One of the greatest conglomerates in entertainment history unraveled on this date in 1959 when Groucho, Chico & Harpo Marx made their final TV appearance together in the long forgotten “The Incredible Jewel Robbery.”
The organization known as the Marx Brothers was incorporated 35 years earlier as a Vaudeville act. The company would divest itself of underperforming assets Gummo and Zeppo before finding major success on the big screen. The brothers would lose most of their collective fortunes in the 1929 market crash, then regain their wealth with a string of wildly popular films in the 1930’s. Groucho would later comment,” I made a killing on Wall Street a few years ago. I shot my broker.” The education Groucho received through the market crash made him realize, “The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing..if you can fake that, you've got it made.” - TG
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