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Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage
An updated paperback version of the book heralded as “a new benchmark in Marx scholarship” by the Los Angeles Times
Before film made them international comedy legends, the Marx Brothers developed their comic skills on stage for twenty-five years. In Four of the Three The Marx Brothers on Stage , Robert S. Bader offers the first comprehensive history of the foursome’s hardscrabble early years honing their act in front of live audiences.
From Groucho’s debut in 1905 to their final live performances of scenes from A Night in Casablanca in 1945, the brothers’ stage career shows how their characters and routines evolved before their arrival in Hollywood. Four of the Three Musketeers draws on an unmatched array of sources, many not referenced elsewhere. Bader’s detailed portrait of the struggling young actors both brings to vivid life a typical night on the road for the Marx Brothers and illuminates the inner workings of the vaudeville business, especially during its peak in the 1920s.
As Bader traces the origins of the characters that would later come to be beloved by filmgoers, he also skillfully scrapes away the accretion of rumors and mythology perpetuated not only by fans and writers but by the Marx Brothers themselves. Revealing, vital, and entertaining, Four of the Three Musketeers has taken its place as an essential reference for this legendary American act. Now, the updated edition adds newly discovered performances—some submitted by readers—and additional information provided by descendants of long-departed vaudevillians mentioned in the book.
Before film made them international comedy legends, the Marx Brothers developed their comic skills on stage for twenty-five years. In Four of the Three The Marx Brothers on Stage , Robert S. Bader offers the first comprehensive history of the foursome’s hardscrabble early years honing their act in front of live audiences.
From Groucho’s debut in 1905 to their final live performances of scenes from A Night in Casablanca in 1945, the brothers’ stage career shows how their characters and routines evolved before their arrival in Hollywood. Four of the Three Musketeers draws on an unmatched array of sources, many not referenced elsewhere. Bader’s detailed portrait of the struggling young actors both brings to vivid life a typical night on the road for the Marx Brothers and illuminates the inner workings of the vaudeville business, especially during its peak in the 1920s.
As Bader traces the origins of the characters that would later come to be beloved by filmgoers, he also skillfully scrapes away the accretion of rumors and mythology perpetuated not only by fans and writers but by the Marx Brothers themselves. Revealing, vital, and entertaining, Four of the Three Musketeers has taken its place as an essential reference for this legendary American act. Now, the updated edition adds newly discovered performances—some submitted by readers—and additional information provided by descendants of long-departed vaudevillians mentioned in the book.
544 pages, Hardcover
Published October 15, 2016
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November 23, 2016My favorite kind of biography is one that digs into primary sources and quotes them extensively, especially in supporting theories or speculation, without telling you what to think.
Four of the Three Musketeers is exactly the kind of biography I really enjoy. Bader did a phenomenal amount of research—to the extent of digging up microfiches of tiny newspapers, long defunct, in the towns performers wound through during the days of vaudeville.
It is not only a history of the Marx brothers (the entire family, really) but also a history of vaudeville. Many old film stars have reminisced about their early days of vaudeville; sometimes you got the feeling that they were exaggerating how horrible it was. Bader digs up the facts, showing that it really was that grinding and miserable—but it was better than being put in a factory, especially for little kids. Because child labor was a fact of life in the latter nineteenth century, when the Marx brothers were wild urchins getting into trouble in what used to be called the Yorkville portion of New York City.
None of the Marx boys ever graduated from high school—only one purportedly made it that far, but in those days, nobody cared. Minnie Marx was determined to wrest her boys away from lives of easy crime and into show biz. Even so, it was hit or miss for a while—as a young teen, Leonard was playing piano in houses of prostitution, for example. Harpo also did, and was nearly swept up into a murder rap without having known what his employers were up to.
Bader follows, step by step, the slow grind toward a middling success for Julius, who later became Groucho (I had real trouble remember which brother had which birth name; it was such a relief when Bader switched over to the nicknames), who started out as a boy singer. Then he had a couple minor jobs acting. He was enough of a success for Minnie to bring the other boys in one by one, and Bader shows how it happened, when, and how Minnie tried to invent the Marxes (or Markses, as they were sometimes billed), often with highly inflated ads placed in Variety.
Vaudeville underwent a sea change in 1912, with tabloid acts; meanwhile, a stranglehold on vaudeville was established by an outfit that blacklisted anyone who didn’t knuckle under. That kept pay very low for the performers, and kept managers always struggling. The interesting thing is, each time the Marxes got hit hard by the blacklist kings, they would reinvent themselves—and do better.
Bader shows how they slowly developed the distinctive characters that they became known for—for they, unlike other actors, never played other roles. They were always those characters, with the material fit around them. Further, they were one of the very few vaudeville acts that successfully brought their vaudeville routines to film. Most old vaudevillians had to learn to adapt to film. When the Marxes turned to movies, they took the scripts on the roads to test on live audiences before filming.
Bader also tracks down as many of the very obscure other performers whose lives intersected with the boys. It can get confusing as he jumps back and forth in time to tell their stories, but it’s worth putting your finger on the page and moving about a bit to get a clear picture as the lives of these people briefly illuminate. Meanwhile, we see the Marxes as they were; despite various idiosyncrasies (Chico was not only addicted to gambling, he was also an unrepentant Lothario, even more so than the other boys, a fact that Minnie tried to curtail with her chicken farm), the family stayed pretty loyal to one another.
In short, this book is a must have for anyone who enjoys the Marx Brothers, and has read some of their books, and perhaps wondered which of the varying anecdotes about key moments in their lives are the true ones. The answer will sometimes surprise you—or maybe not, because the boys never let mere facts get in the way of a good story.
Copy furnished courtesy of NetGalley
Four of the Three Musketeers is exactly the kind of biography I really enjoy. Bader did a phenomenal amount of research—to the extent of digging up microfiches of tiny newspapers, long defunct, in the towns performers wound through during the days of vaudeville.
