Editing Marx Brothers

{{Short description|American comedy troupe (1905–1949)}}
{{For|the fencing organization|Brotherhood of Saint Mark}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox comedian
| name = The Marx Brothers
| image = File:Marx Brothers 1931.jpg
| alt = Four comedians pose vertically
| caption = Four of the five Marx Brothers in 1931 (top to bottom: [[Chico Marx|Chico]], [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]], [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]] and [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]])
| birth_place = [[New York City|New York]], U.S.
| medium = Film, [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], [[vaudeville]]
| nationality = American
| active = 1905–1949
| genre = [[Word play]], [[slapstick]], [[musical comedy]], [[deadpan]]
| notable_work = ''[[Duck Soup (1933 film)|Duck Soup]]''{{br}}''[[A Night at the Opera (film)|A Night at the Opera]]''{{br}}''[[Animal Crackers (1930 film)|Animal Crackers]]''{{br}}''[[Monkey Business (1931 film)|Monkey Business]]''{{br}}''[[Horse Feathers]]''
| website =
| footnotes =
| past_members = {{ubl|[[Chico Marx]]|[[Harpo Marx]]|[[Groucho Marx]]| [[Gummo Marx]]|[[Zeppo Marx]]}}
| monuments =
| module =
|No. of Films=}}

The '''Marx Brothers''' were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in [[vaudeville]], on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], and in 14 motion pictures.  The core group consisted of brothers [[Chico Marx]], [[Harpo Marx]], and [[Groucho Marx]]; earlier in their career, they were joined by younger brothers [[Gummo Marx|Gummo]] and [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]].  They are considered by critics, scholars and fans to be among the greatest and most influential comedians of the 20th century, a recognition underscored by the [[American Film Institute]] (AFI) selecting five of their fourteen feature films to be among the [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs|top 100 comedy films]] (with two in the top fifteen) and including them as the only group of performers on [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars]] list of the 25 greatest male stars of [[Classical Hollywood]] cinema.

Their performing lives, heavily influenced by their mother, [[Minnie Marx]], started with Groucho on stage at age 14, in 1905.  He was joined, in succession, by Gummo and Harpo.  Chico started a separate vaudeville act in 1911, and joined his brothers in 1912.  Zeppo replaced Gummo when the latter joined the army in [[World War I]]. The brothers performed together in vaudeville until 1923, when they found themselves banned from the major vaudeville circuits owing to a dispute with [[Edward Franklin Albee II|E. F. Albee]].{{sfn|Diamond|2016|p=41}}  Failing in an attempt to produce their own shows on the alternate [[The Shubert Organization|Shubert]] circuit,{{sfn|Diamond|2016|p=51}}<ref name="whyaduck/issi-index">{{cite web |title=I'll Say She Is! |url=https://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/info/broadway/issi-index.htm |website=Why A Duck? |access-date=21 August 2022}}</ref><ref name="marxology/story">{{cite web |title=I'LL SAY SHE IS |url=https://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/story.htm |website=Marxology |access-date=21 August 2022}}</ref> they transitioned to Broadway, where they achieved significant success with a series of hit musical comedies, including ''[[I'll Say She Is]]'', ''[[The Cocoanuts (musical)|The Cocoanuts]]'', and ''[[Animal Crackers (musical)|Animal Crackers]]''.

In 1928, the brothers made a deal with [[Paramount Pictures]] to produce a film version of ''The Cocoanuts'', which they filmed at [[Kaufman Astoria Studios|Astoria Studios]] during the Broadway run of ''Animal Crackers''.  ''[[The Cocoanuts]]'' was released in 1929, followed shortly thereafter with a film version of ''[[Animal Crackers (1930 film)|Animal Crackers]]''.  The brothers decided to devote their careers to film, and moved to Los Angeles, where they made three more films for Paramount: ''[[Monkey Business (1931 film)|Monkey Business]]'' (1931), ''[[Horse Feathers]]'' (1932), and ''[[Duck Soup (1933 film)|Duck Soup]]'' (1933).  When their contract with Paramount expired, Zeppo left the group. The remaining brothers were signed by [[Irving Thalberg]] to make movies for [[MGM|Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]].  It was there that they made ''[[A Night at the Opera (movie)|A Night at the Opera]]'' (1935), which they considered their crowning achievement.

During the production of their next film, ''[[A Day at the Races (film)|A Day at the Races]]'' (1937), Thalberg died.  While they continued to make films, they felt that the quality of their work, and their interest in it, declined.  After briefly moving to [[RKO]] to make [[Room Service (1938 film)|Room Service]] (1938), they went back to work at MGM, making ''[[At the Circus]]'' (1939), ''[[Go West (1940 film)|Go West]]'' (1940), and ''[[The Big Store]]'' (1941) before declaring that they were retired.  They briefly came out of retirement twice. In 1946, they made ''[[A Night in Casablanca]]'', reportedly because Chico was running out of money.  In 1949, they starred together in ''[[Love Happy]]''; originally intended to be a solo vehicle for Harpo, producers felt the film would be more successful with all three brothers.  That was to be their last film as a trio.  Groucho went on to a successful career as a game show host, while Harpo and Chico continued to make guest appearances in television and on stage.

==Family background and early life==
[[File:Early marx brothers with parents.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The only known photo of the entire surviving Marx family, c. 1915. From left: [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]], [[Gummo Marx|Gummo]], [[Minnie Marx|Minnie (mother)]], [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]], [[Sam Marx|Sam (father)]], [[Chico Marx|Chico]], and [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]].]]

The Marx Brothers were born in [[New York City]], the sons of Jewish immigrants from Germany and France. Their mother [[Minnie Marx|Miene "Minnie" Marx]] (née Schoenberg) was from [[Dornum]] in [[East Frisia]]. She came from a family of performers. Her mother was a [[yodeling]] harpist and her father a [[Ventriloquism|ventriloquist]]; both were [[funfair]] entertainers.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mrs. Minnie Marx. Mother of Four Marx Brothers, Musical Comedy Stars, Dies.|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/09/16/95997162.html#95997162.html?pageNumber=21&_suid=147094807936009446111808468656|access-date=August 11, 2016|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 16, 1929|page=27|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308014646/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/09/16/95997162.html#95997162.html?pageNumber=21&_suid=147094807936009446111808468656|url-status=live}}</ref> Around 1880, the family emigrated to New York City.  Their father, [[Sam Marx|Samuel ("Sam" or "Frenchy"; born Simon) Marx]], was a native of [[Mertzwiller]], a small [[Alsace|Alsatian]] village, and worked as a tailor.<ref>{{cite news|title=Samuel Marx, Father of Four Marx Brothers of Stage and Screen Fame|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 12, 1933|page=17|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/05/12/105134141.html#105134141.html?pageNumber=17&_suid=147094749463206243483555181057|access-date=August 11, 2016|archive-date=March 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307232801/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/05/12/105134141.html#105134141.html?pageNumber=17&_suid=147094749463206243483555181057|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://judaisme.sdv.fr/perso/marxbr/geneal.htm|title=La famille paternelle des Marx Brothers|website=Judaisme.sdv.fr|access-date=September 21, 2018|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200011/http://judaisme.sdv.fr/perso/marxbr/geneal.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Minnie and Sam married in 1884.

[[File:Groucho und harpo.jpg|thumb|upright|Julius Henry Marx (Groucho, left) and Adolph Marx (Harpo) holding a rat terrier dog, c. 1906]] 

The family lived in New York City's [[Upper East Side]] in the [[Yorkville, Manhattan|Yorkville]] district centered in the Irish, German and Italian quarters. The eldest child in the household was their cousin Pauline, or "Polly", whom they often referred to as an adopted sister.{{sfn|Louvish|2000|p=9}}{{efn|Groucho talked about her in his 1972 Carnegie Hall concert.}} The Marxes' firstborn son, Manfred, was born in 1886, but died aged seven months, on July 17, 1886, of [[enterocolitis]], with "[[asthenia]]" contributing (i.e., probably a victim of influenza). He is buried in [[Washington Cemetery (Brooklyn)|Washington Cemetery (Brooklyn, NY)]], beside his grandmother, Fanny Sophie Schönberg (née Salomons), who died on April 10, 1901.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/index.htm|title=Family and Friends – The Marx Brothers|website=Marx-brothers.org|access-date=September 21, 2018|archive-date=September 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921191017/http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/index.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| last = Adamson | first = Joe | author-link = Joe Adamson | title = Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo: A Celebration of the Marx Brothers | publisher = Simon and Schuster | year = 1973 | location = New York | pages = 6–8 | isbn = 978-0-340-18807-1}}</ref>{{sfn|Louvish|2000|p=10-11}}

Leonard Joseph "Chico" Marx was the eldest of the surviving brothers, born in 1887. Adolph "Harpo" Marx was born in 1888, Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx in 1890, Milton "Gummo" Marx in 1892,{{efn|The 1900 Census shows Gummo's birth year as Oct 1892, and his WWI draft registration says Oct 21, 1892, Roll #1613143.  The year 1893 is given on his death certificate and his grave.}} and the youngest, Herbert Manfred "Zeppo" Marx, in 1901.

