For the fencing organization, see Brotherhood of St. Mark.
The Marx Brothers
Four of the five Marx Brothers in 1931 (top to bottom: Chico, Harpo, Groucho and Zeppo)
Medium
Film, Broadway, vaudeville
Nationality
American
Years active
1905–1949
Genres
Word play, slapstick, musical comedy, deadpan
Notable works and roles
Duck Soup A Night at the Opera
Former members
Chico Marx
Harpo Marx
Groucho Marx
Gummo Marx
Zeppo Marx
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' fourteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) as among the top 100 comedy films, with two of them, Duck Soup (1933) and A Night at the Opera (1935), in the top fifteen. They are widely considered by critics, scholars and fans to be among the greatest and most influential comedians of the 20th century. The brothers were included in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars list of the 25 greatest male stars of Classical Hollywood cinema, the only performers to be included collectively.
The brothers are almost universally known by their stage names: Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo, and Zeppo. There was a sixth brother, the firstborn, named Manfred (Mannie), who died in infancy; Zeppo was given the middle name Manfred in his memory.
The core of the act was the three elder brothers: Chico, Harpo, and Groucho, each of whom developed a highly distinctive stage persona. After the group essentially disbanded in 1950, Groucho went on to a successful second career in television, while Harpo and Chico appeared less prominently. The two younger brothers, Gummo and Zeppo, never developed their stage characters to the same extent as the elder three. Both left the act to pursue business careers at which they were successful, and for a time ran a large theatrical agency through which they represented their brothers and others. Gummo was not in any of the movies; Zeppo appeared in the first five films in relatively straight (non-comedic) roles. The early performing lives of the brothers owed much to their mother, Minnie Marx (the sister of vaudeville comic Al Shean), who acted as their manager until her death in 1929.
The MarxBrothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five...
Skule". The MarxBrothers performed variations on this routine for the next seven years.[citation needed] For a time in vaudeville, all the brothers performed...
"Zeppo" Marx (February 25, 1901 – November 30, 1979) was an American comedic actor. He was the youngest and last survivor of the five MarxBrothers. He appeared...
and harpist, and the second-oldest of the MarxBrothers. In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Groucho and Chico, Harpo's comic style was...
"Chico" Marx (/ˈtʃɪkoʊ/; March 22, 1887 – October 11, 1961) was an American comedian, actor and pianist. He was the oldest brother in the MarxBrothers comedy...
agent. He was the second youngest of the five MarxBrothers. Born in Manhattan, he worked with his brothers on the vaudeville circuit, leaving the act when...
Minnie Marx (born Miene Schönberg, 9 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was the mother and manager of the MarxBrothers, a family of top-billed vaudevillians...
Samuel Marx (born Simon Marx; October 23, 1859 – May 10, 1933) was the father of the American entertainers known as the MarxBrothers, stars of vaudeville...
The Brotherhood of Saint Mark (German: Marxbrüder, Marxbrothers) was the name of the most important organization of German swordsmen in the 16th century...
Life. She also appeared in several MarxBrothers documentaries. In her 1992 book, Love Groucho: Letters from Groucho Marx to His Daughter Miriam, she detailed...
as the comic foil to the MarxBrothers in seven of their films; Groucho Marx called her "practically the fifth Marxbrother." Dumont was born Daisy Juliette...
Half Men in 2007. Gregg Marx is a grandson of Gummo Marx of the MarxBrothers. BWW News Desk (September 28, 2011). "Gregg Marx Appears October 9th in Palm...
1946 American comedy film directed by Archie Mayo and starring the MarxBrothers (Groucho, Harpo, and Chico). The screenplay was written by Joseph Fields...
the family moved to Southern California, where the MarxBrothers continued their film careers. Marx was a nationally ranked tennis player before he was...
is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film starring the MarxBrothers. It stars the Four MarxBrothers (Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo), Thelma Todd and...
uncle of the MarxBrothers (Leonard Joseph "Chico" Marx, Adolph (Arthur) "Harpo" Marx, Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx, Milton "Gummo" Marx and Herbert Manfred...
The Cocoanuts is a 1929 pre-Code musical comedy film starring the MarxBrothers (Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo). Produced for Paramount Pictures by...
Kerry Alan Marx is an American guitarist and studio musician who has served as Music Director of the Grand Ole Opry since 2018. He is best known for his...
Karl Marx (German: [maʁks]; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German-born philosopher, economist, political theorist, historian, sociologist, journalist...
United States in the 19th century, and later popularized by the 1933 MarxBrothers film Duck Soup where it was the name of the fictional country in which...
comedy short film. It is the first film to star the MarxBrothers, and was the only MarxBrothers movie until the release of their 1929 musical comedy...
loosely based on the MarxBrothers comedies A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races (the first two films the MarxBrothers made for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
stage, and likewise, most film actors had roots in vaudeville (e.g. The MarxBrothers) or theatrical melodramas. Visually, early narrative films had adapted...
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