Leonard Marx

Comedian, Entertainer. One of the legendary Marx Brothers along with Groucho, Harpo,
Zeppo, and Gummo. Leonard "Chico" Marx was the pianist with a phony Italian accent. He
starred in 13 movies with brothers Groucho, Harpo and sometimes Zeppo. Born in New York
City as the second-oldest son of Minnie and Sam Marx (the oldest, Manfred, died an infant),
Leonard grew up on the streets. He learned various accents and gambling, which became a
serious, lifelong addiction. The boy Leonard took piano lessons, later using his skills at
"shooting" the keys in the movies. Inheriting his mother's confidence, Chico was
extraordinarily successful with women all of his life, much to the frustration of his first wife,
Betty, and his only child, daughter Maxine. He held various jobs including playing piano at
brothels, until he joined his brothers' comedy team in the 1910s. Chico helped arrange the
deal for the brothers' 1924 Broadway hit "I'll Say She Is." Later, after five Marx films at
Paramount, he fixed arrangements for MGM's 1935 classic "A Night at the Opera." By this
time, Chico was defined as the dumb, happy ivory tinkler, providing the bridge between
Groucho and Harpo, who rarely had scenes with each other. (He also forgot his lines and
strayed from the set to gamble and chase women.) The brothers disbanded after 1941's "The
Big Store" but reunited twice because the forever-in-debt Chico needed money. He led his own
traveling orchestra, "Chico Marx and His Ravellis," and appeared on TV several times including
"The Incredible Jewel Robbery" in 1959, the last appearance with his two brothers. Chico
married his second wife, Mary Dee, in 1959, and died of heart trouble two years later in his
small Los Angeles bungalow. His funeral was highlighted by a eulogy from a rabbi who didn't
know him, and his will left $10,000 to his widow.

There are moments, however, where Chico's characters appear to be genuinely Italian;
examples include the film The Big Store, in which his character Ravelli runs into an old friend
he worked with in Naples (after a brief misunderstanding due to his accent), the film  Monkey
Business, in which Chico claims his grandfather sailed with Christopher Columbus, and their
very first outing The Cocoanuts, where Mr. Hammer (Groucho) asks him if he knew what an
auction was, in which he responds "I come from Italy on the Atlantic Auction!" Chico's
character is often assumed to be dim-witted, as he frequently misunderstands words spoken
by other characters (particularly Groucho). However, he often gets the better of the same
characters by extorting money from them, either by con or blackmail; again, Groucho is his
most frequent target.
Chico Marx playing cards with himself; taken at Rockaway Beach, New York, c. 1909

Chico was a talented pianist. He originally started playing with only his right hand and fake
playing with his left, as his teacher did so herself. Chico eventually acquired a better teacher
and learned to play the piano correctly. As a young boy, he gained jobs playing piano to earn
money for the Marx family. Sometimes Chico even worked playing in two places at the same
time. He would acquire the first job with his piano-playing skills, work for a few nights, and
then substitute Harpo on one of the jobs. (During their boyhood, Chico and Harpo looked so
much alike that they were often mistaken for each other.)