Marx Brothers
Minnie Marx, born Minnie Schoenberg in Dornum, East Frisia, arrived in New York City around 1880 with her family of funfair entertainers. Her father was a ventriloquist and her mother a yodeling harpist who performed at traveling fairs. She married Samuel Marx, known as Frenchy or Sam, on the 18th of January 1885. He was a tailor from the small village of Mertzwiller in Alsace, France. Their firstborn son Manfred died aged seven months on the 17th of July 1886, of enterocolitis. The surviving sons followed in rapid succession: Leonard Joseph Chico Marx on the 22nd of March 1887; Adolph Harpo Marx on the 23rd of November 1888; Julius Henry Groucho Marx on the 2nd of October 1890; Milton Gummo Marx on the 21st of October 1892; and Herbert Zeppo Marx on the 25th of February 1901. The family lived in the Yorkville district of Manhattan's Upper East Side, surrounded by Irish, German, and Italian quarters. They raised their cousin Pauline, whom they called an adopted sister, alongside their five biological sons.
After being blacklisted from major vaudeville circuits by E.F. Albee following a trip to Britain in 1922, the Marx Brothers produced The Twentieth Century Revue on the smaller Shubert circuit. That show failed financially and led to lawsuits over unpaid salaries. They then partnered with writers Tom and Will Johnstone to create I'll Say She Is, which premiered in Allentown, Pennsylvania in May 1923. The production moved to Boston in September and Chicago for the remainder of the year before reaching Broadway in May 1924. Minnie attended the premiere on a stretcher after breaking her ankle during dress fittings. Reviews appeared in most New York dailies including the New York Sun and Life Magazine. Alexander Woollcott, reviewing for the Sun, introduced Harpo to the Algonquin Round Table. The show ran for 313 performances at the Casino Theatre. Their next Broadway hit, The Cocoanuts, opened in December 1925 and featured Margaret Dumont as Mrs. Potter. It ran for 276 performances before touring. Animal Crackers followed in October 1928, running for 171 performances at the 44th Street Theatre.
Paramount
Pictures signed the Marx Brothers in February 1929 to film The Cocoanuts at Astoria Studios in Queens. The movie was all-talking despite primitive sound technology that required paper props to be sprayed with water to prevent microphone interference. Cameras had to remain inside soundproof boxes that limited movement. The brothers commuted daily between filming in Astoria and performing nightly shows of Animal Crackers in Manhattan. The film premiered in New York in May 1929 and proved a significant box office success. Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times noted the comedy aroused considerable merriment despite mixed assessment of sound quality. Minnie died on the 13th of September 1929, during preparation for an Animal Crackers tour. Harpo and Groucho liquidated everything they owned after the stock market crash in October. Their third feature-length film Monkey Business released in 1931 marked their first movie not based on stage production. Horse Feathers became their most popular film yet and won them the cover of Time magazine in the 15th of August 1932. Duck Soup followed in 1933 as their
last Paramount film.
After their Paramount contract expired in March 1933, Zeppo left to become an agent while Gummo joined him. Irving Thalberg signed Groucho, Chico, and Harpo to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer with billing order Groucho-Chico-Harpo-Marx Bros. Thalberg insisted on strong stories that made the brothers more sympathetic characters interweaving comedy with romantic plots. He required scripts include a low point where all seemed lost for both Marxes and romantic leads. Scripts were tested before live audiences to perfect comic timing. A Night at the Opera released in 1935 featured a famous scene where many people crowded into a tiny stateroom on a ship. It was followed two years later by A Day at the Races set in a sanitorium and horse race. The brothers considered these two films the best they ever produced. Thalberg died suddenly on the 14th of September 1936, after pneumonia at age 37. After his death, the Marxes no longer had an advocate at the studio and left MGM in 1937.
Following their departure from MGM, the brothers appeared in Room Service for RKO Pictures in 1938
before returning to MGM for At the Circus and Go West. They announced The Big Store as their farewell picture but returned four years later for A Night in Casablanca because Chico needed money. Their final film together Love Happy released in 1949 originally intended as Harpo's solo vehicle. From the 1940s onward Chico fronted a big band called the Chico Marx Orchestra with 17-year-old Mel Tormé as vocalist. Groucho starred in You Bet Your Life which ran from 1947 to 1961 on NBC radio and television. He authored several books including Groucho and Me published in 1959. Harpo and Chico made guest appearances on television and stage while Zeppo became an engineer and inventor. The five brothers made only one television appearance together on Tonight! America After Dark hosted by Jack Lescoulie on the 18th of February 1957. Chico died the 11th of October 1961, at age 74 from arteriosclerosis. Harpo died the 28th of September 1964, following heart surgery.
Gummo died April 1977, Groucho August 1977, and Zeppo November 1979.
The Marx Brothers continue to influence creators across various artistic disciplines including comedic icons Jerry Seinfeld and Judd Apatow. Avant-garde figures like Antonin Artaud and surrealist Salvador Dalí admired their work. Musicians such as The Beatles named albums after Marx Brothers films: Queen released A Night at the Opera in 1975 and A Day at the Races in 1976. Rock band Sparks was originally named The Sparks Brothers as a reference to the Marx Brothers. In the 1960s and 1970s they found new audiences among Baby Boomers during the Vietnam War when Duck Soup satirized war and politics. Their vaudeville years were chronicled in the 1970 Broadway musical Minnie's Boys which lost an estimated $750,000 on investment of $550,000. Animal Crackers re-released in 1974 following a letter-writing campaign drew mobbed screenings. Woody Allen referenced them frequently starting with Take the Money and Run in 1969. Billy Wilder considered writing A Day at the U.N. before Harpo's ill health halted production. In 1999 the American Film Institute included the Marx Brothers as No. 20 on its list of
top 25 American male screen legends.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
Who were the Marx Brothers and when did they perform together?
The Marx Brothers were an American comedy team active from 1905 to 1949. The group consisted of five biological sons born between 1887 and 1901, including Leonard Joseph Chico Marx on the 22nd of March 1887, Adolph Harpo Marx on the 23rd of November 1888, Julius Henry Groucho Marx on the 2nd of October 1890, Milton Gummo Marx on the 21st of October 1892, and Herbert Zeppo Marx on the 25th of February 1901.
When was the first Marx Brothers film released and what technology did it use?
Paramount Pictures signed the Marx Brothers in February 1929 to film The Cocoanuts at Astoria Studios in Queens. The movie premiered in New York in May 1929 and used primitive sound technology that required paper props to be sprayed with water to prevent microphone interference while cameras remained inside soundproof boxes.
Which Marx Brother died first and when did his death occur?
Chico Marx died the 11th of October 1961, at age 74 from arteriosclerosis. He was the first of the brothers to pass away after Harpo died the 28th of September 1964 following heart surgery, followed by Gummo in April 1977, Groucho in August 1977, and Zeppo in November 1979.
What happened to Minnie Marx during the production of Animal Crackers?
Minnie Marx attended the premiere of I'll Say She Is on a stretcher after breaking her ankle during dress fittings. She subsequently died on the 13th of September 1929, during preparation for an Animal Crackers tour.
How long did the show I'll Say She Is run on Broadway?
The production moved to Boston in September and Chicago for the remainder of the year before reaching Broadway in May 1924. The show ran for 313 performances at the Casino Theatre.