1930-1939

August 28, 1930 – The film version of Animal Crackers is released.

October 1, 1930 – The Four Marx Brothers return to the vaudeville stage again when they open a tour in The Schweinerei at the RKO Keith’s Theatre in Flushing, New York. The show is a collection of scenes from their three Broadway shows.

November 1930 – Groucho’s first book, Beds, is published by Farrar & Rinehart.

January 5, 1931 – The Four Marx Brothers return to London and open at the Palace Theatre in a truncated version of The Schweinerei.

February 1931 – The Four Marx Brothers and their families relocate to Hollywood, California.

September 19, 1931 – The Four Marx Brothers’ third film, Monkey Business, is released.

October 16, 1931 – The Four Marx Brothers open their final vaudeville tour in Napoleon’s Return at the Capitol Theatre in Union City, New Jersey. The show is an expanded version of the Napoleon sequence from I’ll Say She Is.

August 10, 1932 – The Four Marx Brothers’ fourth film, Horse Feathers, is released.

August 15, 1932 – The Four Marx Brothers appear on the cover of TIME Magazine.

November 28, 1932 – Groucho and Chico Marx debut as the stars of the NBC Radio Network’s Five Star Theatre. Their show is called Beagle, Shyster and Beagle for a few weeks before being changed to Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel.

May 11, 1933 – Sam “Frenchy” Marx, the father of the Marx Brothers, dies in Los Angeles, California at 73.

November 17, 1933 – The Four Marx Brothers’ fifth film, Duck Soup, is released.

March 3, 1934 – Groucho and Chico Marx debut as the stars of the CBS Radio Network’s American Oil Show. Their show is called The Marx of Time.

August 13, 1934 – Groucho opens in a summer stock production of Twentieth Century at the Lakewood Theatre in Skowhegan, Maine.

October 6, 1934 – The Marx Brothers sign a new contract with M-G-M. They will continue as a trio following Zeppo’s departure from the team in March.

April 13, 1935 – The Marx Brothers begin a short tour in Scenes from A Night at the Opera at the Orpheum Theatre in Salt Lake City, Utah trying out scenes from their next film in front of live audiences.

November 1, 1935 – The Marx Brothers’ sixth film, A Night at the Opera, is released.

July 8, 1936 – The Marx Brothers do a dress rehearsal of Scenes from A Day at the Races at the Biltmore Theatre in Los Angeles, California in advance of a short tour of the Midwest to test scenes in front of audiences.

March 27, 1937 – The King and the Chorus Girl, with a screenplay by Groucho Marx and Norman Krasna is released.

June 11, 1937 – The Marx Brothers’ seventh film, A Day at the Races, is released.

May 1938 – The Marx Brothers give three private performances of Room Service at the Disney Little Theatre in Hollywood, California in advance of filming the play.

September 21, 1938 – The Marx Brothers’ eighth film, Room Service, is released.

January 15, 1939 – Groucho and Chico Marx debut as part of the all-star cast of NBC Radio Network’s Kellogg Hour. The show is called The Circle and the other stars include Ronald Colman, Cary Grant and Carole Lombard.

October 20, 1939 – The Marx Brothers’ ninth film, At the Circus, is released.