Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were a successful Vaudeville act who performed on Broadway and in movies. Most of the time, they portrayed the same characters and wore the same clothes in their movies. So the cigar waggling, heavily moustached Groucho was effectively the same persona[1] whether his role was Captain Spaulding in "Animal Crackers", college president or a stowaway on board a ship.
Groucho was noted for socially conscious wordplay, as in "Monkey Business" (1931):
| â | Madame Swempski: I don't like this innuendo.
Groucho: That's what I always say: love flies out the door when money comes innuendo.<ref>Groucho turns innuendo to "in your window". [2] |
â |
Harpo never spoke onstage or in movies. He wore top hat, carried a bulb-operated horn, and would often sidle up to a person and get them to hold on to him. He played the harp beautifully, hence his name.
Zeppo affected an Italian accent, and competed in wordplay with Groucho. He played piano, sometimes ending a glissando by 'shooting' the last note.