Biography
Groucho Marx continues to stand out as a comedian and stage performer even three decades after his death. His instantly recognizable look—grease-paint bushy eyebrows and mustache paired with a trademark cigar—combined with a flair for quick-witted ad-libs and sharp insults to cement his public image. Although the Marx Brothers’ stage and screen work first brought him fame, he built a separate career that encompassed radio shows in the 1930s and 1940s, television appearances throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and one-man shows in the 1970s.
Julius Henry Marx was born in New York City on October 2, 1890. He once hoped to become a doctor but left school at twelve to help support the family. In 1905 he began singing on the vaudeville circuit as a boy performer; with guidance from his mother-manager Minnie Marx, his brothers soon joined him in the vocal group the Four Nightingales. The act gradually shifted toward comedy, producing several successful Broadway plays and late-1920s films such as Animal Crackers. He initially used a German accent for his stage character but abandoned it for a fast-talking smart-aleck persona once anti-German sentiment rose on the eve of World War I. That revised characterization opened doors to solo work apart from his brothers beginning in the early 1930s.
His first radio series, Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel, debuted in 1932 with Chico Marx as co-star. The program lasted only briefly; although most transcripts and discs were thought lost, they were later found in the Library of Congress in 1988, and audio editions remain out of print as of March 2007. In 1947 ABC asked him to host You Bet Your Life, whose popularity led to a 1950 transfer to television. From 1950 to 1956 the quiz show aired simultaneously on radio and television; after radio ended, the television version continued until 1961.
During the early 1960s Marx hosted the short-lived Tell It to Groucho and filled in occasionally on The Tonight Show, yet his overall professional momentum in that decade remained uneven. His last screen appearance came in 1968, playing God in Skidoo, a film widely criticized by reviewers. In the 1970s he returned to performing with a series of one-man shows, including a 1972 concert at Carnegie Hall that A&M recorded as the double album An Evening with Groucho. He became a regular guest on Dick Cavett’s talk show, posed for Rolling Stone with Alice Cooper, and appeared on a Bill Cosby variety program. An honorary Oscar was awarded to him in 1974.
He died of pneumonia on August 19, 1977, just days after Elvis Presley, and was interred at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, CA. Many of his recordings, among them dialogue and songs from Coconuts and Monkey Business, are still available.
Julius Henry Marx was born in New York City on October 2, 1890. He once hoped to become a doctor but left school at twelve to help support the family. In 1905 he began singing on the vaudeville circuit as a boy performer; with guidance from his mother-manager Minnie Marx, his brothers soon joined him in the vocal group the Four Nightingales. The act gradually shifted toward comedy, producing several successful Broadway plays and late-1920s films such as Animal Crackers. He initially used a German accent for his stage character but abandoned it for a fast-talking smart-aleck persona once anti-German sentiment rose on the eve of World War I. That revised characterization opened doors to solo work apart from his brothers beginning in the early 1930s.
His first radio series, Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel, debuted in 1932 with Chico Marx as co-star. The program lasted only briefly; although most transcripts and discs were thought lost, they were later found in the Library of Congress in 1988, and audio editions remain out of print as of March 2007. In 1947 ABC asked him to host You Bet Your Life, whose popularity led to a 1950 transfer to television. From 1950 to 1956 the quiz show aired simultaneously on radio and television; after radio ended, the television version continued until 1961.
During the early 1960s Marx hosted the short-lived Tell It to Groucho and filled in occasionally on The Tonight Show, yet his overall professional momentum in that decade remained uneven. His last screen appearance came in 1968, playing God in Skidoo, a film widely criticized by reviewers. In the 1970s he returned to performing with a series of one-man shows, including a 1972 concert at Carnegie Hall that A&M recorded as the double album An Evening with Groucho. He became a regular guest on Dick Cavett’s talk show, posed for Rolling Stone with Alice Cooper, and appeared on a Bill Cosby variety program. An honorary Oscar was awarded to him in 1974.
He died of pneumonia on August 19, 1977, just days after Elvis Presley, and was interred at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, CA. Many of his recordings, among them dialogue and songs from Coconuts and Monkey Business, are still available.
Albums
