Object Details
- Marx, Groucho
- Eric Ross and Co.
- Description (Brief)
- Tuxedo suit owned by Groucho Marx, very likely worn in the 1933 Marx Brothers film Duck Soup. The tailored suit is comprised of one jacket and a pair of trousers. The black wool jacket has a black silk lining, black cord trim and padded shoulders. The jacket has 5-1/2" wide cuffs with two buttons each, 3" wide lapel, full-slit tails, and one front button, with a front breast pocket on right side. The black and gray striped wool blend trousers are semi-lined with black cotton fabric at waist and pockets, four cotton-lined pockets, two in front at side seams and two in back, back left pocket buttons. The unpleated, regular-cut pants are slightly flared at bottom and bottom of trouser legs are cut at a slight angle, making them longer at the back.
- Julius H. "Groucho" Marx (1890-1977) was an influential, popular, and versatile entertainer best known for his film appearances alongside brothers Arthur ("Harpo") and Leonard ("Chico") in the 1930s and 40s. The Marx Brothers, including lesser-known siblings Herbert ("Zeppo") and Milton ("Gummo") began their careers singing and cracking jokes on vaudeville stages across the country in the 1900s. By the 1920s, the Marx Brothers had become the most popular comedians on the Broadway stage, each with a characteristic costume and persona they combined to create antic and zany performances in a series of successful musical comedies. Groucho was known for his signature eyeglasses, greasepaint mustache and eyebrows, and irreverent wisecracks The brothers' films The Coconauts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, Duck Soup, and A Night at the Opera among others, were critical and popular successes. In his later years Groucho was a popular solo radio, television, and film performer, helming the quiz series You Bet Your Life from 1947-1961.
- Credit Line
- Bequest of Julius H. Marx
- ID Number
- 1987.0588.30
- accession number
- 1987.0588
- catalog number
- 1987.0588.30
- Object Name
- suit
- Physical Description
- cotton (overall material)
- silk (overall material)
- wool (overall material)
- Measurements
- cuffs: 5 1/2 in; 13.97 cm
- overall: 42 in x 17 in; 106.68 cm x 43.18 cm
- lapel: 3 in; 7.62 cm
- trousers: 41 in x 34 in; 104.14 cm x 86.36 cm
- place made
- United States: California, Beverly Hills
- location where used
- United States: California, Beverly Hills
- See more items in
- Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
- Popular Entertainment
- Exhibition
- Entertainment Nation
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- National Museum of American History
- general subject association
- Motion Pictures
- Subject
- Comedy
- Comedians
- Record ID
- nmah_682863
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-6576-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
