Mrs. Rittenhouse (Dumont), where a valuable painting is stolen. Groucho played explorer Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding, while his brothers took roles as musicians.[92] It was received as rapturously as their previous Broadway efforts, running for 171 performances,[82] withThe New Yorker describing it as “the very concoction for which the word ‘wow’ had been coined”.[93]
As Animal Crackers began its tour,Paramount Pictures signed the Marx Brothers to create an all-talking film adaptation ofThe Cocoanuts.[94] Filming commenced in February 1929 atAstoria Studios inQueens. The film was a groundbreaking venture; at this point, most talkies featured only short sound segments, and no all-talking musical had yet been released. WhileThe Cocoanuts wouldn't be the first - that distinction went toThe Broadway Melody - its production faced significant hurdles due to the nascent state of sound film technology, which was highly experimental and sensitive. Paper props, for example, had to be sprayed with water to prevent microphones from picking up crinkling sounds. Cameras had to be kept in soundproof boxes that limited dynamic movement and contributed to a visually stage-bound style.[95] The production schedule was also grueling for the Marx Brothers, who commuted daily between the Astoria set and Manhattan for evening stage performances of Animal Crackers.[96]
The film's plot largely mirrored the stage play, though substantial cuts were necessary to maintain a manageable runtime.[97]The Cocoanuts premiered in New York in May 1929.Mordaunt Hall ofThe New York Times offered a generally positive review, noting that "the comedy aroused considerable merriment among the first-night gathering," despite his mixed assessment of the sound quality.[98] Although the brothers themselves were reportedly concerned they'd have to buy back the print,[99] the movie was warmly received by critics outside of New York and proved a significant box office success, firmly establishing the Marx Brothers in the new medium of talking pictures.[100]
The rest of 1929 was difficult for the Marx Brothers. On September 13, during preparation for anAnimal Crackers tour, Minnie died. Woollcott, by this time a family friend,[101] wrote a full page obituary inThe New Yorker, in which he praised her as having "invented [the brothers]. They were just comics she imagined for her own amusement."[102] In October, thestock market crashed. Harpo and Groucho, who hadborrowed heavily to invest, had to liquidate everything they owned.[103]
Fortunately, unlike many others, the brothers had a highly paid job.The Cocoanuts was followed byAnimal Crackers (1930). LikeThe Cocoanuts,Animal Crackers was based on the musical of the same name, and filmed at Astoria Studios.Animal Crackers was a hit, and marked the end of their Broadway careers; after a brief vaudeville tour of their greatest hits (during which Groucho suffered an appendicitis attack and had to be replaced by Zeppo), they moved to Hollywood.[104]
The brothers' film career carried on with a short film that was included in Paramount's twentieth anniversary documentary,The House That Shadows Built (1931), in which they adapted a scene fromI'll Say She Is. Their third feature-length film,Monkey Business (1931), was their first movie not based on a stage production. They used two new writers:S.J. Perelman andWill B. Johnstone. After Groucho disapproved of their first draft (reportedly saying "It stinks"), the team enlisted the help of a number of other writers, including Groucho's collaboratorArthur Sheekman; their uncleAl Shean; andNat Perrin, who introduced himself to Groucho with a forged letter fromMoss Hart, and would go on to become his lifelong friend.[105]
The Marx Brothers on the cover ofTime (volume 20 issue 7, August 15, 1932)
The Brothers' next film,Horse Feathers (1932), in which the brothers satirized the American college system andProhibition, was their most popular film yet, and won them the cover ofTime magazine.[106] It included a running gag from their stage work, in which Harpo produces a ludicrous array of props from inside his coat, including a wooden mallet, a fish, a coiled rope, a tie, a poster of a woman in her underwear, a cup of hot coffee, a sword and (just after Groucho warns him that he "can't burn the candle at both ends") a candle burning at both ends.
During this period Chico and Groucho starred in a radio comedy series,Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel. Though the series was short lived, much of the material developed for it was used in subsequent films.
