Groucho Marx

Groucho Marx Headshot

Comedian • Actor

Birth Date: September 30, 1890

Death Date: August 19, 1977

Birth Place: New York City, New York

Siblings: Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx

Groucho Marx was an iconic American comedian, TV host, and actor who made several critically acclaimed comedies with his brothers in the 1930s, and has since been widely regarded as one of America's greatest comedic talents. Born and raised in the Manhattan borough of New York City, Groucho, whose birth name was Julius Henry Marx, and his brothers were encouraged by their mother to put together a vaudeville act when they were young. Having no formal education, Groucho and his brothers began making the rounds on the vaudeville circuit, first as a singing group known as "The Four Nightingales," and later as the comedy act that would become The Marx Brothers. After a number of years honing their act on the vaudeville circuit, The Marx Brothers went on to become one of the most popular vaudeville acts in New York City, even being enough of a draw to put on three successful Broadway musical comedies: "I'll Say She Is" (1924-25), "The Cocoanuts" (1925-26), and "Animal Crackers" (1928-29). The brothers' huge success on stage eventually drew the attention of Hollywood, and over the course of the 1930s and 40s Groucho and his brothers made 13 comedies together, many of which have since been deemed classics of the genre. These Marx Brothers comedies include "Animal Crackers" (1930), "Duck Soup" (1933), "A Night at the Opera" (1935), and "At the Circus" (1939). It was also during his thriving film career in the 1930s that Marx became recognizable for his distinctive look of bushy eyebrows, glasses, grease paint mustache, and a cigar. Groucho had developed this idiosyncratic look during his vaudeville days in the early 20s, and retained the look through the remainder of his career. After a stall in his film-acting career in the mid-40s, Groucho began searching for new opportunities in show business. He eventually turned to the thriving new medium called radio and in 1947 debuted the quiz show "You Bet Your Life" on ABC radio. The show allowed Marx to interview people and ad-lib on the spot, thus showing off his quick wit, and audiences loved it. In 1950 "You Bet Your Life" (NBC, 1950-60) moved over to television, where it would remain on the air for the next decade, becoming one of the most popular shows on television while simultaneously making Groucho Marx a household name. After "You Bet Your Life" ended its run, Groucho continued appearing on television and in films, most notably playing a mobster named God in Otto Preminger's trippy 1968 comedy "Skidoo" (1969). In 1972 Groucho returned to the stage and performed a one-man show at Carnegie Hall in New York City. That performance was later released as a double album "An Evening With Groucho" (1972). By the mid-70s Groucho's health began to decline. He made one of his final public appearances at the 1974 Academy Awards where Jack Lemmon presented him with an honorary Oscar for his numerous contributions to the film industry. In June of 1977 Groucho was hospitalized with pneumonia. He died two months later on August 19, 1977 at the age of 86.

Credits

The Marx Brothers TV Collection

Actor
Show
2020

History's Greatest MysteriesStream

Self
Docuseries
2020

Comedy Legends

Guest Star
Show
2018

Vaudeville Comedy, Then and Now

Actor
Movie
2012

CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years

Guest
Show
1976

One Man Show

Actor
Guest Host
Show
1969

The Friars Club Roasts Johnny Carson

Guest
Show
1968

The Dick Cavett ShowStream

Actor
Talk
1968

The Dick Cavett ShowStream

Guest
Talk
1968

Skidoo

Actor
God
Movie
1968

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

Actor
Ed Davis
Show
1963

Tell It to Groucho

Host
Show
1962

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?Stream

Actor
George Schmidlap
Movie
1957
87%

The Story of Mankind

Actor
Peter Minuit
Movie
1957

The Sunday Spectacular: Show Biz From Vaudeville to Video

Host
Show
1955

The General Foods 25th Anniversary Show

Self
Show
1954

General Electric Theater

Actor
John Graham
Show
1953

I've Got a SecretStream

Guest
Game Show
1952

A Girl in Every Port

Actor
Benjamin Franklin "Benny" Linn
Movie
1952

Double Dynamite

Actor
Emile J. Keck
Movie
1951

You Bet Your LifeStream

Host
Series
1950

The Bob Hope Show

Actor
Show
1950

What's My Line?Stream

Guest
Game Show
1950

Love Happy

Actor
Detective Sam Grunion
Movie
1949

Copacabana

Actor
Lionel Q. Deveraux
Movie
1947

A Night in CasablancaStream

Actor
Kornblow
Movie
1946
57%

Go West

Actor
S. Quentin Quale
Movie
1940

At the Circus

Actor
Attorney Loophole
Movie
1939

Room Service

Actor
Gordon Miller
Movie
1938

A Day at the RacesStream

Actor
Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush
Movie
1937
94%

A Night at the OperaStream

Actor
Otis P. Driftwood
Movie
1935
97%

Duck SoupStream

Actor
Rufus T. Firefly
Movie
1933
91%

Horse Feathers

Actor
Professor Quincy Adams Wagstaff
Movie
1932
97%

Monkey Business

Actor
Groucho
Movie
1931
90%

Animal CrackersStream

Actor
Capt. Jeffrey T. Spaulding
Movie
1930
97%

The Cocoanuts

Actor
Hammer
Movie
1929

Humor Risk

Actor
Villain
Movie
1921

News aboutGroucho Marx