During the early 20th century, Minnie helped her younger brother Abraham Elieser Adolf Schönberg (stage name [[Al Shean]]) to enter show business; he became successful in [[vaudeville]] and on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] as half of the [[musical comedy]] [[double act]] [[Gallagher and Shean]], and this gave the brothers an entrée to musical comedy, vaudeville and Broadway at Minnie's instigation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/marxes.htm|title=Family – The Marx Brothers|website=Marx-brothers.org|access-date=September 21, 2018|archive-date=September 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921013705/http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/marxes.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Minnie also acted as the brothers' manager, using the name Minnie Palmer so that agents did not realize that she was also their mother. All the brothers confirmed that Minnie Marx had been the head of the family, the driving force in getting the troupe launched, and the only person who could keep them in order; she was also said to be a hard bargainer with theater management.<ref>{{cite book|title=''The Marx Brothers : Their World, Their Movies, Their Lives, Their Humour and Their Legacy'' by Robert G. Anstey|isbn=9781896779850|last1=Anstey|first1=Robert Graham|year=2002|publisher=West Coast Paradise Pub.}}</ref>

==Stage beginnings==
[[File:Al Shean Sam J Curtis Arthur F Williams Ed C Mack.jpg|thumb|Al Shean, Sam J. Curtis, Arthur F. Williams, Ed C. Mack{{snd}}the original Manhattan Comedy Four in "It's Nudding" 1898–99]]
[[File:1911jeffers.jpg|thumb|upright|1911 newspaper advertisement for a Marx Brothers appearance (l–r: Harpo, Groucho, Gummo)]]

===1905-1914: Rise in Independent Vaudeville===
====Early Performances====
The brothers got their start in [[vaudeville]], where their uncle Albert Schönberg performed as [[Al Shean]] of [[Gallagher and Shean]]. Groucho debuted as a singer in 1905. In 1907, Minnie approached vaudeville director [[Ned Wayburn]] to produce Groucho in a singing act with Gummo; together with his own discovery, Mabel O'Donnell, they went on the road as "The Three Nightingales".{{sfn|Kanfer|2000|p=32}}By November of that year, Wayburn had moved on, and the act continued under Minnie's direction.  She replaced O'Donnell with a singer named Lou Levy.{{sfn|Kanfer|2000|p=33}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.marx-brothers.org/acting/vaude_detail.htm?show_id=3|title=The Three Nightingales (1907) – The Marx Brothers|website=www.marx-brothers.org|access-date=2019-03-05|archive-date=March 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043921/https://www.marx-brothers.org/acting/vaude_detail.htm?show_id=3|url-status=live}}</ref> 

The next year, having discovered at the last minute that she had accidentally booked the act as a quartet at a Coney Island venue, Minnie went to a movie house where Harpo was working, and demanded that he quit his job and join the act immediately.{{sfn|Kanfer|2000|p=34}}  Regardless of the fact that he didn't know the songs they were supposed to sing, Harpo went along, later remembering an inauspicious beginning: "With my first look at my first audience, I reverted to being a boy again.  I wet my pants. It was probably the most wretched debut in show business."{{sfn|Marx|Barber|1961|p=95}}  Harpo had become the fourth Nightingale. By 1910, he had officially changed his name from Adolph, which he had never liked, to Arthur.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=403}}  The same year, the troupe, renamed "The Six Mascots", briefly expanded to include their mother Minnie and their Aunt Hannah.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=402}}

One evening in 1909, a performance at the Opera House in [[Nacogdoches, Texas]] was interrupted by shouts from outside about a runaway mule. The audience hurried out to see what was happening. Groucho was angered by the interruption and, when the audience returned, he made snide comments at their expense, including "Nacogdoches is full of roaches" and "the jackass is the flower of Tex-ass". Instead of becoming angry, the audience laughed. The family then realized that it had potential as a comic troupe.{{sfn|Kanfer|2000|p=35-36}}{{efn|The time and place of this performance has been disputed. In his autobiography ''Harpo Speaks'', Harpo Marx stated that the runaway mule incident occurred in [[Ada, Oklahoma]].{{sfn|Marx|Barber|1961|p=112}} A 1930 article in the ''[[San Antonio Express-News|San Antonio Express]]'' newspaper stated that the incident took place in [[Marshall, Texas]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Runaway Mules Gave Marx Bros. Cue to Comedy |work=[[San Antonio Express]] |date=July 20, 1930 }}</ref> However, most sources claim that it took place in Nacogdoches.  A story of a runaway horse can be found in Nacogdoches papers in late April of 1909, before the act started to focus on comedy, so author Robert Bader uses this date.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=400}}}}

[[File:Four Marx Bros Mr Green Reception New Orleans Times-Democrat 11 May 1913.png|thumb|1913 advertisement for "Green's Reception" at the Greenwall. Left to right, Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Gummo.|right]]

Over time, the act evolved from singing with comedy to comedy with music. The brothers' comedy sketch ''Fun in High School'' (sometimes styled ''Fun in Hi Skule'') featured Groucho as a German-accented teacher presiding over a classroom that included students Harpo, Gummo, and, after he joined the act in 1912, Chico.{{sfn|Louvish|2000|p=76}} The brothers toured successfully with ''Fun in High School'' for several years, sometimes alternating with a comedy billed as ''Mr. Green's Reception'', a similar production in which the schoolmaster and his students were portrayed as older characters.{{sfn|Kanfer|2000|p=41}}

In early 1911, Chico was working at music publishing firm [[Shapiro, Bernstein & Co.]], when the founder of that company, Maurice Shapiro, died.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=125}} Chico quit immediately,{{efn|It is not clear why Chico quit immediately when Shapiro died. Robert Bader hypothesizes that he may not have wanted to work for Bernstein.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=126}}}} convincing a young tenor, Aaron Gordon, to tour with him in vaudeville.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=407}}{{sfn|Marx|1980|p=9}}  At the time, there was a successful vaudeville act called ''The Two Funny Germans'', starring Bill Gordon and Nick Marx; with Minnie's encouragement, Aaron Gordon and Chico Marx adopted Italian accents (Chico's reputedly based on that of his barber) and toured as Marx and Gordon.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=126}}  Gordon left the act in the fall of that year,{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=128}} and, after failing to break through with two other partners, Chico finally joined his brothers' comedy act in September of 1912.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=133}}

====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}}

===1914-1922: ''Home Again'', World War I, and Failure in Vaudeville===
====''Home Again''====
Generally, while critics were kind to the Brothers, reviews acknowledged that the shows were not of high quality.  When the Marxes tried to play larger venues, they were not well received; at one performance in Chicago, a critic wrote "The so-called Marx Brothers do well, but in the worst kind of vaudeville.  In other words, they are so good that they stink."{{sfn|Kanfer|2000|p=42}}  Eventually, even local critics started to mention that the material had gotten old, with one reviewer in [[Hammond, Indiana]] describing the jokes as "musty".{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=174}}  They turned to their uncle [[Al Shean]] to help them write new material.  In response, Shean wrote ''Home Again'', an expansion of ''Mr. Green's Reception''.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=174}}

''Home Again'' was a turning point for the Marx Brothers: it was this show that solidified their distinctive comedic style. Shean had portrayed a fast-talking German in his own act; he wrote a similar role for nephew Julius, who also began to wear his trademark [[greasepaint]] mustache and use a stooped walk.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=174}} Shean wrote few lines for Harpo in ''Home Again'', contributing to the decision to stop having him talk.  Explanations for this vary. Shean remembered it as being because Harpo spoke with a lisp, while Harpo said that reviewers would often give his performances positive reviews, but follow it with a note that he shouldn't talk.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=175}}{{efn|Harpo frequently told another story: that after telling a theater owner that he wished his theater would burn down, it did - at which point, he superstitiously stopped speaking in the act entirely.{{sfn|Louvish|2000|p=94}}}} He also adopted his wig and trademark horn at this time.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=176}} Gummo, and later Zeppo, assumed the role of the romantic [[Double act|straight man]] (described by [[James Agee]] as 'peerlessly cheesy').<ref name="Adamson"/>

The response to ''Home Again'' has been described as "wildly enthusiastic", and it played to packed audiences.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=177}}  The brothers, confident about the production's prospects, guaranteed that if theaters did not earn more than their average revenue, then they would play for free.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=177}}  A review in [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] described it as "a good meaty character comedy" and added that "the company's work fully entitle them to their six [curtain calls]".{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=180}}

By the end of 1914, ''Home Again'' was popular enough that they could contract with the [[Vaudeville Managers Association|United Booking Office]] (UBO), which controlled the highest paying theaters in the country.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=179}} Subsequently, they becan sharing bills with more prominent acts, including [[Jack Benny]]{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=227}} and [[W.C. Fields]].  Fields, reportedly concerned about negative comparisons, once refused to follow them on stage, claiming a broken wrist.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=181}}

The ''Home Again'' tour reached [[Flint, Michigan]] in 1915, where 14-year-old Zeppo joined his four brothers for what is believed to be the only time that all five Marx Brothers appeared together on stage.  The September 3, 1915, edition of ''The Flint Daily Journal'' documented this performance, noting that Zeppo sang 'four or five songs' and 'gives promise of becoming as much of a favorite as the rest of the family'.{{sfn|Louvish|2000|p=99-100}} 

====World War I, Gummo Leaves, and Zeppo Joins====
[[File:Sailing away on the Henry Clay.jpg|thumb|upright|Sheet music published in 1917 for the song "Sailing Away on the Henry Clay"; from left: Harpo, Gummo, Chico, Groucho]]

The outbreak of World War I in 1914 and the sinking of the [[RMS Lusitania]] in 1915 triggered strong anti-German sentiment across America, forcing the Marx Brothers to distance themselves from their German heritage.{{sfn|Louvish|2000|p=99}} Groucho abandoned his German stage persona entirely, dropping his exaggerated accent and changing his character's name from "Schneider" to the more American "Jones."<ref name="mentalfloss-2007" />

As the United States entered the war, Minnie Marx attempted to secure draft exemptions for her sons by purchasing a {{convert|27|acre|ha|adj=on}} poultry farm near [[Countryside, Illinois]].{{sfn|Kanfer|2000|p=52}}<ref name="mentalfloss-2007">{{cite web |date=December 20, 2007 |title=mental_floss Blog » Groucho's Threat Against Nixon & 9 More Marx Brothers Stories |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/17625/grouchos-threat-against-nixon-9-more-marx-brothers-stories |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071220144216/http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/10552#more-10552 |archive-date=December 20, 2007 |access-date=September 21, 2018}}</ref> Despite these efforts, by summer 1918, Gummo was drafted into military service. Unlike his brothers, he had grown increasingly dissatisfied with performing and welcomed the change, later quipping that he "went to war to get a little peace."{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=207}}

Gummo's departure created an immediate vacancy in the act. The youngest Marx brother, Zeppo, was working as a mechanic at [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] when Minnie instructed him to leave his job and join his brothers on stage. He later recalled being so unprepared that he had to improvise his lines and abstain from dance numbers during his early performances.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=206}}

The origin of Zeppo's stage name, which he received around this time, remains contested. Several theories have emerged. Harpo claimed in his memoir that the nickname referenced a trained chimpanzee named Zippo from another vaudeville act,{{sfn|Marx|Barber|1961|p=130}}. Other family members suggested connections to the popular "Zeke and Zeb" rural humor of the era{{sfn|Louvish|2000|p=102}}. Chico's daughter Maxine maintained that the name evolved from a joke between her father and Herbert, beginning with "Zeb" and eventually becoming "Zeppo." Groucho offered yet another explanation, saying the name derived from [[Zeppelin#Renaissance|the first transatlantic flights by zeppelins]], although this did not happen until 1924.{{sfn|Louvish|2000|p=102}}{{efn|Groucho made these claims in a tape-recorded interview excerpted on ''The Unknown Marx Brothers'', as well as in his Carnegie Hall concert in 1972. The first zeppelin flew in July 1900, and Herbert was [[Zeppo Marx|born seven months later]] in February 1901.}}

====Decline and Failure in Vaudeville====
[[File:Marx Brothers 1921.jpg|thumb|''[[Humor Risk]]'' (1921), now long-lost, was the first Marx Brothers' film. Pictured in a photograph the same year, from (left to right), are [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]], [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]], [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]], and [[Chico Marx|Chico]].]]

