Growing Up With Chico by Maxine Marx. Who doesn't love the Marx Brothers? When I discovered they existed my mind was blown. I couldn't believe it and immediately fell in love. I watched their movies, roared at their bits and loved their shtick. So much so that even when fully ensconced in the legal profession suit and tie matching belt and shoes I still referenced the "Sanity Claus," to see who was paying attention or knew what I was talking about. I never really delved into the Brothers background or looked behind the curtain until this little gem crossed my path.
A lightning quick read by Chico's daughter doesn't pull any punches about her dad, her uncles or herself. Random paragraphs begin with sentences like, "Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracy were sitting around..." But the beginning always the beginning on the road starving trying to break into vaudeville hustling on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. I love these snap shots of time and windows into worlds gone by. Even though time has changed the human experience is always at the center some how consistent no matter what the trappings of culture and locality present.
Back room card and dice games, the touring troupe gathering onto the train for the next town, the rise of and finally the retirement of the Brothers I would have loved to have seen Chico in a cabaret with his touring orchestra. There he was still hustling after the Marx Brothers stopped making movies shooting down the piano keys, telling stories, throwing dice.
Maxine's book gets you a little closer and inside to that world the good bad and ugly it was all there. Same as it ever was only with grease paint a honking automobile horn and lots of leering puns. The Marx Brothers in full gallop were just good fun. Behind the scenes the real world was very much there. Growing Up With Chico peals the curtain back almost like a backstage pass.
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