Unknown Marx Brothers Excerpt

[RandyAKing]

LET CHICO TALK!!!

[JettRink50]

And they got a lot of laughs without using profanity.

[VIPelle1]

This has indeed been edited from the VHS version I saw. I edited Chico's full comments on the Grouch bag into a video I uploaded called ChicoGrouchBag . It's also on Groucho's page at the Very Important Potheads website.

[velvetsnape]

I remember seeing something about them and the narrator said that out of costume, you had a hard time telling Chico and Harpo apart :)

[mravantgarde123]

where is the part where Chico says, "-a little marijuana" ?

[gingerfu91]

Is it just me or did they give like three different stories on how Zeppo got his name?

[revolution606]

please i need to know the name of that comic

[19blackwidow82]

F**k, man - he looks so OLD!!! I can't seem to get used to that...but hey, remember this from Horsefeathers? Chico: you sing high, girl: yes, I have a falsetto voice, Chico: that's funny, my last student she had a false set of teeth! (lol I love that supremely Chico moment) Also I'll never forget: "why a duck? whya no chicken?" or "ice-a-cream, getta you tutsi frutsi" (hahaha!)

[mykmmc]

grocho bag ? is it like a nation sack????

[19blackwidow82]

@mykmmc Groucho: "I kept my money in a 'grouch bag.' This was a small chamois bag that actors used to wear around their neck to keep other hungry actors from pinching their dough. Naturally, you're going to think that's where I got my name from. But that's not so. Grouch bags were worn on manly chests long before there was a Groucho." -Wikipedia

[mykmmc]

@19blackwidow82 same as a nation sack hmm thanks

[EkseteraEksetera]

Harpo looked so cute in that picture of him with the harp

[oreokookie1000]

DILDO WAS REALLY THE LADY- CHASER, not chico

[nserio35]

Where can we see the BBC Chico interview in its entirity? Is the footage available?

[1MoreRoundbrother]

grouch bag...jew bag ? cartman told kyle he knows every jew has a bag of jew gold on them at all times and that was true..

[NewhamMatt]

I was hoping they'd mention where Gummo got his nickname from.

[SuperMikecarp]

@NewhamMatt Gummo was named for the gum shoes he wore - rubber over shoes worn in wet weather. his real name was Milton.

[NewhamMatt]

@SuperMikecarp Thanks - I was aware of that, but I always felt sorry that despite being part of the act early on, people tended to ignore Gummo's contribution until recently.

[LouisLambert]

I like how everyone has a different story, and yet all of them are damn certain that theirs is the right story. It's perfect....

[19blackwidow82]

@LouisLambert a veritable Roshomon of perspectives!

[frediablo]

That's the first time i can recall seeing Chico out of role.Great share-Thankyou.

[143AC]

Please..Mr.Marx..don't ever go after girls in a mud wrestling contest at the local bar.

[143AC]

Please..Mr.Marx..don' ever go after girls in a mud wrestling contest at the local bar.



[Dfrankjazz]

Hi fellow MB freaks! I invite you to enjoy my new master class on the music of Chico and Harpo. Free, hilarious, and very educational! Type in "Dave Frank" Marx on Youtube.

Dave Frank

Assoc. Prof, Piano Dept.

Berklee College of Music

[ELVISCHEVY3]

what year was that show with david nixion

[143AC]

Mr.Marx..it could have been worst..your uncle Herb could have been called "Zilcho".

[143AC]

Dear Sliat, It's true! Mr.Bill Marx..his two brothers..Jim and Alec and their

sister..Dr.Minnie Marx Eagle(She is an animal doctor)were adopted

by Mr.& Mrs.Harpo(Adolph Art)and Sue Marx.

[143AC]

Actually.this show aired on The Disney Channel.

Today..The Grouch Bag wouldn't stop anyone from robbing you.

[1MooseForSale]

Actually

[NScole6407]

Chico looks like he aged well. Same with all of the brothers but I still think that Harpo was probably the most handsome out of all of them, young or old. :)

Is there any information as to how old Harpo, Groucho, and Gummo (even though he wasn't mentioned) they were when they recieved their nicknames? It says here that Chico and Zeppo were around 14/15, but I've seen elsewhere that the brothers were already doing Vaudeville when they recived them.

[princesstamika]

Herbert or Zippo. ...talk about a rock and a hard place.

[dnt9217]

Chico is my favorite Marx Brother!

[jonmichaelllosinger]

What about Gummo?

