The Essential Groucho: Writings By, for and About Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx, Stefan KanferOf all the brothers, Groucho had the most successful independent career. He made several other films, such as Copacabana (1947), A Girl in Every Port (1952) and Skidoo (1968), and hosted the television quiz show You Bet Your Life between 1950 and 1961. He wrote several books, including Beds (1930); an autobiography, Many Happy Returns! (1942); Groucho and Me (1959); and The Groucho Letters (1967). The Marx Brothers all had well-defined screen personas, but Groucho’s was always recognizable with his cigar and bushy eyebrows; plastic versions of his glasses and over-sized moustache are sold in toy and costume shops all over the world to this day. His character was also considered by audiences to be more human and easy to relate to. He is one of the most frequently quoted comedians of all time, with such memorable wise-cracks as ‘Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana’ and ‘If you want to see a comic strip, you should see me in the shower’. He died in 1977.