It is not only a history of the Marx brothers (the entire family, really) but also a history of vaudeville. Many old film stars have reminisced about their early days of vaudeville; sometimes you got the feeling that they were exaggerating how horrible it was. Bader digs up the facts, showing that it really was that grinding and miserable—but it was better than being put in a factory, especially for little kids. Because child labor was a fact of life in the latter nineteenth century, when the Marx brothers were wild urchins getting into trouble in what used to be called the Yorkville portion of New York City.
None of the Marx boys ever graduated from high school—only one purportedly made it that far, but in those days, nobody cared. Minnie Marx was determined to wrest her boys away from lives of easy crime and into show biz. Even so, it was hit or miss for a while—as a young teen, Leonard was playing piano in houses of prostitution, for example. Harpo also did, and was nearly swept up into a murder rap without having known what his employers were up to.
Bader follows, step by step, the slow grind toward a middling success for Julius, who later became Groucho (I had real trouble remember which brother had which birth name; it was such a relief when Bader switched over to the nicknames), who started out as a boy singer. Then he had a couple minor jobs acting. He was enough of a success for Minnie to bring the other boys in one by one, and Bader shows how it happened, when, and how Minnie tried to invent the Marxes (or Markses, as they were sometimes billed), often with highly inflated ads placed in Variety.
Vaudeville underwent a sea change in 1912, with tabloid acts; meanwhile, a stranglehold on vaudeville was established by an outfit that blacklisted anyone who didn’t knuckle under. That kept pay very low for the performers, and kept managers always struggling. The interesting thing is, each time the Marxes got hit hard by the blacklist kings, they would reinvent themselves—and do better.
Bader shows how they slowly developed the distinctive characters that they became known for—for they, unlike other actors, never played other roles. They were always those characters, with the material fit around them. Further, they were one of the very few vaudeville acts that successfully brought their vaudeville routines to film. Most old vaudevillians had to learn to adapt to film. When the Marxes turned to movies, they took the scripts on the roads to test on live audiences before filming.
Bader also tracks down as many of the very obscure other performers whose lives intersected with the boys. It can get confusing as he jumps back and forth in time to tell their stories, but it’s worth putting your finger on the page and moving about a bit to get a clear picture as the lives of these people briefly illuminate. Meanwhile, we see the Marxes as they were; despite various idiosyncrasies (Chico was not only addicted to gambling, he was also an unrepentant Lothario, even more so than the other boys, a fact that Minnie tried to curtail with her chicken farm), the family stayed pretty loyal to one another.
In short, this book is a must have for anyone who enjoys the Marx Brothers, and has read some of their books, and perhaps wondered which of the varying anecdotes about key moments in their lives are the true ones. The answer will sometimes surprise you—or maybe not, because the boys never let mere facts get in the way of a good story.
Copy furnished courtesy of NetGalley
February 5, 2017
(3-1/2 stars) On an academic reference level, this 400-page volume is fantastic, a monument to the author's deep and comprehensive research, pulling together lots of varied sources, from small-town newspaper clippings to most of the Marx's own writings, to tell the previously untold (or under-told) story of the Marx Brothers early career in vaudeville and live theater. Marx Brothers fans will want to read this. However, it's really aimed at a subset of fans, those who are already completists or have an archival-level interest. More casual fans will be swamped by the accumulation of biographical and critical detail.
I love the Marxes, own all their movies, and have read several books about them, but still I was floundering. I began skimming around page 40 and never really dove back in until a ways into the last half, when Bader gets to the movie years (1929 on). One reason the first half is so hard to plow through is that a lot of time is spent presenting background of family, friends, and the vaudeville business, some of it necessary but much of it feeling like overkill, like Bader wanted to use every scrap of information he unearthed. I very much appreciate his research, but I wish he'd publish a more accessible, abridged fan-friendly version of this story.
I love the Marxes, own all their movies, and have read several books about them, but still I was floundering. I began skimming around page 40 and never really dove back in until a ways into the last half, when Bader gets to the movie years (1929 on). One reason the first half is so hard to plow through is that a lot of time is spent presenting background of family, friends, and the vaudeville business, some of it necessary but much of it feeling like overkill, like Bader wanted to use every scrap of information he unearthed. I very much appreciate his research, but I wish he'd publish a more accessible, abridged fan-friendly version of this story.
April 12, 2022
This is not only the best book on the Marx Brothers, it's also the best history of vaudeville I've ever read. Vaudeville was not for sissies...and no wonder that the best acts, like the Marxes, were able to deal with just about anything that hit them afterwards, effortlessly jumping through new media hoops and adapting to the times.
The book also explodes many famous legends perpetuated by the brothers in previous biographies (particularly the highly inaccurate HARPO SPEAKS), by comparing their accounts with the records of performances and news items in obscure local papers and ancient show business trade journals. Robert S. Bader's research allowed me to pinpoint the date and the name of the Marx Brothers show that my grandmother saw in Brooklyn in 1919. It's the furthest thing from a dry catalogue, however. It's a stunning piece of work, and I literally did not want to put it down.
The book also explodes many famous legends perpetuated by the brothers in previous biographies (particularly the highly inaccurate HARPO SPEAKS), by comparing their accounts with the records of performances and news items in obscure local papers and ancient show business trade journals. Robert S. Bader's research allowed me to pinpoint the date and the name of the Marx Brothers show that my grandmother saw in Brooklyn in 1919. It's the furthest thing from a dry catalogue, however. It's a stunning piece of work, and I literally did not want to put it down.
October 17, 2016
It's hard to choose what is most impressive about this book: the dozens of never before published photos (most over one hundred years old, the oldest from 1876), the 75 page chronology of over 1,250 performance engagements (which includes a new solo credit for Groucho at age 16 and other unknown acts for the team), or his dedication to locating primary source material (he located, and reproduces, the actual newspaper ad that Groucho respond to at age 14 in 1905 that started his career in show business. Bader also spent time wading through the Keith/Albee Vaudeville collection and uncovered some rather blunt manager reports sent back to head office. From a 1908 report on their early singing act: I am forced to say that their harmony is something atrocious. They discovered several barbershop chords this afternoon that were something appalling...).
