Skip to main content

Image / Zeppo Marx and wife adopt baby boy

Have a question about this item?

Item information. View source record on contributor's website.

Title
Zeppo Marx and wife adopt baby boy
Alternative Title
Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection
Date Created and/or Issued
1944
Contributing Institution
Los Angeles Public Library
Collection
Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Rights Information
Images available for reproduction and use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at http://tessa.lapl.org/OrderingUse.html for additional information.
Description
Title supplied by cataloger.; Photograph was edited for publication purposes.; Photograph also used in article dated July 7, 1951.
Herbert Manfred "Zeppo" Marx (1901-1979) was an actor, comedian, inventor and theatrical agent. The youngest of five Marx brothers, he had a reputation for being quite a hooligan. Zeppo appeared in the first five Marx Brothers movies as a straight man and romantic lead before leaving the team, though he would fill in for and imitate any of the others when illness kept them from performing. On April 12, 1927 Zeppo married Marion Benda and they adopted two children, Timothy (in 1944) and Thomas (in 1945). They later divorced, on May 12, 1954. On September 18, 1959, he married Barbara Blakeley and adopted her son Bobby giving him his surname. They, too, divorced in 1973 and Blakeley later married Frank Sinatra. The Marx Brothers were inducted into the Motion Picture Hall of Fame in 1977, though sadly just two years later the last surviving Marx Brother, Zeppo would die of lung cancer at the age of 78. His remains were cremated and scattered over the Pacific Ocean.
Photograph caption dated April 20, 1944 reads, "Zeppo Marx And wife, Marion Shown With 10-Month-Old Baby They Adopted."
Type
Image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 21 cm.
Photographic prints
Identifier
00097021
Herald Examiner Collection
HE box 1582
CARL0005070495
http://173.196.26.125/cdm/ref/collection/photos/id/33626
Subject
Marx, Zeppo,--1901-1979
Marx Brothers
Adoption--California--Los Angeles
Sons--California--Los Angeles
Families--California--Los Angeles
Children of celebrities--United States
Comedians--United States
Inventors--United States
Actors--United States
Los Angeles Evening Herald and Express photographs
Herald-Examiner Collection photographs

About the collections in Calisphere

Learn more about the collections in Calisphere. View our statement on digital primary resources.

Copyright, permissions, and use

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.

Explore related content on Calisphere: