Scope and Content Note
The papers of Groucho Marx (1890-1977) span the years 1930-1967, with the bulk of the material dating from 1950 to 1965. Marx is best known as an actor in comedy films in the 1930s and 1940s as well as the host of the television show You Bet Your Life in the 1950s. The collection consists of typescripts of his books and film scripts, including Animal Crackers, Duck Soup, and A Night at the Opera. A large part of the collection contains correspondence with politicians, literary figures, and colleagues in the entertainment industry such as Goodman Ace, Fred Allen, Dick Cavett, T. S. Eliot, Jerry Lewis, Arthur Sheekman, Harry S. Truman, E. B. White, and Earl Wilson. An addition consists of a typescript draft of Marx’s autobiography Groucho and Me, the published book, and correspondence with George Blake, the director of commercials for You Bet Your Life.