My Grandmother and Fess Parker were friends, going back to before his acting days. One summer when I was a kid she was invited to a party by Mr. Parker and I was staying with her and she was told to bring me along. So into the car we go and we head south-east to Los Angeles and into Beverly Hills. We find ourselves at the home of Groucho Marx. He is our host but is not expected to make an entrance as hes had a rough week health-wise. Thats all I know about the party itself. It was pretty dull for an 89 year-old kid. Im in the back yard wishing I could jump into the swimming pool (but its not that kind of party, sorry Chris) when out comes Groucho, dressed neatly with the version of the infamous mustache he sported as an older gentleman and of course, the cigar. He looks around, surveying the party, and then he walks straight to the swimming pool and without taking any sort of pause walks straight in to the deep end. After the initial splash, all you can see is his right hand and the cigar, which he kept dry. He doesnt get himself out. All you can see above the waterline is the cigar and one hand. After about 30 seconds or so somebody jumps in to get him out and Groucho doesnt fight it or anything, but he keeps that cigar dry. I burst out laughing. For an 8 year-old who has seen a few Marx Brothers movies this is priceless. The grownups stare at me though. They cant tell if this is a joke or if something has happened - hes old and hes been sick after all. They sit him down on a chair and out come some towels. Hes shivering now and I start to feel bad. He gestures me over and I notice really for the first time that hes a small and frail man. Its okay kid, he says. If you laugh, it was funny. He gets taken away and I never saw him again. To this day I have no idea if this was a planned stunt or not. I dont know if a frail old man fell into his swimming pool or if a genius comedian planned this. I have heard other people tell the story and they cant tell either. But the man himself told me it was okay to laugh and Ive never forgotten that.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 02:53:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015