Editing Marx Brothers (section)

====Origin of their stage names====
It was during their early years in vaudeville that the brothers received their stage names, which were given to them by [[monologist]] Art Fisher during a [[poker]] game.<ref name="Adamson">Joe Adamson. ''Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo: A Celebration of the Marx Brothers''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1973.</ref>{{efn|The time and place of this poker game are in dispute.  The brothers' authorized biographies differ on the location, placing it variously in [[Galesburg, Illinois]], [[Aurora, Illinois]], and [[Rockford, Illinois]].  The book ''Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage'' gives a date of May, 1914, when the brothers are known to have performed in [[Galesburg, Illinois]]. However, Art Fisher retired from vaudeville in 1912 and was living in Boston in 1914.  Fisher and the Marxes appeared together in [[Joliet, Illinois]] in December of 1910, prior to Chico's joining the act.  The naming may have taken place either at that time - with Chico receiving his name at a later date - or during a 1915 trip to Boston.<ref>{{cite podcast |host=Matthew Coniam and Noah Diamond|title=What is Your Opinion of Art |website=The Marx Brothers Council Podcast |date=26 Feb 2025 |url=https://www.marxbrotherscouncilpodcast.com/ |access-date=19 April 2025}}</ref>}} The nicknames were influenced by [[Gus Mager]]'s comic strip ''[[Sherlocko the Monk]]'', which featured a character named "[[Groucho the Monk|Groucho]]", reflecting the "O" nickname fad of the era.<ref>Marx, Groucho (1976). ''The Groucho Phile'', p. 31.</ref> As Fisher dealt each brother a card, he addressed them, for the first time, by the names they kept for the rest of their lives.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=414}}

Most accounts attribute Julius's nickname "Groucho" to his notably moody temperament.<ref>''[https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0126108/ The Unknown Marx Brothers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405191544/https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0126108/ |date=April 5, 2022 }}'', host: [[Leslie Nielsen]], writer-directors: [[David Leaf]], John Scheinfeld, [[IMDb]], (1993)</ref>  Alternative theories suggest that it derived from the Groucho character in ''Sherlocko the Monk'', or from the "grouch bag" he carried, containing money and necessities.{{sfn|Kanfer|2000|p=46}}{{efn|Groucho denied the claim that the nickname referred to the grouch bag in his autobiography ''Groucho and Me''.{{sfn|Marx|1959|p=67}}}} Leonard was named "Chicko" because of his reputation for chasing women (or "chicks").{{sfn|Kanfer|2000|p=46}}  "Chicko" was eventually shortened to "Chico", but still pronounced "Chick-o" rather than "Cheek-o." Arthur was dubbed "Harpo" because he played the harp.{{sfn|Kanfer|2000|p=46}}

Milton's nickname "Gummo" stemmed from his habit of wearing rubber-soled shoes, although the details varied depending on who was telling the story.  Harpo claimed that Milton earned the name by sneaking around theaters like a [[Private investigator|gumshoe detective]].{{sfn|Marx|Barber|1961|p=130}} Other sources reported that Gummo was the family's hypochondriac, and therefore wore [[galosh|rubber overshoes]] whenever he thought it might rain,{{sfn|Kanfer|2000|p=46}} or that he was the troupe's best dancer, and dance shoes tended to have rubber soles.{{sfn|Louvish|2000|p=100}}