Summary Information
Groucho Marx Papers
1928-1971
U.S. Mss 70AN
0.8 c.f. (2 archives boxes)
Wisconsin Historical Society Archives / Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research Contact Information
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of an actor, comedian, and writer, including correspondence and copies of scripts for Animal Crackers (Para., 1930), Duck Soup (Para., 1933), A Night at the Opera (MGM, 1935), and eight other Marx Brothers films, the originals of which are held by the Library of Congress. The correspondence is between Marx and his friend, Dr. Samuel Salinger, the donor of this portion of the collection. Generally personal in nature, the letters contain references to socialized medicine, World War II, and Marx's career.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0070an ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Comedian Groucho Marx was born Julius Marx on 2 October 1895 [?] in New York City to Samuel and Minna Marx. Between 1908 and 1924 he toured vaudeville, teaming at various times with his mother, his aunt, and his four brothers: Gummo, Zeppo, Harpo, and Chico.
Groucho made his theatre debut in 1924 in the New York production of I'll Say She Is. He later appeared with his brothers in Cocoanuts (1925) and Animal Crackers (1928). In 1931 he performed at the Palace in the London production of Varieties. Returning to the United States, he played in a 1934 summer stock production of Twentieth Century before returning to do vaudeville in Minneapolis in 1936 and Detroit in 1940.
His first films were adaptions of his Broadway hits, Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930). These were followed by Oh, For a Man! (1930), Monkey Business (1931), Horse Feathers (1932), Duck Soup (1933), A Night at the Opera (1935), A Day at the Races (1937), Room Service (1938), Go West (1940), The Big Store (1941), A Night in Casablanca (1946), Copa Cabana (1947), Mr. Music (1950), Love Happy (1950), Double Dynamite (1951), Behave Yourself (1951), A Girl in Every Port (1952), The Story of Mankind (1957), and Skidoo (1968).
Groucho's radio credits include performances on Kellogg's Circle in 1939 and Blue Ribbon Town in 1943. He served as quizmaster on You Bet Your Life (1947-1951) for which he won a Peabody Award as Best Comedian in 1949.
When NBC adapted You Bet Your Life to television, Groucho continued as quizmaster, winning an Emmy in 1951 and the Motion Picture Daily's Annual TV Poll from 1951 through 1954 for his role. Among his other television credits are The Mikado for Bell Telephone Hour in 1960, Merrily We Roll Along for Dupont Show of the Month in 1961, and two series: Tell It To Groucho (1962) and Open End (1963).
A writer as well as an actor, Groucho co-authored The King and the Chorus Girl (1937), a screenplay for a Warner Brothers film. In 1948 he collaborated with Norman Krasner on Time For Elizabeth, a play first produced in New York in 1948; it was also performed by summer stock companies as late as 1957. He also wrote the books Many Happy Returns (1942), Groucho and Me (1959), Memoirs of a Mangy Lover (1964), and The Groucho Letters (1967).
He has been married four times and has three children.
Scope and Content Note
The Groucho Marx Papers, 1928-1971, include correspondence, clippings, and photocopies of eleven screenplays.
The correspondence, 1928-1971, is between Groucho and his long-time friend, Dr. Samuel Salinger, who saved these letters and arranged them chronologically. They are mainly letters from Groucho and contain information about the comedian's career, his family, and their health as well as both men's opinions on such topics as socialized medicine, World War II, and “the younger generation”. A few clippings concerning Groucho's career are attached to letters.
The screenplays, 1930-1951, are arranged chronologically according to release date, and are from such films as Animal Crackers, Duck Soup, and A Night at the Opera. The originals are at the Library of Congress.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Groucho Marx, Beverly Hills California, 17 October 1966 and by Samuel Salinger, Palm Springs, California, 31 January 1972. Accession Number: MCHC66-84, MCHC72-011
Processed by Eleanor McKay, 1973.
Contents List
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Correspondence
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Box
1
Folder
1
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1928-1938
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Box
1
Folder
2
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1939-1943
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Box
1
Folder
3
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1944-1950
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Box
1
Folder
4
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1951-1971
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Motion Pictures
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Animal Crackers (Paramount, 1930)
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Box
1
Folder
5
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Script
: Possibly a theater script.
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Monkey Business (Paramount, 1931)
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Box
1
Folder
6
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Final script, 1931, April 21
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Duck Soup (Paramount, 1933)
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Box
2
Folder
1
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Release dialog script, 1933, Nov. 6
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A Night at the Opera (MGM, 1935)
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Box
2
Folder
2
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Original script
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A Day at the Races (MGM, 1937)
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Box
2
Folder
3
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Incomplete script
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Room Service (RKO, 1938)
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Box
2
Folder
4
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Revised script, 1938, June 18
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At the Circus (MGM, 1939)
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Box
2
Folder
5
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Revised script, “A Day at the Races”, 1939, May 17
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Go West (MGM, 1940)
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Box
2
Folder
6
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Revised script, 1940, August 29
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A Night in Casablanca (UA, 1946)
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Box
2
Folder
7
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Final script
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Copa Cabana (UA, 1947)
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Box
2
Folder
8
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Revised script
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Double Dynamite (RKO, 1951)
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Box
2
Folder
9
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Final script, “It's Only Money”, 1948, Nov. 17
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