With impeccable timing, outrageous humor, irreverent wit, and a superb sense of the ridiculous, Groucho tells the saga of the Marx Brothers: the poverty of their childhood in New York's Upper East Side; the crooked world of small-time vaudeville (where they learned to carry blackjacks); how a pretzel magnate and the graceless dancer of his dreams led to the Marx Brothers' first Broadway hit, I'll Say She Is!; how the stock market crash in 1929 proved a godsend for Groucho (even though he lost nearly a quarter of a million dollars); the adventures of the Marx Brothers in Hollywood, the making of their hilarious films, and Groucho's triumphant television series, You Bet Your Life! Here is the life and lunatic times of the great eccentric genius, Groucho, a.k.a. Julius Henry Marx.

I read this decades ago. Still prefer Harpo Speaks, but Groucho's autobiography is just as informative about the Marx Brothers as well as himself, and with that same humor that is the man's trademark. ( )

T-3

Sick with the flu and this is all I could stand to read. Inspired to read it after Paul Krassner's account of dropping acid with Groucho Marx (on Marilyn Monroe: "I got a hard-on just talking to her.) I don't know, something about the idea of Groucho Marx with a chubby made me want to read his biography, and guess what? It totally delivers. A "rollicking jaunt" that bounces along like a jalopy on a country road. Up next: what the hell is this?!?! ( )

His life from childhood through his TV show "You Bet Your Life." There are some musing on life subjects that struck me as very mild, some interesting background material, and lots of very funny stories. What I particularly liked was reading the stories and being able to hear his voice telling them. The mischief in the book serves mostly to remind us that this was a far more innocent age.

The copy I bought is a hardcover and appears to be a photographic reprint of the original edition. It lacks the introduction by James Thurber, and has a short selection of black and white photos at the beginning. ( )