In April 1921, during a break from their touring schedule, the brothers took their first foray into motion pictures, producing a short silent film titled ''[[Humor Risk]]''.  Written by [[Jo Swerling]], the film featured Groucho playing a villain, and Harpo playing a romantic lead named Watson.  Following a poorly received single screening in [[the Bronx]] - reportedly marked by disruptive children and impassive adults - the brothers decided against releasing the film.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Marx |first1=Groucho |title=Bad Days are Good Memories |journal=The Saturday Evening Post |date=29 Aug 1931 |volume=204 |issue=9 |pages=12-83}}</ref> No copies of ''Humor Risk'' are known to survive.{{sfn|Louvish|2000|p=134}}

In the summer of 1922, facing a lack of bookings in the United States, the brothers took their act to the UK, where they performed shows in [[London]], [[Bristol]], and [[Manchester]].{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=433}}  [[E. F. Albee]], who ran the UBO, required that acts that played in UBO theaters get his permission before playing in other venues.  Not having asked Albee before traveling to Britain, the brothers were blacklisted from all UBO-controlled theaters upon their return to the United States.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=258}}

After their banishment from UBO theaters, the Marx Brothers produced a show called ''The Twentieth Century Revue'' on the smaller [[The Shubert Organization|Shubert]] circuit.  The Shuberts were concurrently engaged in a lawsuit against the brothers' uncle, Al Shean{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=261}}{{sfn|Diamond|2016|p=51}}<ref name="whyaduck/issi-index"/><ref name="marxology/story"/>  The brothers made less money on the Shubert circuit, and their act was padded with other Shubert talent of mixed quality.  The show was a failure: reviews of the Marxes were positive, but the other acts were met with antipathy.  The ''Cincinnati Post'' of February 12, 1923 said "there are other periods where it seems everyone is sparring for time.  This of course is not pleasant."{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=264}} Former cast members of the ''Revue'' sued the brothers, alleging unpaid salaries. Sheriffs seized the ''Revue'''s assets, leading to the show's closure.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=265}}

===1924-1929: Success on Broadway===
====''I'll Say She Is''====
Having been banned from the largest vaudeville circuit, and having failed on the second largest, the Marx Brothers were at a low point. In his memoir ''Harpo Speaks'', Harpo remembered a plan to break up the team: “It had been decided that Groucho should audition as a single, Zeppo return to Chicago with Minnie, and Chico hire out as a piano player.  To all of these decisions I said: ‘Nuts’”.{{sfn|Marx|Barber|1961|p=160}}

[[Ned Wayburn]], who had produced Groucho and Gummo in The Three Nightingales,  introduced the Marxes to writers Tom and [[Will B. Johnstone|Will Johnstone]], who had an idea for a new show.  They were aware of Joe Gaites, another Shubert veteran whose show 'Gimme a Thrill' had failed. Gaites still owned the scenery and costumes from that production.  The Johnstones felt that they could put together a successful show with the Marxes using the costuming, scenery, and the more successful songs and plot from that show.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=271}}  They found a backer: a man named James P. Beury, who had recently purchased the [[Walnut Street Theater]] in [[Philadelphia]] (and was reputedly looking for a starring vehicle for a chorus girl he was dating).{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=272}}{{sfn|Marx|1959|p=161}}

The show, rewritten by the Johnstones, and now titled ''[[I'll Say She Is]]'', premiered in [[Allentown, Pennsylvania]] in May of 1923.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=275}}  After successful initial showings, the production moved to Beury's theater in Pennsylvania for the summer. The show then played in [[Boston]] during September, followed by [[Chicago]] for the remainder of the year, before embarking on a nationwide tour.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=280}} In May of 1924, 'I'll Say She Is' premiered on Broadway.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=436-437}} For this momentous occasion, their mother Minnie had been getting a custom dress made when she fell and broke her ankle. Determined not to miss the premiere, she attended the show on a stretcher.{{sfn|Marx|1959|p=169}}

[[File:Casino Theatre, Broadway and 39th Street, Manhattan.jpg|thumb|Casino Theatre, Broadway and 39th Street, Manhattan, where ''I'll Say She Is'' ran]]

The Broadway premiere of ''I'll Say She Is'' launched a new phase of the Marx Brothers' careers. Positive reviews appeared in most of the New York dailies, including the [[The Sun (New York City)|New York Sun]], the [[New York Evening Post]], the [[New York Daily News]], The [[New York Daily Mirror]], and [[Life Magazine]].{{sfn|Diamond|2016|p=146-147}} The production became a commercial success, running for 313 performances and consistently playing to near-capacity audiences.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=437}}  The reviewer for the ''Sun'' was [[Alexander Woollcott]], who was to become a lifelong friend of Harpo’s.  Woollcott introduced Harpo to the [[Algonquin Round Table]], a collection of intellectuals who met regularly at the [[Algonquin Hotel]] in [[Manhattan]].  He also convinced the brothers - who had been billed to that point as Julius, Leonard, Arthur, and Herbert - to go by their stage names in public.<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>

====''The Cocoanuts'' and ''Animal Crackers''====
The success of ''I'll Say She Is'' attracted numerous producers eager to develop the Marx Brothers' next show.  After being unable to come to an agreement with [[Florenz Ziegfeld]], the brothers settled on [[Sam H. Harris]], due to his association with composer [[Irving Berlin]].{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=289}}.  Harris recruited [[George S. Kaufman]], a member of the Algonquin Round Table, to write the show.  Kaufman, who knew of the brothers' tendency to harass writers and ignore the script, reportedly exclaimed, "Are you crazy? ''Write'' a show for the ''Marx'' Brothers?  I'd rather write a show for the Barbary apes!"{{sfn|Marx|Barber|1961|p=187}}  Nevertheless, Kaufman signed on, believing that a show starring the Marx Brothers, with music by Berlin, was almost certainly going to be a hit.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=300}}

''[[The Cocoanuts]]'', penned by Kaufman, with music by Berlin, premiered in Boston in October 1925, and came to Broadway in December of that year.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=439}}  The critics were glowing, with Woollcott saying, "It need only be reported that ''The Cocoanuts'' is so funny it's positively weakening."{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=305}} ''The Cocoanuts'' was notable for another Marx Brothers first: the inclusion in the cast of [[Margaret Dumont]], a former small-time vaudevillian who had married into wealth, become widowed, and then been forced to take the stage again.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=307}}  Dumont played a straight foil to Groucho, a role she would go on to reprise in their next Broadway production, and in seven of their movies.

Kaufman also wrote their next production, ''[[Animal Crackers (musical)|Animal Crackers]]'' (1928–1929), with music and lyrics by [[Bert Kalmar]] and [[Harry Ruby]].

==Motion pictures==
===Paramount===
The Marx Brothers' stage shows became popular just as motion pictures were evolving to "[[History of cinema|talkies]]". They signed a contract with [[Paramount Pictures]] and embarked on their film career at Paramount's studios in New York City's [[Astoria, Queens|Astoria]] section. Their first two released films were adaptations of the Broadway shows ''[[The Cocoanuts]]'' (1929) and ''[[Animal Crackers (1930 film)|Animal Crackers]]'' (1930). Both were written by [[George S. Kaufman]] and [[Morrie Ryskind]].

Production then shifted to Hollywood, beginning with a short film that was included in Paramount's twentieth anniversary documentary, ''[[The House That Shadows Built]]'' (1931), in which they adapted a scene from ''I'll Say She Is''. Their third feature-length film, ''[[Monkey Business (1931 film)|Monkey Business]]'' (1931), was their first movie not based on a stage production.
[[File:Time Magazine Cover Marx Brothers.jpg|thumb|The Marx Brothers on the cover of ''[[Time Magazine|Time]]'' (volume 20 issue 7, August 15, 1932)]]

''[[Horse Feathers]]'' (1932), in which the brothers satirized the American college system and [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]], was their most popular film yet, and won them the cover of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19320815,00.html|title=TIME Magazine Cover: Groucho, Harpo, Chico & Zeppo Marx – Aug. 15, 1932|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=September 21, 2018|archive-date=September 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930212409/http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19320815,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It included a running gag from their stage work, in which Harpo produces a ludicrous array of props from inside his coat, including a wooden mallet, a fish, a coiled rope, a tie, a poster of a woman in her underwear, a cup of hot coffee, a sword and (just after Groucho warns him that he "can't burn the candle at both ends") a candle burning at both ends.

During this period Chico and Groucho starred in a radio comedy series, ''[[Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel]]''. Though the series was short lived, much of the material developed for it was used in subsequent films. 

