.jpg)
Leonard 'Chico' Marx (March 22, 1887-October 11, 1961) was an American comedian, actor, and pianist. He was the oldest brother in the Marx Brothers comedy troupe, alongside his brothers Arthur ('Harpo'), Julius ('Groucho'), Milton ('Gummo'), and Herbert ('Zeppo'). His persona in the act was that of a charming, uneducated but crafty con artist, seemingly of rural Italian origin, who wore shabby clothes and sported a curly-haired wig and Tyrolean hat. On screen, Chico is often in alliance with Harpo, usually as partners in crime, and is also frequently seen trying to con or outfox Groucho.
Leonard was the oldest of the Marx Brothers to live past early childhood, the first-born being Manfred Marx who died in infancy. In addition to his work as a performer, he played an important role in the management and development of the act in its early years.
Marx was born in Manhattan, New York City, on March 22, 1887. His mother Miene ('Minnie') Marx (née Schoenberg) was from Dornum in East Frisia. Around 1880, the family emigrated to New York City. His father, Samuel ('Sam' or 'Frenchy'; born Simon) Marx, was a native of Mertzwiller, a small Alsatian village, and worked as a tailor. Minnie and Sam married on January 18, 1885. Their first child, Manfred, died of tuberculosis; Leonard was their second, and was followed in turn by Arthur, Julius, Milton, and Herbert.
By the age of nine, Leonard was a gambler, and by the age of eleven, he would stay out all night hustling pool. He lost his first job, in 1899, for playing craps on premises, and, in other jobs, would routinely gamble his money away on payday. In his mid-teens, with pressure from his parents to stop gambling, he left home, supporting himself by playing piano in nickelodeons and whorehouses. He also briefly toured with a circus as a wrestler, and later, a flyweight boxer.
By 1907, Chico was working at music publishing firm Shapiro, Bernstein & Co.. When the founder of that company, Maurice Shapiro, died in 1911, Chico quit immediately, convincing a young tenor, Aaron Gordon, to tour with him in vaudeville. At the time, there was a successful vaudeville act called The Two Funny Germans, starring Bill Gordon and Nick Marx; with Minnie's encouragement, Aaron Gordon and Chico Marx adopted Italian accents (Chico's reputedly based on that of his barber) and toured as Marx and Gordon. Gordon, who later said that he never saw a salary because Chico gambled away their earnings, left the act in the fall of that year.
It was during Chico's time in vaudeville that he acquired his nickname (during a card game). During Groucho's live performance at Carnegie Hall in 1972, he states that his brother got the name Chico because he was a chicken-chaser (early 20th century slang for womanizer). Chico's nickname was originally spelled Chicko. A typesetter accidentally omitted the k, so his name became Chico.
While the Marxes typically pronounced Chico as Chick-oh, others sometimes mistakenly pronounced it Cheek-oh. Numerous radio recordings from the 1940s exist in which announcers and fellow actors mispronounce the nickname, but Chico does not correct them. As late as the 1950s, Groucho used the wrong pronunciation for comedic effect. A guest on You Bet Your Life told the quizmaster she grew up around Chico, California, which is pronounced Cheek-oh. Groucho responded, I grew up around Chico myself. You aren't Gummo, are you? In most interviews, Groucho is heard correctly pronouncing it Chicko, as in an episode of The Dick Cavett Show with Groucho talking to Dan Rowan.
When they later made films, as manager, Chico negotiated with the studios to get the brothers a percentage of a film's gross receipts -the first deal of its kind in Hollywood which has become common practice today.
The Marx Brothers' film, A Night in Casablanca (1946), was produced after the team had officially retired and was made largely for Chico's financial benefit. Chico had filed for bankruptcy a few years prior. At around this time, the rest of the Marx brothers, finally aware of Chico's out-of-control gambling, took full control over his finances; they took all money away from Chico as he earned it and put him on an allowance to curb his constant betting and gambling. Chico stayed on the allowance until his death.
Through the 1950s, Chico occasionally appeared on a variety of television anthology shows and some television commercials, most notably with Harpo (and a cameo appearance by Groucho) in The Incredible Jewelry Robbery, a pantomime episode of General Electric Theater in 1959. This was the final appearance of the three Marx Brothers. Chico's last public appearance was in 1960, playing cards on the television show Championship Bridge. He and his partner lost the game.
As well as being a compulsive womanizer, Chico had a lifelong addiction to gambling. His favorite gambling pursuits were card games, horse racing, dog racing, and various sports betting. His addiction cost him millions of dollars by his own account.
Chico died at the age of 74 on October 11, 1961, at his Hollywood home. He was the eldest brother and the first to die and is entombed in the mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
More information: Factinate
Chico Marx
No comments:
Post a Comment