Zeppo Marx – The Little Known Marx Brother

Herbert Marx, also known as Zeppo Marx, was born February 25, 1901 in New York. Zeppo was one of the famous Marx Brothers who did vaudeville, radio, motion pictures and television. Zeppo and his brothers were inspired by their parents, Sam and Minnie Marx. 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. 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.

There are many different stories as to where Zeppo got his stage name. His brother Groucho once said that the name was derived from the Zeppelin, a huge hot air balloon and new invention at the time of his birth. A more common reason for the name is that it was derived from that of another vaudeville performer named Mr. Zippo. Herbert reportedly resembled the other man and thus the name stuck. The subject has been long debated and no one including the Marx brothers appeared to have agreed on the source of the name. Reportedly Zeppo didn’t talk much about the subject adding to the mystery of the name.

Zeppo was only in the first five Marx Brothers movies. He appeared as the straight man and romantic lead. He was reportedly the better looking of the Marx brothers. Shortly after doing those five, he left the Marx brothers team. He was said to have also made a solo appearance in the Adolphe Meniou comedy A Kiss in the Dark although there is no known copy of the film.
Zeppo had the same comic abilities as his brothers when the brothers performed on stage. He was also reported to be very funny offstage. Zeppo, however, never invented a comic persona of his own that could stand up against those of Groucho, Harpo and Chico Marx. It was reported that his heart wasn’t really in it to begin with. He always played the straight man to his brothers and didn’t seem to mind doing so; however he appears to have preferred to work more behind the scenes.

Zeppo had great mechanical skills and appeared to be more of technical hands on type of guy. He was reportedly largely responsible for keeping the Marx family car running and dealing with mechanical issues. Zeppo later owned a company which machined parts for the war effort during World War II including the Marman clamps used to hold the Hiroshima bomb inside the Enola Gay. His mechanical ability was said to have been extensive. One of the little known facts about Zeppo was that he invented a wristwatch that would monitor the pulse rate of cardiac patients and give off an alarm if they went into cardiac arrest, this again, a testament to his technical and mechanical ability.

Although he never really go back into performing Zeppo founded a large theatrical agency with his brother Gummo Marx. Zeppo was reported not to have done much in the way of performing however was quite active with the technical side of the theater group.

In recent years there have been Zeppo supporters challenging the notion that he did not develop a comic persona in his films. These folks believe that Zeppo isn’t given the credit he deserved. Many believe that he was a stark counterpart to Groucho, Chico and Harpo’s comedic performances.

The last surviving Marx Brother, Zeppo died of lung cancer after a long battle with the disease in 1979 at the age of 78. He has long been considered the end of the Marx Brothers era.