Groucho Marx-A Man of Laughter

Julius Marx, also known as Groucho Marx was born in 1890 in New York. He was by far the most well known of the famous Marx brothers. Groucho and his brothers were inspired by their parents, Sam and Minnie Marx. It was their parents who started the boys out in vaudeville and on Broadway. There were six brothers however Manfred Marx, the oldest sibling, died in infancy

Groucho did twenty-six movies during his career. Fifteen of these movies were with his brothers Chico and Harpo. Historically it is reported that one of the fifteen movies, a silent film, was destroyed. Groucho, it is reported, cut up the movie into guitar picks in order to prevent its release. He apparently didn’t like the movie.

The Marx Brothers were one of the world’s most famous comedy teams. They delivered quick one-liners as well as did physical comedy for a laugh. Groucho was usually the one of the brothers who delivered most of the lines and even today his one-liners are often imitated by some of today’s biggest comedians.

The Marx brothers often took on accents for their act. Groucho did a German accent. He used it in their act until the sinking of the RMS Lusitania in 1915. At this point there were a lot of hard feelings for Germans and Groucho’s character would get booed off the stage. He stopped using that accent shortly there after and took on a tough talking accent.

Groucho developed a routine that everyone would remember. He would fall into character at the drop of a hat. As a wise-cracking hustler with a distinctive walk and an exaggerated greasepaint mustache, Groucho found himself a niche. He would improvise insults to stuffy women and anyone else who stood in his way.

Groucho began to use the greasepaint when he spontaneously used it before a vaudeville performance. He had used the greasepaint because he didn’t have time to apply a regular mustache. The greasepaint look stuck with Grouch throughout his career and comedians today emulate the famous mustache.

Groucho also worked as a radio comedian and show host. He hosted the popular radio program called You Bet Your Life in the 1940s. In the 1950’s You Bet Your Life became a popular television show. Groucho interviewed the contestants and did his famous comedy. The game part of the show consisted of a quiz that often seemed silly but was well liked. The show ran for eleven years on television.

Groucho was married three times, all ended in divorce. He fathered three children. He often said that he enjoyed being married however marriage didn’t appear to enjoy him.

Groucho wrote several books, including the autobiographical Groucho and Me in 1959. According to reports, Groucho got his stage name from another performer during a back-stage card game. While in vaudeville he was said to have kept his money in a bag around his neck known as a “grouch” bag. Other accounts state that he was a grouchy guy thus the name. Groucho often said he didn’t know where his name came from.

Grouch was so good at delivering his famous insults that people often didn’t take him seriously when he was actually really trying to be insulting.

Groucho made somewhat of a comeback doing a live one-man show in the 70’s. His work was recorded and he released two albums of his comedic routines. After the release of these albums Groucho’s stuff became popular again. He was in poor health by this time, however and couldn’t keep up with the demand. His failing health sent him into semi-seclusion. Groucho Marx died on August 19, 1977 at age 86.