Comedy, Groucho Marx (often)
The Marx Brothers used radio as an adjunct
to their blossoming movie career. The Brothers came
roaring out of vaudeville with a combination of sight
gags and wacky wordplay that more than filled the silver
screen. Nat Perrin headed a great comedy writing team
gave them scripts that made up for the lack of visuals.
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The
Marx Brothers had occasional shows on radio. "Beagle,
Shyster and Beagle," then "Flywheel, Shyster,
and Flywheel," was about lawyers, of course. Groucho,
the "affront" man for the team, played Waldorf
T. Beagle, attorney at law, unless he took lunch, at
which point he was attorney at lunch. And so on. Chico
played Emmanuel Ravelli, Beagle's assistant. Many of
the routines from the lawyer show were used in "Duck
Soup."
Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2008 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved-Reproduction is prohibited.
Later in 1934, they had a show called
the Marx of Time, and Grouch played Ulysses H. Drivel,
a reporter. Chico was Penelli. It seems every character
Chico played had to end in a vowel. But then, Chico
always played it Chico's way. Harpo's career on radio
was severely hampered, for obvious reasons.
Groucho carried on in radio for years
after the Marx Brothers as a special guest artist. He
tasted failure once when he lost the chance to do a
normal husband role in a series tentatively titled "The
Flotsam Family." The producer saw a film actor
named William Bendix, retooled the show and called it
"The Life of Riley." Of course, Groucho, always
ready with a good cigar and a better comeback, went
on to do "You Bet Your Life" both on radio
and TV. Groucho remained a consummate entertainer throughout
his long life.
The collection also contains interviews
and recorded material that gives a inside look at how
the Marx Brothers became the ground-breaking, and wall-breaking
comedy act of stage, screen and radio. In the Penn and
Teller book "How to Play with Your Food,"
Penn Jillette (who also works with a silent partner)
writes, "Etiquette gives cranks the advantage."
This is an excellent description of the Marx Brothers
modis operandi.
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