[nezpercenathan]

@jonmichaelllosinger I noticed he is not mentioned here, but he got his name from wearing galoshes (rubber boots), which at the time were often called "gum shoes", thus: Gummo.

[jonmichaelllosinger]

@nezpercenathan Thanks.

[TheBatgirl31]

Harpo actually looks quite gorgeous in that picture of him with the black curls and the harp

[1MoreRoundbrother]

@TheBatgirl31

He does look pretty gorgeous. They were all in sick shape too. Zeppo looks ripped at the end of duck soup.

[superdavid002]

They weren't Marxists, but they were definitely anarchists!

[Mistertinman]

So does anyone really know how they got their names. There were at least three different stories about the name, "Zeppo."

[oshuhua]

Manfred was to have been the eldest, but he died in infancy.

[lightwarrior2012]

this is from the david nixon show on BBC during the 50-60s

[ericarocks2]

gagz won ?????

[east37thstreet]

poor guy had to wear that costume all the time, and speak in an Italian accent

[lancemckellar]

Always wondered where the names came from. There was a sister in the family too I think And another brother who died young.

[bobjfs]

@lancemckellar There was a Pauline, but she was a cousin (the daughter of Minne's sister).

[sliat1981]

can't believe billy was adopted. he's the dead spit of harpo

[MrJim12341121]

Its difficult to watch all these acting legends on utube knowing they are no longer with us. RIP Chico

[dougcapehart]

@ 1:30 "... In this bag we would keep our pennies, our marbles, piece of candy, some marijuana..."

Funny they cut out the marijuana part for the special. I wish someone else had the entire interview. I saw it online before

[norristerse]

i think that's david nixon the magician interviewing chico.

you'd have to be elderly and british like me to know that though

[JHULIOCFR1975]

CHICO MARX is older here, but he still provokes laughes in people. harpo's face is a joke, harpo was fantastic. groucho was a genius, with an accent... jajaja so comic. great marx brothers.

[sbhbobby2003]

I totally agree with you !

GREAT MARX BROTHERS !

[queenfarookbulsara]

que grandes eran los hermanos marx

[HeraldMB]

You know it's a well known fact now that the Marxes lied about their ages throughout their careers. So it's unlikely Chico got his name when he was 15 years old, hehe.

[iwashungry4hands]

George Fennermen! I love You Bet Your Life!

[MisterEvasion]

I am satisfied that there is some ambiguity in the origins of the Marx brothers' nicknames.

[sparklerofalbion]

The guy doing the interview was a magician called David Nixon. He had his own television show in the UK for years and was a popular entertainer.

[thomaschavers]

i have this on dvd. got to love ebay. the marx brothers said zeppo was the funniest out of all of them, but he always got the straight role.

[EvenEvenOdd]

In Harpo's autobiography, Harpo says Groucho was one of the three funniest men of his time, the others being George Burns and George Jessel, all three of them members of the Hillcrest Round Table. He has plenty praises to bestow on Zeppo, too, but none of them has to do with him being funny.

[missgibbdreamer]

@EvenEvenOdd That is true. But he wrote about his family members with love and warmth, ratter his parents, brothers, wife, etc. A lot of love there. What a classy man

[Desperada57]

In fact, I think they WERE a boy band! The Four Nightingales were a musical act.

[GozerJr]

its so weird to hear him talk without the fake accent

[ILuvCaptainHair]

@GozerJr Wow I always thought it was real, even though the others don't have an accent - Chico just looks Italian I gues haha

[PratesRsexy]

Chico is amazing and he lives forever along with all the Marx brothers. they are the fucking shit and they know whats up!!! hhahah Chico I love you

[UTAOUB]

Wish Zeppo was in more movies. I really liked him........and was surprised he left the act because he didn't want to be the handsome, romantic lead -- he wanted to do silly comedy like his brothers. Too bad...I enjoyed the romantic parts he did play!

[19blackwidow82]

@UTAOUB ahhhh, he was stiff!

[kaferere]

Someone may have already mentioned this in the comments, but in case they haven't, the guy interviewing Chico at the beginning is stage magician David Nixon who had a long running T.V. show in the U.K. Not to be confused with the American magician Richard Nixon.

[ragemanchoo82]

1:51, that's Groucho's daughter, right?

Also, I remember seeing a TV special (on PBS?) showing a 1980s interview with one of Chico's friends. He recalls one time when they both met Tallulah Bankhead, I think sometime in the mid-1930s. There's an awkward pause, Chico is standing there staring at her, and his friend says something to the effect of "Oh god, here we go", and Chico says to Bankhead "I wanna fuck ya" to which Bankhead says, grinning, "And indeed you shall, you old-fashioned boy."

