OCT21. Includes bibliographical references (pages 537-541). Includes filmography.
Contents:
Prologue : noxis on the conoxis -- Our father's krugel -- The heart and the harp -- Kidding the captain : "was has gesachta" : Uncle Al, the original Marx brother -- Horatio Alger and the tin can swinger -- "Impersonations of the Yiddisher" from the Whangdoodle Four to Mrs Schang -- The incubator and the chicks : from Wayburn's Nightingales to Minnie's Mascots -- "Ah poosh, ah poosh, ah poosh!" -- Sex, life and vaudeville -- Down by pantages -- "An elaborate disorder of amateur antics" -- The Kaiser, Art Fisher and the Rhode Island Reds -- Farewell to the old five-and-dimes -- There is no chapter 13 in this book -- "Washington with a mustache" -- Humor risks -- Cometh the hour, cometh the men : the four horsemen meet the round table -- Vive la France! or opening sardines with a sword -- From Coolidge to Cocoanuts : "do you want to be wage slaves?" -- The mystery and mystique of Daisy Dumont : staying at a bum hotel -- Triumph of the left-handed moths -- Before Hollywood or "why are you so concerned with having real backgrounds when one of the leading characters wears an obviously false moustache?" -- Stowaways in the forward hatch -- The pleasure principle and the poetic seal -- "Hey, where's your brother?" -- This program is coming to you from the House of David! : the short and snappy life of Waldorf T. Flywheel -- Cracked ice : Freedonia to Moscow Express -- Make that three hard-boiled eggs! -- Get your tutsi-frutsi ice cream! -- "Step this way" or how long can these swans keep singing? -- Custody of the moustache -- Of thee I sing : from "dear mir" to the almost last hurrah -- Solo dreams -- "Is it sad or high-kicking?" -- Twilight of the gags or "wife failed to see anything funny in Groucho jokes" -- What price pumpernickel? : the Marxist manifestos or beyond the ghosts -- Coughing in the night or lingering past the late show -- Epilogue : the legacy.
Summary:
This is the first full and properly researched biography of all five Marx Brothers - Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo and Zeppo. First and foremost, this is the saga of a family whose theatrical roots stretch back to mid-19th century Germany. From Groucho Marx's first warblings with the singing Leroy Trio, this book brings to life the vanished world of America's wild and boisterous variety circuits, leading to the Marx Brothers' Broadway successes and their alliance with New York's theatrical lions, George S. Kaufman and the "Algonquin Round Table." Never-before-published scripts, well-minted Marxian dialogue, and much madness and mayhem feature in this tale of the Brothers' battles with Hollywood, their films, their loves and marriages, and the story of the forgotten brother Gummo.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.