America After Dark, hosted by Jack Lescoulie. Three years later after Chico's death, Harpo died on September 28, 1964, at the age of 75, following a heart attack one day after heart surgery. November 30, 1979, Palm Springs). A Night at the Opera and its follow-up,A Day at the Races, shoehorned the Marx Brothers' mayhem into formulaic plots with the brothers featured as supporting players in their own films. Mother Minnie learned that farmers were excluded from the draft rolls, so she purchased a 27-acre (110,000m2) poultry farm near Countryside, Illinois but the brothers soon found that chicken ranching was not in their blood. Wilder had discussions with Groucho and Gummo, but the project was put on hold because of Harpo's ill-health, and abandoned when Chico died on October 11, 1961, from arteriosclerosis,[41] when he was 74. "The teacher, a lady named Miss Flatto [] liked to predict, in front of the class, that I would come to no good end, " Marx recalled. Although Groucho and Harpo are regarded as the comic geniuses of the act, audiences found Chico the most immediately ingratiating. Zeppo's long-simmering frustration led to his departure from the Marx Brothers after their final film for Paramount. While stowing away on a ship to America, the boys get involuntarily pressed into service as toughs for a pair of feuding gangsters while trying desperately to evade the ship's crew. Their third feature-length film, Monkey Business (1931), was their first movie not based on a stage production. All 13 Marx Brothers Comedies in the Order You Should Watch Them By Donald Liebenson Photo: MGM Studios/Archive Photos/Getty Images The Marx Brothers were no overnight sensation by the. 'Monkey business: The lives and legends of the Marx Brothers: Groucho, Chico, Harpo, Zeppo with added Gummo.' Replaced in the Marx Brothers by younger brother Herbert "Zeppo" Marx, Gummo entered the garment industry, selling dresses and textiles, after the war. By 1907, he and Gummo were singing together as "The Three Nightingales" with Mabel O'Donnell. The brothers were included in AFI's 100 Years 100 Stars list of the 25 greatest male stars of Classical Hollywood cinema, the only performers to be included collectively. "[20] Zeppo replaced him in their final vaudeville years and in the jump to Broadway, and then to Paramount films. Other Who Dat minstrel songs followed. "In England now," said Groucho, "they were called 'birds'.")[27]. Featuring some of the Marx Brothers' best comedic bits, A Night at the Opera was a hit for MGM and a financial windfall for the comedy team. The family tree of the Marx Brothers (pictured above on Broadway, 1928) makes one thing readily apparent: Show business ran in their blood. According to legend, the brothers' singing act began its transformation into a comedy act during a performance in Nacogdoches, Texas, when a local burst in to announce that a mule had gotten loose. Herbert was not nicknamed by Art Fisher, since he did not join the act until Gummo had departed. [9] Minnie also acted as the brothers' manager, using the name Minnie Palmer so that agents did not realize that she was also their mother. So did the Marx brothers, with a number in "A Day at the Races" called "Gabriel (Who Dat Man . The fourth wheel lacked the talent and drive of the others, and as such was grateful when he was drafted into service for World War I. By this time, "The Four Marx Brothers" had begun to incorporate their unique style of comedy into their act and to develop their characters. The brothers successfully negotiated for 15 percent of the gross of their next film,A Night at the Opera, netting the greatest financial returns of their careers. But their effect on the entertainment community continues well into the 21st century. The Marx Brothers' success allowed Chico to indulge his habit at higher stakes. Hegyes sometimes imitated both Chico and Harpo. Among their wildest, most anarchic efforts, the three films mercilessly lampoon moneyed society, higher education, and warring governments. [70], In the Fleischer Brothers' Betty Boop cartoon Betty in Blunderland (1934) Betty sings Everyone Says I Love You, a song owned by Paramount Pictures, which also owned Betty's cartoons as well as the Marx Brothers film it was taken from: Horse Feathers. I had a high squeaky voice. Its success helped secure playwright George S. Kaufman, and songwriter Irving Berlin, (Two of Broadways best talents) for the musical comedy, The Cocoanuts (19251926) and later Animal Crackers (19281929).