| Leonard "Chico" Marx | |
|---|---|
| Born | Leonard Marx March 22, 1887 New York, New York |
| Died | October 11, 1961 (aged 74) Hollywood, California |
| Occupation | Actor, comedian |
| Years active | 1926-1959 |
| Spouse(s) | Betty Karp (1917-1940) Mary De Vithas (1958-1961) |
Leonard Marx, known as Chico, (March 22, 1887 – October 11, 1961) was one of the Marx Brothers. Events 238 - Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperor. Year 1887 ( MDCCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 238 - Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperor. Year 1887 ( MDCCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Marx Brothers were a popular team of sibling Comedians who appeared in Vaudeville, stage plays film and television [1]
He was originally nicknamed Chicko due to his reputation as a ladies man, or a "chicken chaser" in the popular slang of the day. A typesetter accidentally dropped the "k" in his name and it became Chico. It was still pronounced "Chick-o" although those who were unaware of its origin tended to pronounce it "Cheek-o". Radio recordings from the 1940s exist where announcers and fellow actors mispronounce the nickname, but Chico apparently felt it was unnecessary to correct them. As late as the 1950s, even Groucho used the wrong pronunciation for comedic effect. A guest on You Bet Your Life told the quizmaster she came from Chico, California and Groucho responded that he had a brother named "Cheek-oh. You Bet Your Life is an American Radio and Television Quiz show. Chico (pop 86949 is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States, with 105000 " (Chico can sometimes be spotted in cutaways to the studio audience, out of character and costume. )
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Acting career
Marx used an Italian accent for his on-stage character; stereotyped ethnic characters were common with Vaudeville comedians. Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience primarily by making them laugh All the Marx brothers at some point in their careers performed "dialect characters," but Chico was the only one to continue this into their films.
The obvious fact that he was not really Italian was referenced twice on film. In their second feature, Animal Crackers, he recognizes someone he knows to be a shady character, impersonating a respected art collector:
Chico: "How did you get to be Roscoe W. Animal Crackers is a 1930 Comedy film, in which mayhem and zaniness ensue when a valuable painting goes missing during a party in honor of famed African explorer Captain Chandler?"
Chandler: "How did you get to be Italian?"
Chico: "Never mind—whose confession is this?"
In A Night at the Opera, which begins in Italy, his character, Fiorello, claims to not be Italian, eliciting a surprised look from Groucho:
Driftwood: "Well, things certainly seem to be getting better around the country. A Night at the Opera is a 1935 Comedy film starring Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Kitty Carlisle, "
Fiorello: "Well, I wouldn't know about that; I'm a stranger here myself. "
Chico was a talented pianist. A pianist (/'piənɪst/ is a Musician who plays the Piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces play with an ensemble or Orchestra He originally started playing with only his right hand and fake playing with his left, as his teacher did so herself. Chico eventually got a better teacher and learned to play the piano correctly. As a young boy, he would get jobs playing piano to earn money for the Marx family. Sometimes Chico would even get work playing in two places at the same time. He would acquire the job with his piano-playing skills, work for a few nights, and then substitute Harpo on one of the jobs. Arthur Marx (previously Adolph Marx) popularly known as Harpo Marx ( November 23, 1893 &ndash September 28, 1964 (During their boyhood, Chico and Harpo looked so much alike they were often mistaken for each other. )
In the brothers' last film, Love Happy, Chico plays a piano and violin duet with "Mr. Love Happy ( 1950) was the 14th (including Humor Risk) and virtually the last Marx Brothers Movie (they would return to the The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member A duet is a Musical composition or piece for two Performers In Classical music the term is most often used for a composition for two singers Lyons" (Leon Belasco). Lyons plays some ornate riffs on the violin; Chico comments, "Look-a, Mister Lyons, I know you wanna make a good impression, but please—don't-a play better than me!"
In a record album about the Marx Brothers, narrator Gary Owens stated that "although Chico's technique was limited, his repertoire was not. Gary Owens (born May 10, 1936) is an American Disc jockey and Voice actor. " The opposite was true of Harpo, who reportedly could only play two tunes on the piano, which typically thwarted Chico's scam and resulted in both brothers being fired.
