The comedian and film star tries to explain to Allen, with whom he has shared a long correspondence, why he hasn't written to him for so long
22 March 1967
In 1961, the comedians Groucho Marx and Woody Allen met for the first time and embarked on a friendship that would last 16 years. Marx – the elder of the pair by 45 years – reminded Allen of "a Jewish uncle in my family, a wisecracking Jewish uncle with a sarcastic wit", while Allen was, according to Marx in 1976, "the most important comic talent around". In March 1967, following a lengthy break in their correspondence that Allen found infuriating, Marx finally wrote him a letter. Despite efforts to determine its meaning, the "Ww" that Marx uses to address Allen remains a mystery.
Dear Ww:
Goodie Ace told some unemployed friend of mine that you were disappointed or annoyed or happy or drunk that I hadn't answered the letter...
22 March 1967
In 1961, the comedians Groucho Marx and Woody Allen met for the first time and embarked on a friendship that would last 16 years. Marx – the elder of the pair by 45 years – reminded Allen of "a Jewish uncle in my family, a wisecracking Jewish uncle with a sarcastic wit", while Allen was, according to Marx in 1976, "the most important comic talent around". In March 1967, following a lengthy break in their correspondence that Allen found infuriating, Marx finally wrote him a letter. Despite efforts to determine its meaning, the "Ww" that Marx uses to address Allen remains a mystery.
Dear Ww:
Goodie Ace told some unemployed friend of mine that you were disappointed or annoyed or happy or drunk that I hadn't answered the letter...
- 10/12/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Without Groucho Marx, there would have been no Woody Allen. Groucho (and the rest of the Marx Brothers) pioneered the modern New York Jewish brand of humor that, after World War II, became one of the defining sensibilities of American comedy. In the '60s, that legacy was taken up by Allen, who frequently referenced the Marx Brothers both implicitly and explicitly in his films. Allen's most famous movie, "Annie Hall," even name-checks Groucho in the opening monologue of the film.
But for a time, Woody and Groucho were not on good terms. After striking a friendship in 1961, there was radio silence between the two for several years after Groucho failed to respond to a letter. In 1967, word got back to Groucho that the Woody was hurt by the lack of communication, and Groucho sent him an apology letter that only he could have penned.
The letter read in part:...
But for a time, Woody and Groucho were not on good terms. After striking a friendship in 1961, there was radio silence between the two for several years after Groucho failed to respond to a letter. In 1967, word got back to Groucho that the Woody was hurt by the lack of communication, and Groucho sent him an apology letter that only he could have penned.
The letter read in part:...
- 9/18/2012
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Actor Robert Hegyes, best known for playing Sweathog Juan Epstein on Welcome Back, Kotter, has died. The Star-Ledger reports he suffered an apparent heart attack at his New Jersey home earlier this morning. He was 60 years old.
Hegyes played Epstein on ABC's hit sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter for all four seasons, starring alongside Gabe Kaplan, Marcia Strassman, John Sylvester White, Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, Ron Palillo, and John Travolta.
The actor said that he modeled the "Juan Luis Pedro Philippo DeHuevos Epstein" character after Chico Marx, whom he later played in a national touring production of A Night With Groucho. Most of the Kotter cast reunited at last year's TV Land Awards to celebrate the sitcom's 35th anniversary.
Hegyes also co-starred on Cagney & Lacey as Detective Manny Esposito and guest-starred on other beloved shows like The Love Boat, NewsRadio, Diagnosis Murder, The...
Hegyes played Epstein on ABC's hit sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter for all four seasons, starring alongside Gabe Kaplan, Marcia Strassman, John Sylvester White, Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, Ron Palillo, and John Travolta.
The actor said that he modeled the "Juan Luis Pedro Philippo DeHuevos Epstein" character after Chico Marx, whom he later played in a national touring production of A Night With Groucho. Most of the Kotter cast reunited at last year's TV Land Awards to celebrate the sitcom's 35th anniversary.
Hegyes also co-starred on Cagney & Lacey as Detective Manny Esposito and guest-starred on other beloved shows like The Love Boat, NewsRadio, Diagnosis Murder, The...
- 1/27/2012
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Singer and philanthropist who was married to Bob Hope for 69 years
The singer Dolores Hope, who has died at the age of 102, was known primarily for her 69-year marriage to the comedian Bob Hope, with whom she performed on television and in concerts for American troops stationed overseas. Growing up in the Bronx, New York, Dolores had always wanted to be a singer. Her husky voice and striking looks quickly brought her regular work under the stage name Dolores Reade (inspired by the Broadway star Florence Reed). In 1933, at the Vogue club in New York, Dolores's rendering of It's Only a Paper Moon captivated Hope, who was a rising Broadway star and performing in the musical comedy Roberta at the time. Hope became a constant visitor to the Vogue thereafter, and the couple married on 19 February 1934. Dolores joined his vaudeville show and they moved to Los Angeles.