[25]. After publication in a book they were performed with Marx Brothers' impersonators for BBC Radio. Horse Feathers (1932), in which the brothers satirized the American college system and Prohibition, was their most popular film yet, and won them the cover of Time magazine. [45] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau was less enthusiastic, however, grading the LP a C-plus and recommending it only to fanatics of the comedy group, also expressing displeasure with the interspersing of small portions of "annoying music" and Owens's commentary.[46]. At 15, he joined the Leroy Trio, a traveling musical act. Five years later (October 1, 1962) after Jack Paar's tenure, Groucho made a guest appearance to introduce the Tonight Show's new host, Johnny Carson.[40]. Just three days before Marx died, the world was shocked by the untimely passing of rock 'n' roll legend Elvis Presely from a drug-related heart attack at age 42. The reason that Julius was named Groucho is perhaps the most disputed. Thalberg restored Harpo's harp solos and Chico's piano solos, which had been omitted from Duck Soup. Four years later, however, Chico persuaded his brothers to make two additional films, A Night in Casablanca (1946) and Love Happy (1949), to alleviate his severe gambling debts. [52] Other celebrity fans of the comedy ensemble have been Antonin Artaud,[56] The Beatles,[47] Anthony Burgess,[57] Alice Cooper,[48] Robert Crumb,[58] Salvador Dal,[59] Eugene Ionesco,[56][49] George Gershwin[60] (who dressed up as Groucho once), Ren Goscinny,[61] Cdric Klapisch,[62] J. D. Salinger[63] and Kurt Vonnegut. Synopsis: When the tiny nation of Freedonia goes bankrupt, its wealthy benefactor, Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont), insists that the wacky Rufus. Left largely to his own devices, Leonard applied an aptitude for mathematics to street gambling games, developing an addiction that prompted him to pawn his family's keepsakes. October 11, 1961, Hollywood, California), Harpo (original name Adolph Marx, later Arthur Marx; b. November 23, 1888, New York Cityd. Around 1880, the family emigrated to New York City, where Minnie married Sam Marx in 1884. Her name was Pauline, or "Polly".[4]. Lafe and Fanny demonstrated their retired magic act, with Fanny's portable harp catching the attention of one grandson in particular. Grouch bags were worn on manly chests long before there was a Groucho.[32]. Groucho fired back a sarcastic retort asking them to change the name of their town, because "it's hurting our picture". The zaniest of all madcap comedy teams were the Marx Brothers, namely Groucho (aka Julius Henry), Chico (aka Leonard), and Harpo (aka Adolph). Still, his passing on August 19, 1977, went largely unnoticed by the public. Monkey Business is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film. Eliot, George Gershwin, and several other noted writers and composers. [70] In Allen's film Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Woody's character, after a suicide attempt, is inspired to go on living after seeing a revival showing of Duck Soup. [72], In Rob Zombie's 2003 film House of 1000 Corpses, the clown Captain Spaulding, as well as many other characters, are named after various Marx brothers characters. Finally, in 1962, the Marx Brothers were awarded a $36,000 settlement. Filled with unforgettable comedy African explorer arrives. Matt Walters, Matt Roper, Noah Diamond, and Seth Shelden are Zeppo, Chico, Groucho, and Harpo in a new revival of the Marx Brothers' lost musical, "I'll Say She Is . 2. [39] Both pictures were released by United Artists. His close friendship with Harpo led to the brothers association with members of the Algonquin Round Table and other members of New Yorks cultural elite. False The 1937 economic slump was caused in part by a sharp decrease in government spending. Harpo stopped speaking onstage and began to wear a red fright wig and carry a taxi-cab horn. All the brothers confirmed that Minnie Marx had been the head of the family and the driving force in getting the troupe launched, the only person who could keep them in order; she was said to be a hard bargainer with theatre management. [87][88][89][90][91][92], In the 2018 alternate history e-book Hail! Chico's real name is Leonard Joseph, Harpo's is Adolph, Groucho's is Julius Henry, Gummo's is Milton, and Zeppo's is Herbert Manfred. [82], The Marx Brothers were spoofed in the second act of the 1980 Broadway Review A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine. [55] Comedian Frank Ferrante made impersonations of Groucho a career. At the center of these long-standing legal battles was the issue of the licensing of the comedians' likenesses. On September 28, 1964 the date of his 28th wedding anniversary with wife Susan Flemming Harpo Marx died at the age of 75 after undergoing an open-heart procedure. In 1959, the three began production of Deputy Seraph, a TV series starring Harpo and Chico as blundering