Explanation given by Gummo and Chico.Īfter ten years playing the circuit and refining their skills, the Marx Brothers accepted work with a Broadway-bound "tab" show, I'll Say She Is. Zeppo is a variation of the rural nickname Zeb, which Herbert later acquired while working on the family's Illinois farm.Zeppo comes from the Zeppelins used against England by the Germans in World War I.This angered Herbert so they changed it to Zeppo. Zeppo recieved his name after the other Brothers spotted him unintentionally mimicing the pull-ups of a very active chimp in the circus, Mr Zippo.There are three reasons given by the brothers for Zeppo's nickname and here they are.
The reason Gummo was so called was that he had gum-soled shoes, which meant no-one could hear him enter a room. Harpo got his from the harp that he played and legend has it that Chico got his from his love of "chicks" 6. Groucho name came about from the "grouch bag" that he used to carry around his neck under his clothing 5. The name "The Marx Brothers" was coined by comic Art Fisher onĪnd the inspiration for having all the brothers change their names so they had an "o" on the end came from Gus Mager a cartoonist who did the same thing with most of his characters. Chico was the unbelievably stupid pun-happy Italian, Harpo the non-speaking whirling dervish and Gummo (then later Zeppo) was the proper straight man of the act. Groucho Marx was the mustachioed, cigar-chomping leader of the foursome, alternately dispensing humorous invective and acting as exasperated straight man for his brothers' antics. Who Was Who and Where Did the Names Come From? In 1918 Gummo left the act in order to join the army and Zeppo joined. Green's Reception," at the Family Theater, Lafayette, Indiana. Chico joined the Mascots on 26th September, 1912 for the first performance of "Mr. When the Marx family moved to Chicago in late 1909/early 1910 the Four Nightingales became known as the Six Mascots 4. The first sign of the Marx Brothers as a performing group was on 24th June, 1907 when the Three Nightingales 3 (Groucho, Gummo and Mabel O'Donnell) made their debut performance as Ned Weyburn's Nightingales in Atlantic Garden, Atlantic City, New Jersey and on 1st June, 1908 - Harpo became the fourth Nightingale at Henderson's Theater, Coney Island, New York.
Remember men, we're fighting for this woman's honour - which is probably more than she ever did. Out of respect for their mother all the Marx Bros named their daughters with a name beginning with "M". Mother Marx died on 13th September, 1929. He died seven months later, probably from 'flu. Their first baby Manfred, was born in 1886. She met Simon and married him on 18th January 1885 2. Her family moved to the USA when she was 15, in 1880, where they settled in New York. The Brothers' mother was Miene Schönberg (born in Dornum, Germany on Nov 9th 1864) who also changed her name – from Miene to Minnie. I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception. It's also believed that Chico often pawned off his dad's tailor's shears so he could gamble. Some readers might recognise Simon Marrix as the "Sam" in the Groucho song, "Sam, You Made The Pants Too Long". The Brothers' father (Simon Marrix, a tailor, born in 1860 in the Alsace region of France) changed the family name from Marrix to Marx because he hoped it would be easier to find a job in America if he made his surname sound more German 1. The Marx name was in fact originally Marrix.
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