"in the movie. Films with the four Marx Brothers: Films with the three Marx Brothers (post-Zeppo): Solo endeavors: In the 1974 Academy Awards telecast, Jack Lemmon presented Groucho with an honorary Academy Award to a standing ovation. The award was also on behalf of Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo, whom Lemmon mentioned by name. It was one of Groucho's final major public appearances. ""I wish that Harpo and Chico could be here to share with me this great honor,"" he said, naming the two deceased brothers (Zeppo was still alive at the time). Groucho also praised the late Margaret Dumont as"
"way. As the Marx Brothers, he and his brothers starred in a series of popular stage shows and movies. Their first movie was a silent film made in 1921 that was never released, and is believed to have been destroyed at the time. A decade later, the team made two of their Broadway hits—""The Cocoanuts"" and ""Animal Crackers""—into movies. Other successful films were ""Monkey Business"", ""Horse Feathers"", ""Duck Soup"", and ""A Night at the Opera"". One quip from Marx concerned his response to Sam Wood, the director of ""A Night at the Opera"". Furious with the Marx Brothers' ad-libs and"
"Zeppo Marx Herbert Manfred ""Zeppo"" Marx (February 25, 1901 – November 30, 1979) was an American actor, comedian, theatrical agent, and engineer. He was the youngest of the five Marx Brothers. He appeared in the first five Marx Brothers feature films, from 1929 to 1933, but then left the act to start his second career as an engineer and theatrical agent. Zeppo was born in Manhattan, New York City on February 25, 1901. His parents were Sam Marx (called ""Frenchie"" throughout his life), and his wife, Minnie Schönberg Marx. Minnie's brother was Al Shean. Marx's family was Jewish. His mother"
"biopic entitled ""The Life and Times of the Marx Brothers"". In addition to being a non-fiction biography of the Marxes, the film would have featured the brothers reenacting much of their previously unfilmed material from both their vaudeville and Broadway eras. The film, had it been made, would have been the first performance by the Brothers as a quartet since 1933. The five brothers made only one television appearance together, in 1957, on an early incarnation of ""The Tonight Show"" called ""Tonight! America After Dark"", hosted by Jack Lescoulie. Five years later (October 1, 1962) after Jack Paar's tenure, Groucho"
"[Italian] henchman"". Zeppo portrayed a playboy who was the owner of a nightclub in which most of the action took place, including ""a cabaret, [which allowed] the inclusion of a dance number"". The final shot showed Groucho ""in ball and chain, trudging slowly off into the gloaming"". Harpo, in a rare moment of romantic glory, gets the girl in the end. Humor Risk Humor Risk, also known as Humorisk, is a 1921 comedy short film that was the first film to star the Marx Brothers. It was never released and is now considered a lost film. The print may have"
"and Chico appeared less prominently. The two younger brothers, Gummo and Zeppo, never developed their stage characters to the same extent as the elder three. They each left the act to pursue business careers at which they were successful, and for a time ran a large theatrical agency through which they represented their brothers and others. Gummo was not in any of the movies; Zeppo appeared in the first five films in relatively straight (non-comedic) roles. The performing lives of the brothers owed much to their mother Minnie Marx, who acted as their manager until her death in 1929. The"
"Marx Brothers to live past early childhood (first-born Manfred Marx had died in infancy). In addition to his work as a performer, he played an important role in the management and development of the act in its early years. He was born on March 22, 1887. Billing himself as Chico, he used an Italian persona for his onstage character; stereotyped ethnic characters were common with vaudevillians. His non-Italian-ness was specifically referred to three times on film. In their second feature, ""Animal Crackers"", he recognizes someone he knows to be a shady character impersonating a respected art collector: Ravelli (Chico): ""How"
"Marx Brothers until the premiere of ""I'll Say She Is"", which was their first Broadway show, so this would mean that they used their real names throughout their vaudeville days, and that the name ""Gummo"" never appeared in print during his time in the act. Other sources reported that the Marx Brothers went by their nicknames during their vaudeville era, but briefly listed themselves by their given names when ""I'll Say She Is"" opened because they were worried that a Broadway audience would reject a vaudeville act if they were perceived as low class. The Marx Brothers' stage shows became"
"special material for the show, but the script for the classic ""Napoleon Scene"" was probably supplied by Groucho. On January 16, 1977, the Marx Brothers were inducted into the Motion Picture Hall of Fame. With the deaths of Gummo in April 1977, Groucho in August 1977, and Zeppo in November 1979, the brothers were gone. But their impact on the entertainment community continues well into the 21st century. Many television shows and movies have used Marx Brothers references. ""Animaniacs"" and ""Tiny Toons"", for example, have featured Marx Brothers jokes and skits. Hawkeye Pierce (Alan Alda) on ""M*A*S*H"" occasionally put on"