Their last Paramount film, ''[[Duck Soup (1933 film)|Duck Soup]]'' (1933), directed by Academy Award winner [[Leo McCarey]], is the highest rated of the five Marx Brothers films on the [[American Film Institute]]'s "100 years ... 100 Movies" list. It did not do as well financially as ''Horse Feathers'', but was the sixth-highest grosser of 1933. The film sparked a dispute between the Marxes and the village of [[Fredonia, New York]]. "Freedonia" was the name of a fictional country in the script, and the city fathers wrote to Paramount and asked the studio to remove all references to Freedonia because "it is hurting our town's image". Groucho fired back a sarcastic retort asking them to change the name of their town, because "it's hurting our picture".<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Groucho letters : letters from and to Groucho Marx.|last=Marx|first=Groucho|date=2007|publisher=Simon & Schuster Papberbacks|isbn=9781416536031|edition= 1st Simon & Schuster trade paperback |location=New York|oclc=148843246}}</ref>

===MGM, RKO, and United Artists===
[[File:Marx Brothers 1946.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|''[[A Night in Casablanca]]'' (1946)]]
[[File:Sam Wood and Marx Brothers A Day at the Races.jpg|thumb|left|The Marx Brothers on the ''A Day at the Races'' set with [[Sam Wood]]]]

On March 11, 1933, the Marx Brothers founded a production company, the "International Amalgamated Consolidated Affiliated World Wide Film Productions Company Incorporated, of North Dakota".<ref>{{cite web |author1=[[Hollywood Reporter]] Archives |title=Today in 1933 |url=https://twitter.com/thrarchives/status/1237761781595901952 |website=@THRArchives |publisher=Twitter |access-date=August 21, 2022 |language=en |date=March 11, 2020 |quote=Today in 1933: The Marx Brothers launch a production company named the "International Amalgamated Consolidated Affiliated World Wide Film Productions Company Incorporated, of North Dakota" |archive-date=August 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821060612/https://twitter.com/thrarchives/status/1237761781595901952 |url-status=live }}</ref>

After expiration of the Paramount contract Zeppo left the act to become an agent. He and brother Gummo went on to build one of the biggest talent agencies in Hollywood, working with the likes of [[Jack Benny]] and [[Lana Turner]]. He later became an engineer and inventor.{{sfn|Louvish|2000|p=360}}Groucho and Chico did radio, and there was talk of returning to Broadway. At a [[Contract bridge|bridge]] game with Chico, [[Irving Thalberg]] began discussing the possibility of the Marxes joining [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]. They signed, now billed in films before the title as "Groucho — Chico — Harpo — Marx Bros", with the same ordering in the cast list.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Coniam |first1=Matthew |title=The Annotated Marx Brothers: A Filmgoer's Guide to In-Jokes, Obscure References and Sly Details |date=February 19, 2015 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-9705-8 |page=118 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2oyoBgAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref>

Unlike the free-for-all scripts at Paramount, Thalberg insisted on a strong story structure that made the brothers more sympathetic characters, interweaving their comedy with romantic plots and non-comic musical numbers, and targeting their mischief-making at obvious villains. Thalberg was adamant that scripts include a "low point", where all seems lost for both the Marxes and the romantic leads. He instituted the innovation of testing the film's script before live audiences before filming began, to perfect the comic timing, and to retain jokes that earned laughs and replace those that did not. Thalberg restored Harpo's harp solos and Chico's piano solos, which had been omitted from ''Duck Soup''.

[[File:Marx Brothers 1948 (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|The Three Marx Brothers{{br}}''photo by [[Yousuf Karsh]], 1948'']]
The first Marx Brothers/Thalberg film was ''[[A Night at the Opera (film)|A Night at the Opera]]'' (1935), a satire on the world of opera, where the brothers help two young singers in love by throwing a production of ''[[Il Trovatore]]'' into chaos. The film, including its famous scene where an absurd number of people crowd into a tiny stateroom on a ship, was a great success. It was followed two years later by an even bigger hit, ''[[A Day at the Races (film)|A Day at the Races]]'' (1937), in which the brothers cause mayhem in a sanitarium and at a horse race. The film features Groucho and Chico's famous "Tootsie Frootsie Ice Cream" sketch. In a 1969 interview with [[Dick Cavett]], Groucho said that the two movies made with Thalberg were the best that they ever produced. Despite the Thalberg films' success, the brothers left MGM in 1937; Thalberg had died suddenly on September 14, 1936, two weeks after filming began on ''A Day at the Races'', leaving the Marxes without an advocate at the studio.

After a short experience at [[RKO]] (''[[Room Service (1938 film)|Room Service]]'', 1938), the Marx Brothers returned to MGM and made three more films: ''[[At the Circus]]'' (1939), ''[[Go West (1940 film)|Go West]]'' (1940) and ''[[The Big Store]]'' (1941). Prior to the release of ''The Big Store'' the team announced they were retiring from the screen. Four years later, however, Chico persuaded his brothers to make two additional films, ''[[A Night in Casablanca]]'' (1946) and ''[[Love Happy]]'' (1949), to alleviate his severe gambling debts.<ref>{{Cite video|title=Groucho & Cavett.|last=Marx|first=Groucho|date=December 28, 2022|publisher=PBS|url=https://www.pbs.org/video/groucho-cavett-uxozhl|access-date=December 29, 2022|archive-date=December 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229160514/https://www.pbs.org/video/groucho-cavett-uxozhl/|url-status=live}}</ref> Both pictures were released by [[United Artists]].

===Later years===
From the 1940s onward Chico and Harpo appeared separately and together in nightclubs and casinos. Chico fronted a [[big band]], the Chico Marx Orchestra (with 17-year-old [[Mel Tormé]] as a vocalist). Groucho made several radio appearances during the 1940s and starred in ''[[You Bet Your Life]]'', which ran from 1947 to 1961 on [[NBC]] radio and television. He authored several books, including ''Groucho and Me'' (1959), ''Memoirs of a Mangy Lover'' (1964) and ''The Groucho Letters'' (1967).

Groucho and Chico briefly appeared in a 1957 color short film promoting ''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]'' entitled ''Showdown at Ulcer Gulch'', directed by animator [[Shamus Culhane]], Chico's son-in-law. Groucho, Chico, and Harpo worked together (in separate scenes) in ''[[The Story of Mankind (film)|The Story of Mankind]]'' (1957). In 1959, the three began production of ''Deputy Seraph'', a TV series starring Harpo and Chico as blundering angels, and Groucho (in every third episode) as their boss, the "[[Deputy Seraph]]". The project was abandoned when Chico was found to be uninsurable (and incapable of memorizing his lines) due to severe [[arteriosclerosis]]. On March 8 of that year, Chico and Harpo starred as bumbling thieves in ''[[The Incredible Jewel Robbery]]'', a half-hour pantomimed episode of the ''[[General Electric Theater]]'' on CBS. Groucho made a cameo appearance (uncredited, because of constraints in his NBC contract) in the last scene, and delivered the only line of dialogue ("We won't talk until we see our lawyer!").
[[File:Marx brothers Tonight Show.jpg|thumb|The five brothers, just prior to their only television appearance together, on the ''Tonight! America After Dark'', hosted by Jack Lescoulie, February 18, 1957. From left: Harpo, Zeppo, Chico, Groucho, and Gummo.]]

According to a September 1947 article in ''[[Newsweek]]'', Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo all signed to appear as themselves in a biographical film entitled ''The Life and Times of the Marx Brothers''. In addition to being a non-fiction biography of the Marxes, the film would have featured the brothers re-enacting much of their previously unfilmed material from both their vaudeville and Broadway eras. The film, had it been made, would have been the first performance by the Brothers as a quartet since 1933.

The five brothers made only one television appearance together, in 1957, on an early incarnation of ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson|The Tonight Show]]'' called ''[[The Tonight Show#Tonight! America After Dark (1957)|Tonight! America After Dark]]'', hosted by [[Jack Lescoulie]]. Five years later (October 1, 1962) after Jack Paar's tenure, Groucho made a guest appearance to introduce the ''Tonight Show's'' new host, [[Johnny Carson]].<ref>Johnny Carson. [http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=carsonjohnn Museum of Broadcast Communications] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204181522/http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=carsonjohnn |date=December 4, 2010 }} Retrieved August 20, 2010.</ref>

Around 1960, acclaimed director [[Billy Wilder]] considered writing and directing a new Marx Brothers film. Tentatively titled ''A Day at the U.N.'', it was to be a comedy of international intrigue set around the United Nations building in New York. Wilder had discussions with Groucho and Gummo, but the project was put on hold because of Harpo's ill health, and abandoned when Chico died on October 11, 1961, from [[arteriosclerosis]],<ref name="Gore">Gore, Chris (1999). ''The Fifty Greatest Movies Never Made'', New York: St. Martin's Griffin.</ref> at the age of 74. 

Three years later, Harpo died on September 28, 1964, at the age of 75, following a heart attack one day after [[heart surgery]].  With the deaths of Gummo in April 1977, Groucho in August 1977, and Zeppo in November 1979, the brothers were gone.

==Screen and Theatrical Persona==
The on-stage personalities of Groucho, Chico, and Harpo were said to have been based on their actual traits. 

Zeppo, on the other hand, was considered the funniest brother offstage, despite his straight stage roles. He was the youngest and had grown up watching his brothers, so he could fill in for and imitate any of the others when illness kept them from performing. "He was so good as Captain Spaulding [in ''[[Animal Crackers (1930 film)|Animal Crackers]]''] that I would have let him play the part indefinitely, if they had allowed me to smoke in the audience", Groucho recalled.{{sfn|Kanfer|2000|p=139-140}}

The brothers satirized high society and human hypocrisy, and they became famous for their [[improvisational comedy]] in free-form scenarios. A famous early instance was when Harpo arranged to chase a fleeing [[chorus girl]] across the stage during the middle of a Groucho monologue, to see if Groucho would be thrown off. However, to the audience's delight, Groucho merely reacted by commenting, "First time I ever saw a taxi hail a passenger." When Harpo chased the girl back in the other direction, Groucho calmly checked his watch and ad-libbed, "The 9:20's right on time. You can set your watch by the [[Lehigh Valley Railroad|Lehigh Valley]]."{{sfn|Marx|Barber|1961|p=191}}

Out of their distinctive costumes, the brothers looked alike, even down to their receding hairlines. Zeppo could pass for a younger Groucho and played the role of Groucho's son in ''[[Horse Feathers]]''. A scene in ''[[Duck Soup (1933 film)|Duck Soup]]'' finds Groucho, Harpo, and Chico all appearing in the famous greasepaint eyebrows, mustache, and round glasses while wearing nightcaps; the three are indistinguishable, enabling them to carry off the "mirror scene" perfectly.