This just isn't an assemblage of data, Bader looks at it all and sees the clues in it that uncover the hidden stories. All those times Groucho reminisced about angry fathers with shotguns? There's pretty good evidence this happened to one of the brothers in 1913 (even the most casual Marxist can guess which one) and the subsequent cover up of it is presented here for the first time.
Bader also uses the data to untangle the record on dozens of conflicting accounts on the evolution of the team and the presents the real story for the first time of what happened when and where (sorry Nacogdoches). This book is also a primer on the business of vaudeville because to understand the evolution of the Marx Brothers you need to understand the financial forces at work. One example: Vaudeville was undergoing a seismic shift in 1912. Smaller acts were being put out of work by the newly arrived tabloid shows that could shrink or grow in size at will to fill any number of required slots on a vaudeville bill. At this time Chico Marx was working as part of the duo Marx & Lee and knew that they would have hard times ahead competing for bookings against the tabs. The Three Marx Brothers knew they had the perfect show for the tabloid format and needed to grow in size. Marx & Lee joined the act, and the Four Marx Brothers were born and began their ascent up the vaudeville hierarchy.
This is a book by a guy who was bothered by the fact that he had a six week gap in the brothers' chronology for November/December 1910. Well with a bit of research (usually involving road trips to various small town libraries to scour the local papers on microfilm) he has filled in this period too. It involves previously unknown acts by the brothers and turns out to be a critically important stage in their progression from a singing act with a little comedy to a full fledged comedy act.
If all that wasn't enough, this the book is very well written and features a very dry wit from the author.
This just isn't an assemblage of data, Bader looks at it all and sees the clues in it that uncover the hidden stories. All those times Groucho reminisced about angry fathers with shotguns? There's pretty good evidence this happened to one of the brothers in 1913 (even the most casual Marxist can guess which one) and the subsequent cover up of it is presented here for the first time.
Bader also uses the data to untangle the record on dozens of conflicting accounts on the evolution of the team and the presents the real story for the first time of what happened when and where (sorry Nacogdoches). This book is also a primer on the business of vaudeville because to understand the evolution of the Marx Brothers you need to understand the financial forces at work. One example: Vaudeville was undergoing a seismic shift in 1912. Smaller acts were being put out of work by the newly arrived tabloid shows that could shrink or grow in size at will to fill any number of required slots on a vaudeville bill. At this time Chico Marx was working as part of the duo Marx & Lee and knew that they would have hard times ahead competing for bookings against the tabs. The Three Marx Brothers knew they had the perfect show for the tabloid format and needed to grow in size. Marx & Lee joined the act, and the Four Marx Brothers were born and began their ascent up the vaudeville hierarchy.
This is a book by a guy who was bothered by the fact that he had a six week gap in the brothers' chronology for November/December 1910. Well with a bit of research (usually involving road trips to various small town libraries to scour the local papers on microfilm) he has filled in this period too. It involves previously unknown acts by the brothers and turns out to be a critically important stage in their progression from a singing act with a little comedy to a full fledged comedy act.
If all that wasn't enough, this the book is very well written and features a very dry wit from the author.
September 14, 2017
Exhaustively researched! Just when you thought you'd read everything there was to read or know about the Marx Brothers, this book is published and upends the Marx Brothers universe. There is an incredible amount of research that went into the book, the chronological stageography alone is an amazing piece of work. This is a book that needs to be on the shelf of every Marx Brother fan because it covers an area that has not fully been covered before. Elegantly written, impeccable research and it's an **enjoyable read**. Christmas is coming, make sure you get this on your list, because you will love it!
Want to read
July 3, 2024The information presented here is dense, but it is also highly entertaining and colorful. Once you get past the logistics of the family tree and start learning about the personalities of the people, it is smooth sailing.
September 30, 2025
This book is obviously of interest primarily to those who, like Dick Cavett, can't get enough of the Marx Brothers. I am certainly one of those and so I loved this book. I have read a number of books by and about them and enjoyed them all, Harpo Speaks being my favorite. This book comes in second. i finally know the difference between Gummo and Zeppo. I learned a lot of other things. For instance, Chico was not one of the original Three Marx Brothers; Gummo was. Chico came onboard 4 years after they began working in vaudeville. He had a big effect on the brothers' show---mostly good but at times a trial to the others with his incurable gambling and womanizing. Both pursuits got him in serious trouble with potentially lethal consequences at the hands of bookies wanting their money and fathers and husbands wanting his blood. It appears he was shot by a couple of the latter, probably more than once.
I also learned what vaudeville really was and how it worked. It was a rugged life, but as their mother Minnie pointed out, it was better than working in sweat shops. Their life-long devotion to each other comes through as it does in the other books. The important role Minnie played in their success is described in detail. She was a veritable force of nature, and I don't think they would have risen to the heights of the entertainment world on stage and in the movies without her tireless support and work on their behalf. Which brings me to another point. I had never realized just how big they were on Broadway. Nobody was bigger; they were huge stars. If movies hadn't come along to replace vaudeville, they probably would have stayed on Broadway (which they had graduated to) for the rest of their careers. I'm glad they didn't, because we never would have had their movies to watch today. If you are a fan, I cannot recommend this book too highly. It's wonderful.
I also learned what vaudeville really was and how it worked. It was a rugged life, but as their mother Minnie pointed out, it was better than working in sweat shops. Their life-long devotion to each other comes through as it does in the other books. The important role Minnie played in their success is described in detail. She was a veritable force of nature, and I don't think they would have risen to the heights of the entertainment world on stage and in the movies without her tireless support and work on their behalf. Which brings me to another point. I had never realized just how big they were on Broadway. Nobody was bigger; they were huge stars. If movies hadn't come along to replace vaudeville, they probably would have stayed on Broadway (which they had graduated to) for the rest of their careers. I'm glad they didn't, because we never would have had their movies to watch today. If you are a fan, I cannot recommend this book too highly. It's wonderful.
June 20, 2019
Fantastic read.
February 20, 2021
This book may not be for everyone, but if you have read or seen every single thing ever made for or by the Marx brothers, as I have, this is gold!