"sickliest of the brothers, often wore rubber overshoes, also called ""gumshoes,"" to protect himself in inclement weather. According to Zeppo in a TV Interview, Gummo may have received his nickname because he was usually chewing gum. Marx married Helen von Tilzer on March 16, 1929; they remained married until her death in January 1976. Their son, Robert, was born in 1930. Gummo died on April 21, 1977, at his home in Palm Springs, California, aged 83, from a cerebral hemorrhage. His death was never reported to Groucho, who by that time had become so ill and weak that it was"
"office boy. In January 1910, Harpo joined two of his brothers, Julius (later ""Groucho"") and Milton (later ""Gummo""), to form ""The Three Nightingales"", later changed to simply ""The Marx Brothers"". Multiple stories—most unsubstantiated—exist to explain Harpo's evolution as the ""silent"" character in the brothers' act. In his memoir, Groucho wrote that Harpo simply wasn't very good at memorizing dialogue, and thus was ideal for the role of the ""dunce who couldn't speak"", a common character in vaudeville acts of the time. Harpo gained his stage name during a card game at the Orpheum Theatre in Galesburg, Illinois. The dealer (Art"
"who never understood any of his jokes. On the television series ""Cheers"", Lilith Crane said Zeppo was her favorite Marx brother. A third season episode of the television series ""Buffy the Vampire Slayer"" was titled ""The Zeppo"". This episode focuses on the perspective of the character Xander Harris; his position as ostensibly the least impressive or capable member of the cast is compared to Zeppo Marx. Zeppo Marx Herbert Manfred ""Zeppo"" Marx (February 25, 1901 – November 30, 1979) was an American actor, comedian, theatrical agent, and engineer. He was the youngest of the five Marx Brothers. He appeared in"
"Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) as among the top 100 comedy films, with two of them (""Duck Soup"" and ""A Night at the Opera"") in the top twelve. They are widely considered by critics, scholars, and fans to be among the greatest and most influential comedians of the 20th century. The brothers were included in AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars list of the 25"
"travel to New Jersey, and sell them door-to-door. In his last interview, Zeppo joked that his father ""was a very bad tailor but he found some people who were so stupid that they would buy his clothes, and so he'd make a few dollars that way for food"". Marx made a cameo appearance in his four sons' film ""Monkey Business"" (1931), sitting on top of luggage behind the brothers on the pier as they wave to the First Officer, having slipped off the ship without being arrested as stowaways. (In some interviews, the brothers mistakenly attributed this scene to ""A"
"Marx Brothers movie ""Horse Feathers"" (1932). Allen is a well-known Groucho Marx fan. Marx's theme song from ""Animal Crackers"" (1930) ""Hooray for Captain Spaulding"" is featured, sung in French by a chorus of Groucho Marx's. The film was released theatrically in North America on December 8, 1996 on three screens. Its opening weekend gross was $131,678 ($43,892 per screen). It ended its North American run with $9,759,200. The film was well received. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 79% ""fresh"" rating, based on 43 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's consensus states: ""A likable, infectious musical,"
"Groucho Marx Julius Henry ""Groucho"" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, writer, stage, film, radio, and television star. A master of quick wit, he is widely considered one of America's greatest comedians. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born. He also had a successful solo career, most notably as the host of the radio and television game show ""You Bet Your Life"". His distinctive appearance, carried over from his days in vaudeville, included quirks such as an exaggerated stooped posture, glasses, cigar, and"
"Humor Risk Humor Risk, also known as Humorisk, is a 1921 comedy short film that was the first film to star the Marx Brothers. It was never released and is now considered a lost film. The print may have been accidentally thrown away when left in the screening box overnight. Another version of the story says that Groucho Marx, unhappy with the film's quality, intentionally burned the negative after a particularly bad premiere screening. ""Humor Risk"" was directed by comedy film director Dick Smith (1886-1937), and was the first film written by Jo Swerling, who later co-wrote ""It's a Wonderful"
"Cream"" sketch. In a 1969 interview with Dick Cavett, Groucho said that the two movies made with Thalberg were the best that they ever produced. Despite the Thalberg films' success, the brothers left MGM in 1937; Thalberg had died suddenly on September 14, 1936, two weeks after filming began on ""A Day at the Races"", leaving the Marxes without an advocate at the studio. After a short experience at RKO (""Room Service"", 1938), the Marx Brothers returned to MGM and made three more films: ""At the Circus"" (1939), ""Go West"" (1940) and ""The Big Store"" (1941). Prior to the release"
