Julius (Groucho) Marx was born on Oct 2 1890 in New York. He was the third of the five surviving sons of Sam and Minnie Marx. He was the first of the brothers to start a stage career aged 15 in an act called The Leroy Trio.

When the other Marx Brothers came on stage they finally had a success with the musical comedy called 'I'll Say She Is'. It was at one of the performances of this show that Groucho got his painted moustache. He arrived late at the theater and used greasepaint to create a moustache. He found this so much easier than a glued-on moustache that he insisted on using this technique from then on.

I'll Say She Is is was followed by two more Broadway hits - ‘The Cocoanuts’and ‘Animal Crackers’. The latter of which has the character of Captain Spaulding which remained (with the song ‘Hooray for Captain Spaulding’)a trademark for Groucho for the rest of his life.

He was virtually unrecognizable in public without his makeup, and he also was the master of the insult.

"I've never been so insulted in my life!"

Groucho: (1)"Then you need to get out more." (2) "Well, it's early yet."

In the later years of the Brothers’ movie career Groucho started working on radio. His biggest success was the comedy quiz show ‘You Bet Your Life’ which started in 1947. The show later moved to television and was on the air until 1961.

Groucho died on August 19th 1977 at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. His ashes are at Eden Memorial Park, San Fernando, California.

More Info: www.marx-brothers.org