Marxes in the Macy's Parade

Fellow Marx fan Matthew Coniam, on his Marx Brothers Council of Britain blog has brought up the topic of Marx Brothers balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Trolling the internet, I have found two pictures of the big-headed brothers which appeared in the 2003 parade.



From AVclub.com, I present the following excerpt from the article, “Look kids, it’s Eddie Cantor!”: 12 obscure Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons from years past. Based on the pictures above, it seems that the article is incorrect in stating that four brothers were represented in 2003.

When four balloons representing the Marx brothers marched through the 2003 Macy’s parade, spectators may have been a little baffled. The Marx balloons were part of an attempt to celebrate the parade’s past by copying vintage designs from back when the Thanksgiving streets were filled with more than just cartoon characters and advertising mascots. They weren’t traditional balloons, but rather floats with giant balloon heads meant to resemble the brothers. The giant-headed brothers, decked out in black and white, had been a mainstay of the parade in the ’30s, but in the 21st century they came off as garish, bizarre, and vaguely horrific. They haven’t reappeared.

RIP, Son of Groucho

Somehow I missed the passing of Groucho's son Arthur at age 89 on April 14, 2011. His obituary at the New York Times is quite interesting.

Marx and Lennon

As detailed in the April 28, 1995 New York Times article Philatelists Just Wanna Have Fun, the Republic of Abkhazia,a rebellious region in the northwest of Georgia, or a printing company claiming to be the Republic of Abkhazia, issued a stamp set commemorating not Karl and Vladimir, but Groucho and John. When my wife bought me a few sheets from the International Collectors Society some fifteen or so years ago, the retail price was $12.72 per sheet. Now they can be found on eBay for as little as $7.00. No doubt many "Limited Editions" from companies which flood the market with "collectibles" have suffered similar fates.

I still like the stamps, though.

Birthday Reminder

Just a reminder that Oct. 2 with be Groucho's 120th birthday. The cake below was created for his 103rd birthday in 1993. The walleyed portrait of Groucho is a borderline candidate for the Cakewrecks blog.

A Night at the Opera on the Road

As I have pointed out before, Harpo was posthumously baptized as a Mormon. Still, you wouldn't expect the Utah State Historical Society to be a rich source of Marx Brothers history. You'd be wrong, because the USHS has produced a very interesting page related to the premiere of the stage version of "A Night at the Opera" in 1935. MGM producer Irving Thalberg arranged for the brothers to road test the show in Salt Lake City, Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco before filming began. Audience reaction was carefully observed in order to fine tune the script and timing of "Opera." I'll leave it to the interested reader to click over to the USHS site for details.

I'd also like to point out a link provided by USHS. It is a page of material deleted from the original script. Some of the stuff is pretty good, IMHO. For example:

Driftwood (to the cab driver when he learns that he has arrived at the opera house before the opera is over): On account of you, I nearly heard the opera! Next time I go to the opera, I'll take a turtle. At least with a turtle you've got something. When you get tired of it, you can make turtle soup. Of course, you can get turtle soup in cans. But you can't go to the opera in a can. On the other hand, you can't go to the can in an opera.

To read more, click on this link.

Former Marx Secretary Surfaces

A recent article by Wesley Slape at TDN.com reveals that Dorothy Ohman, who was Jack Benny's secretary from 1957 till his death in 1974 started her career at age 21 as secretary for the Marx, Miller, and Marx talent agency in Los Angeles. The principals in the agency were Zeppo, Gummo, and Zeppo's brother-in-law, Alan Miller.

She got to know all the brothers while working at the agency, and recalled Groucho as "low-key" when he dropped by the office, and that he didn't have to "be on" around the family. Harpo was a "dapper dresser" with "a good personality and class." Chico was "the same as he was on screen. He was the playful one, full of fun."

Groucho Marx, Cigar Aficionado

If you didn't have the foresight to buy the Spring 1993 issue of Cigar Aficionado, or, like me, you don't know which box in the basement your copy is in, here is a link to an article about Groucho and his cigars by his son, Arthur.

A Cat Named Groucho

Recently auctioned on eBay was this newspaper clipping which Zeppo sent to Groucho in 1975, along with a note that read, "Groucho, thought this cute, will try to come see you next week. Love, Zeppo."

The caption reads:

All that's missing is the cigar to make Groucho, this mustachioed cat, look just like his famous namesake. Groucho, who's half Siamese, has two other unusual features: his hind legs are twice as long as his front ones, and he has no tail. Groucho, owned by the Morris Gilbert family of Brownwood, Tex., won a blue ribbon at the Brown County pet fair last fall after judges chose him the most unusual cat displayed.

The seller made this statement in the listing:

I was Groucho's personal secretary and archivist for the last three years of his life, and am the author of the book RAISED EYEBROWS: My Years Inside Groucho's House. Groucho received this item from Zeppo in July of 1975. He did, in fact, get a kick out of the cat photo (Groucho had a weakness for kitties to begin with), but rather than saving the note and photo and putting it into a scrapbook, he simply tossed it into the waste basket under his desk. (After all, Groucho would hardly have looked upon a note from Zeppo Marx as a rare and desirable collectible!) So - I retrieved the note, envelope, and clipping from the trash and saved it for whatever passes as posterity.

