Comedian, actor, singer and writer Groucho Marx was born Julius Henry Marx on October 2, 1890, in New York City. Groucho Marx spent nearly seven decades making people laugh with his snappy one-liners and sharp wit. He once described his comedy as the type of humor that made people laugh at themselves. Groucho receive his colorful nickname from fellow vaudeville performer Art Fisher because of his personality. Fisher also coined amusing names for Marxs brothers, renaming Leonard Chico, Adolph Harpo and Milton Gummo. Milton left the act to fight in World War I and was replaced by youngest brother Herbert, known as Zeppo. Both Herbert and Milton later became theatrical agents. The Marx Brothers had a career breakthrough in 1914 while performing in Texas. During a show, some of the audience left to go see a runaway mule. When they returned, the Marx Brothers put aside their usual routines to make fun of the audience. Grouchos quick-witted quips won over the crowd. The switch to comedy proved to be their ticket to success. By the 1920s, the Marx Brothers had become a hugely popular theatrical act. Groucho had developed some of his trademarks by this time. He often wore a long coat, a painted-on mustache, thick glasses and held on to a cigar on stage. In addition to just liking cigars, Marx explained that they proved useful, too. He said that if you forget a line, all you have to do is stick the cigar in your mouth and puff on it until you think of what youve forgotten. The Marx Brothers had a string of Broadway hits, starting with 1924s Ill Say She Is, which Groucho helped write. The following year, they returned to the stage with The Cocoanuts, a spoof on land speculation in Florida. The Marx Brothers hit it big again in 1928 with Animal Crackers. In great demand, Marx appeared on Broadway in Animal Crackers at night while filming the film version of The Cocoanuts during the day. Around this time, he nearly suffered a complete mental breakdown. His hectic schedule and his enormous financial loss in the 1929 stock market crash had taken a toll on the performer and left him with a lifelong struggle with insomnia. Working with producer Irving Thalberg, the Marx Brothers created one of their most popular movies: A Night at the Opera (1935). As the decade drew to a close, the Marx Brothers continued to make more films, but none matched the success of their earlier efforts. Their last film together was 1949s Love Happy.
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 06:46:54 +0000
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