Examples of things I was able to learn:
1. The Marxes had relatives who were clowns and harp players already back in Europe.
2. The sexual escapades of the young brothers.
3. This is an aside. The author knows about as much about constitutional law as Harpo knows about singing. You can safely skip the section on monpolistic practices.
4. What happened when the brothers played in LA with Garbo in the audience.
And many more!
One oddity: the author seems a bit obsessed with Zeppo for some reason. This means that he mentions him more than one would expect, especially in the later days, but omits discussion of his gambling problem.
I also have a couple quibbles with the writing.
1 - Uses terms like "more unique". "Unique" means "there is only one". A thing can be unique or it cannot. Ain't no way to qualify it.
2- Uses the term "new and improved". A thing can be new or improved. But not both.
Oddly the editor didn't catch these things.
The book makes several mentions of Jerry Seinfeld, who also blurbed it and I see also has been talking about it in the press. Considering how specialized this book is, I wonder if Seinfeld didn't help fund its publication.
But the bottom line is that this is an incredible feat of research, and distillation.
Examples of things I was able to learn:
1. The Marxes had relatives who were clowns and harp players already back in Europe.
2. The sexual escapades of the young brothers.
3. This is an aside. The author knows about as much about constitutional law as Harpo knows about singing. You can safely skip the section on monpolistic practices.
4. What happened when the brothers played in LA with Garbo in the audience.
And many more!
One oddity: the author seems a bit obsessed with Zeppo for some reason. This means that he mentions him more than one would expect, especially in the later days, but omits discussion of his gambling problem.
I also have a couple quibbles with the writing.
1 - Uses terms like "more unique". "Unique" means "there is only one". A thing can be unique or it cannot. Ain't no way to qualify it.
2- Uses the term "new and improved". A thing can be new or improved. But not both.
Oddly the editor didn't catch these things.
The book makes several mentions of Jerry Seinfeld, who also blurbed it and I see also has been talking about it in the press. Considering how specialized this book is, I wonder if Seinfeld didn't help fund its publication.
But the bottom line is that this is an incredible feat of research, and distillation.
November 30, 2016
I've loved the Marx Brothers movies for 43+ years. I knew some about their stage life, but not much. Apparently, quite a LOT not much. "Extensively researched" is probably the most understated understatement I could start with. Add an order of magnitude of superlatives to "extensive". Clearly a labor of love. Unfortunately, the read was as exhausting, and the detail excruciating. Why is it that some memoirs can be so personal, and some biographies so ... academic? Bader brings the family to life, and then ... Well, this was tedious. That is not to say I didn't like it. I learned much, most of which I'll likely forget, because while I love the Marxes, they aren't my passion. If they are yours, then you might well enjoy this this tome.
I got this through NetGalley from a University Press Week promotion.
I got this through NetGalley from a University Press Week promotion.
December 10, 2016
The family. The men. The era. Vaudeville! Moving pictures!
This is more than a biograph of four famous brothers, it is also a history of an era. There are old photos, handbills, and other documentation of the phenomenal amount of time and effort put into this labor of love. We all love Duck Soup and A Day At the Races, some of us watched Groucho on TV when we were kids, these guys were the rock stars of the time. But we knew little about them. This marvelous book changes that while showing us that so much has changed since then.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a free copy that my kids can't abscond with!
This is more than a biograph of four famous brothers, it is also a history of an era. There are old photos, handbills, and other documentation of the phenomenal amount of time and effort put into this labor of love. We all love Duck Soup and A Day At the Races, some of us watched Groucho on TV when we were kids, these guys were the rock stars of the time. But we knew little about them. This marvelous book changes that while showing us that so much has changed since then.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a free copy that my kids can't abscond with!
January 27, 2017
This book is wonderful for anyone who enjoys the Marx Brothers or are interested in this period of history! It concentrates on their early years in vaudeville - and boy, was that tough! When they called it 'show business' they weren't kidding. The history part that is interesting is how the vaudeville booking agencies who had a huge monopoly kept escaping the anti-trust laws.
I've read several other books about the Brothers - my favorite is "Harpo Speaks," but this well-researched book is great at de-bunking some of the myths the Brothers themselves created. And of course, their mother, Minnie, is the original killer Stage Mother.
I've read several other books about the Brothers - my favorite is "Harpo Speaks," but this well-researched book is great at de-bunking some of the myths the Brothers themselves created. And of course, their mother, Minnie, is the original killer Stage Mother.
May 4, 2023
The second time I read this book it was the revised edition with, most notably, more information about the Marx's various playdates around to he country. I thought it a great book the first time I read it, and it lost nothing the second time around.
October 14, 2020
This book, before I read it, put me in mind of another biography about a different Fab Four: the Beatles. I can't remember the name of the book, because I read it long ago, but I remember being particularly interested in the section devoted to their time spent in Germany, playing regular gigs at (I think?) the Cavern Club, a below-stairs venue known for its humidity. The book that I read asserted that their time in Germany "hardened" the Beatles, transforming them from pop musicians to nascent icons. I was expecting the same from this book about the Marx Brothers, who remain my favorite comedy team of all time; I even modeled some of my own stage work after the characters played by Harpo. I believed that I was about to read details about their performances, how it "hardened" them, and what they learned from such experiences.
What I expected was not what I got. To give due credit, Robert Bader has done exhaustive research. I imagine it cannot be a breezy task to sift through old railroad rate schedules, travel itineraries, performance records of theaters long gone, and theatrical reviews over one hundred years old. For all that, Bader's main point seems to have been that few people, even the Brothers themselves, could be considered reliable sources when trying to reconstruct their own history. Bader is determined to point out errors in their storytelling: "They could not have been in such and such a place at such and such a time because the clipping from a particular news source puts them somewhere else." Well...all right. My initial reaction to knowing they were in Scranton PA at a time when the Brothers claimed they were in St. Louis is: So what? As a Marx Brothers fan, how is knowing this supposed to affect my response to their films, or to other written materials either by them or about them? To be fair, Bader does point out how monstrous Vaudevillian theater managers could be, and how mercilessly the United Booking Office treated their wandering troupes, but I wanted to learn about the Marx Brothers, The times being what they are, I already know all I want to know about shady business practices.