That would be Steve Stollar, who authored Raised Eyebrows.

The clipping, note, and envelope went for $299 to the only individual who placed a bid.

The Brothers and the Cubs

Thanks to Rick Kaempfer, editor of the blog Just One Bad Century, for pointing out that the Marx Brothers were Chicago Cubs fans. At the time of WW I, Minnie moved the family to a farm in LaGrange, Illinois, because she had heard that farmers would not be drafted. Rick quotes Groucho's comments about life on the farm:

The first day we got up at 5 in the morning. The second morning we dawdled until 6. By the end of the first week we slept until noon, which gave us just enough time to catch the 1:07 train to Chicago to see the Chicago Cubs play.

Apparently, the brothers spent a lot of time at Cubs Park, now known as Wrigley Field, during the World Series year of 1918.

Groucho and Marilyn Monroe

In this clip from 1963, Groucho talks about Marilyn Monroe appearing in the 1949 movie, "Love Happy." Her scene in the movie appears at the end of this clip.

Faux Groucho

It's hard to resist dressing up as Groucho. He is universally recognized and the makeup is pretty easy to do. I've done it myself in younger, more hirsute days. I won the Halloween costume contest at the children's hospital where I was working at the time.


Over at The Marx Brothers Council of Britain blog, Matthew Coniam unleashed a mystery on the blogosphere in the form of a photo of someone disguised as Groucho. The photo was used on the cover of CD of Groucho's radio performances.


Tom (sorry--I have no additional identifying information), an astute reader of Matthew's blog, solved the mystery. The photo is of famed photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, and Tom had seen it before in the book Life Goes to the Movies.

A little Googling on my part uncovered the article, "Speaking of Pictures", subtitled "LIFE photographer gets made up to look like seven other people," in the September 26, 1949 issue of Life. The Paramount makeup artist who transformed Eisenstaedt into characters ranging from Sampson to Victoria Lake noted that Groucho was the easiest.

Magnolia

My granddaughter learns the finer points of pool under the watchful eyes of the Marx Brothers.

Pondering Perelman

Given that this blog is entitled "The Marx Brothers," it behooves the author to mention one or more of the aforesaid siblings in every post. Thus it was with great joy that I found Groucho's name appearing in the book A Writer's Eye: Collected Book Reviews by Eudora Welty, edited by Pearl Amelia McHaney. A passing reference to Groucho gives me an excuse to focus once again on the comic genius S.J. Perelman (see previous posts, S.J. Perelman and S.J. Perelman Revivisected), whose books provided fodder for three of Ms. Welty's reviews.

First, here's how Groucho was mentioned in Welty's review of The Most of S.J. Perelman, which appeared in the New York Times Book Review, October 12, 1958:

Groucho Marx, for whom, of course, Mr. Perelman has done his share of writing, seems imminent here and once appears in person; we get an intimate glimpse of him indulging "his passionate avocation, the collecting and cross-fertilization of various kinds of money."

Ms. Welty gives many other examples of Perelman's devastating humor in this review as well as in her reviews of Westward Ha! Around the World in 80 Cliches and Crazy Like a Fox. From the latter work, she gives these examples:

I may not know much about medicine, but I know what I like.

A Schrafft hostess, well over nine feet tall, with ice mantling her summit, waved me toward a door marked "Credentials."

He caught my arm in a vise-like grip but with a blow I sent him groveling. In ten minutes he was back with a basket of appetizing, fresh-picked grovels. We squeezed them and drank the piquant juice thirstily.

I had gone to the Corn Exchange Bank to exchange some corn.

I could go on and on, padding this post with Perelman lines which Ms. Weldy used to pad her reviews. Why should I bother when you can go read the reviews yourself at Google books?

Groucho Sings on Cavett

Thanks to my brother Dennis for pointing out this clip from the Dick Cavett Show. Groucho sings "Everybody Works But Father" and "Father's Day."



Links to audio:

Studio Version of Father's Day

An Evening With Groucho - Groucho sings both "Everybody Works But Father" and "Father's Day" live at Carnegie Hall on this album.

Groucho's Name Invoked Against Antisemitic Wackos

Among the current crop of hateful nut-jobs, few sink lower than the members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka. This group has gained notoriety with their stance that God hates America because God hates homosexuals, and America is "enabling" homosexuality. They have picketed at military funerals, carrying signs with messages like "God Hates Fags," "Thank God for Dead Soldiers," and "America is Doomed." They don't limit their hatred to gays. They also hate Catholics, Swedes, Irish, and Jews.

