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The Ritz Brothers were an American family comedy act consisting of brothers Al (1901–1965),
Jimmy Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...
(1904–1985), and Harry Ritz (1907–1986) who performed extensively on stage, in nightclubs and in films from 1925 to the late 1970s. A fourth brother, George, acted as their manager.


Early life

The four brothers were born in
Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
to Austrian Jewish
haberdasher __NOTOC__ In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a men's clothing st ...
Max Joachim and his wife Pauline. They also had a sister Gertrude. Harry explained on a
Joe Franklin Joe Franklin (March 9, 1926 – January 24, 2015), born Joseph Fortgang, was an American radio and television host personality, author and actor from New York City. Franklin is noted for having the first talk show and inventing the format. His te ...
TV interview that the family name was pronounced "joe-ACK-him", and that eldest brother Al, a
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of 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 comical situation: a drama ...
dancer, adopted a new professional name after he saw the name "Ritz" on the side of a laundry truck. Jimmy and Harry followed suit when the brothers formed a team. The Ritzes emphasized precision dancing in their act, and added comedy material as they went along. By the early 1930s they were stage headliners.


Movie career

In 1934
Educational Pictures Educational Pictures, also known as Educational Film Exchanges, Inc. or Educational Films Corporation of America, was an American film production and film distribution company founded in 1916 by Earle (E. W.) Hammons (1882–1962). Educational p ...
, producers of short subjects, hired "The Three Ritz Brothers" to make a series of six two-reel comedies in New York. The first, ''Hotel Anchovy'', did well enough for the film's distributor,
20th Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film production and distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Com ...
, to void the Educational contract and hire the team as a specialty act for feature-length musicals, to be filmed in Hollywood. From 1935 to 1937 the brothers barged in on the action in several musical comedies, including '' Sing, Baby, Sing'', '' One in a Million'', and the
Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...
musical '' On the Avenue''. In 1937 Fox gave the Ritz Brothers their own starring series, beginning with ''
Life Begins in College ''Life Begins in College'' is a 1937 American comedy film directed by William A. Seiter. It marked the Ritz Brothers' first starring role in a feature film. Plot The action takes place at Lombardy College, founded "to give the Indian nations of ...
''. The brothers had a large following, and some fans compared them to the
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 ...
, but the Ritzes did not play contrasting characters like the Marxes did, instead adopting the same boisterous behavior, making it harder for audiences to tell them apart. The ringleader was always rubber-faced, mouthy Harry, with Jimmy and Al enthusiastically following his lead. They frequently broke into songs and dances during their feature comedies, and often did celebrity impersonations (among them Ted Lewis,
Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, active first in Europe and later in the United States. Known for his timidly devious characters, his appearance, and accented vo ...
, Tony Martin, and even Alice Faye and
Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...
). The brothers were caricatured in animated cartoons, including the 1937
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
short '' A Sunbonnet Blue'' and the 1939
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
short '' The Autograph Hound''. Their talent was also noted by
Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (; born Szmuel Gelbfisz; ; July 1879 (most likely; claimed to be August 27, 1882) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer and pioneer in the American film industry, who produce ...
, who borrowed them from Fox for his
Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...
variety show, ''The Goldwyn Follies'', where they appeared with other headliners of the day including
Edgar Bergen Edgar John Bergen (né Berggren; February 16, 1903 – September 30, 1978) was an American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, vaudevillian and radio performer. He was best known for his characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. Bergen ...
and Charlie McCarthy. Perhaps their most successful film during this period was Fox's 1939 musical-comedy version of ''
The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...
'', co-starring
Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, repertory theatre, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 19 ...
. Fox chief Darryl F. Zanuck always viewed Harry Ritz as the star of the act, with Al and Jimmy as excess baggage. Zanuck's handwritten notes on Ritz scripts insisted that Harry's roles and dialogue should be built up. Zanuck even told Harry what a big star he ''could'' be if he only got rid of his brothers. Harry ended the conversation immediately, refusing to consider splitting the act. Zanuck bought an old Ralph Spence play, ''The Gorilla'' (staged in 1925), and pushed the Ritzes into a 1939 film version. The Ritzes complained about the low quality of the script and staged a highly publicized walkout. Zanuck responded by completing '' The Gorilla'' anyway, terminating the Ritzes' starring series, and casting them in a B picture: ''Pack Up Your Troubles'' starring Jane Withers. Zanuck then arranged to loan the brothers out to
Republic Pictures Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...
, a minor-league "budget" studio known for westerns and serials. The Ritz Brothers refused the deal and left Fox for good in late 1939. In 1940 they moved to
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
, where they were scheduled to star in ''
The Boys from Syracuse ''The Boys from Syracuse'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, based on William Shakespeare's play '' The Comedy of Errors'', as adapted by librettist George Abbott. The score includes swing and other contemp ...
'' but were removed from that production and reassigned to make brash B comedies with music. Their final film as a trio was '' Never a Dull Moment'' (1943).