angels, and Groucho (in every third episode) as their boss, the "Deputy Seraph". While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Although it was long assumed that the firstborn Marx brother passed of tuberculosis, asthenia and entero-colitis, complications which probably arose from influenza, are cited as the actual causes of death. No one seemed to notice that he was terrified of singing in front of an audience, and the Four Nightingales enjoyed a solid showing on the road. [3] [4] It is the third of the Marx Brothers ' released movies ( Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo ), and the first with an original screenplay rather than an adaptation of one of their Broadway shows. Abuse from both bullies and a discouraging teacher who considered him "slow" led to his permanent exit from academia at age eight. Nevertheless, the story of the Marx Brothers isn't all chuckles and pratfalls. By 1924, they made the leap to Broadway with their musical comedy revue I'll Say She Is. Unlike the free-for-all scripts at Paramount, Thalberg insisted on a strong story structure that made the brothers more sympathetic characters, interweaving their comedy with romantic plots and non-comic musical numbers, and targeting their mischief-making at obvious villains. Long considered a myth, even among members of the family, rumors of a sixth Marx brother were finally confirmed by Maxine Marx, daughter of eldest brother Chico, in her 1983 book Growing Up With Chico. [1][2] His name was changed to Samuel Marx, and he was nicknamed "Frenchy". Suffering from dementia, congestive heart failure, hypertension, and a host of other debilitating ailments, the aging comedian was no longer able to care for himself. Working with Edwards' co-producer Ned Wayburn, who went on to fame as choreographer of The Ziegfield Follies, she paired Julius with Milton and 16-year-old soprano Mabel O'Donnell to form the Three Nightingales. Their mother Miene "Minnie" Schoenberg (professionally known as Minnie Palmer, later the brothers' manager) was from Dornum in East Frisia. In 1966, Filmation produced a pilot for a Marx Brothers' cartoon. The Marx Brothers' stage shows became popular just as motion pictures were evolving to "talkies". Watch an episode of the television game show You Bet Your Life hosted by Groucho Marx, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Marx-Brothers, Jewish Virtual Library - The Marx Brothers, Marx Brothers - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). In the sequel, The Devil's Rejects, a Marx Brothers expert is brought in to try to help the police get in to the minds of the fugitives who use their character names. Along with providing a means for them to hone their timing and improvisational skills, the show's success pulled in the missing Marx brother, Leonard, who allegedly joined the act by way of a surprise performance with the orchestra one night. And Gummo? They got their start in vaudeville, where their uncle Albert Schnberg performed as Al Shean of Gallagher and Shean. The children of Groucho, Harpo, and Chico Marx spent many of the years after the passing of their famous fathers embroiled in intense litigation related to the immortal comedy troupe. Anchored on Julius' verbal dexterity, the show also found a sweet spot with the pantomiming abilities of Adolph, now known as Arthur, and featured an early stage appearance from baby brother Herbert. Although born in New York City the five Marx Brothers Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo and . Peter Sellers imitates Groucho in Let's Go Crazy (1951). about Communism portrays Groucho and Chico, respectively, as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Over the course of his abbreviated tour of the second grade, physical ejections from the classroom at the hands of his tormentors became commonplace. She reconfigured the Nightingales into a musical act called the Six Mascots, which featured three of her sons, a fourth boy named Freddie Hutchins and both Minnie and her sister Hannah attempting to pass as schoolgirls. Wish me luck. According to Hollywood Stories by Stephen Schochet, Chico's gambling addiction began when the comedian was just nine years old. "They are going to kill me! a sharp rise in private spending. In memory of their lost child, Sam and Minnie Marx would bestow their youngest son Herbert, known to Marx Brothers fans as "Zeppo," with the middle name Manfred. [26] As Fisher dealt each brother a card, he addressed them, for the very first time, by the names they kept for the rest of their lives. [36], On 11 March 1933 the Marx Brothers founded a production company, the "International Amalgamated Consolidated Affiliated World Wide Film Productions Company Incorporated, of North