Entertainment Article: Groucho Marx: His Influence On Television
This very talented comedian and actor had a huge impact on American television and comedy. His methods and appearance set him apart from others, and he will always be remembered by those people who were lucky enough to have seen him perform.
During his career, Marx made a total of thirteen films with his brothers Harpo and Chico, famous in the movies as the Marx brothers, and also managed to have a well-received solo career. He was great with his use of various objects like cigars, glasses, fake facial hair in combination with his comical yet deliberate posture.
It was revealed by Marx himself in a 1950s radio broadcast, that he had been born in a space above a butchers shop in New York, the place in which he spent his youth. He eventually found himself in Hollywood, and in his personal life got married three times, all unfortunately ending in divorce. Groucho Marx was once comically quoted describing his idea of the perfect woman: “Someone who looks like Marilyn Monroe and talks like George S. Kaufman.”
Groucho was notably more successful on stage and in films, but his radio career had it’s share of ups and downs. One of the major ups in this aspect of his life was the show You Bet Your Life. The show was never deliberately planned by Marx, as it was the brainchild of John Guedel, who had listened in on an ad-libbing session between Marx and Bob Hope.
The story behind the spawning of this hit show, was that Marx had been forced to wait in a cold waiting room for forty minutes before coming on, and by the time he entered the show he was very annoyed. Bob Hope introduced him to the audience, and instead of sticking to the script Marx continued to make improvised wisecracks, riffing off of Bob Hope. Little did he know, this would start the chain of events that would lead to You Bet Your Life. Part of what made the show so popular with audiences was that same sense of improvisation that landed him the show in the first place.
Groucho went on to star in a new show called Tell It To Groucho premiering on January 11, 1962, but unlike his previous success with You Bet Your Life it failed to garner as much attention. He would continue to make TV appearances through the rest of his life, even up to 1972 which was just five years before his death at age 86. Despite the fact that most young people don’t know who he is, he will always be respected and remembered for his contributions to comedy and television as we know it.
Photo courtesy of http://www.otrnow.com/.
About the author: David C. is the webmaster of http://famousquotesindex.coms, a website containing close to 30,000 famous quotes and inspiring biographies from renowned authors.
