tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post3719756397261577383..comments2023-08-24T06:32:55.020-07:00Comments on The Marx Brothers: Mendel PicassoUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-30179282551242072962018-05-12T05:33:49.821-07:002018-05-12T05:33:49.821-07:00Maybe the name "Mendel Picasso" is akin ...Maybe the name "Mendel Picasso" is akin to Jewish baseball fans from New York idolizing Mickey Mendel.SBEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13354151048549807578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-72248560847724467462017-07-08T20:14:09.457-07:002017-07-08T20:14:09.457-07:00You're stuck because you can't get Pablo o...You're stuck because you can't get Pablo out of your mind.<br /><br />The obvious joke in the lyric is that the Picasso referred to isn't Pablo Picasso, but a low-rent artist named Mendel Picasso, who is Jewish. Get it? Eliezer Pennywhistlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16469232265240590515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-48724032585814740102015-02-25T11:31:58.933-08:002015-02-25T11:31:58.933-08:00I don't think there was a legal issue. Several...I don't think there was a legal issue. Several living people were mentioned in the song: Garbo (in Groucho's introduction), Whalen, and Nijinsky.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006644312781883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-7348000059344154462015-02-25T06:40:37.403-08:002015-02-25T06:40:37.403-08:00The legal department at MGM would probably have ob...The legal department at MGM would probably have objected to inserting the name of a living person into a risque movie song, or the legal department couldn't get Pablo Picasso's permission to use his name, or Picasso might have demanded royalty payments for the use of his name.Mark Caplanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15157338755022593966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-36663177422118825852014-07-26T08:37:58.824-07:002014-07-26T08:37:58.824-07:00"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar"
..."Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar"<br /> -Sigmund FreudAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-21797244206243208672013-07-02T11:46:21.269-07:002013-07-02T11:46:21.269-07:00Picasso painted a Cubist portrait of Buffalo Bill ...Picasso painted a Cubist portrait of Buffalo Bill in 1911. It can be found online.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-88578621265268991202013-04-25T11:45:01.242-07:002013-04-25T11:45:01.242-07:00"You gotta be kidding - "Mendel" Pi..."You gotta be kidding - "Mendel" Picasso is a simple joke that Picasso was actually Jewish. Lyric could have been "Izzy Van Gogh" or "Chaim Monet" if the rhyme was right.."<br /><br />I'm with that guy.<br /><br />As for Picasso maybe having had Jewish heritage - who in Spain doesn't!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-12674338657717179262013-03-07T16:45:58.668-08:002013-03-07T16:45:58.668-08:00(in other words, I agree with anonymous of Jan 10!...(in other words, I agree with anonymous of Jan 10!) :)jerihttp://www.jerise.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-68825638302894653792013-03-07T16:45:00.819-08:002013-03-07T16:45:00.819-08:00quoting from Wikipedia (and I think this is right...quoting from Wikipedia (and I think this is right!):<br />"The link to Gregor Mendel is ridiculous. The obvious joke in the lyric is that the Picasso referred to isn't Pablo Picasso, but a low-rent artist named Mendel Picasso, who is Jewish. Get it?"jerihttp://www.jerise.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-16944940987510221832013-01-10T08:38:23.952-08:002013-01-10T08:38:23.952-08:00I think it was a misdirection joke as people would...I think it was a misdirection joke as people would expect Pablo Picasso.<br /><br />Example:<br /><br />"Hey, Joe. I just got a new tattoo. Picasso did it for me."<br /><br />"Pablo Picasso?!?!"<br /><br />"No... Mendel Picasso."<br /><br />:pAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-30591308990016404192012-12-21T11:31:15.536-08:002012-12-21T11:31:15.536-08:00Unbelievable! Others are tortured with the same qu...Unbelievable! Others are tortured with the same questions I have. Sorry - no answere.<br />Dirk<br />GermanyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-1093524407399179572012-08-25T09:54:21.795-07:002012-08-25T09:54:21.795-07:00What if he meant Arther Mendel, and "pizzicat...What if he meant Arther Mendel, and "pizzicato?" Like a little musical piece...but misspelled?Johanna Watsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06160437073413094958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-33031597691315142012-06-22T08:58:02.800-07:002012-06-22T08:58:02.800-07:00So was Picasso Jewish or not?So was Picasso Jewish or not?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-21989176599351681522012-03-27T01:58:55.583-07:002012-03-27T01:58:55.583-07:00If Gregor Mendel the geneticist performed experime...If Gregor Mendel the geneticist performed experiments on living tissue (albeit vegetables) which, one assumes, changed in some way their original integrity, maybe even appearance, could it be a reference to Picasso's style of painting which was relatively new when the song was written? Reminds me of Alan Bennet's joke, "Oh Picasso, she's got eyes in the back of her head". A long shot perhaps, but both Mendal and Picasso were dealing with something new and maybe those things were not dissimilar in their outcome.