How Each of the Marx Brothers Died

Which one of the Marx Brothers was your favorite and did you know that the brothers had another sibling that died in infancy?

▬Contents of this video▬
00:00 - Intro
00:46 - Chico
02:53 - Harpo
04:54 - Groucho
06:23 - Gummo
07:15 - Zeppo
08:20 - Outro

The Marx Brothers are remembered as being the kings of the vaudeville stage and the early motion-picture screen. They were an American family comedy act that took the world by storm in the early years of the 20th century and remained active – and not to mention incredibly popular – until 1949. Critics, scholars, and fans of the genre largely consider the Marx Brothers to be among the most influential and greatest comedians of their time.

They got their start in vaudeville but quickly transitioned into performing on Broadway and in motion pictures. To this day, the Marx brothers are considered to be some of the most groundbreaking and iconic comics in the history of show business.

The Marx Brothers are almost always referred to by their stage names; Harpo, Chico, Gummo, Zeppo, and Groucho. There was also a sixth brother named Manfred. In fact, he was the firstborn, but sadly he died in infancy.

Brothers Chico, Harpo, and Groucho made up the core of the act. Each of these characters developed an incredibly distinct stage persona. After the comedy group disbanded in 1950, Groucho Marx went on to enjoy a highly successful second career on TV, while Chico and Harpo appeared less prominently. The younger two Marx brothers, Gummo and Zeppo, never fleshed out their stage personas to nearly the same extent as the other three. Instead of keeping their acting careers going, they went on to pursue successful business careers.

Join us as we remember the many contributions that these legendary comedy stars made on the entertainment industry. Facts Verse Presents; How Each of the Marx Brothers Died.

How Each of the Marx Brothers Died

[figmo]

I loved all of them. I'd say "Harpo" was my favorite, though, because doing comedy where you can't talk in a talking world isn't easy.

[chuckcaputo]

Harpo was a comedic genius, I never get tired watching his sight gags. Hilarious!

[bionicflutist]

I am reading Harpo's autobiography, Harpo Speaks, right now for the third time. It's a must-read for Marx Brothers fans!

[angeleverable]

Groucho loved to tell great stories about his family origins, such as "our father was French Jewish and mother German Jewish. They couldn't understand each other so naturally, they married. When we were kids our family was so poor when someone knocked on the door we all hid". Please note: Groucho's last film was the Otto Preminger monstrosity SKIDOO from 1968. (I'm one of five people in America who has seen it.) His last TV appearance was on the show JULIA that same year. Incidentally, Groucho lived long enough to listen to Queen's A NIGHT AT THE OPERA album and told friends he was pleased the newer generation appreciated the movies he and his brothers made.

[ladywisewolf]

There are few funnier film scenes than the stuffed ocean liner stateroom scene from "A Night at the Opera". The timing, the lightning fast one-liners, the whole visual, builds and builds in hilarity. You almost have to see it several times to actually "see" everything that's going on in that room. Absolute genius! If you've never seen it, do yourself a favor and seek it out, I promise you won't be disappointed .

[Farrah]

Groucho Marx was ahead of his time. He found a way to tell risque jokes and got away with it at least most of the time. He's my favorite Marx Brother because of his verbal humor.

[billfarismpc]

I fell in love with the Brothers as a teenager and have taught my own children to appreciate them. Favorite? Harpo. Mischievous, yes. Enigmatic (why did he grab people's leg?) For sure. But, oh, closeups of him playing his harp have, at times, brought tears to my eyes. And, in life, he appeared to be a true family man with a good heart. Having said that, I have most idolized Groucho because of his wit and comic edge.

[lynnpurcell]

My favorite was of course Groucho but I can say I loved Harpo and Chico as well. I remember when I first saw one of their movies and asked my dad who they were because they were so funny. He said, Oh you mean the Marx Brothers? From that day I was hooked. I think they were and still are one of the most talented of families ever.

[alancrisp]

🤣😂 The Marx Brothers were truly an American comedy institution. My personal favorite movies 🎥. Coconuts, A night At The Opera and A Day At The Races. All absolute classic films, you can still laugh 😂 at all these years later. Timeless!.

