MARX RE-MARX

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Frank Ferrante

“If you keep having birthdays, you’ll eventually die.” – Groucho Marx

One of Groucho’s favorite quotes in regard to shuffling off this mortal coil comes from Woody Allen, “I don’t mind dying. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” I conjure the subject because every August 19th since 1977, I have thought of Groucho. This is the date that “Captain Spaulding…” as one obituary headline declared “Finally Goes.” I was 14 when my hero passed away and I’ve done my best to keep the Marx cigar aflame.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this new site launched by Groucho Marx Prods., Inc. The site is designed to keep aficionados intrigued ongoing. Like Groucho’s humor, the thought is to keep grouchomarx.com fluid, surprising and fresh. I submit for your approval the daily posts on our landing page “Today in Groucho History” and Groucho Internet Radio updated monthly with twelve hours of Groucho’s radio work played 24/7. Some broadcasts are more familiar and some not so much – featuring episodes from “You Bet Your Life,” “The Big Show,” “Command Performance,” “The Circle,” “Flywheel, Shyster & Flywheel,” Birdseye Open House” (Dinah Shore), “Philco Radio Time With Bing Crosby” and “Columbia Presents Corwin.”

Groucho fans may be delighted to discover that after a hiatus, officially licensed Groucho Marx products are now available. Rockin Pins is responsible for the newly available Groucho T-shirt, enamel pins and forthcoming stickers and ‘Groucho For President’ bumper sticker. Feel free to peruse the items on our ‘Shop’ page and when you order ‘tell them Groucho sent you.’

And in conclusion…the 130th anniversary of Groucho Marx’s birth on October 2nd is fast upon us. For those of you on social media, I will be celebrating this day with live readings as Groucho on the Facebook fan page “An Evening With Groucho.” Details to be shared in the September blog here. Please join us. (“Why are you coming apart?”)

Until then, remember that “East is east and west is west. And if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does.”

Hooray for Captain Spaulding,

Frank Ferrante, Groucho Marx Productions, Inc.