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-57127304994469108572012-02-26T13:26:29.199-08:002012-02-26T13:26:29.199-08:00Perhaps a check of the telephone and Polk's di...Perhaps a check of the telephone and Polk's directories would answer the question. There could have been a real Mendel Picasso who was a tattoo artist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-320331404468702522011-11-22T20:58:09.857-08:002011-11-22T20:58:09.857-08:00I have a copy of the sheet music as written by Yip...I have a copy of the sheet music as written by Yip Harburg and the lyric really is "Mendel Picasso."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006644312781883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-31953408884564410212011-11-22T19:21:13.738-08:002011-11-22T19:21:13.738-08:00I always assumed Groucho was rifting on the origin...I always assumed Groucho was rifting on the original lyric and threw Mendel in as a funny Yiddishism, a la, "Did someone call me schnorer?". Is there any evidence the lyric was actually written as Mendel Picasso and not Pablo Paicasso? Groucho was notorious for changing everything. As George S Kaufman famously said after seeing a screening of 'Coconuts', "Hey, Groucho kept one of my lines!"Tim Fried-Fiorihttp://writingcoachtim.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-63099114706101664662010-06-21T07:28:40.492-07:002010-06-21T07:28:40.492-07:00You gotta be kidding - "Mendel" Picasso ...You gotta be kidding - "Mendel" Picasso is a simple joke that Picasso was actually Jewish. Lyric could have been "Izzy Van Gogh" or "Chaim Monet" if the rhyme was right...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-37731129369448446902010-05-30T02:00:23.825-07:002010-05-30T02:00:23.825-07:00Hmmm--interesting idea. The sheet music clearly sp...Hmmm--interesting idea. The sheet music clearly spells it Mendel and not Mendl, but it's worth pursuing.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006644312781883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-31790848457583275922010-05-29T18:45:30.596-07:002010-05-29T18:45:30.596-07:00OK, here's a thought. It's not Mendel -- ...OK, here's a thought. It's not Mendel -- it's Mendl. As in Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe) the celebrated 1930s interior designer, mentioned in other songs of the period too. Can you name a single thing linking her and Pablo Picasso? Ever heard of a Lady Mendl cocktail? Or a Picasso cocktail? Both drinks pretty much forgotten now but not in 1939.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-60174485796869520572009-11-29T01:14:29.292-08:002009-11-29T01:14:29.292-08:00Maybe it's the name of the artist who drew the...Maybe it's the name of the artist who drew the tattoos? Just a wild guess.MetFanMachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09191993046517726498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-14995377026256781862009-08-16T11:27:44.421-07:002009-08-16T11:27:44.421-07:00Apparently, there's something called "Cla...Apparently, there's something called "Classical Genetics" - 46 400 hits on Google - and Gregor Mendel seems to have been a key figure in this field. I think that's what Harburg alluded to.<br /><br />/Mikael UhlinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-75426390439957157042009-08-16T10:56:04.687-07:002009-08-16T10:56:04.687-07:00Mikael,
I reiterate what I wrote above,
"Ev...Mikael,<br /><br />I reiterate what I wrote above,<br /><br />"Even though the song 'Peasy Weasy' was a favorite of Groucho, and the priest Gregor Mendel performed his genetic experiments with pea plants, it seems unlikely that Yip Harburg was thinking of Gregor Mendel when he wrote the lyrics to 'Lydia.'"<br /><br />Lacking further evidence, I guess it remains a possibility.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006644312781883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-71538631055038763602009-08-16T09:51:51.200-07:002009-08-16T09:51:51.200-07:00According to Wikipedia, Gregor Mendel was "th...According to Wikipedia, Gregor Mendel was "the father of modern genetics", so maybe it's a wordplay on his work with biological classes, combined with the work of another classic, i.e. Picasso?<br /><br />/Mikael Uhlin @ MarxologyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4975984889937923827.post-87431557396511387672009-06-15T21:00:07.469-07:002009-06-15T21:00:07.469-07:00Anonymous,
For a dissenting opinion, let's tur...Anonymous,<br />For a dissenting opinion, let's turn to Groucho himself. On the album "An Evening With Groucho," he related this anecdote:<br /><br />I knew a fellow named Otto Kahn, who was a very rich man, and he gave a lot of money to the Metropolitan Opera House at one time. And his close friend was Marshall P. Wilder, who was a hunchback. And they were walking down Fifth Avenue, and they came to a synagogue, and Kahn turned to Wilder and he said "Marshall, you know I used to be a Jew." Marshall said "Really? I used to be a hunchback."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006644312781883noreply@blogger.com