Leonard Joseph 'Chico' Marx was the eldest of the brothers, born in 1887. Julius Henry Marx (Groucho, left) and Adolph Marx (Harpo) holding a rat terrier dog, c. The Marx Brothers also had an older sister (actually a cousin, born in January 1885) who had been adopted by Minnie and Frenchie. The family lived in the New York City's Upper East Side in the Yorkville, Manhattan district centered in the Irish, German and Italian quarters. His name was changed to Samuel Marx, and he was nicknamed 'Frenchy'. Samuel ('Sam' born Simon) Marx was a native of Mertzwiller, a small Alsatian village, and worked as a tailor. Around 1880, the family emigrated to New York City, where Minnie married Sam Marx in 1884. Her mother was a yodeling harpist and her father a ventriloquist both were funfair entertainers. Their mother Miene 'Minnie' Schoenberg (professionally known as Minnie Palmer, later the brothers' manager) was from Dornum in East Frisia. The Marx Brothers were born in New York City, the sons of Jewish immigrants from Germany and France. From left: Groucho, Gummo, Minnie (mother), Zeppo, Sam (father), Chico, and Harpo. The early performing lives of the brothers owed much to their mother, Minnie Marx (the sister of vaudeville comic Al Shean), who acted as their manager until her death in 1929.įamily background and early life The only known photo of the entire surviving Marx family, c. Gummo was not in any of the movies Zeppo appeared in the first five films in relatively straight (non-comedic) roles. Both left the act to pursue business careers at which they were successful, and for a time ran a large theatrical agency through which they represented their brothers and others. The two younger brothers, Gummo and Zeppo, never developed their stage characters to the same extent as the elder three. After the group essentially disbanded in 1950, Groucho went on to a successful second career in television, while Harpo and Chico appeared less prominently. The core of the act was the three elder brothers: Chico, Harpo, and Groucho, each of whom developed a highly distinctive stage persona.

There was a sixth brother, the firstborn, named Manfred (Mannie), who died in infancy Zeppo was given the middle name Manfred in his memory. The brothers are almost universally known by their stage names: Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo, and Zeppo. 100 Stars list of the 25 greatest male stars of Classical Hollywood cinema, the only performers to be included collectively. The brothers were included in AFI's 100 Years.

They are widely considered by critics, scholars and fans to be among the greatest and most influential comedians of the 20th century. 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. The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures from 1905 to 1949.

Plays a part in a play crossword clue