==Legacy==
The Marx Brothers' anarchic spirit and rapid-fire wordplay established a comedic blueprint that continues to inspire artists across diverse mediums. Their enduring influence stems from their subversion of social norms, their masterful use of physical comedy intertwined with intellectual wit, and the indelible character archetypes they created.  Their admirers span various artistic disciplines, from comedic icons like [[Jerry Seinfeld]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Jerry Seinfeld Rarely Laughs While He’s Reading |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/10/books/review/jerry-seinfeld-by-the-book-interview.html?searchResultPosition=1 |publisher=The New York Times |date=2020-12-10}}</ref> and [[Judd Apatow]];<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30781513|title=How the Marx Brothers hold their appeal and influence|website=bbc.co.uk|access-date=May 10, 2025}}</ref> avant-garde figures such as [[Antonin Artaud]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/jun/04/2|title=Sibling ribaldry|first=Stephen|last=Merchant|date=June 4, 2004|access-date=April 14, 2019|via=www.theguardian.com|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> and surrealist [[Salvador Dalí]];<ref>{{cite web|url=https://choice.npr.org/index.html?origin=https://www.npr.org/2019/04/07/710032236/salvador-dal-meets-the-marx-brothers-in-giraffes-on-horseback-salad|title=Salvador Dalí Meets The Marx Brothers In 'Giraffes On Horseback Salad'|website=NPR|access-date=April 14, 2019}}</ref> influential musicians like [[The Beatles]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://screenprism.com/insights/article/how-have-the-marx-brothers-particularly-with-a-night-at-the-opera-influence|title=How have The Marx Brothers influenced future comedians|website=screenprism.com|access-date=April 14, 2019|archive-date=May 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530191729/http://screenprism.com/insights/article/how-have-the-marx-brothers-particularly-with-a-night-at-the-opera-influence|url-status=dead}}</ref> and literary figures such as [[Anthony Burgess]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.anthonyburgess.org/object-of-the-week/object-week-marx-brothers/|title=Object of the Week: The Marx Brothers|date=June 19, 2017|website=anthonyburgess.org|access-date=April 14, 2019|archive-date=May 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530191655/https://www.anthonyburgess.org/object-of-the-week/object-week-marx-brothers/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[J. D. Salinger]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/jd-salinger-life-catcher-in-rye-books-anniversary-franny-zooey-raise-high-roof-beam-john-lennon-a8699026.html|title=100 years of JD Salinger: The world's most famous literary hermit|date=January 1, 2019|website=The Independent|access-date=April 14, 2019|archive-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428182635/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/jd-salinger-life-catcher-in-rye-books-anniversary-franny-zooey-raise-high-roof-beam-john-lennon-a8699026.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Kurt Vonnegut]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/2015/05/01/making-new-kurt-vonnegut-documentary-took-twice-long-boyhood-323608.html|title=The Making of a New Kurt Vonnegut Documentary Took Twice as Long as 'Boyhood'|first=Chris|last=Kaye|date=April 21, 2015|website=Newsweek|access-date=April 14, 2019|archive-date=February 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205011001/https://www.newsweek.com/2015/05/01/making-new-kurt-vonnegut-documentary-took-twice-long-boyhood-323608.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The brothers' iconic images and distinctive personae — Groucho's greasepaint mustache and eyebrows, Chico's Italian accent, and silent Harpo with his curly wig — have been cultural touchpoints since their act first became popular.  Caricaturist [[Al Hirschfeld]], whose drawings of the brothers were used to promote ''A Night at the Opera'' and currently hang in the Smithsonian, said of them that they “started to look like the drawing, rather than the other way around.”<ref>{{cite web |title=Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage |url=https://www.alhirschfeldfoundation.org/news/four-three-musketeers-marx-brothers-stage |website=Al Hirschfeld Foundation |access-date=2 May 2025}}</ref>

===Contemporary Influence===
The Marx Brothers' influence was quickly felt in popular culture.  Their striking images lent themselves well to animation.  Early examples of their influence include cameos in the Disney cartoons ''[[The Bird Store]]'' (1932),<ref name="marx-brothers.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.marx-brothers.org/info/reference.htm|title=References – The Marx Brothers|website=www.marx-brothers.org|access-date=April 14, 2019|archive-date=April 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401231000/https://www.marx-brothers.org/info/reference.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Hahn-2017">{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ls5ADwAAQBAJ&q=vlasic+pickles+marx+brothers&pg=PA101|title=The Animated Marx Brothers|first=Matthew|last=Hahn|date=November 15, 2017|publisher=BearManor Media|access-date=April 14, 2019|via=Google Books|archive-date=April 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407160807/https://books.google.com/books?id=ls5ADwAAQBAJ&q=vlasic+pickles+marx+brothers&pg=PA101|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Mickey's Gala Premier]]'' (1932), ''[[Mickey's Polo Team]]'' (1936), ''[[Mother Goose Goes Hollywood]]'' (1938) and ''[[The Autograph Hound]]'' (1939). They also appear in the final cartoon released in the [[Flip the Frog]] series, ''Soda Squirt'', in October 1933 alongside other characters such as [[Buster Keaton]], [[Laurel and Hardy|Laurel & Hardy]], [[Mae West]], and [[Jimmy Durante]]. [[Tex Avery]]'s cartoon ''[[Hollywood Steps Out]]'' (1941) features appearances by Harpo and Groucho.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ls5ADwAAQBAJ&q=hollywood+steps+out+marx+brothers&pg=PA81|title=The Animated Marx Brothers|first=Matthew|last=Hahn|date=November 15, 2017|publisher=BearManor Media|access-date=April 14, 2019|via=Google Books|archive-date=April 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407160810/https://books.google.com/books?id=ls5ADwAAQBAJ&q=hollywood+steps+out+marx+brothers&pg=PA81|url-status=live}}</ref>  

Even when the brothers were not directly depicted, their style had a major influence on animators. [[Dopey (Disney)|Dopey]] in ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs]]'' was inspired by Harpo's silent performances.<ref name="google_ls5ADwAAQBAJ_p118">{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ls5ADwAAQBAJ&q=wideo+wabbit+marx+bugs+bunny&pg=PA118|title=The Animated Marx Brothers|first=Matthew|last=Hahn|date=November 15, 2017|publisher=BearManor Media|access-date=April 14, 2019|via=Google Books|archive-date=April 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404140720/https://books.google.com/books?id=ls5ADwAAQBAJ&q=wideo+wabbit+marx+bugs+bunny&pg=PA118|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Bugs Bunny]]'s wise-cracking, Brooklyn-accented persona was heavily influenced by Groucho Marx;<ref>{{cite web |last1=Crowley |first1=Matt |title=Exploring the Hidden Racist Past of the Looney Tunes |url=https://www.vulture.com/2014/09/exploring-the-hidden-racist-past-of-the-looney-toons.html |website=Vulture |access-date=2 May 2025}}</ref> he explicitly impersonated Groucho in cartoons such as 1947's ''[[Slick Hare]]'' (with [[Elmer Fudd]] appearing as Harpo) and ''[[Wideo Wabbit]]'' (1956), in which Bugs hosted a Groucho-style TV show.<ref name="google_ls5ADwAAQBAJ_p118"/>

===Post-Golden Age and Initial Rediscovery===
The Marx Brothers' comedy continued to be popular after their retirement, spurred on by repeat broadcasts of their movies on television, and Groucho's popularity as host of the quiz show ''[[You Bet Your Life]]''.

The 1960s saw several attempts to bring animated versions of the brothers to television. In 1960, the [[Screen Gems]] animation studio attempted to develop a stop-motion series simply called ''The Three Marx Brothers''.  Only a short was produced, which was never broadcast.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hall |first1=Phil |title=The Bootleg Files: The Three Marx Brothers |url=https://www.cinema-crazed.com/blog/2023/02/24/the-bootleg-files-the-three-marx-brothers/ |website=Cinema Crazed |access-date=26 April 2025}}</ref>  In 1966, Filmation developed a pilot for a Marx Brothers cartoon featuring the voice talents of [[Pat Harrington Jr.]] as Groucho, with additional voices by [[Ted Knight]] and [[Joe Besser]] (formerly of [[The Three Stooges]]).<ref>{{cite book|last=Scheimer|first=Lou|title=Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation|year=2012|publisher=Two Morrows Publishing|location=Raleigh, NC|isbn=978-1-60549-044-1|page=51|author2=Mangels, Andy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Beck |first=Jerry |url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/tv/filmations-marx-brothers-15252.html |title=Filmation's Marx Brothers? |publisher=[[Cartoon Brew]] |date=July 22, 2009 |access-date=2014-05-10 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402154349/http://www.cartoonbrew.com/tv/filmations-marx-brothers-15252.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Again, the pilot was not developed into a series.  

In 1970, Rankin-Bass produced the animated television special ''[[The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians]]'', featuring segments with animated versions of the Marx Brothers. The special included a scene adapted from their Broadway play ''I'll Say She Is''. Groucho provided his own voice for the production, while voice actor [[Paul Frees]] performed as Chico (who had died in 1961) and Zeppo (who had left show business in 1933).{{sfn|Kanfer|2000|p=432-433}} This production is notable for including representations of all four brothers, preserving one of their routines that was never filmed during their active careers.

===Resurgence in the 1970s===
The Marx Brothers' anarchic comedy style resonated with the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture movement]] of the 1960s and found a new audience among the [[Baby boom generation|Baby Boom generation]].  ''Duck Soup'', which satirized war and politics, was rediscovered and popularized by college aged protesters during the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Liebenson |first1=Donald |title=Duck Soup at 85: Make Freedonia Great Again |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/features/duck-soup-at-85-make-freedonia-great-again |website=rogerebert.com |access-date=2 May 2025}}</ref>

Renewed interest led to a greater presence across media.  Groucho developed a friendship with television host [[Dick Cavett]], appearing on his program five times.<ref>{{cite episode| title =American Experience: Groucho & Cavett| series=American Experience|credits=Director: Bader, Robert | network=[[PBS]]|air-date=2022-12-26}}</ref>  Their vaudeville years and relationship with their mother were chronicled in the 1970 Broadway musical ''[[Minnie's Boys]]'', written by Groucho's son [[Arthur Marx]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=The Broadway League|title=Minnie's Boys – Broadway Musical – Original {{!}} IBDB|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/minnies-boys-3517|access-date=2020-10-01|website=IBDB|language=en|archive-date=December 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213231412/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/minnies-boys-3517|url-status=live}}</ref> Although it was not a financial success - closing after 80 performances, and losing an estimated $750,000 on an investment of $550,000 - Lewis Stadlen, who played Groucho, won both the 1970 [[Theatre World Award]] and 1970 [[Drama Desk Award]] for Outstanding Performance in a Musical.<ref>[https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/lewis-j-stadlen-73257/#awards "Lewis J. Stadlen Awards"]. ibdb.com. Retrieved May 9, 2019</ref><ref name=kerr>[[Walter Kerr|Kerr, Walter]] (April 5, 1970). [https://www.nytimes.com/1970/04/05/archives/kerr-on-minnies-boys-those-four-boys-onstage-honored-the-marx-bros.html Kerr on ‘Minnie's Boys’"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref>

