Groucho And Me Paperback – August 22, 1995

This fascinating but frustrating autobiography of an icon of comedy, stage and film tells you right upfront what to expect. In Chapter 1, Groucho Marx writes, “...most autobiographies take good care to conceal the author from the public.” Everywhere in this book, he writes sarcastically, with madcap wit, jumping from vignette to vignette... and yes, he manages to conceal himself from us, the reader, his public. Humor, especially his brand of repartee, can serve to distract, defend and distance. By the end of “Groucho and Me,” I am still left wondering about everything in between. What were his feelings, his concerns? His relationship with his parents, his brothers, his wives? He dances around it, under it, over it but never through it. The only consistent theme that pervades the book is money. He talks about his salary, the price of bread, price of anything, on almost every page. Growing up in poverty, his fear of financial ruin haunted him his entire life. He never got over the poverty from childhood.Still, this is a great book to read. Groucho is brutally honest, even to the point of being detrimental to himself. He calls himself a miser, a misanthrope. But I enjoyed many of the vignettes, though some are odd: a lot of time spent on how he gets seasick, some dates he had, some meals he had, a particular hotel situation. There is almost nothing about his marriages, veery little about his children, except the youngest. The book is disjointed, randomly wanders, but still there are some great stories, like the hysterical letter he wrote in response to one from Warner Brothers threatening his use of “Casablanca” in the title of his last movie. The whole book was worth reading for that one letter! Groucho writes the entire book like he is delivery a soliloquy in a movie, complete with his “strange interludes”! So in many ways, this is Groucho being Groucho. Groucho was the literary one of the brothers, and yet, the book is not nearly as enjoyable, revealing or as well written as “Harpo Speaks,” which was much longer, more detailed, richer in stories, feelings and thoughts... and all that from the silent one!It is remarkable how different each of the brothers were, as reflected in the autobiographies and biographies. I love them all, because I am a huge fan. It made me especially happy to read how Groucho respected director Irving Thalberg, and that of the 14 movies the Marx Brothers starred in, Groucho’s two favorites were “A Night at the Opera” and “A Day at the Races,” by Thalberg. “A Day at the Races” is my favorite. I guess, like this book, it’s hard to judge the Marx Brothers individually. They are a team. A fabulous, eternal, iconic team. When you read “Groucho and Me,” “Harpo Speaks,” and “Growing Up With Chico,” as I just did, you get a more rounded picture of who each was. I love the ending of this book: a story of two women who circled, then stopped Groucho on a Chicago street, when they realized who it was. One touched him timidly on the arm and said, “Please don’t die. Just keep on living.” His final sentence was “Who could ask for anything more?” While he honestly seems shy at heart, and a bit of a recluse at times, I believe he knows he made a huge impact. He lives on in his movies, which never grow old. We don’t have to fully understand Groucho to just enjoy him, in every film, every year, forever.

More humorous anecdotes and stories from Groucho’s many decades in show business, from early vaudeville to Broadway to movies to radio to TV. Although not strictly an autobiography, it gives a ring-side seat view of his life and glimpses of who Grouch really was as a person. Delightful book.

It's not your typical autobiography. If you love Groucho`s humor you will love the book. His anecdote s are a delight. I highly recommend it.

I finished reading this yesterday. It is an absolutely great read. I especially like all the history I got as Groucho told the story of his early life and how he came to be the great comedienne and star that he was. Throughout the book his wonderful sense of humor shines and had me laughing and chuckling. His ability to turn a phrase had me seeing in my mind the images he created with words. That's always the sign of a great book for me.

