MARX BROTHERS

U.S. comedy team.

The original five brothers were Chico (orig. Leonard) (1886–1961), Harpo (orig. Adolph Arthur) (1888–1964), Groucho (orig. Julius Henry) (1890–1977), Gummo (orig. Milton) (1893–1977), and Zeppo (orig. Herbert) (1901–79). They formed a vaudeville act with their mother, Minnie, called "The Six Musical Mascots" (1904–18). Gummo left the act early on, and the brothers later became "The Four Marx Brothers." They won fame with their first Broadway play, I'll Say She Is (1924), which was followed by The Cocoanuts (1925; film, 1929) and Animal Crackers (1926; film, 1930). They later starred in Monkey Business (1931), Horse Feathers (1932), Duck Soup (1933), A Night at the Opera (1935), and Room Service (1938), among other films, developing a skillful blend of visual and verbal humour, with Groucho supplying wisecracks and a running commentary as counterpoint to the frantic, anarchic activities of the silent Harpo and the Italian-accented Chico. Zeppo left the act in 1934, and the act disbanded in 1949. Groucho later hosted the television quiz program You Bet Your Life (1950–61).

Groucho, Harpo, and Chico Marx

The Bettmann Archive