Nightclubs and television

The Ritz Brothers left Hollywood in 1943 to concentrate on their nightclub act and personal appearances. In the 1950s they made guest appearances on network television (including ''All Star Revue'', a 1952 comedy hour broadcast live, in which the Ritzes dominated the action and earned rave reviews). They soon became a top Las Vegas attraction. In 1958 Harry participated in a sketch-comedy LP, ''Hilarity in Hollywood'' (also known as ''Hilarity in Hi-Fi''). The Ritzes were appearing at the
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
Roosevelt Hotel in December of 1965 when Al died of a sudden
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
. Harry and Jimmy were devastated, as the trio had always been close. The two surviving brothers continued the act and appeared together in several films. The last appearances of the Ritz Brothers as a team (minus Al) were in the mid-1970s films '' Blazing Stewardesses'' and '' Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood'', a spoof of the old ''
Rin Tin Tin Rin Tin Tin or Rin-Tin-Tin (October 10, 1918 – August 10, 1932) was a male German Shepherd born in Flirey, France, who became an international star in motion pictures. He was rescued from a World War I battlefield by an American soldier, ...
'' and '' Lassie'' movies. In ''Blazing Stewardesses'' the Ritzes were replaced
The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...
, who dropped out when Moe Howard's declining health forced the trio to withdraw. (Contrary to many accounts, Moe was alive when ''Blazing Stewardesses'' filmed in March 1975, but was too ill to work, and died in May of that year; ''Blazing Stewardesses'' opened a month later, in June of 1975.) Harry and Jimmy made semi-regular appearances on the 1970 television revival of the comedy-themed game show, '' Can You Top This?'' and made a lively encore appearance on television, as guests on Dick Cavett's PBS talk show. In 1979, television producer
Garry Marshall Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American screenwriter, director, producer and actor. Marshall began his career in the 1960s as a writer for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' until he developed the T ...
(''
Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...
'', ''
Laverne & Shirley ''Laverne & Shirley'' is an American television sitcom that ran for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' stars Penny Marshall and Cindy Wi ...
'') prepared an American version of the British
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
''
Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British television sitcom that was broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was created and written by David Croft (TV producer), David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. Croft also served as executive producer and television directo ...
'' The British series was set in the venerable Grace Bros. department store, owned by the elderly Mr. Grace ( Harold Bennett). The American adaptation, retitled ''Beane's of Boston'', cast Harry Ritz as the owner, Mr. Beane. In the pilot, which did not sell,
Tom Poston Thomas Gordon Poston (October 17, 1921 – April 30, 2007) was an American actor, appearing in television roles from the 1950s through the early to mid-2000s, reportedly appearing in more sitcoms than any other actor. In the 1980s, he played ...
plays the role and Harry Ritz does not appear. Harry's final months were plagued by
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
; Jimmy Ritz died in 1985 shortly before Harry, but Harry's health was so delicate that he was never told of his brother's death. Harry died five months later. The brothers were entombed in Hollywood Cemetery, now called the
Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematorium, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries ...
in Hollywood, California. They are entombed near each other in the Hall of David Mausoleum.


