"Lydia the Tattooed Lady", which became one of Groucho Marx's signature tunes, was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, and first appeared in the movie At the Circus (1939). The lyrics make many contemporary references to topical personalities such as Grover Whalen.
Amongst the items, persons, and scenes tattooed on Lydia's body are the Battle of Waterloo (on her back), The Wreck of the Hesperus (besides it, referencing the poem by Henry Longfellow), the red, white and blue (above them); the cities of Kankakee and "Paree", Washington Crossing the Delaware, Andrew Jackson, Niagara Falls, Alcatraz (on a clear day), Buffalo Bill, a Picasso, Captain Spaulding exploring the Amazon River, Lady Godiva but with her pajamas on, Grover Whalen, the Trylon, Treasure Island, Nijinsky, a fleet of ships (on her hips), and Lydia's own Social Security number
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Marx on Wiki
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Origin of the stage names
The stage names for four of the five brothers were coined by monologist Art Fisher during a poker game in Galesburg, Illinois, based both on the brothers' personalities and Gus Mager's Knocko the Monk, a popular comic strip of the day which included a supporting character named "Groucho". The reasons behind Chico's and Harpo's are undisputed, and Gummo's is fairly well established, while Groucho's and Zeppo's are far less clear. Arthur was named Harpo because he played the harp, and Leonard named Chico (pronounced "Chick-o") after his affinity for the ladies ("chicks").
In his autobiography, Harpo explains that Milton became Gummo because he crept about the theater like a gumshoe detective. Other sources report that Gummo was the family's hypochondriac, having been the sickliest of the brothers in childhood, and that he therefore wore rubber overshoes, also called galoshes or gumshoes, in all kinds of weather. However, since gumshoe detectives were named for the rubber overshoes, the two explanations apparently are minor variations on a definitively established theme.
The reason Julius was named Groucho is perhaps the most disputed. There are three major explanations:
Julius' temperament. Maxine, Chico's daughter and Groucho's niece, said in the documentary The Unknown Marx Brothers that Julius was named "Groucho" simply because he was grouchy most or all of the time. Robert B. Weide, a director known for his knowledge of Marx Brothers history, said in Remarks On Marx, a documentary short included with the DVD of A Night at the Opera, that among the competing explanations he found this one the most believable.
The grouch bag. This explanation appears in Harpo's biography, was voiced by Chico in a TV appearance included on The Unknown Marx Brothers, and also offered by George Fenneman, Groucho's sidekick on his TV game show, You Bet Your Life. A grouch bag was a small drawstring bag worn around the neck in which a traveler could keep money and other valuables so that it would be very difficult for anyone to steal them. Most of Groucho's friends and associates went on record publicly with their observations that Groucho was extremely stingy, especially after losing all his money in the 1929 stock market crash, so naming him for the grouch bag may have been a comment on this trait. Groucho, in chapter six of his first autobiography[4], insisted that this was not the case:
I kept my money in a 'grouch bag.' This was a small chamois bag that actors used to wear around their neck to keep other hungry actors from pinching their dough. Naturally, you're going to think that's where I got my name from. But that's not so. Grouch bags were worn on manly chests long before there was a groucho.
The fact that Groucho claims he couldn't have been named for the grouch bag because grouch bags already existed is unsatisfying, to say the least. Perhaps it was a slip of the pen that was never caught.
Groucho's explanation. Understandably dissatisfied with being described as perpetually grumpy or excessively stingy, Groucho himself insisted that he was named for a character in the comic strip, Knocko the Monk, which had inspired the craze for nicknames ending in O. And, in fact, there was a character in that strip named "Groucho." However, he is the only Marx or Marx associate who ever defended this theory, and as he is not an unbiased witness, few biographers take the claim seriously.
Herbert was not nicknamed by Art Fisher, as he did not join the act until Gummo had departed. As with Groucho, three explanations exist for Herbert's name, "Zeppo":
Harpo's explanation. Harpo said in Harpo Speaks! that the brothers had named Herbert for Mr. Zippo, a chimpanzee that was part of another vaudeville performer's act. Herbert disliked the nickname, and when it came time for him to join the act, he put his foot down and refused to be named "Zippo," so the brothers compromised on Zeppo.