She had been born Dolores DeFina in Harlem,...
The singer Dolores Hope, who has died at the age of 102, was known primarily for her 69-year marriage to the comedian Bob Hope, with whom she performed on television and in concerts for American troops stationed overseas. Growing up in the Bronx, New York, Dolores had always wanted to be a singer. Her husky voice and striking looks quickly brought her regular work under the stage name Dolores Reade (inspired by the Broadway star Florence Reed). In 1933, at the Vogue club in New York, Dolores's rendering of It's Only a Paper Moon captivated Hope, who was a rising Broadway star and performing in the musical comedy Roberta at the time. Hope became a constant visitor to the Vogue thereafter, and the couple married on 19 February 1934. Dolores joined his vaudeville show and they moved to Los Angeles.
She had been born Dolores DeFina in Harlem,...
- 9/21/2011
- by Christopher Reed
- The Guardian - Film News
Novelist, screenwriter and biographer whose subjects included his father, Groucho
Arthur Marx, who has died aged 89, grew up in the shadow of his father, Groucho, and was steeped in the controlled chaos of the Marx Brothers. Torn between trying to distance himself from a demanding father, yet also prove worthy of his genius, he enjoyed a long career as a writer of screen and stage comedies, novels and biographies. Not surprisingly, however, his most successful work capitalised on the public's interest in his father and his uncles, Chico, Harpo, Gummo and Zeppo.
Marx wrote several works about Groucho, the first of which, Life With Groucho (1954), published at the height of his father's television popularity, was a warts-and-all portrait punctuated by Groucho's own annotations. (Marx wrote that he would like to correct the impression that his father was a miser; Groucho's footnote read: "You'd better or I'll cut you off without a nickle.
Arthur Marx, who has died aged 89, grew up in the shadow of his father, Groucho, and was steeped in the controlled chaos of the Marx Brothers. Torn between trying to distance himself from a demanding father, yet also prove worthy of his genius, he enjoyed a long career as a writer of screen and stage comedies, novels and biographies. Not surprisingly, however, his most successful work capitalised on the public's interest in his father and his uncles, Chico, Harpo, Gummo and Zeppo.
Marx wrote several works about Groucho, the first of which, Life With Groucho (1954), published at the height of his father's television popularity, was a warts-and-all portrait punctuated by Groucho's own annotations. (Marx wrote that he would like to correct the impression that his father was a miser; Groucho's footnote read: "You'd better or I'll cut you off without a nickle.
- 4/18/2011
- by Michael Carlson
- The Guardian - Film News
Arthur Marx- son of legendary funnyman Groucho- a novelist, memoirist and one-time tennis player, has passed away at the age of 89.
Marx's childhood was spent accompanying his father on the vaudeville circuit, and thanks to his father (famous for his double entendres and one-liners that were racy for the time), saw behind the scenes of shows like You Bet Your Life, which Groucho hosted. The younger Marx went on to nationally rank as a tennis player before the age of 18. He also wrote for television like All In The Family and Alice in his younger years.
read more...
Marx's childhood was spent accompanying his father on the vaudeville circuit, and thanks to his father (famous for his double entendres and one-liners that were racy for the time), saw behind the scenes of shows like You Bet Your Life, which Groucho hosted. The younger Marx went on to nationally rank as a tennis player before the age of 18. He also wrote for television like All In The Family and Alice in his younger years.
read more...
- 4/14/2011
- by Anna Breslaw
- Filmology
Screen and TV writer, author and playwright Arthur Marx, the son of legendary comedian Groucho Marx, died this week at his home in Los Angeles of natural causes. He was 89. Marx had a prolific career that spanned more than 60 years. Born in New York in 1921, he spent some of his early years on the road with his father and uncles, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo, during the Marx Brothers' tours of Vaudeville. By the early 1930s, with the Marx Brothers established as film stars, the family moved to Los Angeles. Following a stint in the Coast Guard during World War II where he served in the Philippines, Marx began his Hollywood career working at MGM as a reader. Eventually, he became a screenwriter, working on the popular Pete Smith shorts and several films in the Blondie series, including Blondie In The Dough. While continuing to write for film and TV,...
- 4/14/2011
- by NIKKI FINKE
- Deadline Hollywood
Arthur Marx, a son of comedian Groucho Marx, has died of natural causes. The writer and one-time tennis player was 89. He died in his Los Angeles home. Marx wrote 12 books, some fiction, but most memoirs and biographies of major Hollywood figures. Among his works are Goldwyn: A Biography of the Man Behind the Myth (1976), Red Skelton (1979), The Nine Lives of Mickey Rooney (1988) and the murder mystery Set to Kill (both 1993). He also addressed his relationship with his famous father in a series of memoirs including Son of Groucho...
- 4/14/2011
- by Brent Lang
- The Wrap
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