Their last Paramount film,Duck Soup (1933), directed by Academy Award winnerLeo McCarey, is the highest rated of the five Marx Brothers films on theAmerican Film Institute's "100 years ... 100 Movies" list. It did not do as well financially asHorse Feathers, but was the sixth-highest grosser of 1933. The film sparked a dispute between the Marxes and the village ofFredonia, New York. "Freedonia" was the name of a fictional country in the script, and the city fathers wrote to Paramount and asked the studio to remove all references to Freedonia because "it is hurting our town's image". Groucho fired back a sarcastic retort asking them to change the name of their town, because "it's hurting our picture".[107]
On March 11, 1933, the Marx Brothers founded a production company, the "International Amalgamated Consolidated Affiliated World Wide Film Productions Company Incorporated, of North Dakota".[108]
After expiration of the Paramount contract Zeppo left the act to become an agent. He and brother Gummo went on to build one of the biggest talent agencies in Hollywood, working with the likes ofJack Benny andLana Turner. He later became an engineer and inventor.[109] Groucho and Chico did radio, and there was talk of returning to Broadway. At abridge game with Chico,Irving Thalberg began discussing the possibility of the Marxes joiningMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer. They signed, now billed in films before the title as "Groucho — Chico — Harpo — Marx Bros", with the same ordering in the cast list.[110]
Unlike the free-for-all scripts at Paramount, Thalberg insisted on a strong story structure that made the brothers more sympathetic characters, interweaving their comedy with romantic plots and non-comic musical numbers, and targeting their mischief-making at obvious villains. Thalberg was adamant that scripts include a "low point", where all seems lost for both the Marxes and the romantic leads. He instituted the innovation of testing the film's script before live audiences before filming began, to perfect the comic timing, and to retain jokes that earned laughs and replace those that did not. Thalberg restored Harpo's harp solos and Chico's piano solos, which had been omitted fromDuck Soup.
The Marx Brothers on theA Day at the Races set withSam Wood
The first Marx Brothers/Thalberg film wasA Night at the Opera (1935), a satire on the world of opera, where the brothers help two young singers in love by throwing a production ofIl Trovatore into chaos. The film, including its famous scene where an absurd number of people crowd into a tiny stateroom on a ship, was a great success. It was followed two years later by an even bigger hit,A Day at the Races (1937), in which the brothers cause mayhem in a sanitarium and at a horse race. The film features Groucho and Chico's famous "Tootsie Frootsie Ice Cream" sketch. In a 1969 interview withDick Cavett, Groucho said that the two movies made with Thalberg were the best that they ever produced. Despite the Thalberg films' success, the brothers left MGM in 1937; Thalberg had died suddenly on September 14, 1936, two weeks after filming began onA Day at the Races, leaving the Marxes without an advocate at the studio.
After a short experience atRKO (Room Service, 1938), the Marx Brothers returned to MGM and made three more films:At the Circus (1939),Go West (1940) andThe Big Store (1941). Prior to the release ofThe Big Store the team announced they were retiring from the screen. Four years later, however, Chico persuaded his brothers to make two additional films,A Night in Casablanca (1946) andLove Happy (1949), to alleviate his severe gambling debts.[111] Both pictures were released byUnited Artists.
The Three Marx Brothers photo byYousuf Karsh, 1948
From the 1940s onward Chico and Harpo appeared separately and together in nightclubs and casinos. Chico fronted abig band, the Chico Marx Orchestra (with 17-year-oldMel Tormé as a vocalist). Groucho made several radio appearances during the 1940s and starred inYou Bet Your Life, which ran from 1947 to 1961 onNBC radio and television. He authored several books, includingGroucho and Me (1959),Memoirs of a Mangy Lover (1964) andThe Groucho Letters (1967).
Groucho and Chico briefly appeared in a 1957 color short film promotingThe Saturday Evening Post entitledShowdown at Ulcer Gulch, directed by animatorShamus Culhane, Chico's son-in-law. Groucho, Chico, and Harpo worked together (in separate scenes) inThe Story of Mankind (1957). In 1959, the three began production ofDeputy Seraph, a TV series starring Harpo and Chico as blundering angels, and Groucho (in every third episode) as their boss, the "Deputy Seraph". The project was abandoned when Chico was found to be uninsurable (and incapable of memorizing his lines) due to severearteriosclerosis. On March 8 of that year, Chico and Harpo starred as bumbling thieves inThe Incredible Jewel Robbery, a half-hour pantomimed episode of theGeneral Electric Theater on CBS. Groucho made a cameo appearance (uncredited, because of constraints in his NBC contract) in the last scene, and delivered the only line of dialogue ("We won't talk until we see our lawyer!").