Recently, they picketed outside the synagogue of Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, New York. Steven Waldman, Editor-in-Chief of Beliefnet.com wrote on Sept. 29, 2009:

The rabbi, Andrew Bachman, inspired the crowd by blowing the shofar, "in the name of the God of love." But the crowd especially roared when he added, "And in the name of the God of Groucho Marx, we put our thumb on our nose." He then led the crowd in a sort of modified Bronx cheer (photo below) In response to the God Hates Fags placards, one woman put a sign on her canine reading, "Dog Loves Fags."

Read the whole story at:

The God of Groucho Marx & Westboro Baptist Church (The "God Hates Fags" Gang) by Steve Waldman

Marilyn Monroe and Groucho

A great feature of Google is the Life Magazine photo archive, which has been the source of many pictures on this blog. Now Google and Life have teamed up to offer every issue of Life magazine online. While browsing through issues with Marx Brothers content, I found the April 7, 1952 issue, which featured Marilyn Monroe on the cover. This paragraph about the photo appeared inside the magazine:

Marilyn Monroe had her first brush with fame at the beginning of World War II when she was 16 and working at an aircraft plant. An Army public relations photographer spotted her and, to boost wartime morale, shot her alongside every machine in the factory. These pictures got her work as a model and eventually led to a Marx brothers' film in which her role consisted of walking into a room and out of it. "That's a fine walk," said Groucho. "Now do it again more so." She took the advice and is now among the Hollywood great.

Here is one of the pictures taken by David Conover at the Radioplane factory in Van Nuys, California on June 26, 1945. Nineteen-year-old Norma Jeane Dougherty was then in her first marriage.

The Marx Brothers' film referenced in Life was "Love Happy," released in 1949.

Marilyn and Groucho in publicity still for "Love Happy"

Meeting a Munchkin

It isn't every day that one gets to meet an actor who appeared in a Marx Brothers movie, let alone one who also played a Munchkin in "The Wizard of Oz." Today, I had that privilege.

Chesterton, Indiana holds an annual Wizard of Oz festival which is quite popular. Since it's only about an hour from my home, I was considering going to Chesterton to get some pictures of the festival parade. As I checked out the festival web site and read about the dwindling cadre of celebrities associated with the film who appear at the festival, I was fascinated by the biography of Jerry Maren. He was the member of the Lollipop Guild who presented Dorothy with the lollipop in this clip.


Jerry has had a long and productive career, as is attested by his lengthy imdb.com listing. Besides being a Munchkin, Jerry later appeared in commercials as Buster Brown, Little Oscar (for Oscar Meyer meats), and for McDonald's as the Hamburgler and Mayor McCheese. He also played numerous roles in film and on TV, including an appearance in the famous "Yada Yada" episode of Seinfeld in 1997.

But the role that motivated me to make the trip to Chesterton occurred in the Marx Brothers movie "At the Circus," released in 1939, the same year as "The Wizard of Oz." Jerry played circus performer Professor Atom. I searched my collection for a movie still or poster that might include a picture of Jerry. As an alternative, I did a screen capture of Jerry and Groucho from the DVD of the movie and printed it out. He seemed pleasantly surprised when I presented the picture to him at this afternoon's autograph session. He and his wife Elizabeth were very cordial, and I salute them for accommodating so many fans.

Young Groucho

Today at the web site IN Harmony: Sheet Music from Indiana, I saw a picture of a very young Julius (Groucho) Marx I had forgotten about, until I searched my musty copy of The Groucho Phile (1976), by Groucho and Hector Arce.


Julius appeared as the performer on the cover of the sheet music below, copyrighted in 1906.


The same cover appears on page 16 of The Groucho Phile. After describing getting stranded in Colorado by the promoter Leroy during his first vaudeville tour, Groucho goes on:

Back in New York, I got a job with the Gus Edwards show, Boys and Girls. My picture was on the sheet music for "Farewell Killarney." Edwards, a clever man, thought my present sixteen years weren't callow enough, so he put a picture of me when I was ten or eleven on the sheet music.

The Marx Brothers and Disney

In addition to appearing in the Warner Brothers cartoons Wideo Wabbit and Slick Hare, Marx Brothers caricatures appeared in a few Disney cartoons in the 1930s as well. Details can be found at The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts by following these links:

Cartoons featuring the four Marx Brothers including "The Bird Store" and "Mickey's Gala Premiere." The latter title reminds me of the scene in Duck Soup when Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont) says to Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho), "Notables from every country are gathered here in your honor. This is a gala day for you." Firefly responds, "Well, a gal a day is enough for me. I don't think I could handle any more."

Cartoons featuring Harpo, included "Mickey's Polo Team" and "Who Killed Cock Robin?'

Marx Brothers Home Update

Thanks to Matthew Coniam of The Marx Brothers Council of Britain for reminding us all of the need to pressure the Lord High Muckedy Mucks (LHMM) or New York City to preserve the endangered building at 179 E. 93rd St., which was once home to the Marx family. Here's a video detailing the situation.



Please follow this link for a form letter you can email to the LHMM in charge of the NYC Historic Preservation Commission. Note this is different than the petition you may have signed earlier. If you haven't signed the petition yet, click here.