Bader seems to particularly have it in for Kyle Crichton, who wrote about the Brothers in a book released in 1950. Bader claims that Crichton used the Brothers themselves as the chief sources of their histories, and that many of their stories were inaccurate. (Full disclosure: I have not read Crichton's book; I had never even heard of it until reading Bader). Once again: So what? With all due respect to Mr. Crichton, I'd rather listen to one of the Brothers anyway. I doubt I would care if any of their stories were exactly accurate. Hell, most of mine aren't one-hundred percent accurate either.
Bader closes his book with with a seventy one page chronological listing of the Marx Brothers' stage appearances, followed by sixteen pages of notes, an acknowledgements section, and an index. What's more: the text is presented in smaller than average typeface, so each page is a schlog and the book in its entirety took me forever to read. Once again, I can salute the author for one hefty pile of research, but it teaches me nothing about the what the Brothers took from their time on stage. My bride Pat said it sounded like a research project for a dissertation. I've spent my entire adult life in academia, and she is exactly right. I turn to the Marx Brothers, and materials about them, for a release from academia, not another instance of it.
What I expected was not what I got. To give due credit, Robert Bader has done exhaustive research. I imagine it cannot be a breezy task to sift through old railroad rate schedules, travel itineraries, performance records of theaters long gone, and theatrical reviews over one hundred years old. For all that, Bader's main point seems to have been that few people, even the Brothers themselves, could be considered reliable sources when trying to reconstruct their own history. Bader is determined to point out errors in their storytelling: "They could not have been in such and such a place at such and such a time because the clipping from a particular news source puts them somewhere else." Well...all right. My initial reaction to knowing they were in Scranton PA at a time when the Brothers claimed they were in St. Louis is: So what? As a Marx Brothers fan, how is knowing this supposed to affect my response to their films, or to other written materials either by them or about them? To be fair, Bader does point out how monstrous Vaudevillian theater managers could be, and how mercilessly the United Booking Office treated their wandering troupes, but I wanted to learn about the Marx Brothers, The times being what they are, I already know all I want to know about shady business practices.
Bader seems to particularly have it in for Kyle Crichton, who wrote about the Brothers in a book released in 1950. Bader claims that Crichton used the Brothers themselves as the chief sources of their histories, and that many of their stories were inaccurate. (Full disclosure: I have not read Crichton's book; I had never even heard of it until reading Bader). Once again: So what? With all due respect to Mr. Crichton, I'd rather listen to one of the Brothers anyway. I doubt I would care if any of their stories were exactly accurate. Hell, most of mine aren't one-hundred percent accurate either.
Bader closes his book with with a seventy one page chronological listing of the Marx Brothers' stage appearances, followed by sixteen pages of notes, an acknowledgements section, and an index. What's more: the text is presented in smaller than average typeface, so each page is a schlog and the book in its entirety took me forever to read. Once again, I can salute the author for one hefty pile of research, but it teaches me nothing about the what the Brothers took from their time on stage. My bride Pat said it sounded like a research project for a dissertation. I've spent my entire adult life in academia, and she is exactly right. I turn to the Marx Brothers, and materials about them, for a release from academia, not another instance of it.
May 24, 2017
"As far as I’m concerned, the Marx Brothers practically invented comedy..."-Jerry Seinfeld
Any comedian who is interested in the history of their trade in humor knows about the Marx brothers, at the very least from their movies and the numerous books written about them. But most of those books cover their famous movies and, perhaps, their Broadway career and their later TV work, especially Groucho's.
But before there was a Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Gummo, or Zeppo Marx there was a Julius, Adolph, Leonard, Milton, and Herbert Marx. Before their famous comedy and musical movies, before their Broadway work alongside famous writers and composers of the day, they labored as unknowns through long and sometimes difficult and low paying days in vaudeville.
This book brings together those earliest days, beginning with a teenage Julius (Groucho) in a vaudeville act in 1905 to their last live act together of A Night in Casablanca in 1945, with some info of their later movie and television careers.
In between 1905 and 1945 they gradually learned how to become the Marx Brothers we know, a process sometimes frustrating, difficult, occasionally shocking and very entertaining to read about. The vaudeville circuit wasn't an easy way to make a living; someone was always ready to take your place and those who ran it were often ruthless businessmen.
The author, Mr Bader, takes in hand the not trivial task of gathering the memories of five brothers, and those who knew them, and events that happened during a period of over forty years.
Some of these memories varied from Marx brother to Marx brother, sometimes the same brother would remember things differently from interview to interview, and memories would shift over the many years. Sometimes...perhaps...they just made some details up, for fun. They were famous for being extemporaneous comedians, after all.
Mr Bader has gone back to original sources, rare newspaper clips, photos, and the most reliable narrators to piece together what really went on with this interesting family, including their mother/manager, Minnie Marx. The result is an entertaining, interesting and downright funny book. Anyone remember "viaduct?"
A very good book, with rare photographs, interesting and fun to read. A solid four stars!
I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley for review. I've reviewed it honestly.
Any comedian who is interested in the history of their trade in humor knows about the Marx brothers, at the very least from their movies and the numerous books written about them. But most of those books cover their famous movies and, perhaps, their Broadway career and their later TV work, especially Groucho's.
But before there was a Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Gummo, or Zeppo Marx there was a Julius, Adolph, Leonard, Milton, and Herbert Marx. Before their famous comedy and musical movies, before their Broadway work alongside famous writers and composers of the day, they labored as unknowns through long and sometimes difficult and low paying days in vaudeville.
This book brings together those earliest days, beginning with a teenage Julius (Groucho) in a vaudeville act in 1905 to their last live act together of A Night in Casablanca in 1945, with some info of their later movie and television careers.