The five brothers, just prior to their only television appearance together, on theTonight! America After Dark, hosted by Jack Lescoulie, February 18, 1957. From left: Harpo, Zeppo, Chico, Groucho, and Gummo.
According to a September 1947 article inNewsweek, Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo all signed to appear as themselves in a biographical film entitledThe Life and Times of the Marx Brothers. In addition to being a non-fiction biography of the Marxes, the film would have featured the brothers re-enacting much of their previously unfilmed material from both their vaudeville and Broadway eras. The film, had it been made, would have been the first performance by the Brothers as a quartet since 1933.
The five brothers made only one television appearance together, in 1957, on an early incarnation ofThe Tonight Show calledTonight! America After Dark, hosted byJack Lescoulie. Five years later (October 1, 1962) after Jack Paar's tenure, Groucho made a guest appearance to introduce theTonight Show's new host,Johnny Carson.[112]
Around 1960, acclaimed directorBilly Wilder considered writing and directing a new Marx Brothers film. Tentatively titledA Day at the U.N., it was to be a comedy of international intrigue set around the United Nations building in New York. Wilder had discussions with Groucho and Gummo, but the project was put on hold because of Harpo's ill health, and abandoned when Chico died on October 11, 1961, fromarteriosclerosis,[113] at the age of 74. Harpo died three years later, on September 28, 1964, at the age of 75, following a heart attack one day afterheart surgery. With the deaths of Gummo in April 1977, Groucho in August 1977, and Zeppo in November 1979, the brothers were gone.
The on-stage personalities of Groucho, Chico, and Harpo were said to have been based on their actual traits.
Zeppo, on the other hand, was considered the funniest brother offstage, despite his straight stage roles. He was the youngest and had grown up watching his brothers, so he could fill in for and imitate any of the others when illness kept them from performing. "He was so good as Captain Spaulding [inAnimal Crackers] that I would have let him play the part indefinitely, if they had allowed me to smoke in the audience", Groucho recalled.[114]
The brothers satirized high society and human hypocrisy, and they became famous for theirimprovisational comedy in free-form scenarios. A famous early instance was when Harpo arranged to chase a fleeingchorus girl across the stage during the middle of a Groucho monologue, to see if Groucho would be thrown off. However, to the audience's delight, Groucho merely reacted by commenting, "First time I ever saw a taxi hail a passenger." When Harpo chased the girl back in the other direction, Groucho calmly checked his watch and ad-libbed, "The 9:20's right on time. You can set your watch by theLehigh Valley."[115]
Out of their distinctive costumes, the brothers looked alike, even down to their receding hairlines. Zeppo could pass for a younger Groucho and played the role of Groucho's son inHorse Feathers. A scene inDuck Soup finds Groucho, Harpo, and Chico all appearing in the famous greasepaint eyebrows, mustache, and round glasses while wearing nightcaps; the three are indistinguishable, enabling them to carry off the "mirror scene" perfectly.
The Marx Brothers' anarchic spirit and rapid-fire wordplay established a comedic blueprint that continues to inspire artists across diverse mediums. Their enduring influence stems from their subversion of social norms, their masterful use of physical comedy intertwined with intellectual wit, and the indelible character archetypes they created. Their admirers span various artistic disciplines, from comedic icons likeJerry Seinfeld[116] andJudd Apatow;[117] avant-garde figures such asAntonin Artaud,[118] and surrealistSalvador Dalí;[119] influential musicians likeThe Beatles;[120] and literary figures such asAnthony Burgess,[121]J. D. Salinger,[122] andKurt Vonnegut.[123]
The brothers' iconic images and distinctive personae — Groucho's greasepaint mustache and eyebrows, Chico's Italian accent, and silent Harpo with his curly wig — have been cultural touchpoints since their act first became popular. CaricaturistAl Hirschfeld, whose drawings of the brothers were used to promoteA Night at the Opera and currently hang in the Smithsonian, said of them that they “started to look like the drawing, rather than the other way around.”[124]
Even when the brothers were not directly depicted, their style had a major influence on animators.Dopey inSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs was inspired by Harpo's silent performances.[128]Bugs Bunny's wise-cracking, Brooklyn-accented persona was heavily influenced by Groucho Marx;[129] he explicitly impersonated Groucho in cartoons such as 1947'sSlick Hare (withElmer Fudd appearing as Harpo) andWideo Wabbit (1956), in which Bugs hosted a Groucho-style TV show.[128]
The Marx Brothers' comedy continued to be popular after their retirement, spurred on by repeat broadcasts of their movies on television, and Groucho's popularity as host of the quiz showYou Bet Your Life.
