Skip to main content

Image / Zeppo Marx testifies in Friars Club investigation

Have a question about this item?

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

Title
Zeppo Marx testifies in Friars Club investigation
Alternative Title
Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection
Date Created and/or Issued
1967
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.
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.
Pictured is Zeppo Marx, 66, leaving the Friars Club Grand Jury investigation hearing at the Federal Building. Zeppo was among eight witnesses testifying to card losses at the Beverly Hills show business hangout run by Miami electronics engineer Edwin N. Gebhard, 54, who is alleged to have wired the Friars Club for crooked card games. Photograph dated December 1, 1967.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 21 cm.
Photographic prints
Identifier
00097028
Herald Examiner Collection
HE box 1582
CARL0005070977
http://173.196.26.125/cdm/ref/collection/photos/id/33661
Subject
Marx, Zeppo,--1901-1979
Marx Brothers
Federal Building (Los Angeles, Calif. : 1964-)
Friars Club of California (Beverly Hills, Calif.)--Trials, litigation, etc
Fraud investigation--California--Los Angeles
Trials (Perjury)--California--Los Angeles
Gambling--California--Los Angeles
Office buildings--California--Los Angeles
Comedians--United States
Inventors--United States
Actors--United States
Downtown Los Angeles (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner 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: