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You are here: Home / News - Notes / The Marx Brothers Vaudeville Ads, 1906-1913

The Marx Brothers Vaudeville Ads, 1906-1913

October 2, 2012 By Cliff Aliperti 2 Comments

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Born on this date in 1890, Julius Henry Marx, soon to be known as Groucho Marx.

Groucho Marx and Fay McKenzie Press Photo

Groucho Marx and Fay McKenzie in promotion of “Blue Ribbon Town” on circa 1944 CBS Radio Press Photo

Today we go way back to celebrate Groucho and his brothers with some of the earliest advertisements I could find that feature The Marx Brothers.

Groucho Marx vaudeville ad from 1906

The San Antonio Gazette, January 6, 1906

The January 1906 advertisement above may look like a waste of space, but well worth posting for the small print under the headline ‘The Musical Goolmans.’

Marx Brothers 1909 ad as Four Nightingales

From the Mansfield News, August 3, 1909, page 10.

The Four Nightingales were Groucho, Harpo and Gummo with Lou Levy. Minnie Marx is their mother. Well, not Lou’s, but you know what I mean. Here they are:

The Four Nightingales, 1909

The Atlanta Constitution, February 14, 1909, page 14

That may be the lousiest image I’ve ever posted to the site, but at least the caption was clear. A much sharper version of the same photo can be found at the top of this Four Nightingales page at the Marxology site.

Four Nightingales ad, 1909

The Coshocton Daily Tribune, September 18, 1909, page 6.

“The Four Nightingales are splendid singers and deserve their name. The four members of this quartet are but mere boys, apparently, yet they have well-developed voices that are pleasing” (Atlanta Constitution).

The Marx Brothers ad, 1911

The Decatur Daily Review, March 26, 1911, page 17

“During the heyday of Bushman and Bayne, King Baggot, Broncho Billy, Alice Joyce and Bunny,” writes Groucho Marx from Chicago, where ‘The Cocoanuts’ is taking the town by storm, “I was an ardent movie fan. The pictures that I saw then were a little sappy and very, very crude, and they flickered and shook so that one usually left the theater bleary-eyed and with dull shooting pains in all the nerves that connected with the brain, but they were full of action and gore, and they entertained, amused and interested me, and all for a dime.” Groucho Marx to Quinn Martin, 1926.

1913 newspaper ad for the Marx Brothers

“Minnie Palmer’s Greatest Success” comes to the Orpheum – February 19, 1913, the Racine Journal News, page 7.

On Home Again, 1915:

“The plot concerns the home-coming of Henry Schneider (Julius Marx) and his family and friends from an ocean voyage, and the reunion party at Schneider’s country home a few days later. Of course, the party contains several pretty girls. Milton Marx is the ‘straight’ man, Leonard Marx has an Italian character, and the other brother, Arthur, has an unusual role, which, for lack of a better name, is called a ‘nondescript.'” (Salt Lake Tribune).

For those in need of a scorecard, Julius is Groucho, Milton is Gummo, Leonard is Chico, and Arthur of the unusual ‘nondescript’ role, Harpo, of course.

Marx Brothers 1934 Carreras Film Stars Tobacco Card

Maybe next year I’ll get them into the 1920s and beyond. Love these old ads for now though.

Sources

  • “At the Orpheum.” Atlanta Constitution 16 Feb 1909: 4. NewspaperArchive. Web. 2 Oct 2012.
  • “Four Marx Brothers Will Be Seen at the Orpheum the Coming Week.” Salt Lake Tribune 28 Oct 1915: 11. NewspaperArchive. Web. 2 Oct 2012.
  • Martin, Quinn. “On the Screen.” Oakland Tribune 24 Oct 1926: 44. NewspaperArchive. Web. 2 Oct 2012.
  • “Obituaries: Rita La Roy, Actress, Model Agency Owner.” Los Angeles Times 23 Feb 1993. Los Angeles Times. Web. 2 Oct 2012.
  • “Stirring Melodrama at the Academy.” Washington Post 14 Aug 1906: 17. NewspaperArchive. Web. 2 Oct 2012.

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Filed Under: News - Notes Tagged With: four nightingales, groucho marx, marx brothers

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About Cliff

I write about old movies and movie stars from the 1920s to the 1950s. I also sell movie cards, still photos and other ephemera. Immortal Ephemera connects the stories with the collectibles. Read More…



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Comments

  1. Halli Casser-Jayne says

    May 1, 2014 at 11:28 am

    Honk! Honk! A #MarxBrothers Fest w/ Bill Marx The Halli Casser-Jayne Show http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thehallicasserjayneshow/2014/04/30/the-marx-brothers-with-dick-cavett-friends

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    • Cliff Aliperti says

      May 3, 2014 at 2:28 pm

      Thanks for the heads-up, Halli!

      (Just a note, I edited your link so readers wouldn’t be apprehensive of clicking the original bitly link as I was. Also to open in new tab/window.)

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