The 1960s saw several attempts to bring animated versions of the brothers to television. In 1960, theScreen Gems animation studio attempted to develop a stop-motion series simply calledThe Three Marx Brothers. Only a short was produced, which was never broadcast.[130] In 1966, Filmation developed a pilot for a Marx Brothers cartoon featuring the voice talents ofPat Harrington Jr. as Groucho, with additional voices byTed Knight andJoe Besser (formerly ofThe Three Stooges).[131][132] Again, the pilot was not developed into a series.
In 1970, Rankin-Bass produced the animated television specialThe Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians, featuring segments with animated versions of the Marx Brothers. The special included a scene adapted from their Broadway playI'll Say She Is. Groucho provided his own voice for the production, while voice actorPaul Frees performed as Chico (who had died in 1961) and Zeppo (who had left show business in 1933).[133] This production is notable for including representations of all four brothers, preserving one of their routines that was never filmed during their active careers.
The Marx Brothers' anarchic comedy style resonated with thecounterculture movement of the 1960s and found a new audience among theBaby Boom generation.Duck Soup, which satirized war and politics, was rediscovered and popularized by college aged protesters during theVietnam War.[134]
Renewed interest led to a greater presence across media. Groucho developed a friendship with television hostDick Cavett, appearing on his program five times.[135] Their vaudeville years and relationship with their mother were chronicled in the 1970 Broadway musicalMinnie's Boys, written by Groucho's sonArthur Marx.[136] Although it was not a financial success - closing after 80 performances, and losing an estimated $750,000 on an investment of $550,000 - Lewis Stadlen, who played Groucho, won both the 1970Theatre World Award and 1970Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance in a Musical.[137][138]
The resurgence of interest in the brothers culminated in 1974 with the re-release of their 1930 filmAnimal Crackers, following a letter-writing campaign.Animal Crackers had previously been withheld from distribution due to copyright issues.[139] Screenings were mobbed, and when Groucho attended the New York premiere, a near-riot broke out and a police escort was summoned.[140]
References to the Marx Brothers appeared frequently in television programs and films of the era. Characters inM*A*S*H imitated the brothers, withAlan Alda's character particularly known for his Groucho impressions. InAll in the Family,Rob Reiner andSally Struthers appeared dressed as Groucho and Harpo in one episode. An episode ofThe Mary Tyler Moore Show featured a storyline about the song "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" being cut from a broadcast ofAnimal Crackers. InThe Way We Were (1973), the main characters attend a costume party dressed as the Marx Brothers.[141]
Gabe Kaplan, star of ABC'sWelcome Back, Kotter, worked references to the Marx Brothers into that show and his subsequent work. The main characters inKotter —including those played byJohn Travolta andRobert Hegyes—based much of their comedic style on the brothers,[142] with starGabe Kaplan frequently performing Groucho impressions. Kaplan later starred in a play about Groucho, which was, in turn turned into a television movie.[143]
It was also at this time thatWoody Allen, a devoted fan, began referencing the brothers in his films, which he has continued to do throughout his career. InTake the Money and Run (1969), characters wear Groucho masks during an interview scene.[125] Allen beginsAnnie Hall (1977) with a Groucho Marx joke and inManhattan (1979), lists the Marx Brothers among his character's reasons for living. Most significantly, inHannah and Her Sisters (1986), Allen's character finds renewed purpose in life after watching a revival showing ofDuck Soup.
Musicians of the time also paid homage to the comedy team. Rock bandQueen prominently named two of their albums after Marx Brothers films:A Night at the Opera (1975) andA Day at the Races (1976), directly acknowledging their admiration for the comedians' work. English punk bandThe Damned named their 1980 single "There Ain't No Sanity Clause" after a famous line fromA Night at the Opera.[125] The bandSparks was originally named "The Sparks Brothers" as a reference to the Marx Brothers, a connection later acknowledged in Edgar Wright's documentaryThe Sparks Brothers. Belgian singerJacques Brel's 1967 song "Le Gaz" was inspired by the famous stateroom scene inA Night at the Opera.[144]
The brothers' cultural significance extended to album artwork. Groucho appeared on the cover ofAlice Cooper's Greatest Hits, and Harpo was depicted on the cover of The Kinks' 1972 albumEverybody's in Show-Biz.
