Zeppo Marx
Zeppo Marx was born in Manhattan, New York, United States on February 25th, 1901 and is the Movie Actor. At the age of 78, Zeppo Marx biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 78 years old, Zeppo Marx physical status not available right now. We will update Zeppo Marx's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.
Herbert Manfred "Zeppo" Marx (February 25, 1901 – November 30, 1979) was an American actor, comedian, theatrical agent, and engineer.
He was the youngest of the five Marx Brothers.
He appeared in the first five Marx Brothers feature films, from 1929 to 1933, but then left the act to start his second career as an engineer and theatrical agent.
Early life
Zeppo was born in Manhattan, New York City, on February 25, 1901. His parents were Sam Marx (called "Frenchie" throughout his life), and his wife, Minnie Schönberg Marx. Minnie's brother was Al Shean, who later gained fame as half of the vaudeville team Gallagher and Shean. Marx's family was Jewish. His mother was from East Frisia in Germany and his father was a native of Alsace, France, and worked as a tailor.
Personal life
On April 12, 1927, Zeppo married Marion Benda (birth name Bimberg). The couple adopted two children, Timothy and Thomas, in 1944 and 1945, and later divorced on May 12, 1954. On September 18, 1959, Marx married Barbara Blakeley, whose son, Bobby Oliver, he wanted to adopt and give his surname, but Bobby's father would not allow it. Bobby simply started using the last name "Marx."
Blakeley wrote in her book, Lady Blue Eyes, that Zeppo never made her convert to Judaism. Blakeley was of Methodist faith and said that Zeppo told her she became Jewish by "injection."
Blakeley also wrote in her book that Zeppo wanted to keep her son out of the picture, adding a room for him onto his estate, which was more of a guest house as it was separated from the main residence. It was also decided that Blakeley's son would go to military school, which according to Blakeley, pleased Zeppo.
Zeppo owned a house on Halper Lake Drive in Rancho Mirage, California, which was built off the fairway of the Tamarisk Country Club. The Tamarisk Club had been set up by the Jewish community, which rivaled the gentile club called The Thunderbird. His neighbor happened to be Frank Sinatra. Along with brothers Groucho and Harpo, Zeppo later attended the Hillcrest Country Club with friends such as Sinatra, George Burns, Jack Benny, Danny Kaye, Sid Caesar, and Milton Berle.
Blakeley became involved with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and had arranged to show Spartacus (featuring Kirk Douglas) for charity, selling tickets and organizing a post-screening ball. At the last minute, Blakeley was told she could not have the film so Zeppo went to the country club and spoke to Sinatra, who agreed to let him have an early release of a film he had just finished named Come Blow Your Horn. Sinatra also flew everyone involved to Palm Springs for the event.
Sinatra began to invite Blakeley and Zeppo to his house two or three times a week. He would also send champagne or wine to their home, as a friendly gesture. Blakeley and Sinatra began a love affair, unbeknownst to Zeppo. The press eventually got wind of it, snapping photos of Blakeley and Sinatra together or asking her questions whenever she was spotted. Both she and Sinatra denied the affair.
Zeppo and Blakeley divorced in 1973. Zeppo let Blakeley keep a 1969 Jaguar and agreed to pay her $1,500 (equivalent to $9,200 in 2021) a month for 10 years. Sinatra upgraded Blakeley's Jaguar to the latest model. Sinatra also gave her a house which had belonged to Eden Hartford, Groucho Marx's third wife. Blakeley and Sinatra continued to date and were constantly hounded by the press until her divorce became final. Blakeley and Sinatra were married in 1976.
Zeppo was accused of beating up 37-year old Jean Bodul, the future wife of mobster Jimmy Fratianno, in 1973; a jury awarded her $20,690 in 1978.
Zeppo became ill with cancer in 1978. He moved to a house on the fairway off Frank Sinatra Drive. The doctors thought the cancer had gone into remission but it returned. An ailing Zeppo turned to Blakeley for support and she accompanied him to doctor's appointments and treatment. Zeppo spent his last days with Blakeley's family.
Career
Zeppo replaced brother Gummo in the Marx Brothers' stage act when the latter joined the army in 1918. At that time, Zeppo was employed as a mechanic for the Ford Motor Company. He had no desire for a show business career but the team's mother, Minnie, insisted he replace Gummo because she wanted to maintain the act as a foursome. Zeppo remained with the team and appeared in their successes in vaudeville, Broadway, and the first five Marx Brothers films as the straight man and romantic lead until 1933. He also made a solo appearance in the Adolphe Menjou comedy A Kiss in the Dark (1925) as Herbert Marx. It was described in newspaper reviews as a minor role though his performance was praised by the New York Sun.
In Lady Blue Eyes, Barbara Sinatra, Zeppo's second wife, reported that Zeppo was considered too young to perform with his brothers, and when Gummo joined the Army, Zeppo was asked to join the act as a last-minute stand-in at a show in Texas. Zeppo was supposed to go out that night with a Jewish friend of his. They were supposed to take out two Irish girls but Zeppo had to cancel to board the train to Texas. His friend went on the date and was shot a few hours later by an Irish gang that disapproved of a Jew dating an Irish girl.
As the youngest and having grown up watching his brothers, Zeppo could fill in for and imitate any of the others when illness kept them from performing. Groucho suffered from appendicitis during a Chicago engagement, and Zeppo filled in for him ably.
"He was so good as Captain Spaulding in Animal Crackers that I would have let him play the part indefinitely, if they had allowed me to smoke in the audience", Groucho recalled. However, a comic persona of his own that could stand up against those of his brothers did not emerge. As critic Percy Hammond wrote, sympathetically, in 1928:
The popular assumption that Zeppo's character was superfluous was fueled in part by Groucho. According to Groucho's own story, when the group became the Three Marx Brothers, the studio wanted to trim their collective salary, and Groucho replied, "We're twice as funny without Zeppo!"
Zeppo had great mechanical skills and was largely responsible for keeping the Marx family car running. He later owned a company that machined parts for the war effort during World War II, Marman Products Co. of Inglewood, California, later acquired by the Aeroquip Company. This company produced a motorcycle, called the Marman Twin, and the Marman clamps used to hold the "Fat Man" atomic bomb inside the B-29 bomber Bockscar. He obtained patents for a wristwatch that monitored the pulse rate and alarmed if the heartbeat became irregular and a therapeutic pad for delivering moist heat to a patient.
He also founded a large theatrical agency with his brother Gummo. During their time as theatrical agents, Zeppo and Gummo represented numerous screenwriters and actors, including their brothers.
