Editing Groucho Marx (section)

== Personal life ==
[[File:Marx Brothers 1948.jpg|left|thumb|The Marx Brothers (clockwise from bottom: Groucho, [[Chico Marx|Chico]], and [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]]) by [[Yusuf Karsh]], 1946]]
Marx's three marriages ended in divorce. His first wife was [[chorus girl]] Ruth Johnson (m. 1920–1942). He was 29 and she was 19 at the time of their wedding. The couple had two children, [[Arthur Marx]] and [[Miriam Marx]]. His second wife was Kay Marvis (m. 1945–1951), née Catherine Dittig,<ref>[https://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_060339/89 ''Boxoffice'', 3 June 1939, p. 89]{{Dead link|date=December 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.</ref> former wife of [[Leo Gorcey]]. Marx was 54 and Kay was 21 at the time of their marriage. They had a daughter, [[Melinda Marx]], whose daughter Jade Berti was formerly married to Dominic Ruiz, brother of [[Dina Eastwood]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2012-may-18-la-et-mrs-eastwood-review-20120518-story.html|first=Mary|last=McNamara|title=Something is missing here|date=May 18, 2012|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> His third wife was actress [[Eden Hartford]] (m. 1954–1969). He was 64 and she was 24 at the time of their wedding.

During the early 1950s, Marx described his perfect woman: "Someone who looks like [[Marilyn Monroe]] and talks like [[George S. Kaufman]]."<ref>{{cite book |first=Arthur |last=Marx |author-link=Arthur Marx |title=Life With Groucho |url=https://archive.org/details/lifewithgroucho00marx |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |year=1954 |location=New York |lccn=54-9802 |page =[https://archive.org/details/lifewithgroucho00marx/page/294 294] |via=[[Internet Archive#Text collection|Internet Archive text collection]] |url-access=limited}}</ref>

Marx was denied membership in an informal [[symphonietta]] of friends (including Harpo) organized by [[Ben Hecht]], because he could play only the mandolin. When the group began its first rehearsal at Hecht's home, Marx rushed in and demanded silence from the "lousy amateurs". The musicians discovered him conducting the [[Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra]] in a performance of the overture to ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'' in Hecht's living room. Marx was allowed to join the symphonietta.<ref name="friedrich1997">{{cite book | title=City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940s | publisher=University of California Press | author=Friedrich, Otto | year=1997|edition=reprint | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0x8AFchW4JsC&pg=PP1 | location=Berkeley and Los Angeles | page=43 | isbn=0520209494 | chapter = Ingatherings (1940)}}</ref>

Later in life, Marx would sometimes note to talk show hosts, not entirely jokingly, that he was unable to actually insult anyone, because the target of his comment would assume that it was a Groucho-esque joke, and would laugh.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

[[File:Groucho and Melinda Marx 1953.JPG|thumb|On the set of ''You Bet Your Life'' with daughter [[Melinda Marx|Melinda]], 1953]]
Despite his lack of formal education, he wrote many books, including his autobiography, ''Groucho and Me'', (1959) and ''Memoirs of a Mangy Lover'' (1963). He was a friend of such literary figures as [[Booth Tarkington]], [[T. S. Eliot]], and [[Carl Sandburg]]. Much of his personal correspondence with those and other figures is featured in the book ''The Groucho Letters'' (1967) with an introduction and commentary on the letters written by Marx, who donated his letters to the [[Library of Congress]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchCode=LCCN&searchArg=mm%2082047845&searchType=1&permalink=y |title=Groucho Marx papers, 1930-1967 |work=[[Library of Congress]] Online Catalog|access-date=June 18, 2017}}</ref> His daughter Miriam published a collection of his letters to her in 1992 titled ''Love, Groucho.''

In ''Life with Groucho: A Son's Eye View'', [[Arthur Marx]] relates that in his latter years, Groucho increasingly referred to himself by the name Hackenbush, referring to the character of that name he played in [[A Day at the Races (film)|''A Day at the Races'']].<ref>{{cite book |first=Arthur |last=Marx |author-link=Arthur Marx |title=Life With Groucho |url=https://archive.org/details/lifewithgroucho00marx |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |year=1954 |location=New York |lccn=54-9802 |page =[https://archive.org/details/lifewithgroucho00marx/page/200/mode/2up?q=Hackenbush 200] |via=[[Internet Archive#Text collection|Internet Archive text collection]] |url-access=limited}}</ref>

Marx made serious efforts to learn to play the guitar. In the 1932 film ''[[Horse Feathers]]'', he performs the film's love theme "Everyone Says I Love You" for costar [[Thelma Todd]] on a [[Gibson L-5]].<ref>Jerry McCulley, [http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/The-Surprisingly-Serious-Tale.aspx The Surprisingly Serious Tale of Comedian Groucho Marx and His Lifelong Quest to Master Guitar.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529072326/http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/The-Surprisingly-Serious-Tale.aspx |date=May 29, 2013 }}</ref>

In July 1937, an America-vs.-England pro-celebrity tennis doubles match was organized, featuring Marx and [[Ellsworth Vines]] playing against [[Charlie Chaplin]] and [[Fred Perry]], to open the new clubhouse at the Beverly Hills Tennis Club. Marx appeared on court with twelve rackets and a suitcase, leaving Chaplin—who took tennis seriously—bemused, before he asked what was in it. Marx asked Chaplin what was in his, with Chaplin responding he didn't have one. Marx replied, "What kind of tennis player are you?" After playing only a few games, Marx sat on the court and unpacked an elaborate picnic lunch from his suitcase.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Leigh |first=Danny |date=January 2, 2015 |title=The Marx brothers on film: souped-up comedy |url=https://www.ft.com/content/79d9cd22-89f7-11e4-8daa-00144feabdc0 |access-date=March 21, 2019 |work=Financial Times}}</ref>

[[Irving Berlin]] quipped: "The world would not be in such a snarl, had Marx been Groucho instead of Karl."<ref>Irving Berlin, Robert Kimball, Linda Emmet. ''The Complete Lyrics of Irving Berlin'', p. 489. Hal Leonard Corporation, 2005. {{ISBN|1-55783-681-7}}</ref> In his book ''The Groucho Phile'', Marx says "I've been a liberal Democrat all my life", and "I frankly find Democrats a better, more sympathetic crowd.... I'll continue to believe that Democrats have a greater regard for the common man than Republicans do".<ref>Marx, Groucho. ''The Groucho Phile'', p. 238. Wallaby, 1977.</ref> However, during an episode of ''[[Firing Line (TV series)|Firing Line]]'' on July 7, 1967, Marx admitted to voting for [[Wendell Willkie]], the Republican candidate for president in 1940, over [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], stating that he did not believe that any man should run for more than two terms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXlIZBZpkoA&t=660s|title = Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr.: Is the World Funny?|website = YouTube| date=January 25, 2017 }}</ref> Marx mentioned in a television interview that he disliked the [[women's liberation movement]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}