Dakota". Zeppo, who dropped out of the act after the teams first five films, played a straight character and was usually given little to do, although certain film scenes (such as the letter-writing routine in Animal Crackers) indicate that he too had a sound sense of comic timing. The excerpts were interspersed with voice-over introductions by disc jockey and voice actor Gary Owens. But the next two, Leonard (Chico) and Adolph (Harpo), were perfectly healthy, as was the third, Julius Henry (Groucho), other than the strabismus that left his eyes mismatched. It was followed two years later by an even bigger hit, A Day at the Races (1937), in which the brothers cause mayhem in a sanitarium and at a horse race. Monkey Business and Horse Feathers were enormously popular with Depression-era audiences, but the political satire Duck Soup (directed by the renowned Leo McCarey) was a box-office disappointment. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. 20 on AFI's list of the Top 25 American male screen legends of Classic Hollywood. Thalberg introduced elements into their comedy designed to increase their commercial appeal: the Marx Brothers characters were still recognizable, but Thalberg set them firmly in the real world and minimized surreal elements, while turning Groucho, Harpo, and Chico into semi-sympathetic, somewhat heroic characters. She came from a family of performers. The film features Groucho and Chico's famous "Tootsie Frootsie Ice Cream" sketch. the huge government deficit. The film starred John Turturro, Mel Smith, and comedian Bob Nelson as loosely imitating Groucho, Chico, and Harpo. Wikipedia. To everyone's surprise, the sparse crowd roared with laughter. [70] The band Karl and the Marx Brothers takes their name from them. At the peak of their popularity, the Marx Brothers brought Depression-era audiences the irreverent and subtly subversive laughs they needed. In the second episode of The Muppet Show Kermit the Frog sings "Lydia the Tattooed Lady."[70]. All Rights Reserved. [70] In Manhattan (1979), he names the Marx Brothers as the first thing that makes life worth living. In his autobiography, Harpo explained that Milton became Gummo because he crept about the theater like a gumshoe detective. Manfred Marx is buried beside his maternal grandmother, Fanny Schoenberg, in New York's Washington Cemetery. Groucho brought the surreal into the workaday environs of the movie studios, finding humor in . The "Sweathogs" of the ABC-TV series Welcome Back Kotter (John Travolta, Robert Hegyes, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, and Ron Palillo) patterned much of their on-camera banter in that series after the Marx Brothers. In what proved to be a turning point in their careers, the show endeared them to Alexander Woollcott, the most prominent and influential drama critic of the time. By. The Marx Brothers are employed at a hotel in postwar Casablanca, where a ring of Nazis is trying to recover a cache of stolen treasure. Once, taking a man's pulse, Groucho announced: "Either this man is dead or my . By 1924 the brothers act had evolved into its familiar incarnation. [21] During this time, Groucho discontinued his "German" stage personality. However, not even the Great White Way could contain the Marx Brothers' mayhem for long. "I was the perfect Patsy," Marx explained. These are the tragic details behind the hilarity. ), This page was last edited on 1 May 2023, at 03:58. Paramount and the Marx Brothers fought the matter out in court for decades. According to the website Marx-Brothers.org, Groucho Marx once recalled his mother saying, "Sam can cough all night and I never hear him, but if one of my boys coughs just once, I'm wide awake.". We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. However, that monetary success would ultimately come at the cost of their creativity. The project was abandoned when Chico was found to be uninsurable (and incapable of memorizing his lines) due to severe arteriosclerosis. Scott Tobias of The Dissolve describes Irving Thalberg's reengineering of the troupe's act as the beginning of the end for the Marx Brothers. Romeo Muller is credited as having written special material for the show, but the script for the classic "Napoleon Scene" was probably supplied by Groucho. Both Groucho's and Harpo's memoirs say that their now-famous on-stage personae were created by Al Shean. [93], In the Vlasic Pickles commercials, the stork associated with the product holds a pickle the way Groucho held a cigar and, in a Groucho voice, says, "Now that's the best tastin' pickle I ever heard!" The band Sparks had originally been named The Sparks Brothers, as a reference to The Marx Brothers. