Groucho and Me: Amazon.ca: Groucho Marx: Books

Product Description

From Library Journal

The one, the only Groucho here offers his own life story, which, of course, includes his famous brothers (LJ 10/15/58). Though filled with laughs throughout, the book reveals the struggle of the Marxes to break from the poverty of New York's East Side to achieve success and stardom. A good companion to last year's reprint of The Groucho Letters (Classic Returns, LJ
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Book Description

The temptation to write about yourself is irresistible, especially when you are prodded into it by a crafty publisher who has slyly baited you into doing it with a miserly advance of fifty dollars and a box of cheap cigars' - Groucho Marx. Told with humour and wit and in Groucho's own unique style, Groucho & Me: The Autobiography is a rags to riches story with a difference. Son of a Yorkville tailor and his wife, the most outrageous and voluble of the legendary Marx Brothers had a career that stretched from Vaudeville to gameshow, conquering Hollywood on the way. From the triumphs and disasters of a life spent in show business, to his unconsummated loves and self-proclaimed yearning for the young. As TS Eliot said of him: 'The mind boggles. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
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Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)

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3.0 out of 5 stars Better At Ad Libs Than Facing A Typewriter Or A Stenographer, Mar 8 2004

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Jay Hopkins - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Groucho and Me (Paperback)

First, it's a privilege to comment publicly on the wonderful Groucho Marx.

Second, Groucho and Me does not exactly stink, but if you wander into the alley behind Nate and Al's in Beverly, you'll get a general sense of the substance of the writing.

Groucho gave it his all...I will grant him that. But, between Sheekman's ghost writing and Groucho's indeterminable passion for going off-track, this book isn't so much an autobiography as it is a hat so full of familiar tricks that the brim is hanging by mere threads.

Groucho, god bless him, was possibly the funniest man of the twentieth century...or, as a professorial contestant once described him to his face on the quiz show, "perhaps the leading wit in the English speaking world" (to which Julius added: "If you don't win any money here tonight, it won't be my fault.") -- but this book fails to mirror it.

But worth a read.

Not surprisingly, another book, The Groucho Letters, reflects Groucho's rapier wit much more successfully than Groucho, a frustrated writer to be certain, could, upon encountering a blank sheet of paper.

But -- he is still The Man.

Jay Hopkins

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5.0 out of 5 stars Groucho's own voice, May 21 2003

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R. J. Marsella (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Groucho and Me (Paperback)

This "autobiography" is largely anecdotal and is far from a scholarly study of the Marx bros. and their contribution to American cultural history. That said it is a rare opportunity to "hear" Groucho tell some hysterically funny stories and voice his opinions on a variety of subjects in the process. It is valuable as a document regarding the vaudeville years and the early days of Hollywood. So if spending a few evenings reading Groucho's musings isn't enough incentive there is something to be learned here as well. Groucho's writing style is very much like his public personna and he always goes for the laugh in every circumstance. After reading this I visited my local video store to rent some Marx Bros. films. The young lady behind the counter didn't know who the MArx Bros. were !! Either I'm getting really old or she should find a different line of work.

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3.0 out of 5 stars They held a gun to his head, Nov 22 2002

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Anibal Lopes (RALEIGH, NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Groucho and Me (Paperback)

I am sure Groucho regretted agreeing to writing the book as soon as he got his first advance and his editor kept asking for some proofs and chapters. This was obvious throughout. But he managed to provide some entertainment, and did regale us with tales of woe and hilarity, spiced with insight. His failed investments after the Depression, the funeral of Harpo, stupidity at customs, insomnia, and the utter ridiculousness of him trying to write this memoir actually wound up making for a good read, made less painful because of its brevity. I've always been a Groucho fan because of his irreverance- a trait I "inherited" from him, much to the chagrin of my employers.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Ersatz Groucho is just as funny
GROUCHO AND ME is the autobiography of Groucho Marx -- sort of. The book is certainly written by Groucho, contains his inimitable style and sense of humor, and does tell a few... Read more

Published on Sep 25 2002 by Andrew McCaffrey

4.0 out of 5 stars All Groucho via all Groucho
Groucho and Me was not quite what I expected. I wanted a full recap of life with the Marx brothers. Groucho spends 20 pages talking about his brothers, then the rest is just just... Read more

Published on Mar 10 2002 by Kent