"Captain Spaulding""—done entirely in French. Groucho Marx Julius Henry ""Groucho"" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, writer, stage, film, radio, and television star. A master of quick wit, he is widely considered one of America's greatest comedians. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born. He also had a successful solo career, most notably as the host of the radio and television game show ""You Bet Your Life"". His distinctive appearance, carried over from his days in vaudeville, included quirks such as an exaggerated"
"the film, and that Eddie Cantor contributed when he visited the set during shooting Typical for many Marx Brothers films, production censors demanded changes in some lines with sexual innuendo. ""Monkey Business"" was banned in some countries because censors feared it would encourage anarchic tendencies. This is the first Marx Brothers film not to feature Margaret Dumont: this time their female foil is comedian Thelma Todd, who would also star in the Marx Brothers' next film, ""Horse Feathers"". A few years later, in December 1935, Todd died in unexplained circumstances. A line of dialogue in ""Monkey Business"" seems to foreshadow"
"a great straight woman who never understood any of his jokes. The Marx Brothers were collectively named #20 on AFI's list of the Top 25 American male screen legends of Classic Hollywood. They are the only group to be so honored. The ""Sweathogs"" of the ABC-TV series ""Welcome Back Kotter"" (John Travolta, Robert Hegyes, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, and Ron Palillo) patterned much of their on-camera banter in that series after the Marx Brothers. Series star Gabe Kaplan was reputedly a big Marx Brothers fan. Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on"
"was the only Marx Brothers film in which the main characters were not created especially for Groucho, Chico and Harpo. This was the second Marx Brothers film (the other being ""Duck Soup"") in which Chico does not play the piano and Harpo does not play the harp. Ann Miller was only 15 years old when she made this film. She had lied about her age and obtained a fake birth certificate when she was about 14 years old, which stated that she was 18, just prior to signing with RKO. Frank S. Nugent of ""The New York Times"" noted that"
"free to over 4,200 inner city schools nationwide. ""The Unspoken"" (1999), Marx's first feature film, features performances from Russian star Sergei Shnirev of the famed Moscow Art Theatre, and Harry Lennix, most known for ""Get on the Bus"", ""Bob Roberts"", ""Titus"", ""ER"", and ""The Matrix"". Three of Marx's films premiered at the New York Film Festival. Having dedicated his life to the making and promotion of independent films, Marx repeatedly returns to work with disadvantaged and misunderstood communities: people of color, abused children, the working poor, welfare recipients, prisoners, the elderly, and ""at risk"" youth. His films show a passion"
"Charley Chase, Stan Laurel (who made a commercially successful transition into talking pictures in the team Laurel & Hardy), along with many others. In the early years of ""talkie"" films (beginning in 1927, see ""The Jazz Singer"") a few actors continued to act silently for comedic effect, most famously Charlie Chaplin, whose last great ""silent"" comedies ""City Lights"" (1931) and ""Modern Times"" (1936) were both made in the sound age. Another late example was Harpo Marx, who always played a mute in the Marx Brothers' films. Another important legacy of silent film comedy was the humor in animated cartoons. Even"
"brother, Mitzi Gaynor as his sister, and Marilyn Monroe as his sister-in-law. This was his only film other than a cameo as a police officer in ""Rogue's Gallery"". ""Rogue's Gallery"" was intended for release to cinemas in 1968 but was withdrawn and was not seen publicly until NBC telecast it in 1972, and it never was distributed to theaters. In the 1980s when Ray was asked why he never had made another widely seen film after ""There's No Business Like Show Business"", he replied, ""I was never asked."" In the 1950s, after both sides of the single ""Cry""/""The Little White"
"the Marx Brothers, with Davison Clark playing Mr. Lee, Theatrical Producer, which was intended to promote their forthcoming 1931 film ""Monkey Business"" (Clark later played the role of the frustrated Passport Official in ""Monkey Business"" and would also appear in the war scene in ""Duck Soup""). The segment, containing material which was never included in any other Marx Brothers film, is a re-working of the first scene of their first successful Broadway revue ""I'll Say She Is"" (1924), which Groucho considered to have been the funniest work in the Brothers' career. Except for a few name changes and additional gags,"
"fixed. In February, Paramount announced that the title had been changed to ""Grasshoppers"" (""because animal stories are so popular""), and that filming was set back to February 20. However, on May 11, 1933, the Marx Brothers' father Sam ""Frenchie"" Marx died in Los Angeles, and shortly afterward the contract dispute with Paramount was settled. The ""New York Post"" reported on May 17 that the Brothers would make a new comedy for Paramount, called ""Duck Soup"". Leo McCarey was set for direction of the film. Three days later ""The New York Sun"" reported that ""Duck Soup"" would start filming in June."
