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Marx, Julius Henry (Groucho), and The Marx Brothers
Groucho: The Life and Times of Julius Henry Marx. Stefan Kanfer. New York: Knopf, 2000. 465 pp. $Can45.00; $30.00.
"Contemporary popular biographical books often seem primarily concerned with some form of 'outing' and/or clinical descriptions of who-put-whatwhere. There have been glorious exceptions, including Karen Swensen's Garbo and Rosemary Sullivan's books on Elizabeth Smart and Gwendolyn MacEwan. Stefan Kanfer's large, archivally based biography of the muchbeloved Groucho Marx steers clear of danger, wisely preferring the company of Leonard, Julius, Adolph, Herbert, and Milton (the original five Marx brothers) and fiercely survivalist `stage mother,' Minnie. . . . For those Marxmen and women who take pleasure in cross-referencing a great performer's art with personal information, articulately and honourably...