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute as among the top 100 comedy films, with two of them (Duck Soup and A Night at the Opera) in the top twelve. Films with the four Marx Brothers in New York: Films with the four Marx Brothers in California: Films with the three Marx Brothers (post-Zeppo): In the 1974 Academy Awards telecast, Jack Lemmon presented Groucho with an honorary Academy Award to a standing ovation. [73], Tex Avery's cartoon Hollywood Steps Out (1941) features appearances by Harpo and Groucho. Love, ZEPPO.". The Marx Brothers also had an older sister (actually a cousin, born in January 1885) who had been adopted by Minnie and Frenchie. Bros. films ever made! Smith. The brothers were the sons of Jewish immigrants Simon or Sam ("Frenchie") Marx (or Marks), a well-dressed but apparently incompetent tailor born to German parents, most likely in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, in 1859, and Minnie, born Miene Schnberg, born in Dornum, Germany, in 1864. There were two causes of this. They scored a major triumph on Broadway with their musical-comedy revue Ill Say She Is (1924), by which time Zeppo had replaced Gummo. Her mother was a yodeling harpist and her father a ventriloquist; both were funfair entertainers. Five of the Marx Brothers' fourteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) as among the top 100 comedy films, with two of them, Duck Soup (1933) and A Night at the Opera (1935), in the top fifteen. [70], Ron Goulart wrote six books between 1998 and 2005 where Groucho Marx was a detective. Fleming was eventually removed as Marx's conservator, but his family's legal woes with the former showgirl would continue long after Groucho's death from pneumonia in 1977. The audience hurried out to see what was happening. During a particularly disastrous gig in Nacogdoches, Texas, in which the group was upstaged by a runaway mule, Groucho used his acerbic wit to put down an unreceptive audience. The Marx Brothers The Four Stowaways (as The Four Marx Brothers) Chico Marx Chico Zeppo Marx Zeppo Rockliffe Fellowes Joe Helton (as Rockcliffe Fellowes) Harry Woods Briggs Thelma Todd Lucille Ruth Hall Mary Helton Tom Kennedy Gibson Eddie Baker Ship's Officer (uncredited) Bobby Barber Hoarse Barber Customer (uncredited) Billy Barty Child The Marx Brothers were collectively named No. Monkey Business, the first Marx brothers film written specifically for the screen, is the least story-focused, with an assortment of random segments built around the idea that the brothers, as stowaways aboard a ship, get involved in a rivalry between two gangsters, thanks to Groucho's interest in the one gangster's wife, and Zeppo's interest . The Marx Brothers were born in New York City, the sons of Jewish immigrants from Germany and France. Chico found his Italian accent to be a surefire crowd-pleaser, Harpo dropped dialogue altogether and communicated by way of buffoonish gestures and an air horn and Groucho made great use of a stooped walk and raised eyebrows. They are going to kill me!" by Harry Turtledove, The Marx Brothers are transported back in time to 1826 and participate in the Fredonian Rebellion. [16] (However, in his autobiography Harpo Speaks, Harpo Marx stated that the runaway mule incident occurred in Ada, Oklahoma. Groucho Marx can be seen on the cover of Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits by Alice Cooper. The Marx Brothers were the sons of a tailor and a domineering stage mother, as well as the nephews of vaudeville headliner Al Shean of the popular team Gallagher and Shean. ", Although Harpo may have suffered minimal physical damage from his bullies, the emotional anguish inflicted by his teacher left more lasting scars. Director: Archie Mayo | Stars: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Charles Drake Votes: 7,080 2.5/5 12. I thank you.' The Marx Brothers. The Home Again tour reached Flint, Michigan, in 1915, where 14-year-old Zeppo joined his four brothers for what is believed to be the only time that all five Marx Brothers appeared together on stage. Zeppo Marx, real name Herbert, was the baby of the family. Nevertheless, the studio wasn't willing to give them the free reign they'd enjoyed at Paramount. It was also written at a time when the brothers were still known by their given . Groucho's voice was supplied by Pat Harrington Jr. and other voices were done by Ted Knight and Joe Besser (of The Three Stooges fame). After 11 years with the Marx Brothers, Gummo exited the act when he was drafted into the Army during World War I. Chico once appeared on I've Got a Secret dressed up as Harpo; his secret was shown in a caption reading, "I'm pretending to be Harpo Marx (I'm Chico)". There were also Zeppo (aka Herbert) -- who featured in their early comedies as a straight