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Hello!! We are the Marx brothers: Born in New York City to Jewish immigrants. Our mother, Minnie Schoenberg, originally hailed from Germany, while our father, Samuel "Frenchie" Marx (born Simon Marrix), had come from French-speaking Alsace. We had been talented musically from an early age. Harpo, especially, could play nearly any instrument, including the harp, which he often played on film. Chico was an excellent and histrionic pianist, and Groucho played the guitar. Let's take a break guys and let someone else cover our bio!
(Resources from http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/4337/mbbio.htm and Wikipedia.com)
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The Marx Brothers had an extremely successful career prior to their movie debut in 1929 in 'The Cocoanuts'. It had started when Minnie Marx, the boys' mother, and sister to Al Shean, of Gallagher and Shean fame, put Groucho on the stage as a boy soprano with the Gus Edwards School act. In 1908 he was joined by two of his brothers, Harpo and Gummo. They were billed as 'The Three Nightingales', and, if the critics are to be believed, the Nightingales were fortunate the Trades Description Act hadn't been drawn up. Their mother soon had the rest of the brothers in on the act! By 1912, when the name was changed to 'The Six Mascots', the act had changed, too. Inevitably, their natural, undisciplined horsing around had insidiously crept into their act. They now did a comedy skit called 'Fun in Hi Skule' and with some help from their Uncle Al Shean, they refined (bad word for Marx) their characters. Groucho stooped and started to wear a black moustache, which later became a black greasepaint effigy when, one day, he was late for a performance, grabbed a stick of greasepaint and smeared it across his upper lip. He never changed back to the false moustache. Harpo donned a red 'fright wig' and lost his voice. He complained bitterly about his lack of lines, but Uncle Al insisted, and he obviously knew best. Chico adopted his Italian accent, and Gummo and Zeppo became the comic foils.
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The brothers had been playing musical instruments for most of their lives. Harpo had the greatest talent; he could pick up any instrument, toy with it for a while, and then play it! Chico played piano in a brothel to earn money for the family, often playing in two places at once. He would get the job with his expert piano playing, stay a few nights and then substitute Harpo with his repertoire of two tunes. They looked so alike, no one could tell the difference, until someone asked Harpo to play something else. Then, he was generally fired! Harpo took to playing the harp like a duck to water. Virtuoso harpists have studied his technique in total disbelief and fascination. His mother had bought him a very old, second-hand harp because she thought it would add class to the act. Groucho played the guitar, but he only displayed this talent in one film, 'Horse Feathers' (1932). He generally sang those outrageous songs the way only he could: 'Have you met Lydia / that encyclopedia / Lydia the tattooed lady.' or 'Hello. I must be going' and 'Hooray for Captain Spalding'. The brothers' vaudeville act was successful enough to take them to England in 1924 and onto Broadway where they made it big with 'I'll Say She Is' and 'The Cocoanuts', which was to be their first sound film in 1929.
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This is how they described our films, wow guys, are we that great?! :
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A Marx Brothers comedy is almost impossible to describe. It's manic, chaotic, totally antiestablishment, throwing insult after insult at any American institution the brothers could think of. Everything in their path was totally and utterly wrecked. Groucho would insult all with his barbed wit and leer at any woman, including Magaret Dumont. Harpo would chase blondes all over the set, honking his horn. What he would have done with one had he caught her is debatable, as he was the epitome of innocent, childlike gullibility. When he wasn't chasing or playing the harp, he was destroying something or eating it! Chico would chase women also, but one would be inclined to suspect he knew exactly what to do with them once caught! Chico was also remorseless and could con anything out of anyone. Gummo left the act early on, well before the Marx's screen success. Zeppo appeared in some of the early films as the romantic lead, but opted to leave and pursue a career as an agent. He figured he was a much better as a businessman than a straight man.