Julie Stevens

Actress Julie Stevens (1916 - 1984) was one of Gummo's clients. Stage work was excluded from this contract; the words "theatrical" and "vaudeville" were removed; that change was initialed by both Julie and Gummo. The contract was effective from 1939 to 1946. During that time frame she appeared in the movies Private Detective (1939), Honeymoon Deferred and Tear Gas Squad (both 1940), Castle on the Hudson and Murder in the Air (both uncredited, both 1940). No movies from 1942 to 1946. She also worked in radio (which was covered by this contract), although I don't know if she was on radio during her contract with Gummo. It would appear that Gummo started as President of Zeppo Marx, Inc. and was later demoted to Vice-President. His signature reads "Gum Marx". In 1939, an actress/agent contract could be simplified to one page.

America After Dark 5

Another Allan Grant photo, taken at the Civic Playhouse. Variations on this photo: I've seen a version where Gummo is cruelly cropped out, another where the photo is damaged at the top center, and another where the imperfection has been electronically repaired.

You can see more poses here:
http://gummogallery.blogspot.com/2011/12/america-after-dark.html http://gummogallery.blogspot.com/2012/02/america-after-dark-2.html
http://gummogallery.blogspot.com/2012/04/america-after-dark-3.html
http://gummogallery.blogspot.com/2012/06/america-after-dark-4.html

Five Marx Brothers part two

Harpo, Zeppo, Chico, Gummo, Groucho. California, 1938. Photo by Peter Stackpole. Harpo seems to enjoy being a snappy dresser, perhaps to let people know he isn't his on-screen character. Nobody else could be bothered to wear a tie. Groucho looks less than excited to be there.

Another pose from this session, dressed the same except Chico has removed his jacket:
http://gummogallery.blogspot.com/2011/09/five-marx-brothers.html

America After Dark 4

Another in a series of photos taken during an interview for "Tonight! America After Dark". I call this one "Groucho Sinatra". It's great to see Groucho making everyone laugh. This photo was taken by Allan Grant. More on Grant below.

Allan Grant (23 October 1919 – 1 February 2008) was an American photojournalist for Life magazine. He had the last photo shoot with actress Marilyn Monroe and took the first photos of Marina Oswald, Lee Harvey Oswald's wife, following U.S. President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Early career

Grant was born in New York City. He was introduced to photography as a teenager, when he traded a model airplane for a camera.

One of his early jobs was in a photo laboratory, where he printed photos by noted photographers such as Alfred Eisenstaedt and Robert Capa.

Grant began working for Life in 1945 on a freelance basis. The magazine hired him full-time in 1946, after a photo he took at a Connecticut sailing school made the cover of an issue.

Life assignments

In 1947, Grant photographed Howard Hughes flight in the "Spruce Goose," and he filmed the atom bomb tests in Nevada during the 1950s.

At the 1955 Academy Awards, he photographed Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn as they awaited the "Best Actress" announcement backstage.

During the fire that swept through Bel Air, California in 1961, Grant photographed then-former Vice President Richard Nixon standing on top of the roof of his rented house with a water hose, wearing a tie and slacks.

Photographs Grant took of Marilyn Monroe during a photo shoot in her home were used to illustrate a profile of the actress in Life's 3 August 1962 issue. Monroe died the week the issue appeared on newsstands.

When President Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Grant accompanied Life reporter Thomas Thompson to Texas. The two began a search for Oswald's family and located Marina Oswald, her two children, Oswald's mother Marguerite and his brother Robert in Irving, Texas at the home of Ruth Hyde Paine.

Paine, who spoke Russian, served as interpreter for Grant and Thompson. As Thompson persuaded Oswald's family to accompany them to Dallas in exchange for help in obtaining the right to visit Oswald in jail, Grant took photos for what they thought would be a Life exclusive. The next issue contained several photos of Kennedy's family but only one small photo of Marina.

Post-Life career

Grant left Life magazine in the late 1960s and began producing educational documentaries.

What Color is the Wind?, a film Grant made for television that was based on a Life magazine article about two boys, one born blind, received three Emmy nominations.

Grant died at his Brentwood, California home of Parkinson's-related pneumonia.

You can see more poses here:
http://gummogallery.blogspot.com/2011/12/america-after-dark.html
http://gummogallery.blogspot.com/2012/02/america-after-dark-2.html
http://gummogallery.blogspot.com/2012/04/america-after-dark-3.html

Marx family portrait

The five Marx brothers with their parents in New York City, 1915. From left to right; Groucho, Gummo, Minnie (mother), Zeppo, Frenchy/Frenchie (father), Chico, and Harpo. The four oldest boys are wearing stage makeup and costumes.

This photo was also published in a reverse-image:

Another variation: Air-brushed by an unidentified editor:

America After Dark 3

Gummo, Zeppo, Chico, Groucho, Harpo

Groucho's in promotion mode, holding up the theater program for the play that Chico is in: The 5th Season. Civic Playhouse, Los Angeles. Zeppo has a halo (hardly appropriate) because some long-ago newspaper photo editor needed a solo photo of Zeppo and airbrushed the area around Zeppo's head. Not a great photo of Gummo, as his eyes are closed. Microphone hanging above. Photos from this session are important to me, because we will (probably) never see the interview. It may not longer exist. Rare enough to see all five brothers together.

You can see more poses here:
http://gummogallery.blogspot.com/2011/12/america-after-dark.html
http://gummogallery.blogspot.com/2012/02/america-after-dark-2.html

Mr. Green's Reception

Mr. Green's Reception (1913)

Gummo (and his ears) are in the center of the top row. Chico (and his hair) are second from the left in the middle row. Groucho (and his newsboy cap) are between two women on the right of the middle row. Harpo (and his thick but receding hair) are kneeling on the front left.

Monkey Business was evidently based on two routines the Marx Brothers did during their early days in vaudeville (Home Again and Mr. Green's Reception), along with a story idea from one of Groucho's friends, Bert Granet, called The Seas Are Wet.

No idea where this photo was taken. The show played the Bijou Theatre in Knoxville Tennessee, among other places.

America After Dark 2



unidentified, Harpo Marx, Zeppo Marx, Gummo Marx, Chico Marx (seated), Groucho Marx

 Another Tonight!: America After Dark photo. The man on the far left might be Jack Lescoulie. Maybe.

This photo appears to have been taken during the interview itself, rather than before or after. Why? Aside from the possible interviewer on the left, the microphone is being passed around, and Harpo is in character: He's whistling, probably as a substitute for saying something.

Of all the photos of this interview, this one gives the widest view of this cloak room... or is it a dressing room? There's a mirror on the wall. Yeah, it's a dressing room. Behind Groucho is a sign advertising the play Chico is promoting.

You can see another pose here:
http://gummogallery.blogspot.com/2011/12/america-after-dark.html

Uncle Julius

Gummo, Groucho and Harpo, posing with their uncle/manager Julius Schickler.