Groucho Marx one time said that Chico never practiced the pieces he played. Before performances he would soak his fingers in hot water before going on instead. He was known for "shooting" the keys of the piano. As part of the act he would play passages with his thumb up and index finger straight — like a gun (he appears in the film A Year to Remember (1948) playing an extraordinary "shooting" version of the famous Australian song Waltzing Matilda to a group of Australian soldiers). "Waltzing Matilda" is Australia 's most widely known country Folk song, and has been referred to as 'the unofficial national anthem of Australia' Another charming example of his keyboard flamboyance is found in A Night at the Opera. A Night at the Opera is a 1935 Comedy film starring Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Kitty Carlisle, He captivates a group of children whose faces light up with his digital acrobatics. The looks of glee on their faces is reminiscent of Alfred Eisenstaedt's "Children at Puppet Theatre", an example of pure childhood pleasure, and suggests that they were not acting. Alfred Eisenstaedt ( December 6 1898 &ndash August 24 1995) was a German American photographer and Photojournalist
Chico became manager of the Marx Brothers after their mother, Minnie, died. The Marx Brothers were a popular team of sibling Comedians who appeared in Vaudeville, stage plays film and television Minnie Schönberg Marx ( November 9, 1865 &ndash September 13, 1929) born in Dornum, East Frisia, was the mother [1] As manager he cut a deal to get the Marx Brothers a percentage of a film's gross receipts — the first of its kind in Hollywood. Furthermore, it was Chico's connection with Irving Thalberg of MGM which led to Thalberg's signing the Brothers when they were in a career slump after Duck Soup (1933), made at Paramount Pictures. Irving Grant Thalberg ( May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an Academy Award -winning American Film producer Duck Soup is a Marx Brothers Anarchic comedy film written by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, with additional dialogue by Arthur Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California.
For a while in the 1930s and 1940s Chico led a big band. The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression. The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949 Events and trends The 1940s was a period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s which also leads the period to be A big band is a type of Musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late Singer Mel Tormé began his professional career singing with the Chico Marx Orchestra. Melvin Howard Tormé ( September 13, 1925 &ndash June 5, 1999) nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician known as
Chico Marx was a compulsive womanizer, and had a lifelong gambling habit. His addiction cost him millions of dollars by his own account. When an interviewer asked him how much money he'd lost from gambling, he answered, "Find out how much money Harpo's got. That's how much I've lost. " Gummo Marx, in an interview years after Chico's death, said, "Chico's favorite people were actors who gambled, producers who gambled, and women who screwed. " Chico's lifelong gambling addiction compelled him to continue in show business long after his brothers had retired in comfort from their Hollywood income, and in the early 40s he found himself playing in the same small, cheap halls in which he had begun his career 30 years previously.
The Marx Brothers' second-to-last film, A Night in Casablanca was made for Chico's benefit. A Night in Casablanca ( 1946) was the twelfth Marx Brothers ' movie. Because of his gambling, the brothers finally took the money as he earned it and put him on an allowance, on which he stayed until his death.
He had a reputation as a world-class pinochle player. Pinochle (sometimes Pinocle, or Penuchle) is a Trick-taking game typically for two three or four players and played with a 48 card deck His brother Groucho said Chico would throw away good cards (with the knowledge of spectators) to make the play "more interesting. " Chico's last public appearance was in 1960, playing cards on a television show, Celebrity Bridge. He and his partner lost the game, but it did not seem to bother him at all.
Death
Chico died on October 11, 1961 from cardiovascular disease, aged 74. Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular diseases refers to the class of diseases that involve the Heart or Blood vessels ( arteries and He is entombed in a crypt in the Freedom Mausoleum in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, in Glendale, California. Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately-owned Cemetery in Glendale, Los Angeles, in the United States. Glendale ( is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Chico's younger brother, Gummo, is in a crypt across the hall from him. Milton Marx ( October 23, 1892 - April 21, 1977) known as Gummo, was one of The Marx Brothers. [1]
References
- ^ a b c "Chico Marx, Stage and Film Comedian, Dies at 70; Oldest of 5 Brothers Took Role of Italian Piano Player. Team Business manager. ", New York Times, October 12, 1961. Events 539 BC - The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Retrieved on 2007-08-21. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1192 - Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the De facto ruler of Japan.
External links
- Chico Marx at the Internet Movie Database
- Chico Marx at the TCM Movie Database
- Chico Marx at Find A Grave
- Chico plays piano
- How to play piano like Chico Marx
- Chico Marx at Marx Brothers.org
- Lydia's Marx Brothers Tribute Website
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