Milton "Gummo" Marx (October 23, 1892 – April 21, 1977) was an American
vaudevillian
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatre, theatrical genre of variety show, variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comic ...
performer, actor, comedian, and theatrical agent.
[ He was the second youngest of the five ]Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chi ...
. Born in Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, he worked with his brothers on the vaudeville circuit, leaving the act when he was drafted into the US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
in 1918 during World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and replaced by his brother Zeppo. He had no taste for the theatre, never appeared in any of his brothers' films, and became a successful businessman.
Early life
Marx was born in Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, New York City, on October 23, 1892.[The 1900 United States Census shows his birth as "October 1892". His World War I and World War II draft registrations uses "October 21, 1892". His death certificate and his grave use the year 1893. The documents originating closest to the birth date are usually more accurate.] His parents were Sam Marx
Samuel Simon Marx (born Simon Marx; October 23, 1859 – May 10, 1933) was the father of the American entertainers known as the Marx Brothers, stars of vaudeville, Broadway and film, and the husband of Minnie Marx, who served as the group's m ...
(called "Frenchie" throughout his life), and Minnie Schoenberg Marx. Marx's family was Jewish. His mother was from Dornum
Dornum is a village and a municipality in the East Frisian district of Aurich, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located near the North Sea coast, approx. 15 km east of Norden, and 20 km north of Aurich.
Division of the municipality
The ...
in East Frisia
East Frisia () or East Friesland (; ; ; ) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisia (peninsula), East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the ...
, and his father was a native of Alsace
Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
and worked as a tailor.
Career
Gummo was the first of his brothers to make his debut on stage, pretending to be a dummy in an act with his uncle Henry Shean (né Heinemann Schoenberg), the brother of Al Shean
Abraham Elieser Adolph Schönberg (May 12, 1868 – August 12, 1949), known as Al Shean, was a comedian and vaudeville performer. Other sources give his birth name variously as Adolf Schönberg, Albert Schönberg, or Alfred Schönberg. He is mos ...
, in 1899. Milton was put into a costume with a papier-mâché
file:JacmelMardiGras.jpg, upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti
Papier-mâché ( , , - the French term "mâché" here means "crushed and ground") is a versatile craft technique with roots in ancient China, in which waste paper is s ...
head and pretended to be a dummy while Henry pretended to work him. The act may have only been performed once and was not helped by Shean's deafness or Milton's stammer.
Gummo, who in an interview said he never liked being on stage, left the group and joined the military during World War I. He was not sent overseas because the armistice was signed shortly afterward. Gummo's younger brother Zeppo took his place in the group. After his Army career, Gummo went into the raincoat
A raincoat is a waterproof or water-resistant garment worn on the upper body to shield the wearer from rain. The term rain jacket is sometimes used to refer to raincoats with long sleeves that are waist-length. A rain jacket may be combined wit ...
business. He later joined with Zeppo and operated a theatrical agency. After that collaboration ended, Gummo represented his brother Groucho and worked on the television show ''The Life of Riley
''The Life of Riley'' is an American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, as well as two different television series, and a comic book.
Radio series
The radio program initially aired on the B ...
'', which he helped develop.
Gummo represented other on-screen talent and a number of writers, and was well-respected as a businessman. He rarely required contracts, believing that if the people he represented liked his work, they would stay with him. Around the time he left his brothers' Vaudeville act, Marx applied for a patent for a clothes-packing rack. On October 28, 1919, Marx was granted patent US1320335A.
Gummo may have received his nickname
A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...
because he had a tendency to sneak around backstage, creeping up on others like a "gumshoe" private detective
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...
. Another explanation cited by biographers and family members is that Milton, the sickliest of the brothers, often wore rubber overshoes, also called "gumshoes", to protect himself in inclement weather. According to Zeppo in a much later BBC TV interview, Gummo may have received his nickname
A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...
because he was usually chewing gum.
Personal life and death
Marx married Helen von Tilzer née Theaman (who had a two-year-old daughter, Karlyn "Kay" von Tilzer, from her previous marriage), on May 3, 1929.; they remained married until her death in January 1976. Their son, Robert Stuart, was born on August 19, 1930. Gummo's grandson Gregg Marx
Gregg Marx (born April 3, 1955) is an American actor known mainly for his work on daytime soap operas.
He first played the role of David Banning on ''Days of Our Lives'' from 1981 to 1983. He then moved to ''As the World Turns'' where he portra ...
is an actor.
Gummo died on April 21, 1977, at his home in Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...
, aged 84, from a cerebral hemorrhage
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...
. His death was never reported to Groucho, who by that time had become so ill and weak that it was thought the news would be a further detriment to his health. Groucho died four months later on August 19, at age 86.
Gummo and his wife Helen are interred next to each other in the Freedom Mausoleum at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California
Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles.
As of 2024, Glendale ha ...
. Gummo's brother Chico is in a crypt across the hall from them. Gummo's only biological child, Robert, served in the United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
for two years and later worked as an architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
. He died on May 21, 2023, aged 92.
Notes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Marx, Gummo
1890s births
1977 deaths
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American Jews
20th-century American male actors
American male comedians
American military personnel of World War I
American people of German-Jewish descent
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
Comedians from Manhattan
Jewish American male actors
Jewish American comedians
Jewish male comedians
Male actors from Manhattan
Marx Brothers
United States Army soldiers
American vaudeville performers
Jews from New York (state)
Jewish American film people