Groucho Marx


Julius Henry Marx, known as Groucho Marx, (October 2, 1890 - August 19,
1977), was an American comedian, working both with his siblings the Marx
Brothers and on his own.

The Marx family grew up on the Upper East Side of New York City, in a small
Jewish neighborhood sandwiched between Irish/German and Italian
neighborhoods. Leonard Marx, the oldest Marx brother, developed the
"Italian" accent he used as "Chico" to convince some roving bullies that he
was Italian, not Jewish. For a time on Vaudeville all the brothers performed
in ethnic accents. Groucho did a German accent. However after the sinking of
the RMS Lusitania in 1915 there was anti-German sentiment, and Groucho's
"German" character was booed. He quickly dropped the accent and developed
the fast-talking wise guy character he would make famous.

Groucho developed a routine as a wise-cracking man with a distinctive
chicken-walking lope and an exagerated greasepaint moustache, improvising
insults to stuffy grande dames who stood in his way. He and his brothers
starred in a series of movies and stage shows, often departing from the
scripts they were working with.

Groucho also worked as a radio comedian and show host in the 1930s and
1940s. In the 1950s, he hosted the popular television program You Bet Your
Life. The show consisted of Groucho interviewing the contestants and ad
libbing jokes. Then they would play a brief quiz. The show was responsible
for the phrases "Say the secret word and win a prize" and "Who is buried in
Grant's Tomb?"

Groucho was a master at improvising clever insults, and became well known
for this. One of his frustrations in later years was that when he insulted
people who annoyed him they tended to laugh, thinking it was just part of
the famous comedian's act.

Groucho Marx died on August 19, 1977 and was interred in the Eden Memorial
Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California.

Quotes about Groucho Marx

   * "Groucho Marx was the best comedian this country ever produced. ...
     He is simply unique in the same way that Picasso or Stravinsky are." --
     Woody Allen

   * A famous French witticism was "Je suis Marxiste, tendance Groucho.";
     "I'm a Marxist of the Groucho variety".