35 Facts About Zeppo Marx

Herbert Manfred "Zeppo" Marx was an American comedic actor, theatrical agent, and engineer.

Zeppo Marx was the youngest and last survivor of the five Marx Brothers.

Zeppo Marx appeared in the first five Marx Brothers feature films from 1929 to 1933, then left the act for careers as an engineer and theatrical agent.

Zeppo Marx's parents were Sam Marx and Minnie Schonberg Marx.

Zeppo Marx's mother was from East Frisia in Germany; his father, from Alsace, France, was a tailor.

At that time, Zeppo was employed as a mechanic for the Ford Motor Company.

Zeppo Marx had no desire for a show business career, but the team's mother, Minnie, insisted he replace Gummo because she wanted to maintain the act as a foursome.

Zeppo Marx made a solo appearance in the Adolphe Menjou comedy A Kiss in the Dark as Herbert Marx.

Zeppo Marx's friend went on the date and was shot a few hours later by an Irish gang that disapproved of Jews dating Irish girls.

When Groucho was stricken with appendicitis during a Chicago engagement, Zeppo Marx ably filled in for him.

The popular assumption that Zeppo Marx's character was superfluous was fueled in part by Groucho.

Zeppo Marx later owned a company that machined parts for the war effort during World War II, Marman Products Co.

Zeppo Marx founded a large theatrical agency with his brother Gummo, where they represented numerous screenwriters and actors, including their brothers.

Zeppo Marx introduced his cousin Mary Livingstone to Jack Benny during a Passover seder; they married in 1926.

On September 18,1959, Zeppo Marx married Barbara Blakeley, whose son, Bobby Oliver, he wanted to adopt and give his surname, but Bobby's father would not allow it.

Blakeley wrote in her book, Lady Blue Eyes, that Zeppo Marx never made her convert to Judaism.

Blakeley, a Methodist, said that Zeppo Marx told her she became Jewish by "injection".

Blakeley wrote that Zeppo Marx wanted to keep her son out of the picture, adding a room for him onto his estate, which was more of a guest house as it was separated from the main residence.

Zeppo Marx owned a house on Halper Lake Drive in Rancho Mirage, California, adjacent to the fairway of the Tamarisk Country Club.

At the last minute, Blakeley was told she could not have the film, so Zeppo Marx went to the country club and spoke to Sinatra, who agreed to let him have an early release of a film he had just finished, Come Blow Your Horn.

Zeppo Marx let her keep a 1969 Jaguar and agreed to pay her $1,500 a month for 10 years.

Zeppo Marx was accused of beating up 37-year old Jean Bodul, the future wife of mobster Jimmy Fratianno, in 1973; a jury awarded her $20,690 in 1978.

Zeppo Marx moved to a house on the fairway off Frank Sinatra Drive.

An ailing Zeppo Marx turned to Blakeley for support and she accompanied him to doctor's appointments and treatment.

Zeppo Marx died of lung cancer at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage on November 30,1979, at the age of 78.

Zeppo Marx was cremated and his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean.

Several critics have challenged the notion that Zeppo Marx did not develop a comic persona in his films.

Zeppo Marx was neither totally a straight man nor totally a comedian, but combined elements of both, as did Margaret Dumont.

Groucho clears his throat in the midst of his dictation, and Zeppo Marx asks him if he wants that in the letter.

Zeppo Marx is at his funniest when he opens his mouth and sings.

Almost every crooner of 1932 looks stilted and awkward now, but with Zeppo Marx, who was never very convincing in the first place, the effect crosses the threshold into lovable comedy.

Indeed, Zeppo Marx is a link between the audience and Groucho, Harpo and Chico.

Further, Zeppo Marx is crucial to the absurdity of the Paramount films.

Zeppo Marx just took it from Groucho, in more ways than one.

Zeppo Marx's performances produced this tribute from a prominent fan, written in Marc Eliot's 2005 biography of Cary Grant.