Commercial enterprises also drew inspiration from the brothers. In 1974,Vlasic Pickles introduced a stork mascot that mimicked Groucho's mannerisms, holding a pickle the way Groucho held his cigar and speaking in a similar style. This mascot remains in use to the present day.
Their influence continues in animation, as well. In Disney'sAladdin,Robin Williams paid homage to the brothers through his performance as the Genie, later citing Groucho as a major comedic influence.[147]Animaniacs andTiny Toons - two contemporary animated series - featured Marx Brothers-inspired comedy segments.[148]
The distinctive personas created by the Marx Brothers continue to be portrayed by other performers and represented in other media. These representations have helped maintain the Marx Brothers' presence in popular culture long after their active careers. The Marxes' images are regularly used across a variety of media, especially when the authors wish to portray the absurdity of what they are describing. In 1990, the British satirical television programSpitting Image created puppet caricatures of Groucho, Harpo, and Chico. These puppets later appeared as the hunters in a 1994 television production ofPeter and the Wolf, narrated bySting.[125] The epic graphic novelCerebus the Aardvark byDave Sim features characters named Lord Julius and Duke Leonardi, based respectively on Groucho and Chico's stage personae.
In recent decades, their theatrical legacy has been revived through stage productions of their work and shows inspired by their comedic style. Their Broadway showsThe Cocoanuts andAnimal Crackers continue to be performed by theater companies internationally.[149][150] In 2016, theater historians Noah Diamond and Amanda Sisk presented a reconstructed version ofI'll Say She Is off-Broadway. This production represented the culmination of years of research to recover and restore that musical, which had never been filmed and for which no complete script had survived. The New York Times described the restoration as "delightful," while noting the challenges inherent in recreating the brothers' distinctive performance style.[151]
ComedianFrank Ferrante has made a career out of interpretations of the Groucho character, starring in productions ofThe Cocoanuts andAnimal Crackers. Since 1985, he has toured in a one-man show entitledAn Evening with Groucho, which was broadcast by PBS in 2022.[152][153]
The radio programFlywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel, which originally starred Groucho and Chico, has also been adapted multiple times. The show's scripts were believed lost until they were found in theLibrary of Congress in the 1980s. After publication, they were performed by Marx Brothers' impersonators forBBC Radio.[154] In 2010,The Most Ridiculous Thing You Ever Hoid, based on the same radio show, debuted as part of theNew York Musical Theatre Festival, and received excellent reviews.[155]
The Marx Brothers' unique blend of wit, chaos, and character continues to echo through popular culture. Their films remain beloved, their comedic techniques widely emulated, and their iconic personas frequently revisited. As a result, their legacy extends far beyond their active years, solidifying their place as true comedic revolutionaries whose influence will endure for generations to come.
In February 1933, Chico, Groucho, Harpo, and Zeppo Marx were invited to place their handprints and signatures in cement in the forecourt ofGrauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. This honor, typically reserved for the most significant figures in the film industry, recognized their rapid rise to prominence in cinema following their successful transition from Broadway.
In the1974 Academy Awards telecast,Jack Lemmon presented Groucho with an honoraryAcademy Award to a standing ovation. The award was also on behalf of Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo, whom Lemmon mentioned by name. It was one of Groucho's final major public appearances. "I wish that Harpo and Chico could be here to share with me this great honor", he said, naming the two deceased brothers (Zeppo was still alive at the time and in the audience). Groucho also praised the lateMargaret Dumont as a great straight woman who never understood any of his jokes.
Marx Brothers playground in New York, New York.
On January 16, 1977, the Marx Brothers were inducted into the Motion Picture Hall of Fame.
In 1999, theAmerican Film Institute included the Marx Brothers on their list ofTop 25 American male screen legends, naming them collectively as No. 20 on the list of the top 25 American male screen legends of Classic Hollywood cinema. This distinction is particularly notable as they are the only group to be honored on this list, which otherwise exclusively recognized individual performers.
The Library of Congress has included two Marx Brothers films in the National Film Registry for their "cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance." "Duck Soup" was selected in 1990 and "A Night at the Opera" in 1993.[156]
Only productions with more than one of the brothers are listed here. Promotional tours for their movies are omitted. For more information about their solo credits, consult their individual pages.
