Photograph was edited for publication purposes.; Title supplied by cataloger. Leonard "Chico" Marx (1887-1961) was an actor, comedian, bandleader and manager. A talented pianist, he started playing at a young age to earn money for his family, in his later years he would inject this talent into his comedic acts. When their mother - who was their manager, died, Chico took over the role. As manager, his connections opened doors for the brothers into Hollywood filmdom. Surprisingly, in the 1930s and '40s, he led a big band, the Chico Marx Orchestra, which is where Mel Torme began his professional singing career. The fact that he was a compulsive womanizer earned him his nickname, and he was also known for his lifelong gambling habit which cost him millions of dollars by his own account, inevitably the brothers were forced to put him on allowance, on which he stayed until his death. Marx was married twice: to Betty Karp in 1917, producing one daughter, and to Mary De Vithas in 1958, until his passing. Chico Marx died of arteriosclerosis on October 11, 1961 in Hollywood, and is entombed in a crypt at the Freedom Mausoleum in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Photograph caption dated January 28, 1948 reads, "Chico Marx, pianist member of zany Marx Brothers, insists today that he has right to more privacy than gold fish in a bowl, and thereby demands that Warner Bros. film studios pay him $200,000 as damages for alleged invasion of his privacy. He says studio used his name wrongly in movie."
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 21 cm. Photographic prints
Marx, Chico,--1887-1961 Marx Brothers Warner Bros Actions and defenses--California--Los Angeles Courthouses--California--Los Angeles Comedians--United States Actors--United States Los Angeles Evening Herald and Express photographs Herald-Examiner Collection photographs
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