2001 NB |
|
Before
the Marx Brothers--Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Zeppo and Gummo--were yukking
it up in Animal
Crackers, Duck
Soup and other comedy classics, they were making the rounds of
Chicago vaudeville during World War I. Their act was called "The Six Musical
Mascots" and included their Aunt Hannah. During their stint in Chicago,
the brothers lived here in their parents' townhouse on what was then Grand
Boulevard. I wrote about this building in a
story for a Chicago Tribune series on the city's endangered
historical buildings. One matter that may have been unclear due to the
editing of the story is why this house was not included on the official
city survey of historical buildings. When I interviewed the chief surveyor
about the building, he seemed to be unaware of the history of this home,
saying that his crew had investigated a popular claim that the Marx Brothers
lived in a house farther south, a claim that proved to be false. Since
then other city historians were able to confirm that this was the Marx
house, and a Chicago Tribute marker now stands in front of it on what is
now King Drive. -NB
-More
about the Marx Brothers' house from ChicagoTribute.org
-See
"The Marx Brothers in Chicago" by Mikael Uhlin
-More
from Marx-Brothers.org |