man and later became a theatrical agent -- and Gummo (aka Milton), who eschewed the entertainment industry for a career in . The sons of Jewish immigrants from Germany and France, the Marx Brothers became zany masters of stage and screen who continue to captivate audiences. Meanwhile, Julius was showing promise with a surprisingly sweet singing voice. The core of the act was the three elder brothers: Chico, Harpo, and Groucho, each of whom developed a highly distinctive stage persona. Their comedy routine took off during a performance in Texas, when much of the audience abandoned the brothers . Woollcott did not meet the Marx Brothers until the premiere of I'll Say She Is, which was their first Broadway show, so this would mean that they used their real names throughout their vaudeville days, and that the name "Gummo" never appeared in print during his time in the act. Groucho was the master of wit and verbal timing, and he delivered wisecracks and non sequiturs at a dizzying, relentless pace; his visual trademarks included greasepainted eyebrows and mustache, glasses, tailcoat, and ever-present cigar. After a short experience at RKO (Room Service, 1938), the Marx Brothers returned to MGM and made three more films: At the Circus (1939), Go West (1940) and The Big Store (1941). When gangster Bugsy Segal was murdered, in his pocket was a check from Chico for gambling losses. Though the series was short lived, much of the material developed for it was used in subsequent films. On January 16, 1977, the Marx Brothers were inducted into the Motion Picture Hall of Fame. He was not in Harpos league as a musician, but his dexterous trick piano playing was an audience favourite. Disillusioned with show business, the mechanically inclined Zeppo left the entertainment industry in the 1940s to start an industrial engineering firm that specialized in the manufacture of aircraft parts. His trademark image from the Marx Brothers' heyday had become as familiar as that of Santa Claus and Mickey Mouse. and bites into the pickle.[73]. Many of Groucho's friends accused Fleming of pushing him too hard, forcing an increasingly frail Marx to perform against his will for her financial gain. He was born Julius Henry Marx, but he will always be known as Groucho. Harpo was a very skillful bridge player, and a consistent winner in the highest circles. As produced by Sam Harris, and with a book by George S. Kaufman and songs by Irving Berlin, The Cocoanuts (1925) ran for more than two years on Broadway and on tour. Appearing opposite comedian Allan Sherman at the Pasadena Theater, Marx pulled out all of the stops with his classic bits. Manfred's death had a profound effect on Sam and Minnie Marx which would translate into the mourning parents lavishing eldest surviving son Leonard, better known by his stage name Chico, with love and attention. Instead of becoming angry, the audience laughed. The production was based on the Marx Brothers' radio show, Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel[84]. The act slowly evolved from singing with comedy to comedy with music. (Zeppo stood in for Groucho in the film version of Animal Crackers. 1. Harpo Marx performed for the last time in January 1963. June 1, 2016. Best remembered for his greasepaint mustache, ever-present cigar, and lightning-fast wit, young Groucho, born Julius Henry Marx, was an outsider in his own family. For Leonard, a brief brush with piano lessons may have been a life-saver, as he pulled himself away from gambling long enough to line up pianist gigs at venues throughout the city and, eventually, the music publishing company of Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. This was a small chamois bag that actors used to wear around their neck to keep other hungry actors from pinching their dough. April 21, 1977, Palm Springs, California), and Zeppo (original name Herbert Marx; b. February 25, 1901, New York Cityd. After the hit Animal Crackers (1928), the brothers turned their attentions to the new medium of sound motion pictures. Despite his professional success, Zeppo's personal life was turbulent. Omissions? Groucho made several radio appearances during the 1940s and starred in You Bet Your Life, which ran from 1947 to 1961 on NBC radio and television. A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine, How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All, "La famille paternelle des Marx Brothers", "Mrs. Minnie Marx. Their parents were Jewish immigrants from Germany. Following the success of The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers, the brothers negotiated a deal which should have garnered them 50 percent of the net profits for their next two films, 1931's Monkey Business and 1932'sHorse Feathers.