"poor time slot and the Marx Brothers' returning to Hollywood to make another film. In the mid-1940s, during a depressing lull in his career (his radio show ""Blue Ribbon Town"" had failed, he failed to sell his proposed sitcom ""The Flotsam Family"" only to see it become a huge hit as ""The Life of Riley"" with William Bendix in the title role, and the Marx Brothers as film performers were well past their prime), Groucho was scheduled to appear on a radio show with Bob Hope. Annoyed that he was made to wait in the green room for 40 minutes,"
"while constantly trying to evade the ship's crew. Prior to this development, the film has no real plot, with the Brothers merely causing unending uproar. Except in the credits and in the screenplay, the Brothers' characters have no names in this film. They are referred to simply as ""the stowaways"". After arriving stateside, one of the gangsters kidnaps the other's daughter, leaving it up to the brothers to save the day. Writers S. J. Perelman and Will B. Johnstone were excited to be working with the Marx Brothers, but producer Herman J. Mankiewicz advised them to lower their expectations, calling"
"DVD commentary. But this could not have occurred, because Sam Marx had died in 1933, during pre-production of ""Duck Soup"", two years before ""A Night at the Opera"" was released. The rumor arose because Frenchy had had such a cameo appearance in the Marx Brothers' earlier ""Monkey Business"". There is, however, a reference to the Marx Brothers' mother, Minnie Marx, during the stateroom scene, in which a woman asks, ""Is my Aunt Minnie in here?"" Part of the concept of casting the Marx Brothers as stowaways on a ship was recycled from ""Monkey Business"". As Groucho's and Margaret Dumont's characters"
"autobiography ""Harpo Speaks"" (1961), Harpo wrote that theatre critic Alexander Woollcott encouraged the Brothers to use their stage names in any subsequent production, which they did, starting with their next Broadway show, ""The Cocoanuts"" (1925), which was later turned into a film version in 1929. Having toiled on the Vaudeville circuit for nearly a quarter century, this would be the last stage performance that The Marx Brothers would perform for Vaudeville theaters. Once ""I'll Say She Is"" hit Broadway, they never left. They would have two further Broadway hits, ""The Cocoanuts"" and ""Animal Crackers"", which were then filmed in the"
"one day after heart surgery. In 1966 Filmation produced a pilot for a Marx Brothers cartoon. Groucho's voice was supplied by Pat Harrington Jr. and other voices were done by Ted Knight and Joe Besser. In 1970, the four Marx Brothers had a brief reunion of sorts in the animated ABC television special ""The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians"", produced by Rankin-Bass animation (of ""Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"" fame). The special featured animated reworkings of various famous comedians' acts, including W. C. Fields, Jack Benny, George Burns, Henny Youngman, the Smothers Brothers, Flip Wilson, Phyllis Diller, Jack E. Leonard, George Jessel"
"Zeppo, who had left show business in 1933, and Harpo, also deceased, but no voice was needed for him since his stage persona did not speak. Groucho was still playing himself. Voice actor Paul Frees narrated the show and filled in for those actors who were not able to do their own voices. The show included such segments as a Marx Brothers skit, which was a reworking of a scene from their Broadway play ""I'll Say She Is"" (1924). The skit included their famous Napoleon parody, with Napoleon played by Groucho. The sketch featured animated representations. Romeo Muller is credited"