SON OF A GUMMO

Reviewed by Steven H Silver

Groucho's son, Arthur Marx, has written three books and a play about his famous father. Harpo's son, Bill Marx, had written about being Harpo's son. Chico's daughter, Maxine, has written about growing up with a Marx Brother as a father. All of their books are reasonably easy to fine. For years, I've been hearing about a book written by Gummo's son, Robert, although as it was privately published and only distributed to friends, I wasn't entirely sure the book existed. Recently, a friend generously loaned me a copy of the book, so I now not only know it exists, but I've held it and read Son of a Gummo, perhaps one of the least likely memoirs to have been written. Gummo, of course, was the Marx Brother who appeared on stage from 1907 through 1918, when he left the act to join the army, never making a film and becoming less well known than his younger brother, Zeppo, who made five films.

Marx begins the story with an anecdote set when he was young and newly arrived in California. A teacher asks if it is true his father is one of the Marx Brothers. He answers in the affirmative and, when pressed for details admits his father is Harpo. Later, when his father calls him on it, Marx responds, "Whoever heard of Gummo?" a response that shows he has acquired the family sense of humor. Although the first couple of chapters deal with his parents and the life they led, the book really is Marx's personal memoir and he is the central figure, through several careers of varying success, a stint in the Coast Guard, and his three marriages. The sheer number of careers Marx has had makes him reminiscent of his uncle, Zeppo, as depicted in Robert S. Bader's recent biography, although without the dark side Bader reveals Zeppo had.

While the early chapters of the book have a focus on Gummo and his wife, Helen, they are told from Robert's viewpoint, seen through the lenses of a child's eyes. The most interesting part of the book, Marx reveals himself to have his uncles' penchant for telling a good story, even if his writing isn't at a professional level. His stories about a party thrown in honor of a Duke and Duchess or Gummo and Zeppo's attempts to break into the automotive market are entertaining, but they only paint a superficial portrait of Gummo. All too soon, Marx is writing about his own life, detailing his time in the Coast Guard, and his business ventures ranging from architecture to restaurateur. While many of these experiences seem as if they were mundane, Marx is able to make them interesting, noting that his ice cream venture provided guidance for Baskin-Robbins and relating a story of discovering a countess who had acted with his father.

In reading claims made by any of the Marx Brothers, it can sometimes be difficult for the reader to separate the truth from the lies. Both Groucho and Harpo, who have written biographies, and Chico in various interviews, have no compunction about changing the facts if it would improve the story. Some of these changes may be intentional, others may have been the fault of memory, but by repeating them often enough, they have become part of Marx Brothers lore. Reading Son of a Gummo, it is clear that while Marx can tell an entertaining story, the facts that he relates can't always be trusted, although in his case, it seems to be caused by faulty or immature memory rather than trying to punch up a story. He mentions having dinner with Carole Lombard in California the night before she was killed in a plane crash, but the crash happened when she was en route back to California. These are minor things, but they do call into question many of the statements Marx makes.

To be fair, Marx never meant for this book to be available to the public. It was a memoir written for himself and his close friends, although that makes his focus on his sexual exploits a little cringe-worthy. It also means that he is able to be honest. One of the most heartbreaking sections of the book is when Marx provides a quick outline of his cousins, the children of the other Marx Brothers. He notes the distant relationships with most of them, some too old for him to form a relationship with, others he had fallen out of touch with. While Marx's memoirs would not seemingly be of interest to anyone if it weren't for his fame-adjacent father, he does manage to tell anecdotes about his life in a way that pulls the reader in and makes them wonder what he would do next.

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