The Marx Brothers: Great American Entertainers & Gamblers

The Marx Brothers

The Marx Brothers Great American Entertainers & Gamblers "Outside of a book, a dog is man's best friend. Inside a dog, it's too dark to read." --Groucho Marx

The Marx Brothers were the greatest comedy group in the world before World War II. A classic American success story, the brothers were the sons of Jewish immigrants, Minnie and "Frenchie" Marx. They grewup in the streets of New York at the turn of the century.

Although poor, Minnie Marx required all her boys to learn to play musical instruments. Groucho played guitar and was a remarkable singer. Chico mastered the piano and Harpo played everything, but loved the harp.

Minnie was determined her boys would be vaudeville entertainers. Soon, she was getting them booked in "the least known side street theatres in Brooklyn and the Bronx, with a western swing through to Hoboken, New Jersey". None of the boys attended school long.

However, it was not their musical talent that caught the public's imagination but their zany, madcap characters and outrageous comedy that delighted audiences. By the 1920s The Marx Brothers had become super stars.

On one occasion, while playing Salt Lake City, an unknown vaudeville comic, Charlie Chaplin, watched from the wings. Afterwards, during a poker game in a "well-appointed whore house", Groucho advised Chaplin to try movies. He did and became an American icon.

With the advent of "talkies", the Marx Brothers had no trouble converting to the new medium. Over the next 20 years, they made a number of film classics including Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and Duck Soup. Nothing was off limits to The Marx Brothers' brand of irreverent satire. War, higher education, affluent society, and Big Business were favorite targets.

Games and gambling were always part of the Marx family. "Frenchie" was a habitual pinochle player. Minnie loved poker and when her boys became celebrities, she organized a ladies' poker club which met four times a week. According to Harpo, "Minnie's furs and jewels kept shuttling back and forth from the local pawnbroker, since she made a religion of trying to fill a straight...."

Growing up on the Eastside, Chico, the oldest, was addicted to gambling by the time he was twelve. Harpo said his brother dropped out of school "got into the action" and "was never again without it".

Chico's attitude was, "If I lose today, I can look forward to winning tomorrow, and if I win today, I can expect to lose tomorrow. Afterall, a sure thing is no fun." Groucho said, "If there was no action around, Chico would play solitaire -- and bet against himself."

Chico taught his younger brothers to gamble. "He taught me how to handle a pool cue, how to play cards, and how to bet on dice," Harpo writes. Groucho, a bookworm, had little interest in games of chance; he preferred to put his money in the Stock Market.

When the Market crashed in 1929, Groucho was wiped out. Chico told him, "You lose your money in the market. I toss mine away on dames and gambling. Who had the most fun?" In his autobiography, Groucho concedes, "Chico had more fun out of life than the rest of us combined."

Chico had a gambling problem throughout life. While Groucho and Harpo sent money home to Minnie, Chico sent her I.O.U's. Chico hocked Harpo's possessions "then gave the pawn tickets to me as my share".

After becoming celebrities, Chico continued to gamble, but then it was with high rollers like Clark Gable and Babe Ruth, among others. Once asked how much he'd lost gambling, Chico said, "I don't know. Ask Harpo how much he's made, that's how much I lost."

Chico's other vice was women. As with gambling, he couldn't control himself. Once, his wife caught him kissing a chorus girl. Chico protested loudly that he was not kissing her! He was "merely whispering into her mouth".

The Marx Brothers, especially Harpo, became favorites at the legendary Algonquin Round Table, a group of the era's most famous writers, newspaper columnists, playwrights, producers, composers, and actors, whose hangout was the Algonquin Hotel, in New York. The poker players among them formed the "Thanatopsis Inside Straight and Literary Club".

Over the years, Harpo, an excellent poker player, was the most consistent winner. Critic Alexander Wolcott was the worst. New York World editor Herbert Bayard Swope was considered the best player.

One night Chico played in the Thanatopsis poker game. After his usual reckless style, he was stuck $1,200. Writer Heywood Broun, the big winner, was reluctant to accept a check from Chico because of his bad reputation. Chico assured Broun it was good; "just don't take it to the bank before noon." However, when he tried to cash the check the next day, it bounced.

Furious, Broun called Chico. The Marx brother asked, "What time did you try to cash it?" "Five minutes after 12 o'clock noon!" Broun exclaimed. "I'm sorry, that was too late," Chico replied.

Some Algonquin regulars had another passion -- croquet -- and introduced the game to Harpo. Not the common backyard variety, it was takeno- prisoners 'combat' croquet played for $1,000 or more a game. Harpo confesses in his autobiography, "Croquet became a hopeless addiction. It combined the best elements of golf, billiards and poker."

Chico died in 1961; Harpo in 1964. When Groucho Marx died in 1977, he left behind an envelope containing his final instructions. Pure Marx Brothers, it read, "I would like to be buried on top of... Marilyn Monroe.”

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