Groucho Marx and Other Short Stories and Tall Tales

by Bader, Robert S.; Cavett, Dick

• ISBN13: 9781557837912
• ISBN10: 1557837910
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-10-01
• Publisher: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books

Summary

Groucho Marx was a comic genius who starred on stage and in film, radio, and television. But he was also a gifted writer - the author of a play, two screenplays, seven books, and over 100 articles and essays. This newly expanded collection presents the best of Groucho's short comic pieces, written over a period of more than fifty years between 1919 and 1973 for the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Saturday Evening Post, Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, and other newspapers and magazines. Here is the one and only Groucho on his family, his days in vaudeville, his career, World War II, taxes, and other topics from his love of a good cigar to his chronic insomnia, from "Why Harpo Doesn't Talk" to "The Truth About Captain Spalding." The familiar irreverence, wordplay, and a dash of self-deprecation bring Groucho's wisecracking voice to life in these pages, firmly establishing him as one of the world's great humorists. Groucho Marx and Other Short Stories and Tall Tales (a title of Groucho's own choosing) is essential reading for Marx Brothers fans, and a hilarious and nostalgic trip through the twentieth century.

Author Biography

Robert S. Bader has been a Marx Brothers fan since childhood. He is the writer and producer of the documentary The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk. His other credits include The Legendary Bing Crosby, The Honeymooners 50th Anniversary Celebration and numerous DVD collections, including The Dick Cavett Show and Groucho's quiz show, You Bet Your Life. He is currently writing a comprehensive history of the Marx Brothers'stage career. He lives in Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Foreword to the First Edition: The Seriousness of Being Humorous by Groucho Marx	p. xi
Introduction	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xii
Editor's Note	p. xiv
A Note from the Author: Marx of Humor	p. xivii
The Gus Sun Also Rises
Up from Pantages	p. 3
We Stand Corrected	p. 7
Press Agents I Have Known	p. 9
The return of the Four Mad Prodigals	p. 13
Bad Days Are Good Memories	p. 16
Mackerel for Xmas	p. 28
Why Harpo Doesn't Talk	p. 31
Homicode On The Range
My Poor Wife	p. 37
Holy Smoke	p. 43
Buy It, Put It Away, and Forget About It	p. 48
Our Father and Us	p. 51
Life Begins for Father	p. 59
Uncle Jullus	p. 61
Sh-h-h-h!	p. 64
The Truth About Captain Spalding	p. 69
Forward Mark
What This Country Needs	p. 73
Yes, We Have No Petrol	p. 79
How to Build a Secret Weapon	p. 82
Your Butcher Is Your Best Critic	p. 87
Groucho Marx Gives Kidding-on-the-Square Pitch for Hosp Shows	p. 90
How to Be a Spy	p. 92
Standing Room Only	p. 97
Many Happy Returns	p. 101
Jamison, Take A Letter
A Lift from Groucho Marx	p. 107
That Marx Guy, Again	p. 110
Groucho Marx Insists 'Variety' Plug His Book	p. 112
Groucho Marx Rebuttals	p. 114
Dear Simon & Schuster	p. 116
Groucho Marx's Back-to-the-Soil Movement Flivs	p. 117
Groucho's New Idea	p. 120
Letterature	p. 121
And That's Why Groucho Is Not Going Into Vaude	p. 123
Groucho Clears It Up	p. 125
And That's Why I Won't Imitate the Four Hawaiians	p. 127
An Apology	p. 129
My 24 Worth	p. 131
Marx Remarks
My Life in Art	p. 135
What Is Wrong with the Theater	p. 137
This Theatrical Business	p. 139
One of the Marks to Shoot At	p. 142
Movie Glossary	p. 145
Night Life of the Gods	p. 147
Just Another Anniversary	p. 151
Grouchoisms	p. 153
Run for Your Career, Boys	p. 156
I Never Could Grow a Moustache	p. 158
Whenever I Think of Scotch, I Recall the Immortal Words of My Brother Harpo	p. 162
The Schweinerei
When An Act's Successful and The Small Time's Season	p. 169
Alibis	p. 174
When I Was Young and Charming	p. 176
Ahead of the Times	p. 183
Heywood Broun	p. 186
The Psychology of Psocks	p. 190
Author in Search of Characters	p. 193
Tales of Hoffman: Letter to Chico	p. 196
How to Crank a Horse	p. 198
Light and Airy	p. 206
How to Entertain a Guest	p. 209
TV or Not TV	p. 211
Groucho's Zany Yule Review of Three Slap-Happy Volumes	p. 215
Humor from Silent Screen to TV	p. 219
Letter to Woody Allen	p. 229
A Letter from Groucho	p. 232
The Odyssey of the Goats	p. 234
Poem from Animal Crackers (1928)	p. 239
Groucho Marx Chronology	p. 241
Bibliography	p. 249
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