Synopses & Reviews
No personage is too big, no nuance too small, no subject too far out for Grouchos spontaneous, hilarious, and ferocious typewriter. He writes to comics, corporations, children, presidents, and even his daughters boyfriend. Here is Groucho swapping photos with T. S. Eliot (”I had no idea you were so handsome!”); advising his son on courting a rich dame (”Dont come out bluntly and say, How much dough have you got? That wouldnt be the Marxian way”); crisply declining membership in a Hollywood club (”I dont care to belong to any social organization that will accept me as a member”); reacting with utmost composure when informed that he has been made into a verb by James Joyce (”Theres no reason why I shouldnt appear in Finnegans Wake. Im certainly as bewildered about life as Joyce was”); responding to a scandal sheet (”Gentleman: If you continue to publish slanderous pieces about me, I shall feel compelled to cancel my subscription”); describing himself to the Lunts (”I eat like a vulture. Unfortunately the resemblance doesnt end there”); and much, much more. That mobile visage, that look of wild amazement, and that weaving cigar are wholly captured, bound but untamed, in The Groucho Letters.
Synopsis
In this volume Grouchophiles everywhere can enjoy the best of his trenchant correspondence with the greatest wits and minds of his day, such as E. B. White, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Fred Allen, Jerry Lewis, Peter Lorre, Howard Hughes, Irving Berlin, Harry Truman, and of course, Chico, Harpo, and Gummo. Here also, giving as good as they get, are some of their responses.
About the Author
As a member of the Marx Brothers, Julius (18951977), a.k.a. Groucho, enjoyed a sensational career on Broadway and in Hollywood with such comedy classics as Animal Crackers, Duck Soup, and A Night at the Opera. His solo career included work as a film actor, television game show emcee, and author of Groucho and Me, his autobiography.