Minnie Marx

Minnie Marx, born face Schoenberg, ( born November 9, 1865 in Dornum, Ostfriesland, Kingdom of Hannover, † September 15, 1929 in New York City, USA) was the mother and manager of the Marx Brothers.

Life

Expression Schoenberg was ( called Lafe ), the daughter of Louis Schoenberg, who earned his living as a ventriloquist at fairs and Fanny, a harpist yodeling. They married on January 18, 1884 Simon Samuel Marix, who was born in 1861 in Mertzwiller in Alsace, lived in New York in 1881 and was called from there to Sam Marx. Sam Marx, who was often called " Frenchie " because of its origin, was the first dance teacher, but then took the job of the cutter to feed his gradually growing family rather poorly. But the head of the family, to which numerous relatives joined was clearly Minnie, even if it was a bad housewife and even worse cook. Their first son Manfred (* 1885) died at the age of three from tuberculosis. Your other sons Leonard "Chico" Marx (1887-1961), Adolph Arthur " Harpo " Marx (1888-1964), Julius Henry " Groucho " Marx (1890-1977), Milton " Gummo " Marx (1892-1977) and Herbert " Zeppo " Marx (1901-1979) formed the comedy troupe later became known Marx Brothers.

The picture that her sons from her is different. Groucho replied ( in his typical style) on the question of a biographer, whether Minnie had treated their children differently: " Not at all. She despised us all, " Harpo, however, said that she " ... was a charming woman ... "and" Minnie's plan was simple. , You wanted to [ ... ] make their five sons to a successful stage star "The success of her brother Al Shean, a. of the most successful entertainers in the American theater in 1900, she prodded, their sons also accommodate in the entertainment business and without their will to succeed it would have the Marx Brothers not given.

Although Minnie Marx dominated the tools of advertising and public relations exquisite, but for the drama she had hardly even talent. For them fulfilled the dream to be on the stage, first with a performance by the soon -fifties in a teenager role in the Six Mascots with Groucho, Gummo, Harpo, Minnie 's sister Hannah and Freddie Hutchins. Their success was moderate and so they decided to pull the strings just behind the scenes. Minnie Marx was responsible from then on with short interruptions as a manager, the Marx Brothers, and led them through the most successful of her career on Broadway.

She lived to see the change of her sons into the medium of sound film ( The Cocoanuts, 1929) and died at the age of 63 years after a trial to the stage version of Animal Crackers at a stroke.

The musical Minnie 's Boys in 1970 with Shelley Winters in the title role handled her life and her relationship with her ​​sons.

Her brother was the comedian Al Shean.