MORE ON GROUCHO MARX

Contributed by Ralph MacPhail, Jr.

The late Groucho Marx was indeed an avid fan of the Savoy Operas. According to his son Groucho had all of the recordings at home and often travelled with an edition of the libretti. Unfortunately, Mrs. Marx did not share his enthusiasm. While Groucho was in rehearsal for the Bell Telephone-sponsored Mikado in 1960, the following appeared in Life magazine (May 2, p. 87):

For years Groucho Marx has been busting out at the seams to play Gilbert & Sullivan. At private parties he sings from their famous operettas, and on his TV quiz shows he often breaks into a line or two from a G&S ditty. … In an imposing cast Helen Traubel will sing Ko-Ko's hatchet-faced sweetheart, Katisha; Dennis King will be the Mikado; and Stanley Holloway from My Fair Lady will act the slippery Pooh-Bah. The whole show will be supervised by a renowned G&S expert, Martyn Green. Speaking of G & S, Groucho remarks, "Those guy's'll be glad they are dead when they hear me". But he is having so much fun that he is planning to play in a TV Pirates of Penzance. [this production never materialised].

NEWSWEEK (May 2, p 80) reported:

Groucho, who first saw The Mikado in New York when critic Alexander Woolcott took him to a performance in the long ago, has been entranced by G & S ever since. "Actually, this has been an ambition of mine for years," he confided. "But don't say that. Say I'm doing it for money." An aide, sitting nearby, looked disconcerted. "It's going to unearth a previously unseen talent in Groucho," he said hopefully. "He's going to gain a million new fans." "And lose the 10 million I've now got," shot back Groucho, who has been piloting a comic NBC-TV quiz for the past 10 seasons. "Actually I won't make any money out of it. I'll give it all to the Government. I'd like to find some way to defraud the Government. … I feel anyone who doesn't try to defraud the government is just plain un-American." While in rehearsal, Groucho wrote to Norman Krasna: "I don't think I've told you that I'm screwing up The Mikado April 29th for the Bell Telephone Company. This is my revenge for the lousy phone service they've given me over the years. My daughter Melinda is playing one of the Three Little Maids from School (Peep-Bo). At a moment's notice she will sing you all the parts - Pooh-Bah's, Yum-Yum's, Nanki-Poo's & Ko-Ko' s. I only wish I knew my part as well as she does".

THE GROUCHO LETTERS (New York, 1968), p 203:

A letter from Mr. Krasna summed up the critical opinion of Groucho's performance: "The further reviews of your performance (in The Mikado) are quite good, and indicate that you could easily have been more Groucho without being sacriligeous. I consider myself a genuine Savoyard and am one of the original booers when the Aborn Company interpolated up-to-date lyrics for 'I've got them on my list' (sic) however, I would think your own patent leer was made to order for Ko-Ko, and the lines and stage directions allow for it.'' (Ibid. p.204). Many critics thought Ko-Ko too much Green and not enough Marx. A recording was made (and Groucho's Brooklyn-Jewish accent make it a delight to listen to!) Goddard Lieberson, head of Columbia Records, sent Groucho a dozen copies and received the following thank-you note: "Dear God, I never thought I'd be communicating with the Almighty. Thanks for the Albums. I agree with you whatever chance Columbia records had of making any money on the Mikado recording, the free gift of a dozen records certainly knocked it into a cocked hat. Actually, there hasn't been a cocked hat around since the revolutionaries fought King George and his Hessians for their freedom, but all my friends say 'Cocked hat' and who am I to duck the obvious?'' (Ibid. p 157) Groucho Marx provided his own obituary (of sorts) at, of all places, the Savoy Hotel. According to Stanley Jackson in The Savoy: The Romance of a Great Hotel (London 1964, pp. 266-7): Groucho ''needed no script-writer. When a reception clerk asked how long he intended to stay, he snapped back, 'till it stops raining'." As he exercised his trademark walk into The Gondoliers Room, roaring "Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes," for a Press Conference, a reporter asked, "What would you like to be if you were not Groucho Marx?'. 'Dead', was the reply."

• To Previous Page
• To Next Page
• To No. 9 Home Page
• To Gilbertian Gossip Home Page