Milton "Gummo" Marx was an American vaudevillian performer, actor, comedian and theatrical agent. He was the second youngest of the five Marx Brothers. Born in Manhattan, New York City, he worked with his brothers on the vaudeville circuit, leaving the act when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1918, during World War I.
Life and career
Marx was born in Manhattan, New York City, on October 23, 1893. His parents were Sam Marx, and his wife, Minnie Schoenberg Marx. Marx's family was Jewish. His mother was from Dornum in East Frisia, and his father was a native of Alsace and worked as a tailor. Although the fourth Marx Brother in age, he was the first to make his debut, pretending to be a dummy in an act with his uncle Henry Shean, the brother of Al Shean, in 1899. Milton was put into a costume with a papier-mâché head and pretended to be a dummy while Henry pretended to work him. The act may have only performed once and was not helped by Shean's deafness or Milton's stammer. Gummo, who in an interview said he never liked being on stage, left the group and joined the military during World War I. He was not sent overseas because the armistice was signed shortly afterward. Gummo's younger brotherZeppo took his place in the group. Gummo later went into the raincoat business. After his Army career he joined with Zeppo and operated a theatrical agency. After that collaboration ended, Gummo represented his brother Groucho and worked on the television show The Life of Riley, which he helped develop. He also represented other on-screen talent and a number of writers, and was well respected as a businessman. He rarely required contracts, believing that if the people he represented liked his work, they would stay with him, and if not, would seek representation elsewhere. Around the time he left his brothers' Vaudeville act, Marx applied for a patent for a clothes-packing rack. On October 28, 1919, Marx was granted patent US1320335A. Gummo may have received his nickname because he had a tendency to be sneaky backstage, creeping up on others like a "gumshoe," slang for a detective. Another explanation cited by biographers and family members is that Milton, the sickliest of the brothers, often wore rubber overshoes, also called "gumshoes," to protect himself in inclement weather. According to Zeppo in a much later BBC TV interview, Gummo may have received his nickname because he was usually chewing gum.
Personal life
Marx married Helen von Tilzer on March 16, 1929; they remained married until her death in January 1976. Their son, Robert, was born in 1930.
Death
Gummo died on April 21, 1977, at his home in Palm Springs, California, aged 83, from a cerebral hemorrhage. His death was never reported to Groucho, who by that time had become so ill and weak that it was thought the news would be a further detriment to his health. Groucho died four months later on August 19, at age 86. Gummo and his wife Helen are interred next to each other in the Freedom Mausoleum at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Gummo's older brother Chico is in a crypt across the hall from them.
