Photograph was edited for publication purposes.; Title supplied by cataloger. Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (1890-1977) was an actor and comedian involved with film, television, stage, radio and music. The third of five Marx brothers, he was known for his rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-ladden talk and was easily recognizable by his distinctive appearance of glasses, cigars, and a thick greasepaint mustache and eyebrows. He made 13 feature films with his brothers, but made 26 films in total. He also had a successful solo career, most notably for "You Bet Your Life" which ran for eleven years on television. Groucho Marx married three times: first to 19-year-old chorus girl Ruth Johnson (he was 29), producing two children, a boy and a girl; the second was to 21-year-old Kay Marvis (he was 54), they had a daughter; and third wife was 24-year-old actress Eden Hartford (he was 63). All marriages ended in divorce. Despite his lack of formal education, Marx wrote several books, and his writings were declared to be culturally important. He kept busy throughout his career, but by October 1971, Groucho had become increasingly frail both physically and mentally as a result of several minor strokes he had suffered. He was hospitalized for pneumonia on June 22, 1977 and passed away on August 19 in Los Angeles. Photograph caption dated June 22, 1980 reads, "That auction in Pittsburgh where prices came down wasn't exactly the same, but it sure sounded a lot like what Chico Marx did to Groucho in the movie "Coconuts." In the movie, you might remember, Chico was Groucho's partner and was assigned the devious task of driving up the bidding at a property auction. Chico wound up buying ALL properties for sale, leaving Groucho to comment, in paraphrase, "Another sale like this and I'm out of business." We're glad the home buyers in Pittsburgh made out better."
Marx, Groucho,--1890-1977--Portraits Marx Brothers Auctions--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh Comedians--United States Actors--United States Pittsburgh (Pa.) Los Angeles Herald-Examiner photographs Herald-Examiner Collection photographs Portraits Prints
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
