Marx Brothers

The Marx Brothers were a successful sibling comedy act who appeared on Broadway, in film, and, toward the end of their careers, television. The most successful line up consisted of brothers Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and (sometimes) Zeppo. A fifth brother, Gummo, took part in early stage shows, but later went into behind the scenes work before the act became famous. A sixth brother, Manfred, died a few months after his birth.

Real name	Stage name
Leonard Marx	Chico
Julius Henry Marx	Groucho
Milton Marx	Gummo
Arthur Marx	Harpo
Herbert Marx	Zeppo

Originally the Marx Brothers were a singing group ("The Three Nightingales"), but the act quickly became a variety show, with each brother taking part in comic sketches and/or showcasing his musical instrument of choice. As the act developed, the brothers created distinct stage personae, and in most instances would portray that persona regardless of their character in the play, sketch, or film in question.

Groucho portrayed a cigar waggling conman with a greasepaint moustache and a natty black suit. His trademark was punning, which ranged from the simple to the ribald: "I'm gonna take you down and show you our cemetery. I've got a waiting list of fifty people down at that cemetery just dying to get in it." He was also noted for socially satirical wordplay, as in the film Monkey Business (1931):

“

Madame Swempski: I don't like this innuendo. Groucho: That's what I always say: love flies out the door when money comes innuendo.

”

Harpo portrayed a clownish mute, and never spoke on either stage or on film. He usually dressed in a trench coat, top hat, and a bright red wig. He carried a bicycle horn, and would often sidle up to a person and have them hold his leg up. His name was derived from his harp playing, which had been a staple of their stage act (and later films).

Chico affected an Italian accent, and was usually paired as Harpo's partner. He competed in wordplay with Groucho and played piano, sometimes ending a glissando by "shooting" the last note with his index finger.

Zeppo played the group's straight man and occasional romantic lead, though on stage he understudied for Groucho, and was considered just as capable a comedian as his siblings. Zeppo eventually left the group and ran a company that produced parts for the war effort.

From vaudeville to film

Beginning with 1929's The Cocoanuts and followed in 1930 with Animal Crackers, the Marx Brothers took to the screen for a series of long-running and widely acclaimed musical comedies. Their 1933 Duck Soup, which took potshots at the tin pot dictatorships of prewar Europe, is frequently rated one of the greatest comedies of all time.^{[Citation Needed]}

While Groucho, Harpo, and Chico's characters translated easily to the cinematic medium, Zeppo Marx's straight-man persona did not fare so well. Audiences didn't respond to Zeppo's light touch, preferring the more slapstick comedy of Groucho, Chico, and Harpo, and Zeppo grew bored with the role. After the success of Duck Soup, Zeppo left the act for good.

The three Marx Brothers made a few more films with MGM, such as A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races, but the quality of their work began to falter, and the act was essentially defunct by the 1950s. The brothers made one last appearance together on film with cameos in Irwin Allen's The Story of Mankind.

Filmography

• Humor Risk (1921) (Believed lost)
• The Cocoanuts (1929, Paramount)
• Animal Crackers (1930, Paramount)
• The House That Shadows Built (1931, Paramount)
• Monkey Business (1931, Paramount)
• Horse Feathers (1932, Paramount)
• Duck Soup (1933, Paramount)
• A Night at the Opera (1935, MGM)
• A Day at the Races (1937, MGM)
• Room Service (1938, RKO)
• At the Circus (1939, MGM)
• Go West (1940, MGM)
• The Big Store (1941, MGM)
• A Night in Casablanca (1946, United Artists)
• Love Happy (1949, United Artists)
• The Story of Mankind (1957, Warner Bros.)

See also

• Charlie Chaplin
• Buster Keaton
• Laurel and Hardy