Marx, Groucho

series revival on CBS (Tell It to Groucho) and appear- Soup, 1933; A Night at the Opera, 1935; A Day at ances on British TV in the early 1960s, he hosted vari- the Races, 1937; The King and the Chorus Girl, ety programs, did cameos, and sat in on panel shows. 1937: Roo,,, Service, 1938: At the Circus, 1939; Go However, he found his most comfortable niche as a West, 1940; The Big Store, 1941; A Night in talk show personality with an intellectual edge. His Casablanca, 1946; Copacabana, 1947; Mr. Music, acerbic manner fit well with fringe late -night program- 1950; Love Happy, 1950: Double Dynamite, 1951; ming, such as Les Crane's controversial talk show (on A Girl in Every Port, 1952: Will Success Spoil Rock its 1964 premiere Groucho served as a metacritic to Hunter?, 1957; The Story of Mankind, 1957; Ski- political dialogue among William F. Buckley, John doo, 1968. Lindsay, and Max Lerner). Of more lasting impor- tance, Groucho served as an interim host for The Radio Tonight Show when Jack Paar stepped down, and he You Bet Your Life, 1947-57. introduced Johnny Carson when he debuted as host. Groucho also developed a famous friendship with Stage Tonight Show writers Dick Cavett and Woody Allen, Minnie's Boys (co-author), 1970. thereby influencing a new generation of TV and film comedians. Publications In the 1970s, Groucho's celebrity was revived by a surprisingly successful resyndication of You Bet Your Beds, 1930 Life (though later imitations of it by Buddy Hackett Many Happy Returns: An Unofficial Guide to Your and Bill Cosby flopped). Books, films, and records by Income -Tax Problems, 1942 and about Groucho also sold well. His popularity ex- Time for Elizabeth: A Comedv in Three Acts, with tended to both those nostalgic for a past era and those Norman Krasna, 1949 who made his antiauthority comedy style part of the Groucho and Me, 1959 younger counterculture. Memoirs of a Mangy Lover, 1963 This contradiction was appropriate for the per- The Groucho Letters, 1967 former who was simultaneously an insightful intellec- The Marx Bros. Scrapbook, with Richard J. Anobile, tual critic and a pop icon. Groucho is attributed with a 1973 memorable put-down of television: "i find television The Groucho Phile: An Illustrated Life, 1976 very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I The Secret Word Is Groucho, with Hector Arce, 1976 go into the library and read a good book." Yet, in true Love, Groucho: Letters from Groucho Mary to His contrarian fashion. when promoting his own show's Daughter Miriam, edited by Miriam Marx Allen, 1992 premiere, he added a seldom -quoted rejoinder : "Now that I'm a part of television, or `TV' as we say out here on the Coast, I don't mean a word of it." Further Reading DAN STREIBLE Arce. Hector, Groucho, New York: Putnam, 1979 Groucho Marx. Born Julius Henry Marx in New York Chandler. Charlotte, He//o, I Must Be Going: Groucho and His Friends, Garden City. New York: Doubleday, 1978 City, October 2, 1890. Married: 1) Ruth Johnson, 1922 Gehring. Wes D., Groucho and W.C. Fields: Huckster Comedi- (divorced, 1942); children: Miriam and Arthur; 2) ans, Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. 1994 Catherine Gorcey, 1945 (divorced, 1950); child: Groucho, London: Gollancz, 1954 Melinda; 3) Eden Hartford, 1953 (divorced, 1969). Kan fer, Stefan, editor, The Essential Groucho: Writings by, for; With brothers Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo, formed com- and about Groucho Marx, New York: Vintage. 2000 Marx, Arthur, Son of Groucho, New York: D. McKay, 1972 edy team. the Marx Brothers, successful in film come- Marx, Arthur. My Life with Groucho: A Son's Eye View, Lon- dies; served as host for radio and television game show don: Robson. 1988 You Bet Your Life. Recipient: Emmy Award. 1950. Marx, Arthur. Arthur Marx's Groucho: A Photographic Jour- Died in Los Angeles, California, August 19, 1977. ney, Pomona, California: Phoenix Marketing Services, 2001 Marx, Arthur. and Robert Fisher, Groucho: A Life in Revue, New York: S. 1988 Television French, Series National Broadcasting Company, Educational Television and 1950-61 You Bet Your Life (The Groucho Show) Groucho Marx, New York: NBC, 1957 1962 Tell It to Groucho Oursler, Fulton. "My Dinner with Groucho: it Came with Japes and Tears, Everything but the Duck," Esquine (June 1989) Films Stoliar, Steve, Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho's House, Los Angeles. California: General Publishing Group, The Cocoanuts, 1929; Animal Crackers, 1930; Mon- 1996 key Business, 1931; Horsefeathers, 1932; Duck Tyson, Peter. Groucho Marv, New York: Chelsea House, 1995

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