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.

Zeppo's Ex Writes a Book

Barbara Sinatra, fourth and final wife of Frank Sinatra, has written a book about her years with the singer.


In an interview appearing in the Sunday, June 6, 2011 New York Times Magazine, she answers a number of questions about Frank's violent streak, his drinking, and his infidelity--none of which seemed to bother her very much as long as he gave her birthday presents like a Rolls Royce Corniche. The subject of her marriage to Zeppo Marx, to whom she was married when she met Sinatra, gets only a brief mention by the interviewer. I don't imagine Zep was that easy to live with, but I think he came out ahead in the deal.

Barbara Marx today, with the same smooth skin she had several decades ago on the book cover.

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."