Tributes

The influence of the Ritz Brothers was greater than their film career, in part because of their long career as nightclub entertainers. They influenced actors including
Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; ; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer, and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs. Kaye starred ...
,
Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...
, and Sid Caesar. In his 1976 film '' Silent Movie'',
Mel Brooks Melvin James Brooks (né Kaminsky; born June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodie ...
paid tribute to the Ritz Brothers by casting Harry in a cameo (he is the fellow leaving a tailor's shop). It was the actor's last role. In a 1976 ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'' article, Harry Stein makes the case that many top comedians were influenced by, and even borrowed bits from, Harry Ritz. In an interview in ''Playboy'' magazine, George Carlin said Harry Ritz "invented the moves for a whole generation" of comedians. Other tributes to them include mentions in ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' (episode " Mountain of Madness"), '' M*A*S*H'' (episode "
Aid Station An aid station is a temporary facility (often a frame tent, tent, table, or general rest area) established to provide supplies to endurance event participants or medical first aid and provisions during major events, disaster response situations, o ...
"), ''
Soap (TV series) ''Soap'' is an American sitcom television series that originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC for four seasons, from September 13, 1977, until April 20, 1981. The show was created as a nighttime parody of daytime soap operas, prese ...
'' (episode 48), and the films ''
Pretty Woman ''Pretty Woman'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall and written by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), ...
'', '' Mr. Saturday Night'' and '' My Favorite Year'': "On the funny side, there's the Marx Brothers, except Zeppo, the Ritz Brothers, no exceptions, both Laurel ''and'' Hardy, and Woody Woodpecker." Another tribute to The Ritz Brothers appeared in ''
Leave It to Beaver ''Leave It to Beaver'' is an American television sitcom that follows the misadventures of a suburban boy, his family and his friends. It starred Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers. CBS first broadcast the show ...
'' (Season 6, Episode 30, " The Book Report"), where Beaver (Theodore Cleaver) writes a book report about 'The Three Musketeers' based on the Ritz Brothers movie of the same name. They received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...
in 1987, in response to a campaign led by comedians Jan Murray,
Red Buttons Red Buttons (born Aaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He won an Oscar and Golden Globe for '' Sayonara''. He was nominated for awards for his work such as ''Harlow'' (1965), '' They Shoot Ho ...
, Milton Berle, and
Phyllis Diller Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, Actor, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric stage persona, Self-deprecation, se ...
. In 1996, a Golden Palm Star on the
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 ...
, Walk of Stars was dedicated to them. They were the favorite musical clowns of the German-Jewish poet Else Lasker-Schüler, and they appear as characters in her last play, ''I and I'' (''Ich und Ich'').
Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922December 5, 2023) was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including ''All in the Family'' (1 ...
has said of Harry Ritz and the Ritz Brothers, "Harry Ritz was as funny as any human being, in or out of comedy, I have ever et.. he was a jewel, in a glorious setting, and his brothers were the setting."


Filmography


The Ritz Brothers films

;Harry, Jimmy and Al Ritz ;Harry and Jimmy Ritz


Harry Ritz solo films


References


Further reading

*


External links

* * *
Mel Brooks Says This Is the Funniest Man On Earth
Harry Stein's article from ''
Esquire Magazine ''Esquire'' is an American men's magazine. Currently published in the United States by Hearst, it also has more than 20 international editions. Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and World War II under the guidance of ...
'', June 1976.
The Clipping File: The Ritz Brothers
Richard Brody's article from ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'', March 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ritz Brothers American comedy troupes Comedy trios Show business families of the United States Performing groups established in 1925 20th Century Studios contract players American vaudeville performers Slapstick comedians Jewish American comedians Jewish male comedians Brother trios