Everyone knows Groucho Marx, right? He and his Marx brothers made vaudeville and movie history, he hosted a popular game show as television got started, and here, appeared on the Dick Cavett show in September of 1969.
Groucho has spawned imitators. Alan Alda paid tribute to him on an almost weekly basis during the years M.A.S.H. was on the air. Locally, we’ve had stage performances of Marx Bros. movies.
A note: these Dick Cavett interviews with departed celebrities are really great. Search around to find many others.
Thoroughly enjoyable
No one, NO ONE had a quicker wit than Groucho!
Groucho had a trademark walk. The cigar was a part of it.
He crouched down, held on to the cigar that was in his mouth, and took large steps.
Once, on his quiz show, a guest showed up with a Chimpanzee. After a bit of repartee, the chimp grabbed Groucho’s cigar and began walking around the stage in an exact copy of Groucho’s walk.
Nonplussed, Groucho retorted:
“A lot of people have tried to make a monkey out of me, but this is the first time anyone succeeded”
Mr. Marx
From the beginning of the interview through to the end, Groucho disarms and bewilders Cavett, who seems to know him pretty well.
The only criticism I ever heard of Groucho was that he had certain jokes for certain words, so if you said “elephant” he’d do his joke about shooting an elephant in his pajamas. Mention elephant again, and he’s do the same joke. Luckily his vocabulary was quite good, and conversations jump from topic to topic. No one really noticed.
I like the way he casually says introduces stories with “Did I tell you about the time…” and ends them with “True story!”
On being Groucho...
If you have even a passing interest in Groucho Marx, you’ll want to catch this gent’s performance as “The One…The Only…”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Ferrante
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His appearances are posted on his website. Yes, he’s been to Vermont, twice
at least. Catch him on his next visit, you won’t be disappointed!
http://www.eveningwithgroucho.com/touring-schedule.html