Odd that a book written by someone I consider the Funniest Man In The World, my single favourite comedian of all time, should be such a disappointment. Published in 1959 at the height of his popularity on the comedy-quiz radio and TV program You Bet Your Life, this is more of an anti-autobiography, Groucho Marx characteristically doing his anarchic thing by telling only briefly of his youth and early stage successes in vaudeville and on Broadway and then veering off constantly (and unsteadily) into meditations on love, sex, marriage, Hollywood and even the poor souls at the publishing company who actually expect him to write a "straight" account of himself, which he of course refuses to do.Groucho Marx, it's been said, had a natural inborn greatness that defied analysis (but I'll still try!). There was something about his silly walk, his nasal whine, his defiance, his sudden punning broadsides, and sheer anarchic presence that just was Funny Incarnate. He is famous for a long stream of clever, provocative one-liners and for just saying such random, improvisational things onstage as "Pardon me while I have a strange interlude", or, "You're very fortunate the Theatre Guild isn't putting this on. And so is the Guild".Just looking at those isolated lines in an Amazon.com review you already see it; this is a type of comedy that's probably not so good on paper.Dick Cavett always says Groucho was "a great writer", but I disagree. I think Cavett's appraisal is colored by his personal fondness for his old friend, the irresistibly playful and sneaky sound of Groucho's voice, and this is what Cavett really cherishes and misses. I believe a great deal of what made Groucho funny was thus performance; unlike Peter Cook, Woody Allen, Monty Python, or Bob & Ray, whose material was funny just to read. Groucho and the Marx Brothers benefitted enormously from their writers, George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind, S. J. Perelman, Arthur Sheekman, Nat Perrin, etc. Basically they provided the structure and the brothers would polish and embellish. It's possible that Groucho's, dare I say it, shortcomings, are less noticeable in the Marx Brothers' many wonderful movies; flanked as he was by brother Chico's malapropisms, illogic, and crazy piano playing, plus Harpo's madcap pantomime and harp playing. The Marx Brothers as a unit are as strong and entertaining a comedy team as I could possibly imagine. Their originality and talent remain stunning, their mark on comedy history of course indelible. But on his own, Groucho always seemed too meandering, which is what Steve Allen might have been getting at (in his book Funny People's chapter on Groucho) about not considering Groucho's own "act" as being very strong. There is some truth to it; after the Marx Brothers amicably broke up Groucho never even tried to be a regular stand-up comic in nightclubs, which was wise. He was clearly at his very best in impromptu conversation, something his producers on You Bet Your Life seemed to know better than Groucho himself.Ultimately he's a good writer because he's charming. The reason he isn't a great writer is his disregard of structure. That's why The GrouchoPhile, his later autobiography, is so much better; the structure. And, tellingly, it was written by Groucho and Someone Else.Groucho and Me, by contrast, is good but not great. Still, I love and cherish my 1960 paperback copy of it...because it's got that iconic Groucho Marx rolled-eye, chin-on-fist-holding-cigar-pose and a facsimile of his signature on the cover. Pathetic fan-boy that I am. ☺

Devoted fans of Groucho will enjoy the stories of his life in vaudeville. While the writing style is his, his humor in print comes off as lame, if not forced. Still, he writes openly and honestly if not deeply about himself, his brothers, family and career. Groucho comes off as a simple, honest man who accepted his fame with the right mix of humility and pride. He was lucky a lot, and he's not shy about admitting it. A biography written by a first rate writer might have made for a better read.

The best part of this book is Groucho's description of the early days of vaudeville which should cure anyone of notions of "the good old days". Life on the circuit was tough. Groucho is an entertaining guide but his approach is anecdotal and scattershot with many gaps in his narrative. We learn far more about his finances and the cars he has owned than about his wives who are scarcely mentioned, still it held my interest.

Grouch once sent me a signed photo of himself and that remains a special item in my home. He as the funniest man to appear on film and no one has even tried to follow him. His brother Harpo wrote a brilliant book of the families lives also. We never see films like that today and that's a great shame but then there are no artists like Groucho around to do the job .Will there ever be anyone like that again .I doubt it.

I Was Sadly A Bit Un happy with This as The book was pretty well worn and badly creased. I was expecting it New. probably my fault maybe Didn't check out The Description of it properly. very informative reading Though on The life of The comedy legend But I would have loved a brand New copy of This book Though.

lacks any entertainment value.

If you love Groucho - buy it. If you love comedy - buy it. Just buy it anyway!

This was my first Marx Brothers comedy and I was amazed at how funny it is. It really stands the test of time. It's both witty and physically funny. I can't recommend it highly enough.