The resurgence of interest in the brothers culminated in 1974 with the re-release of their 1930 film ''[[Animal Crackers (1930 film)|Animal Crackers]]'', following a letter-writing campaign.  ''Animal Crackers'' had previously been withheld from distribution due to copyright issues.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Berman |first1=Garry |title=A Marx Brothers Classic, "Animal Crackers," Re-released 50 Years Ago |url=https://garryberman.medium.com/a-marx-brothers-classic-animal-crackers-re-released-50-years-ago-6d4909b4363c}}</ref>Screenings were mobbed, and when Groucho attended the New York premiere, a near-riot broke out and a police escort was summoned.<ref>Stoliar, pp. 36–42</ref> 

References to the Marx Brothers appeared frequently in television programs and films of the era. Characters in ''[[MASH (TV series)|M*A*S*H]]'' imitated the brothers, with [[Alan Alda]]'s character particularly known for his Groucho impressions. In ''[[All in the Family]]'', [[Rob Reiner]] and [[Sally Struthers]] appeared dressed as Groucho and Harpo in one episode. An episode of ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'' featured a storyline about the song "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" being cut from a broadcast of ''Animal Crackers''.  In ''[[The Way We Were]]'' (1973), the main characters attend a costume party dressed as the Marx Brothers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/way-we-were-review-1973-movie-1147992|title='The Way We Were': THR's 1973 Review|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=October 16, 2018|access-date=April 14, 2019|archive-date=April 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421100858/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/way-we-were-review-1973-movie-1147992|url-status=live}}</ref>  

[[Gabe Kaplan]], star of ABC's ''[[Welcome Back, Kotter]]'', worked references to the Marx Brothers into that show and his subsequent work. The main characters in ''Kotter'' —including those played by [[John Travolta]] and [[Robert Hegyes]]—based much of their comedic style on the brothers,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tv.yahoo.com/blogs/tv-news/-welcome-back--kotter---25-things-you-never-knew-about-the-sweathogs-000758294.html|title='Welcome Back, Kotter': 25 Things You Never Knew About the Sweathogs|website=Tv.yahoo.com|date=August 28, 2014|access-date=September 21, 2018|archive-date=January 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122222716/https://tv.yahoo.com/blogs/tv-news/-welcome-back--kotter---25-things-you-never-knew-about-the-sweathogs-000758294.html|url-status=live}}</ref> with star [[Gabe Kaplan]] frequently performing Groucho impressions. Kaplan later starred in a play about Groucho, which was, in turn turned into a television movie.<ref>{{cite web |title=Groucho (1982) |url=https://www.thebiopicstory.com/groucho-review |website=The Biopic Story}}</ref> 

It was also at this time that [[Woody Allen]], a devoted fan, began referencing the brothers in his films, which he has continued to do throughout his career. In ''[[Take the Money and Run (film)|Take the Money and Run]]'' (1969), characters wear Groucho masks during an interview scene.<ref name="marx-brothers.org" /> Allen begins ''[[Annie Hall]]'' (1977) with a Groucho Marx joke and in ''[[Manhattan (1979 film)|Manhattan]]'' (1979), lists the Marx Brothers among his character's reasons for living. Most significantly, in ''[[Hannah and Her Sisters]]'' (1986), Allen's character finds renewed purpose in life after watching a revival showing of ''Duck Soup''.

Musicians of the time also paid homage to the comedy team. Rock band [[Queen (band)|Queen]] prominently named two of their albums after Marx Brothers films: ''[[A Night at the Opera (Queen album)|A Night at the Opera]]'' (1975) and ''[[A Day at the Races (album)|A Day at the Races]]'' (1976), directly acknowledging their admiration for the comedians' work. English punk band [[The Damned (band)|The Damned]] named their 1980 single "[[There Ain't No Sanity Clause]]" after a famous line from ''A Night at the Opera''.<ref name="marx-brothers.org" /> The band [[Sparks (band)|Sparks]] was originally named "The Sparks Brothers" as a reference to the Marx Brothers, a connection later acknowledged in Edgar Wright's documentary ''[[The Sparks Brothers]]''.  Belgian singer [[Jacques Brel]]'s 1967 song "Le Gaz" was inspired by the famous stateroom scene in ''[[A Night at the Opera (film)|A Night at the Opera]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://marx.brothers.free.fr/references/brel/reference_brel.html|title=Jacques Brel references to Marx Brothers|website=marx.brothers.free.fr|access-date=April 14, 2019|archive-date=May 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530173357/http://marx.brothers.free.fr/references/brel/reference_brel.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The brothers' cultural significance extended to album artwork.  Groucho appeared on the cover of ''[[Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits]]'', and Harpo was depicted on the cover of The Kinks' 1972 album ''[[Everybody's in Show-Biz]]''. 

The second act of the Broadway musical ''[[A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine]]'' (1980) was a Marx Brothers-styled adaptation of [[Anton Chekhov]]'s play ''[[The Bear (play)|The Bear]]''. The original Broadway production won two Tony Awards and ran for 588 performances.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/production/a-day-in-hollywood-a-night-in-the-ukraine-john-golden-theatre-vault-0000008404|title=A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine Broadway @ John Golden Theatre – Tickets and Discounts|website=Playbill|access-date=April 14, 2019|archive-date=April 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412084547/http://www.playbill.com/production/a-day-in-hollywood-a-night-in-the-ukraine-john-golden-theatre-vault-0000008404|url-status=live}}</ref>

Commercial enterprises also drew inspiration from the brothers. In 1974, [[Vlasic Pickles]] introduced a stork mascot that mimicked Groucho's mannerisms, holding a pickle the way Groucho held his cigar and speaking in a similar style.  This mascot remains in use to the present day.

===Influence in the Late 20th Century and Beyond===
The brothers continue to be a touchstone for comedians and filmmakers.  ''[[Brazil (1985 film)|Brazil]]'' (1985) features a scene where a woman watches ''[[The Cocoanuts]]'' before her home is invaded. In ''[[Twelve Monkeys]]'' (1996), asylum inmates watch ''[[Monkey Business (1931 film)|Monkey Business]]'' on television.<ref name="marx-brothers.org"/> The 1992 film ''[[Brain Donors]]'', produced by [[David Zucker]] and [[Jerry Zucker]], was loosely based on the Marx Brothers films ''[[A Day at the Races (film)|A Day at the Races]]'' and ''[[A Night at the Opera (film)|A Night at the Opera]]'', with [[John Turturro]], [[Mel Smith]], and [[Bob Nelson (comedian)|Bob Nelson]] performing in roles loosely based on Groucho, Chico, and Harpo.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-20-ca-300-story.html|title=MOVIE REVIEW : 'Brain Donors' Transplants Marx Bros.|first=Michael|last=Wilmington|website=Los Angeles Times|date=April 20, 1992|archive-date=January 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104140557/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-20-ca-300-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  

Their influence continues in animation, as well.  In Disney's ''[[Aladdin (1992 Disney film)|Aladdin]]'', [[Robin Williams]] paid homage to the brothers through his performance as the Genie, later citing Groucho as a major comedic influence.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ls5ADwAAQBAJ&q=wideo+wabbit+marx+bugs+bunny&pg=PA118|title=The Animated Marx Brothers|first=Matthew|last=Hahn|date=November 15, 2017|publisher=BearManor Media|access-date=April 14, 2019|via=Google Books|archive-date=April 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404140720/https://books.google.com/books?id=ls5ADwAAQBAJ&q=wideo+wabbit+marx+bugs+bunny&pg=PA118|url-status=live}}</ref>  ''[[Animaniacs]]'' and ''[[Tiny Toons]]'' - two contemporary animated series - featured Marx Brothers-inspired comedy segments.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metro.us/entertainment/movies/animaniacs-best-movie-parodies|title=The best out-there movie parodies on 'Animaniacs'|date=May 31, 2017|access-date=April 12, 2019|archive-date=May 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530173347/https://www.metro.us/entertainment/movies/animaniacs-best-movie-parodies|url-status=live}}</ref> 

The distinctive personas created by the Marx Brothers continue to be portrayed by other performers and represented in other media. These representations have helped maintain the Marx Brothers' presence in popular culture long after their active careers. The Marxes' images are regularly used across a variety of media, especially when the authors wish to portray the absurdity of what they are describing.  In 1990, the British satirical television program ''[[Spitting Image]]'' created puppet caricatures of Groucho, Harpo, and Chico. These puppets later appeared as the hunters in a 1994 television production of ''[[Peter and the Wolf]]'', narrated by [[Sting (musician)|Sting]].<ref name="marx-brothers.org"/> The epic graphic novel ''[[Cerebus the Aardvark]]'' by [[Dave Sim]] features characters named Lord Julius and Duke Leonardi, based respectively on Groucho and Chico's stage personae.

In recent decades, their theatrical legacy has been revived through stage productions of their work and shows inspired by their comedic style. Their Broadway shows ''The Cocoanuts'' and ''Animal Crackers'' continue to be performed by theater companies internationally.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/31/theater/stage-animal-crackers-at-the-arena.html ''New York Times'' review, May 31, 1982]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.royalexchange.co.uk/454-the-theatre-production-history/file |title=Main House Production History from 1976 - 2015 |access-date=2015-12-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150519033924/http://www.royalexchange.co.uk/454-the-theatre-production-history/file |archive-date=2015-05-19   |publisher=[[Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre]]}}</ref>  
In 2016, theater historians Noah Diamond and Amanda Sisk presented a reconstructed version of ''I'll Say She Is'' off-Broadway. This production represented the culmination of years of research to recover and restore that musical, which had never been filmed and for which no complete script had survived. The New York Times described the restoration as "delightful," while noting the challenges inherent in recreating the brothers' distinctive performance style.<ref>{{cite news|last=Genzlinger|first=Neil|title=Review: 'I'll Say She Is' Revives a Marx Brothers Revue|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/20/theater/review-ill-say-she-is-revives-a-marx-brothers-revue.html|access-date=2025-04-25|work=The New York Times|date=June 20, 2016}}</ref>

Comedian [[Frank Ferrante]] has made a career out of interpretations of the Groucho character, starring in productions of ''The Cocoanuts'' and ''Animal Crackers''.  Since 1985, he has toured in a one-man show entitled ''An Evening with Groucho'', which was broadcast by PBS in 2022.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ferrante |first1=Frank |title=An Evening with Groucho |url=https://www.eveningwithgroucho.com/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://variety.com/2022/theater/news/frank-ferrante-groucho-marx-1235199142/#!| title=Frank Ferrante's 'Groucho' to Air on Public Television (EXCLUSIVE)| first=Wilson| last=Chapman| date=8 March 2022| magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]| access-date=23 May 2022}}</ref>

The radio program ''Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel'', which originally starred Groucho and Chico, has also been adapted multiple times.  The show's scripts were believed lost until they were found in the [[Library of Congress]] in the 1980s. After publication, they were performed by Marx Brothers' impersonators for [[BBC Radio]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00dzvzc |title=BBC Radio 4 Extra – Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel |website=Bbc.co.uk |date=May 31, 2014 |access-date=2014-08-10 |archive-date=November 1, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101114352/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00dzvzc |url-status=live }}</ref>  In 2010, ''The Most Ridiculous Thing You Ever Hoid'', based on the same radio show, debuted as part of the [[New York Musical Theatre Festival]], and received excellent reviews.<ref>{{Cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Liberman & Pruiett Lead THE MOST RIDICULOUS THING YOU EVER HOID At NYMF 9/30|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Liberman-Pruiett-Lead-THE-MOST-RIDICULOUS-THING-YOU-EVER-HOID-At-NYMF-930-20100831|access-date=2020-10-01|website=Broadway World|language=en|archive-date=May 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512142609/https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Liberman-Pruiett-Lead-THE-MOST-RIDICULOUS-THING-YOU-EVER-HOID-At-NYMF-930-20100831|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Marx Brothers' unique blend of wit, chaos, and character continues to echo through popular culture. Their films remain beloved, their comedic techniques widely emulated, and their iconic personas frequently revisited. As a result, their legacy extends far beyond their active years, solidifying their place as true comedic revolutionaries whose influence will endure for generations to come.

