ZEPPO: THE RELUCTANT MARX BROTHER
Zeppo was the Marx Brother who didn’t want to go into the family business. A juvenile delinquent in his teen years, before joining his brothers on stage, Zeppo balanced two careers: auto mechanic and petty criminal. Even after getting dragged into the world of entertainment—for sixteen years, he did his familial duty as as a vaudeville, Broadway, and movie star—he finally made his escape from the Four Marx Brothers, making failed attempts to find steady work in real estate, screenwriting, and the restaurant business. It was only after Zeppo hit it big as a Hollywood talent agent, representing stars like Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, and Lana Turner, that his fortunes took a turn. He bred racehorses, owned a manufacturing plant, became a citrus rancher, a commercial fisherman, and an inventor with several patents. He was, in short, a complex character, and his own family never quite figured him out.
Zeppo: The Reluctant Marx Brother gives a lively account of this checkered life and career. As Robert Bader recounts, Zeppo’s lifelong addiction to gambling led him into relationships with several notorious organized crime figures. He would ultimately appear before grand juries more frequently than the camera. Socially, he mixed as easily with mobsters like Mickey Cohen as he did with movie stars like Clark
Gable. He was certainly the only Marx Brother who saw the corpse of a friend in a newspaper crime
scene photo. Comprehensively researched with the full cooperation of Zeppo’s estate—including the first-ever interviews with his two sons—this is a remarkable look at the many lives of Zeppo Marx—even the ones he did his best to keep secret.
Not much is known about Zeppo Marx, which is probably how he wanted it--but that all changes with this first full-length biography. The youngest of his much older theatrical siblings who made up the Marx Brothers, Zeppo was pushed into the family act to avoid truancy. Unable to develop a distinctive stage persona against his already famous brothers, Zeppo made five films with his brothers (including Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and Duck Soup) but ultimately left the group at the height of their fame in 1933. Though he's often characterized as the dullest of the group, this biography contends that the private Zeppo may have been the family's most exciting and morally checkered member. His subsequent varied careers as an engineer and talent agent and constant dalliances with the criminal underworld expose a man forever striving to outdo his siblings' successes and unfortunate excesses. Marx Brothers authority Bader has done a remarkable job successfully uncovering the story of the unknown brother, revealing a genuinely complex character. This book is revelatory not just about Zeppo but also about the rest of the Marx Brothers.
-- "Library Journal"Bader's meticulous research provides fascinating details about my father that I was unaware of. He's accurately portrayed as a charming, funny, but narcissistic individual driven to constantly prove himself. This is a wonderful look into the life of a brilliant man always striving to be somebody - and then ...somebody else!
--Tim Marx, son of Zeppo MarxWhat a revelation! The least known Marx Brother had the most colorful and unpredictable life, which is fully explored by Robert Bader in this unflinching biography. I couldn't put it down.
--Leonard Maltin, American film critic and historianIt's not enough that Robert Bader wrote my favorite book about the Marx Brothers (Four of the Three Musketeers.) He's now topped it by writing a revelatory book about Zeppo, the least interesting of the brothers on screen. The short version: Zeppo was by far the most interesting of the brothers off-screen. Who knew?
--Scott Eyman, author of Charlie Chaplin vs. AmericaMy Uncle Zeppo was a fascinating and complex guy. He lived a very unusual and successful life, but he was difficult to know. I only really got to know him when l read Zeppo: The Reluctant Marx Brother.
--Bill Marx, son of Harpo MarxRobert S. Bader is the author of Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage (2016) and the editor of Groucho Marx and Other Short Stories and Tall Tales (1993), an anthology of the comedian’s lost writings. He is also the coauthor of Speaking of Harpo (2022), the autobiography of Harpo Marx's wife Susan Fleming Marx.
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