The most famous and gleefully self-promoting of the Marx Brothers, Groucho (born Julius) was the sardonic, sometimes absurdist wit of the group. Dressed in baggy pants, with oversized glasses and painted-on eyebrows and mustache, Groucho hurled barbed insults at friends and foes alike while crouch-walking and tapping imaginary ashes from a huge cigar. Like many vaudeville cohorts, he was a human cartoon, but he outlasted them all.
Marx's maternal family was theatrical and included famed vaudeville star Al Shean. Groucho got his start with Gus Edwards' kiddie review around 1904, and with his brothers (along with various relatives and hired help) worked in turn-of-the-century vaudeville with such acts as "The Four Nightingales" and "The Six Musical Mascots" and in sketches written by Al Shean like "Fun in Hi Skool" (1911) and "Home Again" (1914). By 1920, the Marx Brothers were touring on the Keith-Albee vaudeville circuit and finally honing the stage personalities which would carry them through the rest of their careers: notably the wisecracking con-man (Groucho), the dumb, fast-talking Italian (Chico) and the mute faun (Harpo).
The four eldest brothers first gained national attention in the zany revue "I'll Say She Is" (1923-1925). Their long-running hit, "The Cocoanuts" (1925-1928), with its score by Irving Berlin and book by George S. Kaufman, assured the brothers' stardom. (By this time, Gummo had dropped out of the act to be replaced by Zeppo). During the run of the play, the brothers independently produced a silent comedy film. The lost picture, "Humorisk", was made in New York and New Jersey with private financing but never received public release and is presumed lost.
On the strength of their next Broadway success, "Animal Crackers" (1928-1929), the team was signed to a five-picture contract by Paramount, which was scouting talent for its new sound film productions. Both "The Cocoanuts" (1929) and "Animal Crackers" (1930) were filmed on Paramount's Astoria, NY, soundstage. Although the limitations of early sound technology forced the Marxes to subdue their energetic comedy style and penchant for improvised dialogue, the movie public took to the team's brand of comic chaos.
Their final three Paramount releases, "Monkey Business" (1931), "Horsefeathers" (1932) and "Duck Soup" (1933), did not perform well at the box office, although they are now regarded as the team's most inspired film comedies. The writing of George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind was replaced with that of the brilliant humorist S.J. Perelman and the direction fell to better handlers of comedy, including Norman Z. McLeod and Leo McCarey. The team's Paramount vehicles de-emphasized the usual Hollywood storylines and romantic subplots and simply provided screen space for the Marxes to perform their routines. The nearly plotless "Monkey Business" featured four nameless stowaway characters who wreak havoc on a luxury liner, then attempt to disembark by performing four Maurice Chevalier impressions. "Horsefeathers" was a similarly free-form romp through college life, with Professor Wagstaff (Groucho) cueing the mayhem with his anti-establishment anthem "I'm Against It." "Duck Soup", usually considered the team's absurdist masterpiece, was a satire on the politics of war, casting Groucho as the unlikely president of Freedonia who, with the aid of his brothers, runs the country with the musical slogan "Just Wait Till I Get Through With It."
The financially troubled Paramount released the Marx Brothers following "Duck Soup" but the team (now minus Zeppo) was picked up by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at the behest of its production chief Irving Thalberg who recast the irrepressible team in the studio's mold. Reinserting the usual Hollywood storylines, Thalberg set the brothers up as more sympathetic figures and offered love stories to appeal to audiences less enamored of the team's destructive humor. With these elements, plus classier production values, the return of Kaufman and Ryskind and MGM's lengthy pre-testing of material, the two Thalberg films, "A Night at the Opera" (1935) and "A Day at the Races" (1937), revived their popularity (though many fans find these films a dull let-down from their previous efforts.) Thalberg's death also marked the end of the well-crafted Marx films. After a quick loan-out to RKO in 1938 for the substandard "Room Service", the aging team did three flat comedies at MGM. After the war, apparently out of financial need, they reunited for the undistinguished "A Night in Casablanca" (1946) and "Love Happy" (1949). They last appeared in the same film--though separately--in Irwin Allen's all-star flop "The Story of Mankind" (1957).
By the time of their last film, Groucho had already established himself as a solo act on radio and TV. Without his brothers, he had written the screenplay for Warner Brothers' "The King and the Chorus Girl" (1937) and with Norman Krasna co-wrote the play "A Time for Elizabeth" in 1946. Marx was also a regular guest on radio shows and had his own, "The Pabst Blue Ribbon Show", from 1943-1944. Groucho's six solo films--none terribly successful--included "Copacabana" (1947), "Double Dynamite" (1951), a cameo in "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" (1957) and finally the embarrassing Otto Preminger comedy "Skidoo" (1968).
His biggest post-film success came with the quiz show "You Bet Your Life", which started on radio in 1947 and moved to TV from 1950-1961. Now minus the fake mustache, Groucho joshed with guests and became one of the most popular TV personalities of the 1950s, earning a 1950 Emmy as Outstanding Personality. He continued guesting on numerous talk and variety shows and specials until the early 1970s; his last hurrah was a Carnegie Hall appearance in 1972.
By that time, Groucho had become an institution, a 20th century classic; as popular with children and teenagers as with his original, aging fans. He also lived up to his nickname--according to acquaintances, he was indeed a grouch, needling his victims with hilarious but often bitter insults. His last year was marred by a custody battle between his family and his longtime companion, Erin Fleming. Marx died in 1977 at the age of 86.