==Awards and honors==
The Marx Brothers received recognition throughout their careers and posthumously, acknowledging their significant contributions to cinema and comedy.

[[File:Grauman's Chinese Theatre, marx brothers.JPG|thumb|Chico, Groucho, Harpo, and Zeppo's block in the forecourt of [[Grauman's Chinese Theatre]].]]
In February 1933, Chico, Groucho, Harpo, and Zeppo Marx were invited to place their handprints and signatures in cement in the forecourt of [[Grauman's Chinese Theatre]] in Hollywood. This honor, typically reserved for the most significant figures in the film industry, recognized their rapid rise to prominence in cinema following their successful transition from Broadway.

In the [[46th Academy Awards|1974 Academy Awards telecast]], [[Jack Lemmon]] presented Groucho with an honorary [[Academy Award]] to a standing ovation. The award was also on behalf of Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo, whom Lemmon mentioned by name. It was one of Groucho's final major public appearances. "I wish that Harpo and Chico could be here to share with me this great honor", he said, naming the two deceased brothers (Zeppo was still alive at the time and in the audience). Groucho also praised the late [[Margaret Dumont]] as a great straight woman who never understood any of his jokes.

On January 16, 1977, the Marx Brothers were inducted into the Motion Picture Hall of Fame. 

In 1999, the [[American Film Institute]] included the Marx Brothers on their list of [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars|Top 25 American male screen legends]], naming them collectively as No. 20 on the list of the top 25 American male screen legends of Classic Hollywood cinema. This distinction is particularly notable as they are the only group to be honored on this list, which otherwise exclusively recognized individual performers.

The Library of Congress has included two Marx Brothers films in the National Film Registry for their "cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance." "Duck Soup" was selected in 1990 and "A Night at the Opera" in 1993.<ref>{{cite web |title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing |website=Library of Congress |access-date=25 April 2025}}</ref>

==Theater==

Only productions with more than one of the brothers are listed here.  Promotional tours for their movies are omitted.  For more information about their solo credits, consult their individual pages.

{| class="wikitable"
! Production{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=397-441}} || Dates || Groucho || Chico || Harpo || Gummo || Zeppo 
|-
| ''Ned Wayburn's Nightingales / The Three Nightingales'' || {{Date range|year1=1907|month1=May|year2=1908|month2=Apr}} || Julius || {{N/A}} || {{N/A}} || Milton || {{N/A}}  
|-
| ''The Four Nightingales'' || {{Date range|year1=1908|month1=Jun|year2=1909|month2=Nov}} || Julius || {{N/A}} ||  Adolph || Milton || {{N/A}}
|-
| ''The Six Mascots / The Mascot Musical Comedy Company'' || {{Date range|year1=1909|month1=Dec|year2=1910|month2=Jun}} || Julius || {{N/A}} || Adolph || Milton || {{N/A}}
|-
| ''Julius Marx's School Kids'' || {{Date|November 1910|none}} || Julius || {{N/A}} || Adolph || Milton || {{N/A}}
|-
| ''Minnie Palmer and Her Seven Happy Youngsters'' || {{Date|December 1910|none}} || Julius || {{N/A}} || Adolph || Milton || {{N/A}}
|-
| ''Fun in High School'' || {{Date range|year1=1911|month1=Jan|year2=1912|month2=Aug}} || Herr Teacher || {{N/A}} || Patsy || Izzy || {{N/A}}
|-
| ''Mr. Green's Reception'' || {{Date range|year1=1912|month1=Sep|year2=1913|month2=Jun}} || Herman Green || Tony Saroni  || Patsy Brannigan || Hans Pumpernickel || {{N/A}} 
|-
| ''Fun in Hi Skool / Mr. Green's Reception'' || {{Date range|year1=1913|month1=Jul|year2=1914|month2=Jun}} || Herman Green ||Tony Caponi || Patsy Brannigan || Hans Pumpernickel || {{N/A}}
|-
| ''Home Again'' || {{Date range|year1=1914|month1=Sep|year2=1918|month2=Jun}} || Henry Schneider / Henry Jones {{efn|The change from Schneider to Jones happened in response to anti-German sentiment during World War I.{{sfn|Louvish|2000|p=99}}}} || Tony Saroni || The Nondescript || Harold Schneider / Harold Jones || {{N/A}}
|-
| ''The Cinderella Girl'' || {{Date|September 1918|none}} || Julius || Leonard || Arthur || {{N/A}} || Herbert
|-
| ''Home Again / 'N' Everything'' || {{Date range|year1=1918|month1=Nov|year2=1919|month2=Feb}} || Henry Hammer || Chico Saroni || The Nondescript || {{N/A}} || Harold Hammer
|-
| '''N' Everything'' || {{Date range|year1=1919|month1=Feb|year2=1921|month2=Jan}} || Henry Hammer || Chico Saroni || The Nondescript || {{N/A}} || Harold Hammer
|-
| ''On The Mezzanine Floor / On The Balcony'' || {{Date range|year1=1921|month1=Feb|year2=1922|month2=Sep}} || Henry Hammer || Chico || Harpo || {{N/A}} || Quinine "Bobby" Hammer
|-
| ''The Twentieth Century Revue'' || {{Date range|year1=1922|month1=Oct|year2=1923|month2=Mar}} || Julius || Leonard || Arthur || {{N/A}} || Herbert
|-
| ''[[I'll Say She Is]]'' || {{Date range|year1=1923|month1=May|year2=1925|month2=Jun}} || Lawyer / Napoleon || Poor Man / Alphonse || Beggar Man / Gaston || {{N/A}} || Merchant / Francois
|-
| ''[[The Cocoanuts (musical)|The Cocoanuts]]'' || {{Date range|year1=1925|month1=Oct|year2=1928|month2=Feb}} || Henry W. Schlemmer || Willie || Silent Sam || {{N/A}} || Jamison
|-
| ''[[Animal Crackers (musical)|Animal Crackers]]'' || {{Date range|year1=1928|month1=Sep|year2=1930|month2=Apr}} || Captain Spalding || Emanuel Ravelli || The Professor || {{N/A}} || Jamison
|-
| ''The Schweinerei'' || {{Date range|year1=1930|month1=Oct|year2=1931|month2=Feb}} || Groucho || Chico || Harpo || {{N/A}} || Zeppo
|-
| ''Napoleon's Return'' || {{Date range|year1=1931|month1=Oct|year2=1932|month2=Jan}} || Groucho || Chico || Harpo || {{N/A}} || Zeppo
|}

==Filmography==

Only productions with more than one of the brothers are listed here.  For more information about their solo credits, consult their individual pages.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Film || Director || Year || Groucho || Chico || Harpo || Zeppo
|-
| ''[[Humor Risk]]'' || [[Richard Smith (silent film director)|Dick Smith]] || 1921 || {{unknown}} || {{unknown}} || {{unknown}} || {{unknown}}
|-
| ''[[The Cocoanuts]]'' || [[Robert Florey]], [[Joseph Santley]] || 1929 || Mr. Hammer || Chico || Harpo || Jamison
|-
| ''[[Animal Crackers (1930 film)|Animal Crackers]]'' || [[Victor Heerman]] || 1930 || Captain Geoffrey T. Spaulding || Signor Emmanuel Ravelli || The Professor || Horatio Jamison
|-
| ''[[The House That Shadows Built]]'' || [[Adolph Zukor]], [[Jesse L. Lasky]] || 1931 || Caesar's Ghost || Tomalio || The Merchant of Weiners || Sammy Brown
|-
| ''[[Monkey Business (1931 film)|Monkey Business]]'' || [[Norman Z. McLeod]] || 1931 || Groucho || Chico || Harpo || Zeppo
|-
| ''[[Horse Feathers]]'' || Norman Z. McLeod || 1932 || Professor Quincy Adams Wagstaff || Baravelli || Pinky || Frank Wagstaff
|-
| ''[[Duck Soup (1933 film)|Duck Soup]]'' || [[Leo McCarey]] || 1933 || Rufus T. Firefly || Chicolini || Pinky || Lt. Bob Roland
|-
| ''[[A Night at the Opera (film)|A Night at the Opera]]'' || [[Sam Wood]] || 1935 || Otis B. Driftwood || Fiorello || Tomasso || {{n/a}}
|-
| ''[[A Day at the Races (film)|A Day at the Races]]'' || Sam Wood || 1937 || Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush || Tony || Stuffy || {{n/a}}
|-
| ''[[Room Service (1938 film)|Room Service]]'' || [[William A. Seiter]] || 1938 || Gordon Miller || Harry Binelli || Faker Englund || {{n/a}}
|-
| ''[[At the Circus]]'' || [[Edward Buzzell]] || 1939 || J. Cheever Loophole || Antonio Pirelli || Punchy || {{n/a}}
|-
| ''[[Go West (1940 film)|Go West]]'' || Edward Buzzell || 1940 || S. Quentin Quale || Joe Panello || Rusty Panello || {{n/a}}
|-
| ''[[The Big Store]]'' || [[Charles Reisner]] || 1941 || Wolf J. Flywheel || Ravelli || Wacky || {{n/a}}
|-
| ''[[A Night in Casablanca]]'' || [[Archie Mayo]] || 1946 || Ronald Kornblow || Corbaccio || Rusty || {{n/a}}
|-
| ''[[Love Happy]]'' || [[David Miller (director)|David Miller]] || 1949 || Sam Grunion || Faustino the Great || Harpo || {{n/a}}
|-
| ''[[The Story of Mankind (film)|The Story of Mankind]]'' || [[Irwin Allen]] || 1957 || Peter Minuit || Monk || Sir Isaac Newton || {{n/a}}
|-
| "[[The Incredible Jewel Robbery]]" (episode of ''[[General Electric Theater#Television|General Electric Theater]]'') || [[Mitchell Leisen]] || 1959 || Suspect in a police lineup || Nick || Harry || {{n/a}}
|}

