October 02
Julius Henry Marx's Birthday
 

Groucho, Chico, and Harpo Marx in At the Circus (1939)
 
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx  was a vaudeville, film, and television star and ranks with Dorothy Parker as one of America's greatest wits. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers. He also had a successful solo career, most notably as the host of the radio and television game show "You Bet Your Life."

The Marx brothers' mother, Minnie, pushed her five sons into show business: Julius (Groucho), Milton (Gummo), Adolph (Harpo), Leonard (Chico), and Herbert (Zeppo). She successfully managed to assemble three sons into a third-rate vaudeville singing group billed  as 'The Four Nightingales After a particularly disappointing performance in Nacogdoches, Texas, Julius, Milton, and Adolph began cracking jokes onstage for their own amusement. Much to their surprise, the audience liked them better as comedians than singers.

The Marx Bother comedy act soon became one of the top headliners in vaudeville. They eventually moved their comedy act to Broadway and starred in such vehicles as The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers which were major hits. Soon Hollywood called, and the Marx Brothers became major films stars. Groucho made 26 movies, thirteen of them with his brothers Chico and Harpo. Groucho carried over his distinctive vaudeville appearance  to films including glasses, cigars, a thick greasepaint mustache and eyebrows , and a distinctive chicken-walking lope. The Marx Brothers made some of their Broadway hits into movies, including The Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930) Other successful films were Monkey Business (1931), Horse Feathers (1932), Duck Soup (1933), and A Night at the Opera (1935).

"You Bet Your Life" premiered in October 1947 on radio on ABC and then on CBS and finally NBC and ran until May 1961 -- on radio only 1947-1950, on both radio and television 1950-1956, and on television only 1956-1961. The show was an one of the most popular in the history of radio and television. Groucho stayed his audiences with extraordinary improvised conversation, usually with the most ordinary of guests.

Above all, it was Groucho' s wit that made him unique. A few of his famous quotes include:
 
  "Military justice is to justice what military music is to music."

"Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes? "

"Getting older is no problem. You just have to live long enough."

"If I held you any closer I would be on the other side of you."

"Anyone who says he can see through women is missing a lot"

"Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others."
 		  

What a better way to celebrate Julius Henry Marx's birthday, than the famous Duck Soup and watching  the equally famous  film?
 

  

Duck Soup

 
Broth Ingredients Soup Ingredients
   

8 cups cold water
1 duck, cut up for soup
1 small onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 Granny Smith applies, pealed, cored, and diced
 2 bay leaves
1 TB salt
 

6 cups duck stock
duck meet from broth ingredients
1 small onion, sliced
2 stalk celery. diced
three carrots, sliced into strips
 1 28-oz can of diced tomatoes
Fresh parsley for garnish
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
 
Instructions
 
  1. Combined broth ingredients in a large pot. Simmer for 2/12 hours until meat is tender.
  2. Strain stock.. Continue to cook stock over  until it is reduced to six cups. Duck stock
    must be cooked slowly or it will cloud.
  3. Remove meat from bones.
  4. Add meat, tomatoes, onion, celery, and carrots. Continue to simmer for 30 minutes, or
    until vegetable are  cooked.
  5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Serve in large bowls garnished with fresh parsley

Serves 6

© 2011 Gordon Nary and Tyler Stokes