Chico's explanation. Chico never wrote an autobiography, and gave fewer interviews than his brothers, but his daughter, Maxine, in The Unknown Marx Brothers related the story that when the Marx Brothers lived in Chicago, a popular style of humor was the "Zeke and Zeb" joke, which made fun of slow-witted Midwesterners in much the same way Boudreaux and Thibodeaux jokes mock cajuns, or Ole and Lena jokes mock Minnesotans. One day, as Chico returned home, he found the much younger Herbert sitting on the fence, and Herbert greeted him by saying "Hi, Zeke!" Chico responded with "Hi, Zeb!" and the name stuck. The brothers called Herbert "Zeb," and when he joined the act, they floated the idea of "Zebbo," eventually preferring "Zeppo."
Groucho's explanation. In a tape-recorded interview excerpted on The Unknown Marx Brothers, Groucho said Zeppo was so named because he was born when the first zeppelins started crossing the ocean. The first zeppelin flew in July 1900, while Herbert was born seven months later in February 1901; the first transatlantic zeppelin flight did not happen until 1924, when Herbert was a young man.
Maxine Marx reported in The Unknown Marx Brothers that the brothers listed their real names (Julius, Leonard, Adolph, Milton and Herbert) on playbills and in programs, and only used the nicknames behind the scenes, until Alexander Woollcott overheard them calling one another by the nicknames and asked them why they used their own rather stiff and formal real names publicly when they had such wonderful nicknames as an alternative. They replied, "That wouldn't be dignified," which Woollcott answered with a belly laugh. Since Woollcott did not meet the Marx Brothers until the premiere of
I'll Say She Is, which was their first Broadway show, this would mean that they used their real names throughout their vaudeville days, and that the name "Gummo" never appeared in print during his time in the act. Other sources report that the Marx Brothers did go by their nicknames during their vaudeville era, but briefly listed themselves by their given names when I'll Say She Is opened, because they were worried that a Broaday audience would reject a vaudeville act if they perceived anything as not classy.
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Marx DVDs Finally Released!
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I'm sure I am not the only Marxist excited about the release of all 12 Marx Brothers Movies on DVD both sets released in 2004 have flown off the shelves wherever they are sold.
Marxist may be hard to find these days, but we are still out there and we know a good thing when we see one. Hopefully you haven't missed your opportunity.
I bought as many as I could afford right away, and currently I own them all. With the exception of Love Happy which now is also out in DVD format.
Released in several different sets are the First 5 films from the MGM years: The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and Duck Soup.
While these were no doubt the more popular films, little was done to add extras or even enhance the quality of the film. There is an extra disc in the set sold on Amazon.com (cover pictured above) which makes up for universal's lack of extras.
Released earlier in 2004 was Warner Brothers' 5 Disc set The Marx Brothers Collection. Which is in battle against the MGM set.
Not in sales, though, but in quality. Where MGM/universal skipped the extras, WB added Interviews, commentaries, short films, rare interviews, documentaries, audio outtakes, classic cartoons, and other exciting rarities for each of the five discs.
The set Includes: A Night at the opera, A Day at the Races, Room Service, At the Circus, Go West, The Big Store, and A Night in Casablanca.
Also Relesed in 2004, Rare episodes of You Bet Your Life, Groucho's very own TV/Radio Game show. Several episodes have been released to DVD. A must own for any hard core Marxist.
For buying information search Amazon.com For "Marx Brothers DVD" or "You Bet Your Life DVD" or check your favorite retailer, online or local.
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Harpo Marx, Caught Vocalizing in film!
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The other day, while quenching my thirst for a Marx Brothers movie, I found myself watching "Animal Crackers". Enjoying it, as usual, I happened to notice something out of the ordinary. In the last scene, when the brothers come in singing "My Old Kentucky Home", I noticed Harpo in the background, his lips were moving to the music just slightly, and you could actually hear the fourth part. It was almost too subtle to even notice, but if you look and listen closely, you will see and hear Harpo's wonderful voice.
I also noticed, in the movie "Monkey Business", at the very beginning the first officer says he knows there are four stowaways because they are singing "Sweet Adeline". How could he know this if Harpo Wasn't singing? Though we don't actually see Harpo sing, because he is in the barrel, we hear his voice. Thus prooving that Harpo did vocalize in films occasionally.
Not that I'm trying to proove anything, I just found this interesting. Also, if you would like to see these two films, check the TV Schedules section for listings.
~~Lydia
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