In between 1905 and 1945 they gradually learned how to become the Marx Brothers we know, a process sometimes frustrating, difficult, occasionally shocking and very entertaining to read about. The vaudeville circuit wasn't an easy way to make a living; someone was always ready to take your place and those who ran it were often ruthless businessmen.
The author, Mr Bader, takes in hand the not trivial task of gathering the memories of five brothers, and those who knew them, and events that happened during a period of over forty years.
Some of these memories varied from Marx brother to Marx brother, sometimes the same brother would remember things differently from interview to interview, and memories would shift over the many years. Sometimes...perhaps...they just made some details up, for fun. They were famous for being extemporaneous comedians, after all.
Mr Bader has gone back to original sources, rare newspaper clips, photos, and the most reliable narrators to piece together what really went on with this interesting family, including their mother/manager, Minnie Marx. The result is an entertaining, interesting and downright funny book. Anyone remember "viaduct?"
A very good book, with rare photographs, interesting and fun to read. A solid four stars!
I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley for review. I've reviewed it honestly.
February 26, 2021
This is a remarkably well-written history. The fact that it is on my favorite subject helps, but the history major in me just has to rave about the scholarship of this book. Robert Bader combed through countless small town newspapers and trade magazine to really recreate the first half of the Marx Brothers career and to create a portrait of a family. Like every living person, I know the Marxes through their films. But they were entering middle age before they made their first talkie. This book is the story of the 20 years before that, when they were serially pushed on to the stage by their mother Minnie, who hoped that they would achieve something like the success her brother did in Vaudeville. Or, failing that, stay out of the hoosegow or the morgue.
The book also tells the story of an institution that no longer exists-Vaudeville. One thing that I learned from this story is how famous the brothers were even before making it to Broadway and the Big Screen. They played every little hamlet in the country and many in Canada. That always struck me as such a daunting way to make a living but these guys were stars, at least towards the end. They would show up in Joliet or Nagodoches and sell out big theaters based on their national reputation. I now think of Vaudevill as the first link in the chain of American mass culture. Vaudeville, Cinema, Radio, TV, the Internet and God Only Knows What Comes Next round out the list, with each overlapping the one before and after it. The Marxes played a part in every link of that chain. They died before the Internet came into our homes, but here I sit writing this review on a web site and planning to re-listen to the podcast that first told me about this book. Minnie's Boys live on.
All five brothers are drawn vividly. Special attention is given to Gummo and Zeppo. Their roles were peripheral on the stage but not in the family. This is an American success story about 5 boys born into a cramped immigrant household who became the biggest stars in the world. And there's a lot of laughs on the way.
The book also tells the story of an institution that no longer exists-Vaudeville. One thing that I learned from this story is how famous the brothers were even before making it to Broadway and the Big Screen. They played every little hamlet in the country and many in Canada. That always struck me as such a daunting way to make a living but these guys were stars, at least towards the end. They would show up in Joliet or Nagodoches and sell out big theaters based on their national reputation. I now think of Vaudevill as the first link in the chain of American mass culture. Vaudeville, Cinema, Radio, TV, the Internet and God Only Knows What Comes Next round out the list, with each overlapping the one before and after it. The Marxes played a part in every link of that chain. They died before the Internet came into our homes, but here I sit writing this review on a web site and planning to re-listen to the podcast that first told me about this book. Minnie's Boys live on.
All five brothers are drawn vividly. Special attention is given to Gummo and Zeppo. Their roles were peripheral on the stage but not in the family. This is an American success story about 5 boys born into a cramped immigrant household who became the biggest stars in the world. And there's a lot of laughs on the way.
March 1, 2017
For awhile there, I thought I wanted to be a comedy screenwriter. And so I watched a lot of comedic movies. Not one contemporary comedy can hold a candle to the films of The Marx Brothers. Their zany, frenetic, witty, wacky comedy is unequaled. Their own brand of comedy genius has not and can not be replicated.
And here's how that happened . . .
In Four of the Three Musketeers: The Max Brothers on Stage, author Robert S. Bader takes an in-depth look at every step of the Marx Brothers' vaudeville career, starting from Harpo's early days playing the piano in whorehouses and Groucho's first time on a stage. As the years of their lives go by, the brothers grow and sing, travel and pay piano, and most of all, they learn to hone their comedic chops. Spending weeks and months on the road at a time, working every day, sometimes several shows a day, the Marx Brothers learn from experience what it takes to survive in show business, and (eventually) how to make it to the top of the game.
Meticulously researched (literally! this is a 500-plus-page volume), this book takes you through the journey of the early careers of Julius (Groucho), Adolph (Harpo), Leonard (Chico), and Milton (Gummo). Managed by their mother and occasionally helped along with gifts of their father's cooking to booking agents, the brothers took to the stage and never stopped entertaining us. Filled with stories that no one else has been able to dig up, all the dates and places that could be found, and never-before seen photos of the family, this is the ultimate book for anyone who wants to know everything there is to know about the Marx Brothers.
Galleys for Four of the Three Musketeers were provided by the publisher through NetGalley.com.
And here's how that happened . . .
In Four of the Three Musketeers: The Max Brothers on Stage, author Robert S. Bader takes an in-depth look at every step of the Marx Brothers' vaudeville career, starting from Harpo's early days playing the piano in whorehouses and Groucho's first time on a stage. As the years of their lives go by, the brothers grow and sing, travel and pay piano, and most of all, they learn to hone their comedic chops. Spending weeks and months on the road at a time, working every day, sometimes several shows a day, the Marx Brothers learn from experience what it takes to survive in show business, and (eventually) how to make it to the top of the game.
Meticulously researched (literally! this is a 500-plus-page volume), this book takes you through the journey of the early careers of Julius (Groucho), Adolph (Harpo), Leonard (Chico), and Milton (Gummo). Managed by their mother and occasionally helped along with gifts of their father's cooking to booking agents, the brothers took to the stage and never stopped entertaining us. Filled with stories that no one else has been able to dig up, all the dates and places that could be found, and never-before seen photos of the family, this is the ultimate book for anyone who wants to know everything there is to know about the Marx Brothers.