==See also==
* [[Margaret Dumont]], an actress frequently double-acting with the Marx Brothers, especially Groucho
* [[Thelma Todd]], another actress frequently appearing alongside the Marx Brothers

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
<!--chronological-->
;Memoir:
* Marx, Groucho, ''Beds'' (1930) Farrar & Rinehart, (1976) Bobbs-Merrill
* Marx, Groucho, ''Many Happy Returns'' (1942) Simon & Schuster
* Marx, Arthur, ''Life with Groucho'' (1954) Simon & Schuster, (revised as ''My Life with Groucho: A Son's Eye View'', 1988) {{ISBN|0-330-31132-8}}
* {{cite book|last1=Marx|first1=Groucho|title=Groucho and Me|year=1959|publisher=Random House|isbn=0-306-80666-5}}
* {{cite book|last1=Marx|first1=Harpo|last2=Barber|first2=Rowland|title=Harpo Speaks|year=1961|publisher=Limelight Editions|location=New York|isbn=978-0-87910-036-0}}
* Marx, Groucho, ''Memoirs of a Mangy Lover'' (1963) Bernard Geis Associates, (2002) Da Capo Press {{ISBN|0-306-81104-9}}
* Marx, Groucho, ''The Groucho Letters: Letters from and to Groucho Marx'' (1967, 2007) Simon & Schuster {{ISBN|0-306-80607-X}}
* Marx, Arthur, ''Son of Groucho'' (1972) David McKay Co. {{ISBN|0-679-50355-2}}
* Marx, Groucho, ''The Groucho Phile'' (1976) Bobbs-Merrill Co.
* Marx, Groucho (with Arce, Hector), ''The Secret Word Is GROUCHO'' (1976) G.P. Putnam's Sons
* {{cite book|last=Marx|first=Maxine|title=''Growing Up with Chico''|year=1980|publisher=Prentice-Hall|isbn=087910-059-1}}
* Allen, Miriam Marx, ''Love, Groucho: Letters from Groucho Marx to His Daughter Miriam'' (1992) Faber & Faber {{ISBN|0-571-12915-3}}
;Biography:
* Crichton, Kyle, ''The Marx Brothers'' (1950) Doubleday & Co.
* Zimmerman, Paul D., ''The Marx Brothers at the Movies'' (1968) G.P. Putnam's Sons
* Eyles, Allen, ''The Marx Brothers: Their World of Comedy'' (1969) A.S. Barnes
* Robinson, David, ''The Great Funnies: A History of Film Comedy'' (1969) E.P. Dutton
* Durgnat, Raymond, "Four Against Alienation" from ''The Crazy Mirror: Hollywood Comedy and the American Image'' (1970) Dell
* Maltin, Leonard, ''Movie Comedy Teams'' (1970, revised 1985) New American Library
* Anobile, Richard J. (ed.), ''Why a Duck?: Visual and Verbal Gems from the Marx Brothers Movies'' (1971) Avon Books
* Bergman, Andrew, "Some Anarcho-Nihilist Laff Riots" from ''We're in the Money: Depression America and Its Films'' (1971) New York University Press
* Adamson, Joe, ''Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo'' (1973, 1983) Simon & Schuster
* Kalmar, Bert, and Perelman, S. J., ''The Four Marx Brothers in Monkey Business and Duck Soup'' (Classic Film Scripts) (1973) Simon & Schuster
* Mast, Gerald, ''The Comic Mind: Comedy and the Movies'' (1973, 2nd ed. 1979) University of Chicago Press
* McCaffrey, Donald W., "Zanies in a Stage-Movieland" from ''The Golden Age of Sound Comedy'' (1973) A. S. Barnes
* Anobile, Richard J. (ed.), ''Hooray for Captain Spaulding!: Verbal and Visual Gems from Animal Crackers'' (1974) Avon Books
* {{cite book |last1=Anobile |first1=Richard J. |title=The Marx Bros. Scrapbook |date=1974 |publisher=[[Grosset & Dunlap]] |isbn=9780060972653 |url= |language=en}}
* Wolf, William, ''The Marx Brothers'' (1975) Pyramid Library
* Byron, Stuart and Weis, Elizabeth (eds.), ''The National Society of Film Critics on Movie Comedy'' (1977) Grossman/Viking
* Maltin, Leonard, ''The Great Movie Comedians'' (1978) Crown Publishers
* Arce, Hector, ''Groucho'' (1979) G. P. Putnam's Sons
* Chandler, Charlotte, ''Hello, I Must Be Going: Groucho & His Friends'' (1978) Doubleday & Co., (2007) Simon & Schuster {{ISBN|0-14-005222-4}}
* Weales, Gerald, ''Canned Goods as Caviar: American Film Comedy of the 1930s'' (1985) University of Chicago Press
* Gehring, Wes D., ''The Marx Brothers: A Bio-Bibliography'' (1987) Greenwood Press
* Barson, Michael (ed.), ''Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel: The Marx Brothers Lost Radio Show'' (1988) Pantheon Books
* Eyles, Allen, ''The Complete Films of the Marx Brothers'' (1992) Carol Publishing Group
* Gehring, Wes D., ''Groucho and W.C. Fields: Huckster Comedians'' (1994) University Press of Mississippi
* Mitchell, Glenn, ''The Marx Brothers Encyclopedia'' (1996) B.T. Batsford Ltd., (revised 2003) Reynolds & Hearn ( {{ISBN|0-7134-7838-1}})
* Stoliar, Steve, ''Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho's House'' (1996) General Publishing Group {{ISBN|1-881649-73-3}}
* Dwan, Robert, ''As Long As They're Laughing!: Groucho Marx and You Bet Your Life'' (2000) Midnight Marquee Press, Inc.
* {{cite book|last=Kanfer|first=Stefan|title=Groucho: The Life and Times of Julius Henry Marx|year=2000|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|isbn=0-375-70207-5}}
* Bego, Mark, ''The Marx Brothers'' (2001) Pocket Essentials
* {{Cite book| last = Louvish | first = Simon | author-link = Simon Louvish | title = Monkey Business: The Lives and Legends of the Marx Brothers | publisher = St. Martin's Press |year=2000| location = New York | isbn = 978-0-312-25292-2}}
* Gehring, Wes D., ''Film Clowns of the Depression'' (2007) McFarland & Co.
* Keesey, Douglas, with Duncan, Paul (ed.), ''Marx Bros.'' (2007) Movie Icons series, Taschen
* {{cite book |last1=DesRochers |first1=Rick |title=The Comic Offense from Vaudeville to Contemporary Comedy : Larry David, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Dave Chappelle |date=2014 |doi=10.5040/9781501300172.ch-001 |url=https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/the-comic-offense-from-vaudeville-to-contemporary-comedy-larry-david-tina-fey-stephen-colbert-and-dave-chappelle/ch1-the-vaudeville-aesthetic-and-the-migration-to-radio-and-television?from=search |access-date=August 21, 2022 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |chapter=Chapter 1. The vaudeville aesthetic and the migration to radio and television |quote=oclc881429670}}
* {{Cite book|title=Gimme a Thrill: The Story of I'll Say She Is, the Lost Marx Brothers Musical, and How it Was Found|last=Diamond|first=Noah|publisher=BearManor Media|year=2016|isbn=978-1593939335|location=Duncan, OK}}
* {{cite thesis |last1=Salah |first1=Shaki |title=Marx Brothers' & W.C. Fields' Comedy: Violence, change, survival |journal=Master I Film- og Fjernsynsvitenskap |date=2018 |url=http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2575126 |publisher=[[Høgskolen i Innlandet]] |hdl=11250/2575126 |type=Master thesis |quote=[[DSpace]] Master thesis}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bader |first1=Robert S. |title=Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage |date=September 15, 2022 |publisher=[[Northwestern University Press]] |isbn=978-0-8101-4575-7 |url= |language=en}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{wikisource portal}}
* [https://holybeeofephesus.com/2021/09/04/stars-of-bedlam-the-rise-fall-of-the-marx-brothers-part-1/ Stars of Bedlam: The Rise & Fall of the Marx Brothers (Part 1...11)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705042628/https://holybeeofephesus.com/2021/09/04/stars-of-bedlam-the-rise-fall-of-the-marx-brothers-part-1/ |date=July 5, 2022 }} July 2022
* Frank M. Bland. [https://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/contents.htm Marx Brothers resource] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821042329/https://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/contents.htm |date=August 21, 2022 }} – whyaduck
* Robert B. Weide. [https://www.duckprods.com/projects/marxbrothers/index.html The Marx Brothers In A Nutshell] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821062106/https://www.duckprods.com/projects/marxbrothers/index.html |date=August 21, 2022 }}
* {{Cite web|url=https://marxbrothers.net/essays/the-marx-brothers-from-vaudeville-to-hollywood/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924164357/https://marxbrothers.net/essays/the-marx-brothers-from-vaudeville-to-hollywood/|archive-date=24 September 2022|first=Robert S.|last=Bader|title=The Marx Brothers: From Vaudeville to Hollywood|publisher=The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment|year=2016|via=marxbrothers.net}}

{{Marx Brothers}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marx Brothers, The}}
[[Category:Marx Brothers| ]]
[[Category:Marx Brothers (film series)|*]]
[[Category:American comedy troupes]]
[[Category:American people of German-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American surrealist artists]]
[[Category:Jewish American comedians]]
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[[Category:Paramount Pictures contract players]]
[[Category:People from Yorkville, Manhattan]]
[[Category:Sibling performing groups]]
[[Category:Brother quartets]]
[[Category:Surreal comedy films]]
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