Tag Archives: Groucho Marx

The Greatest TV Game Show Ever

What’s My Line 1950 – 1967

A few years ago my Tivo was tuned into the Game Show Network weeknights at 3:00 a.m., taping every episode of the greatest TV game show ever made, What’s My Line.

Let me state it was not just a great game show, but one of the best television shows ever.

Unfortunately the series is not being broadcast now, but many segments of the show are available on Youtube.

To describe the brilliance of the show better than I ever could, we will refer to The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1948 – Present by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh (Ballantine 1988), an indispensable television reference book.

What’s My Line was the longest-running game show in the history of prime-time network television. It ran for 18 seasons, on alternate weeks from February to September 1950, then every Sunday at 10:30 p.m. for the next 17 years. The format was exceedingly simple. Contestants were asked simple yes-or-no questions by the panel members, who tried to determine what interesting or unusual occupation the contestant had. Each time the contestant could answer no to a question, he got $5, and a total of 10 no’s ended the game. The panel was forced to don blindfolds for the “mystery guest,” a celebrity who tried to avoid identification by disguising his voice.

That little game, by itself, hardly warranted an 18-year run, when other panel shows of the early 1950’s came and went every month. But What’s My Line was something special, both for the witty and engaging panel, and for a certain élan which few other shows ever captured. There were no flashy celebrities-of-the-moment or empty-headed pretty faces on this panel; they were obviously very intelligent people all, out to have some genteel fun with an amusing parlor game. Like (moderator) John Daly with his bow tie and perfect manners, it reeked of urbanity [“that’s three down and seven to go, Mr. Cerf?”]

The panelists who created this special atmosphere were an elite group. Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #24 – W.C. Fields In Color

W.C. Fields In A Rare Color Photograph Circa 1940

W.C. Fields or Bill Fields to his friends, was one of the most talented comedians of the first half of the 20th century. He began his show business career in vaudeville as a juggler and worked his way up to top billing in the Ziegfeld Follies for a ten year stretch. From there he went on to become a major film star during the 1930’s and early 1940’s. Today, upon viewing his films, many people do not understand why he was considered funny. But I assure you there is a subtle brilliance in Fields’ portrayals of the henpecked husband, disreputable man and misunderstood misanthrope.

One of the more popular, yet apocryphal stories about Fields, was that he had hundreds of bank accounts spread across the country, many under ridiculous pseudonyms such as Otis Criblecoblis; Mahatma Kane Jeeves; Aristotle Hoop; Ludovic Fishpond; Figley E. Whitesides and so on. After Fields died in 1946, his mistress Carlotta Monti claimed that there was over $1.3 million in unclaimed funds in banks under the fake names. An assistant hired to solve the dilemma of Fields estate found only 24 accounts all under Fields real name. Continue reading →

Before They Were Famous…

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The 4 Nightingales – “Big Hit Everywhere”

This rare trade card from 1908 – 1909 advertises a vaudeville group known as “The Four Nightingales.” Two of them went on to worldwide fame. Can you guess who they are?

Scroll down for the answer.

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A huge clue is “Minnie Marx Manager”

It is The Marx Brothers. From left to right: Milton “Gummo” Marx, Adolph “Harpo” Marx, Julius “Groucho” Marx and Lou Levy.

Gummo Marx Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #22 – Hedy Lamarr & Cecil B. DeMille

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Hedy Lamarr and Cecil B. DeMille On The Set Of “Samson and Delilah”

The 1949 biblical epic, Samson and Delilah starred the beefy Victor Mature and the beautiful Hedy Lamarr in the title roles. According to legend, when Groucho Marx was asked what he thought of the movie he replied with one of the greatest bon mots ever. Groucho said he “couldn’t enjoy a film where the leading man’s tits were bigger than the leading lady’s.”

The caption on the back of this October 28, 1949 publicity photograph reads:

THERE CAN BE QUIET — This is one of the few serene moments in “Samson and Delilah.’ Hedy Lamarr (left) with Producer- Director Cecil B. DeMille maintain an interested silence while technicians set up the equipment for the next scene. It is Ms. Lamarr’s first Technicolor picture and also her first under the DeMille banner. In it she enacts one of history’s most exotic and celebrated personalities, the Delilah of the Book of Judges, from which Mr. DeMille has extracted the framework of his big-budget production. (PLEASE CREDIT SAMSON AND DELILAH)

Classic Hollywood #6 – Harpo Marx & At Home With His Children

Harpo With His Children, 1954

Harpo Marx of the Marx Brothers married the beautiful actress Susan Fleming in 1936. She promptly retired from acting and from all accounts they had a terrific marriage until Harpo’s death in 1964.

Unable to have children, Harpo and Susan adopted four children, three of whom are seen here. From left to right Alex, Jimmy & Minnie.

Upon reflection, years later in interviews, the children concurred Continue reading →

Groucho Marx’s Son Dies at 89

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Arthur Marx, Son of Groucho Passes Away – April 14, 2011

Arthur Marx’s passing is being announced quite expectedly as “Groucho Marx’s son dies.”

Arthur was very talented in his own right and did carve out a successful career for himself as a champion tennis player and author.

Arthur was the author of a dozen books and wrote about his famous father in four books, most recently the picture collection Arthur Marx’s Groucho: A Photographic Journey 2001 (Phoenix Marketing Service). Arthur first wrote about his father in Life With Groucho A Son’s Eye View 1954 (Simon and Schuster) and the much more candid autobiographical Son of Groucho 1972 (David McKay). The last book is especially revealing in discussing the difficulty Arthur encountered in finding his own career path and being the son of one of the most famous entertainers in the world. By Arthur’s account Groucho had a difficult time showing affection and drove all three of his wives away through one form of mental cruelty or another.

Arthur told one story where the only time he had ever seen his father cry was at the funeral of Groucho’s brother Harpo. Arthur was named after Harpo (whose real name was Adolph, and then Americanized to Arthur during World War I.) All of the Marx Brothers named their daughters after their mother Minnie; each of their names begins with the letter “M”.

Arthur’s career as a writer for television, movies and the stage was quite varied but mostly within the comedy field. He had written for such shows as Alice, My Three Son’s and McHale’s Navy. He was much more than the “son of Groucho.”

Stuff Nobody Cares About

A not so random collection of observations about things you should care about