Galleys for Four of the Three Musketeers were provided by the publisher through NetGalley.com.
December 27, 2016
I received an advanced reading copy of this book from Netgalley.com. Author Robert S. Bader was on a mission-he wanted to read a book that detailed the Marx Brothers and their life on Broadway. Much to his disappointment, there was no such animal--so he wrote it himself. Thank goodness! This was a fun read from the beginning to the end--of course, it was about the Marx Brothers so it had to be fun. The thing is, this book also delved into the history of vaudeville itself, which was pretty fascinating. Then there was Minnie Marx--the incomparable family matriarch. She sure was something as she put her boys on the stage. I would love to have spent a few hours with Minnie. She was a force to be reckoned with. The Marx Brothers had to succeed because Minnie wouldn't have it any other way. Bader's painstaking research paid off. Many of the great stories associated with Groucho, Gummo, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo were never told the same way twice--even by the brothers themselves. Bader used newspaper and magazine stories to try and sort it all out. When he couldn't, he gave us all of the versions--which were pretty much hilarious. Filled with lots of colorful characters, this book is a must-read for Marx Brothers' fans--or anyone else interested in Vaudeville. And one more thing--Bader answered an old question of mine--how did the brothers get their famous nicknames? You must excuse me now while I watch 'The Cocoanuts'. I just have to see them after reading about them!
August 4, 2017
Great, VERY long book for those who want to know how 5 kids from 1900's Manhattan became the amazing Marx Brothers. A total biography starting with their parents immigration to what little time they spent in school to vaudeville and it's at times horrid conditions. I've heard that they were their funniest stage rather then the movies, probably because they could work the energy of the crowd as well as get away with much more.
I was someone who grew up first watching the movies, then tape recording the movies and listen to them to the point where I'd visualize what was happening including the quiet parts. This is too long for those who just want to know what they were like. This is a complete, very detailed and researched bio that includes a listing of just about every booking they ever did.
So whether you want it all or just skip to the good parts, this is a great book for any Marx Brothers fan.
I was someone who grew up first watching the movies, then tape recording the movies and listen to them to the point where I'd visualize what was happening including the quiet parts. This is too long for those who just want to know what they were like. This is a complete, very detailed and researched bio that includes a listing of just about every booking they ever did.
So whether you want it all or just skip to the good parts, this is a great book for any Marx Brothers fan.
December 22, 2017
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 5.0 of 5
Wow. Just ... wow.
Robert S. Bader has done an incredible amount of research into the early days - the vaudeville and live stage performance days - of the Marx Brothers and shares it with the rest of us in the tremendous book, Four of the Three Musketeers.
Bader brings us in to the home of Minnie and Sam Marx, introducing us to the extended family, and we only leave when Minnie and the boys begin their careers in show business. We get the very definite impression that Minnie was quite the caretaker of these early careers and became an agent for them and truly looked out for their best interests (even if it back-fired a time or two).
We get a very detailed look at the vaudeville careers of these comedians as well as their more personal lives in the early days (with the vaudeville schedule being what it was, the two [business and personal lives] were intrinsically linked. That Minnie created a 'stable' of young starlets, ready to join the boys in a show at a moments notice - knowing full well that these young ladies did more than simply perform on stage to service the brothers - speaks to Minnie's manipulation and desire to provide for her sons in every way.
There have been plenty of books on the Marx Brothers, and the brothers themselves have written a few volumes on their early days. But what Bader does extremely well is point out to the reader the inconsistencies in the stories, the facts Bader has found, based on research, and - when no facts exist - relays the various points of view and expresses thoughtful consideration on what is most likely the 'truth.' It all comes down to Bader's impressive research.
From their early battles with vaudeville circuit owners (and their being blacklisted from the top producer) and Chico's gambling debts, and young women scorned, to Uncle Sam's draft and Broadway and eventually film, we following the three ... er four ... um, sometimes five Marx Brothers through their entire early career.
Bader is extremely easy to read, making these 500+ pages go by quite easily.
And as impressive as the narrative itself is, "The Marx Brothers Stage Chronology, 1905-45" has Bader compiling every live performance theses comic geniuses gave over a forty-year span, listed the theatre, the city, the date, and even the sketch/revue/show name when possible. I may have enjoyed reading through this nearly as much as the narrative as I followed the path they took, could visualize some of the cities and thought about visiting some of these locations (some near me).
I grew up watching the Marx Brothers films - classics replayed in movie theatres (so long before Netflix or DVDs) - and have read up on them periodically through the years, and this is easily the most comprehensive, readable, and thoroughly-researched book I've come across. It is highly recommended.
Looking for a good book? Four of the Three Musketeers, by Robert S. Bader is a remarkable achievement, detailing the early years of the famous Marx Brothers, separating fact from common fiction (usually invented by a Marx Brother as a joke), and mapping out every theatre and sketch they performed during the early days. It is highly recommended.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Wow. Just ... wow.
Robert S. Bader has done an incredible amount of research into the early days - the vaudeville and live stage performance days - of the Marx Brothers and shares it with the rest of us in the tremendous book, Four of the Three Musketeers.
Bader brings us in to the home of Minnie and Sam Marx, introducing us to the extended family, and we only leave when Minnie and the boys begin their careers in show business. We get the very definite impression that Minnie was quite the caretaker of these early careers and became an agent for them and truly looked out for their best interests (even if it back-fired a time or two).
We get a very detailed look at the vaudeville careers of these comedians as well as their more personal lives in the early days (with the vaudeville schedule being what it was, the two [business and personal lives] were intrinsically linked. That Minnie created a 'stable' of young starlets, ready to join the boys in a show at a moments notice - knowing full well that these young ladies did more than simply perform on stage to service the brothers - speaks to Minnie's manipulation and desire to provide for her sons in every way.
There have been plenty of books on the Marx Brothers, and the brothers themselves have written a few volumes on their early days. But what Bader does extremely well is point out to the reader the inconsistencies in the stories, the facts Bader has found, based on research, and - when no facts exist - relays the various points of view and expresses thoughtful consideration on what is most likely the 'truth.' It all comes down to Bader's impressive research.