[jorel845]

I believe that's Chico's daughter. When PBS first aired this she was in the studio portion of the broadcast answering some questions.

[darkhorsegeorge]

aw i freaking love chico <3 hes so cute. harpo was my favourite brother; i love the way chico & harpo would play off each other.

marx bros were briiiiiilliant!

[kiminokami]

What is that guy doing interrupting Chico? I don't want to see that guy!

[HeraldMB]

"What is that guy doing interrupting Chico? I don't want to see that guy!"

Lol, well you know it is great to hear from Harpo's son but obviously we would have loved to hear Chico's version of the story too! ;)

[joealanouf]

dame that guy looks so old. but he was in his 40's when doing the movies

[ohso41]

He was in his 70's during that interview. I think he died a couple of years later

[Jourell1]

I think they cut a bit of this out. I have this special on video and noticed some was missing. for example when chico is talking about the bag after "a piece of candy "he jokes "a little marijuana, whatever we could pick up. and Groucho got his name from the bag."

[fallonmccoy]

I remember that on the DVD, just not at this part for some reason (cause it would have made most sense to be here, right? hah)

[darksorcerermusic]

hats the 1st time i herad chico without the italian accent

[fishhead06]

Harpo was a cutie! and apparently really sweet, too.

[ZupaxBandit]

He sure was. That man is a saint!-- he should be canonized :D

[Desperada57]

All of them were cuties - if they were around today Minnie would have made them form a boy band! lol!!

[stegosweetandsaur]

Lmao, what a horrible thought. But true.

[HeraldMB]

You know...you're probably right. lol

[watcherdave]

David Nixon.

[sHaDoWoFsWoRdS]

yeah and talk about 50 versions of how everyone hot their names...lol...how do u know which story is the real one??

[sHaDoWoFsWoRdS]

wow that s the first time i ever heard chico talk with his real accent

[davesni]

wheres the fuckin rest?

[roverspaul]

why swear here?

[davesni]

i just get so ANGRY though

[JessieRavenblade]

OMG... that photo of Arther(harpo) marxs at 2 min... he was so handsome...*drool.*

[tookie9293]

Yes, he was adorable. And such an angel.

[JessieRavenblade]

too bad i was born too late. I would have had a big crush on him. XD

[verbusen]

Just had another thought, I am pretty sure that was Chico's daughter who said that Groucho was usually a grouch. Her childhood memories may have been around when Groucho was paying of Chico's gambling debt's, I think it went down like that. That would put me in a VERY grouchy mood too!

[verbusen]

Cool post, I love the Marx Brothers! I also like You Bet Your Life, good stuff!

[badhead]

They cut out the bit where Chico talks about keeping weed in the grouch bag.

[MadJohnEscapes]

...wait....really?

it had occurred to me that the Brothers might have indulged....but I never knew for certain.

[JerLewis63]

so are all 4 of them brothers or is it just harpo and chico who are bros???

[unkr01]

All of them.. Groucho, Chico, Harpo, Zeppo, and Gummo. Bye the way, as far as the Three Stooges go, Moe, Curly, and Shemp were brothers.. but not Larry.

[colby2n]

They also had a another brother but he died when he was three I think.

[classorisso]

Old charming man.

[Lampshade51]

Chico in 1959!

Older, but still charming.

I believe that this was is second to last TV appearance. He did one more TV shot on "Championship Bridge" (he was a lifelong bridge player) on ABC-TV in 1960.

Chico passed away in 1961.

By all accounts, a lovable rascal.

[trucoteca28]

oh, so old! :O

[laura20022004]

omg chico he looks so different.

[bluecheif88]

the marx bros are easliy the best comedic group the there ever is, was or ever will be because i have found at least two shows and a movie that reused their exact phrases or sketches like The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody used a stuffed closet scene from Night At The Opera, Lazytown used the mirror scene from Duck Soup and the movie Chacago used the phrase"who are you going to believe me or your own eyes."idk the movie but i know it was from the marx bros.

[thomaschavers]

the "who are you going to believe me, me or your own eyes?" is from duck soup.

[mistymaxy]

WHAT?!?! SprayNetikz you know nothing! THEY ARE BROTHERS!!! the guy talking is chico, harpos older brother. moron

[fallonmccoy]

the man in the teal shirt IS HARPO'S SON. There is no need to be an asshole to others... especially when they are right.

