I Don’t Mind Lying If It Gets Me Somewhere
The Marx Brothers were easily the funniest American comedians of the last century. Molest me not with The Three Stooges, or Burns & Allen, Lenny Bruce, Belushi, Pryor, Williams or Oswalt. Brilliant as they all are, they are but the latest additions built on to the rock solid foundations the Marxes laid down many decades ago. American comedy – its timing, subject matter, and forms – does not begin with them. That honor probably goes to Mark Twain, but it truly reached its full maturity as a performed art with the Marx Brothers on the stages of various vaudeville stages across the U.S. and Canada.
So what actually happened on those stages? When did it happen, and why? These questions have never been very satisfactorily answered. There are a few reasons for this, but the major factor is that the primary source has always been the Marx Brothers themselves, who were often flagrant liars about their history. For example: It’s always been pretty clear how the Brothers got their nicknames. Or, at the very least, the lies have always been fairly consistent. But for what traits did Julius Marx acquire the name Groucho? Was it because he was grouchy, or because of the “grouch bag” he wore around his neck to keep his money safe? Depends on who you choose to believe, but it seems nearly impossible to suss out.
Robert S. Bader has tried to do separate fact from fiction, and has mostly succeeded. (Spoiler: no, there is no clear answer to the “Groucho” question.) What is left is not so much a history of a single vaudeville act, but the death of vaudeville itself, and the Marx’s place in those events. It may not answer the burning questions the dedicated Marx fan would want answered, but what the reader gets is far more engaging.
Minnie is pictured here third from the left.
We Must Remember That Art Is Art
It might be tempting to view the history of the Marx’s early years as the story of how their mother, Minnie, made them into stars. This is , after all the legend, and came largely from her sons. Bader’s take on this is thankfully more nuanced. In “Four of the Three Musketeers,” Minnie wasn’t so much a genius as incredibly determined and absolutely unshakeable in her faith in her sons’ abilities. She did not make them stars. The Marx’s did that for themselves after Chico’s direction took over from her. Nevertheless, she made them an act, and she made them believe in the act. That cannot be underestimated, and Bader’s meticulous chiseling away of a century of B.S. that has fossilized on Minnie’s legacy merely enhances her accomplishments rather than diminishing them.
Well, All The Jokes Can’t All Be Good
Vaudeville has become very romanticized in the American consciousness. In fact, it was a monopoly owned by men every bit as vicious and oppressive as the railroad barons from whom they seemingly took their cues. You either played by the very narrow rules or you didn’t play at all. Frankly, it’s not surprising the Marx Brothers found themselves on several blacklists in their career. They found themselves on the outside looking in not so much from their anarchic personalities (though that played its part), but from their desperate desire to keep working. They just couldn’t seem to make themselves turn down a lucrative tour, even if that meant putting themselves in hot water.
They worked their way to the top the hardest possible way – by making themselves so funny, so popular and so valuable on the small-time circuits that eventually the big-time could not afford to ignore them. And the stories of how they managed to do that is too good spoil here.
I Don’t Remember, I Was Just A Little Baby
This is a meticulously researched book. The last third of the book is nothing but appendices, bibliographies and sources cited. No one could ask for more in the biography of a group of such prolific liars. it’s a joy to read. I fully plan to leave it on my shelf and pick it up again in a year or so to read it again. It’s brilliant, and should not be missed. It will probably never be recognized as a serious historical work, and that’s a shame, since it is the story of one of the most important periods in the history of our popular cultural.
Verdict: Absolutely Worth It.
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