From their early battles with vaudeville circuit owners (and their being blacklisted from the top producer) and Chico's gambling debts, and young women scorned, to Uncle Sam's draft and Broadway and eventually film, we following the three ... er four ... um, sometimes five Marx Brothers through their entire early career.
Bader is extremely easy to read, making these 500+ pages go by quite easily.
And as impressive as the narrative itself is, "The Marx Brothers Stage Chronology, 1905-45" has Bader compiling every live performance theses comic geniuses gave over a forty-year span, listed the theatre, the city, the date, and even the sketch/revue/show name when possible. I may have enjoyed reading through this nearly as much as the narrative as I followed the path they took, could visualize some of the cities and thought about visiting some of these locations (some near me).
I grew up watching the Marx Brothers films - classics replayed in movie theatres (so long before Netflix or DVDs) - and have read up on them periodically through the years, and this is easily the most comprehensive, readable, and thoroughly-researched book I've come across. It is highly recommended.
Looking for a good book? Four of the Three Musketeers, by Robert S. Bader is a remarkable achievement, detailing the early years of the famous Marx Brothers, separating fact from common fiction (usually invented by a Marx Brother as a joke), and mapping out every theatre and sketch they performed during the early days. It is highly recommended.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
February 16, 2023
As a lifelong fan of the Marx Brothers, I thoroughly enjoyed this account of the brothers rise through vaudeville to the movies. This book takes an in-depth look at their early years before they became entertainers and then their years in vaudeville. Their mother, Minnie Marx, was the driving force behind their push into show business. The author does a great job of sifting through newspaper and trade journals to find the true stories - not relying on the brothers' memories that are often foggy or purposely inaccurate.
The reader sees how the act grew from soprano singer, Groucho, to include Harpo, Gummo, Chico, and finally Zeppo. The book is full of humorous stories as well as an expose of the brothers' loose life style. The book also chronicles the rise and fall of vaudeville.
Anyone who loves the Marx Brothers will enjoy this book. For the rest of you, I am afraid it is too tedious and detailed to keep your interest.
The reader sees how the act grew from soprano singer, Groucho, to include Harpo, Gummo, Chico, and finally Zeppo. The book is full of humorous stories as well as an expose of the brothers' loose life style. The book also chronicles the rise and fall of vaudeville.
Anyone who loves the Marx Brothers will enjoy this book. For the rest of you, I am afraid it is too tedious and detailed to keep your interest.
March 17, 2021
This is one of the best show business histories that I have ever read. Bader's work is a life-long research project, one that started 50 years ago in elementary school, when he first saw the movies and went to the public library to read and learn more about the Marx Brothers. Detailed, exhaustive, incredibly well-researched, and told with great empathy for the entire Marx family, those that preceded the brothers, especially mother Minnie, something it seems that Bader learned from the comedians themselves. One closing quote is from Julius (Groucho) writing that the brothers never fought once or stopped loving each other throughout 2-3 decades of vaudeville and Broadway, and another two decades in motion pictures and Hollywood. SO, not just a biography, but a compleat history of show business in the first half of the twentieth century.
June 17, 2019
It has always been on my time travel bucket list to see the Marx Brothers at the peak of their powers on the stage in The Cocoanuts or Animal Crackers. But until that problem of physics can get worked out, this book is an outstanding substitute in detailing their stage years which saw relatively little study in contrast to the Hollywood years. By many accounts, they were more funny and madcap on stage than what we saw on film which was already pretty good. But to read about their years of living on the road in small time vaudeville, and their repeat assignment to the vaudeville monopoly bosses blacklists, it is amazing that they stuck it out as long as they did. A great debt is owed Mr. Bader for channeling his passion into this detailed history.
February 2, 2022
I first learned of the Marx Brothers at the age of 10 or 11 when I first saw Duck Soup. Needless to say I have admired them since then. What Robert Bader has accomplished is to thoroughly document how they came to be. Julius aka Groucho was the first to take the stage as a teenager and wound up losing his money 3 times and getting stranded far from his Manhattan home. Minnie Marx had to send him a train ticket home. The brothers Mom Minnie was the architect of the act. Their 20 year struggle as touring Vaudeville acts before they finally made it to Broadway and then the movies is a fascinating journey. Any Marx Brothers fan should find this book to be well worth reading slowly in order to fully digest it.
February 10, 2017
This is not only one of the most important books about the Marx Brothers, but also about show business in the early 20th century. Bader has really dug deep to find dates, places and little known genealogical information about the Marxes, as well as many performers who worked with them in the early days. The book is so fascinating and so well written. If you're a fan of the Marx Brothers, or just want to know more about vaudeville, I highly recommend this book.
Read
June 4, 2017I gave up on this as, not being a particular Marx Brothers fan, it buried me in too much detailed minutia. It's a treasure trove for the 'Marxists' but to everyone else it probably is a chore. Nevertheless, after I gave up on it (and had put it on my shelf of 'discontinued-gave-up' books) Goodreads kept saying I was still reading it and I couldn't figure out how to delete it. Finally I had to say I 'finished' it, although it finished me.
August 12, 2021
I thought at times it was a little slow. I learned a lot about Vaudeville and the Marx family. I also think that it is a very good reference book concerning The Nightingales, Julian Marx, and the Four Marx Brothers. From 1907 at any given time until they were movie stars you could find out where they were playing. It is extremely evident that Bader did his homework in researching these inspirational comedians.
I think it is a worthy read and I do recommend the book,
I think it is a worthy read and I do recommend the book,
October 14, 2023
Interesting look at the early days/making of The Marx Brothers. The author seemed to enjoy slinging barbs at other biographers, criticizing their errors, but this work seemed overly long and full of repetitions, contradictions and disclaimers. Quickly became not enjoyable. 3 stars only for the effort put into belaboring every little detail
September 19, 2017
Fascinating! The truth, some of the best moments of the Marx Bros you've not heard about or have been misinformed. Great research brings their early history to life. Not available as an ebook. Hooray,hooray, hooray!
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