^The time and place of this performance has been disputed. In his autobiographyHarpo Speaks, Harpo Marx stated that the runaway mule incident occurred inAda, Oklahoma.[24] A 1930 article in theSan Antonio Express newspaper stated that the incident took place inMarshall, Texas.[25] However, most sources claim that it took place in Nacogdoches. A story of a runaway horse can be found in Nacogdoches papers in late April 1909, before the act started to focus on comedy, so author Robert Bader uses this date.[26]
^It is not clear why Chico quit immediately when Shapiro died. Robert Bader hypothesizes that he may not have wanted to work for Bernstein.[30]
^The time and place of this poker game are in dispute. The brothers' authorized biographies differ on the location, placing it variously inGalesburg, Illinois,Aurora, Illinois, andRockford, Illinois. The bookFour of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage gives a date of May 1914, when the brothers are known to have performed inGalesburg, Illinois. However, Art Fisher retired from vaudeville in 1912 and was living in Boston in 1914. Fisher and the Marxes appeared together inJoliet, Illinois in December 1910, prior to Chico's joining the act. The naming may have taken place either at that time - with Chico receiving his name at a later date - or during a 1915 trip to Boston.[36]
^Groucho denied the claim that the nickname referred to the grouch bag in his autobiographyGroucho and Me.[41]
^Harpo frequently told another story: that after telling a theater owner that he wished his theater would burn down, it did - at which point, he superstitiously stopped speaking in the act entirely.[47]
^Groucho made these claims in a tape-recorded interview excerpted onThe Unknown Marx Brothers, as well as in his Carnegie Hall concert in 1972. The first zeppelin flew in July 1900, and Herbert wasborn seven months later in February 1901.
^The change from Schneider to Jones happened in response to anti-German sentiment during World War I.[55]
^Adamson, Joe (1973).Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo: A Celebration of the Marx Brothers. New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 6–8.ISBN978-0-340-18807-1.
^Anstey, Robert Graham (2002).The Marx Brothers : Their World, Their Movies, Their Lives, Their Humour and Their Legacy by Robert G. Anstey. West Coast Paradise Pub.ISBN9781896779850.
^abJoe Adamson.Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo: A Celebration of the Marx Brothers. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1973.
^Matthew Coniam and Noah Diamond (February 26, 2025)."What is Your Opinion of Art".The Marx Brothers Council Podcast (Podcast). RetrievedApril 19, 2025.
^McMurtry, Charles (March 1, 1942). "Straight Lady Explains Art of Timed Ad Libs. Margaret Dumont (Don't Call Her a Stooge) Can Sense Laughs, Save Them". World Wide Features. New York Herald Tribune.
^Marx, Groucho (2007).The Groucho letters : letters from and to Groucho Marx (1st Simon & Schuster trade paperback ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster Papberbacks.ISBN9781416536031.OCLC148843246.
^Hollywood Reporter Archives (March 11, 2020)."Today in 1933".@THRArchives. Twitter.Archived from the original on August 21, 2022. RetrievedAugust 21, 2022.Today in 1933: The Marx Brothers launch a production company named the "International Amalgamated Consolidated Affiliated World Wide Film Productions Company Incorporated, of North Dakota"
^Hahn, Matthew (November 15, 2017)."The Animated Marx Brothers". BearManor Media.Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. RetrievedApril 14, 2019 – via Google Books.
^Hahn, Matthew (November 15, 2017)."The Animated Marx Brothers". BearManor Media.Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. RetrievedApril 14, 2019 – via Google Books.
^abHahn, Matthew (November 15, 2017)."The Animated Marx Brothers". BearManor Media.Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. RetrievedApril 14, 2019 – via Google Books.
^Scheimer, Lou; Mangels, Andy (2012).Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation. Raleigh, NC: Two Morrows Publishing. p. 51.ISBN978-1-60549-044-1.
^Hahn, Matthew (November 15, 2017)."The Animated Marx Brothers". BearManor Media.Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. RetrievedApril 14, 2019 – via Google Books.
Diamond, Noah (2016).Gimme a Thrill: The Story of I'll Say She Is, the Lost Marx Brothers Musical, and How it Was Found. Duncan, OK: BearManor Media.ISBN978-1593939335.
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