[michaelgoldberg]

THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME!! Little Slapstick. They didn't need to physically bash each other or use props to get laughs. They did it with the Spoken Word which is the most difficult. HIGHLY sophisticated humor. Groucho is the funniest man to EVER walk on this earth. LOVE THEM!!!! Must mention Margaret Dumont who was the PERFECT straight woman.😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

[christophertsiliacos]

I’ll never forget Groucho's one-liner on his own TV show: ‘You bet your life.” He asked a contestant what she did for a living, she replied. “I’m a flight nurse in the U.S. Air Force.” To which Groucho quipped, in his own inimitable way, “When I’m in the hospital, they’re all flight nurses.” 🤓

[monicadaniels]

Harpo was an excellent human being as well as being talented. My favorite by far.

[mcmc]

My late longtime GF was a renowned female guitarist. She was also a huge Harpo Marx fan. One of the things she brought with her when she moved in with me was one of this antique 16” tall plater Harpo statues. Ironically, I had the same plaster set of all three Marx Brothers…so we ended up with two Harpos. Sadly she died, after being run over by a drunk off-duty, NYC cop. The three days following her death were followed by an eerie event at our house each morning. The second day, the event was my waking up on the couch, with sun shining directly on the Harpo statue on the baby grand piano across the room. There was a fresh lipstick kiss on Harpos mouth. It had stood there some 15 years and no one had been in the house for months, besides myself, to have done that. So, I took it as a signal that she was OK and had enjoyed out time together.

[cards]

Okay…I became obsessed with the Marx Brothers in college. It was the beginning of the 70s and discovering genius performers from the 30s and 40s was what a lot of us did. My favorite was Chico. (Pronounced CHICK-O, not CHEEK-O). Of course, I found every movie on whatever channel I could, and bought books about them. (My collection has grown)
Since Groucho was still alive I loved him and saw him all I could on television.
I was living in a small town, where my parents had grown up and my grandparents still lived, from 1973-77. My family came down for the weekend quite often.
I remember we were in my grandparents’ kitchen, and my mom said, ”Groucho died.” I hadn’t heard the news and looked at her with wide eyes.
I’ll never forget my dad, irritated at her, said, ”Why did you tell her like that??!?”
It always touched me that Daddy valued how much I cared about the brothers, and loved Groucho.
A long story, but I wanted to share it with a few people that would understand. Thank you.

[zathrasb]

Chico is pronounced Chick-o NOT Cheek-o. He was always chasing the ladies (aka chicks) in real life (Harpo did so in the movies). Find an interview with Groucho where he mentions him to verify.

[Bill-jcfy]

In 1973 or 74 I was working for a music production company at 9200 Sunset Blvd in LA. I had parked my car in the lower level and took the elevator up from there. It stopped on the ground floor and the doors opened and lo and behold Groucho was standing there. I asked him if he was going up and he said, " no but I should be" and the elevator doors closed just as the last word came out of his mouth and I thought his comedic timing was still there.
After that I used to see him walking around the area accompanied by a young woman, probably his nurse.

[PRR]

Chico was pronounce "chick -oh", not "cheeko". Harpo learned music by having Chico teach him what he had learned at piano lessons. Harpo was a true musician, whereas Chico was a pianist. Gummo was the one who advised the others on health and medical issues. He was greatly loved by the brothers, but greatly overlooked by most fans. Zeppo was extremely funny, according to Harpo's son, Bill. People don't realize that many of the best jokes of the other three came from Zeppo. Zeppo didn't enjoy performing, but his stature gave him a great platform as a Hollywood agent. Zeppo could be prickly and in some cases, almost vicious when gambling or making contractual deals.

[CatchingCharkraLight]

I never realized there was 6 of them. Always thought there was 3. Learn something new every day.

[richardkeating]

Groucho was iconic and very intelligent in his wit but after reading the autobiography, Harpo Speaks, he became my personal favourite

[franspan]

In answer to. For me there is not 1 the nicest. Together they were a unique set of actors. Laughed at them a lot in the 60s and 70s. Greetings from the Netherlands.