[Ninyae1]

Ha ha, put your foot in it, fallon.

[Ninyae1]

Actually not you fallon! I meant misty!

[wibbly222]

@fallonmccoy The presenter is David Nixon, who was a great popular British magician. He did know, but it was standard questions for the sake of the audience. Nixon was far from being a fool. 6foot 4inches so you couldn't have said that to his face!

[SprayNetiKz]

the guy talking about the marx brothers is harpo's son.

[tookie9293]

Love the reference to marijuana. I just knew they were stoners, especially Harpo.

[classorisso]

he look like my dentist. LOL!

[tookie9293]

Yep, my dentist looks a bit like him too now that I think about it.

[tookie9293]

I borrowed the VHS tape from the library the other day and watched this documentary.  Personally, thought a little too much time was spent on Groucho. Does anyone have any clips of Harpo speaking at his retirment gig and/or his performance in Silent Panic? Can't seem to find any here on YouTube.

Chico has the same accent as my dentist.

[classorisso]

that picture of chico in black makeup with that lady. that's from I'll Say She Is. even chicopooh like fine with black makeup. he'll be a fine black brotha.

[Mimm42]

BBC-TV. Of course. There's a hilarious bit in Harpo's autobiography about his reception after a performance in england, in front of the king, no less. Out of all the things we have, the knowledge that the english have a great sense of humour is what makes me proud to be one of them. Thats my patriotic bit for the day.

[PiecesOfRainbow7]

Oh harpo.... that harp picture... *SWOON!*

its unbearable, I love him.

[sapphiresanchez]

Harpo ROCKS! I love that photo!

[Fasioncore]

HARPO IS THE BEST

[lethe56]

When you're depressed, there's NOTHING like a Marx Brothers film. It's the best pick-me-up ever. Duck Soup in particular. Ah, all of them.

[CarlaErikaSusanne]

Chico Is The Best!!!

[sleepingspider]

i would like some one to please put the whole thing on the marxs brothers made me happy by they films so silly yet full of fun some think that is missing from todays films. . .

[NailedBohemian]

i wish somebody would put the hole documentry on here.

[ShovelDuct]

What a cute picture of Harpo!

[pferrara929]

Thanks for sharing this. I enjoyed it.

Check out Harpo - US on You Tube and let me know what you think.

[143AC]

This Marx Brothers TV Documentary

actually debuted on The Disney Channel.

[Barb51850]

I love when he is asked "Are you really brothers?" and he says "Yea, as far as I KNOW." That is so cute.

[wakkakumei]

I've seen some of the interview with Chico, but only a little bit. I didn't see the bit where the interviewer asks if they were brothers, but I saw a bit more from the "grouch bag" bit. He went on to say that they kept some marijuana in their bags, and the audience burst out laughing. Chico added that they were studying to be musicians, and he had a huge smile on his face when he did.

And... yeah, that's about all I saw. Just thought I'd throw it out there.

[quaid667]

yeah,it is on this documentary but its been cut.i have this on vhs.

[charliefoxpapa]

The fellow interviewing Chico is David Nixon. He was a very popular magician in the U.K.

[pressgangers]

not only was david nixon a u.k magician in the 60s 70s But type in on youtube Mellotron Demo as david nixon had a hand in the developing the instrument

[MissHarpoMarx]

At the beggining when the guy says I've been a fan since i was this tall. When Chico went mmhmm..that just tuggs my heart and im almost at the point where i start crying...ive never made it that far...but im close..lol

[MissHarpoMarx]

Who is the lady talking in this clip?

is it Chico or harpo's daughter?

[fallonmccoy]

it's Chico's daughter Maxine :)

[PaulPaddickFan]

I love this!

But this was like 2 years before he died..bless his heart!

[GiantRatSumatra]

Great interview from a great documentary! However, I don't think that's Chico's real voice completely, he still seems to put an Italian 'slur' on his words. He slips in and out of accent so often though it is hard to tell.

[fallonmccoy]

I agree with you, that it is hard to tell. many New Yorkers have that kind of accent he gives anyway though. I think its really great that Chico has this air of mystery around him. Groucho and Harpo kind of let it all out there (well, Harpo didn't talk in public much but it isn't hard to find video of him speaking), but not Chico!

[Herald8]

I know what you mean, but I think it's because the Italian dialect he put on was actually more of a humorous mixture of Italian and New York, lol.

Great interview, you don't see much of Chico outside of the movies. And that photo of Harpo is lovely.