Groucho and Me

Even though, as others have mentioned, this isn't really a true autobiography per se, it's a very involving, fast, funny read. There are a lot of personal reflections, anecdotes, and the wonderful chapters about the Marx family when their boys were young and then their early vaudeville days, but there are a lot of seemingly important things left out; if you want to get a story told in a more linear format and with more concise personal information, you'd be better-served reading a more serious scholarly biography (though you probably won't laugh as much with that kind of book). The autobiographical accounts that do appear are priceless though; to most people, the people, events, and culture of New York in the late 19th century and early 20th century and on the vaudeville circuit in America is a foreign long-vanished world, a world where a dollar was still a lot of money and there were still neighborhood tailors and pants-pressers, where cars were positively dirt-cheap in comparison to how much they cost today. More celebrity autobiographies should be like this, fun and engaging and witty, not taking oneself too seriously or acting like this is a strictly factual account of one's life and like everything described happened exactly in the way it's described and with those exact words spoken. The picture section was also very nice. The only small complaint I have about it is that, being written in 1959, some of the references to people and things are a little dated and don't mean anything to or ring any bells for people who weren't around back then.

Although I have seen only two of Groucho's films, I consider myself to be a Marx Brothers fan (and will most definitely purchase more movies). I bought this book hoping for an autobiography full of wit and charm. Well, it had plenty of wit and charm and made me laugh out loud many times, but it is not a typical autobiography. As Groucho's editor pointed out when reading the manuscript, "Look, you've written 80,000 words and your readers still don't know a damned thing about you!" If you are planning on buying this book because you want an account of Groucho's life (i.e. accounts of all his films, information about his personal life) then I don't recommend this book. However, if you want to hear Groucho's recollections of his early days with his brothers and various other funny stories about his life then I recommend this book. Its more just a series of sketches, but though they are all humorous, they do give the reader an insight into how Groucho might have been in real life. You won't be disappointed by his satire and jokes. And so even though I thought it was more a standard autobiography, I was not the least bit disappointed. Its a must for Groucho Marx fans.

This is one of the few books I've ever read more than once. Groucho's recollections are witty, charming and unforgettable. I love his stories about the various cars he owned in the early days of automobiles! "Groucho and Me" never fails to make me laugh out loud. In truth, it's funnier than many of the Marx Brothers' movies, but the exploits of their youth contained in this book give added meaning to the mayhem. For instance, the brothers' musical talents are explored in full, and now we know that Chico is a piano virtuoso. Groucho's childhood, vaudeville, film and television memories make for a riotous read!

Groucho and Me finally gave us a little insight into the thoughts of a true and unique comic talent. Today he is becoming forgotten, but for those of us who remeber or happen upon his work we discover a World of 1st rate comedy. In this book Groucho never seems to be giving much away, but we can read into this his great dependance on comedy as a way of life. For all he ever did was be funny, on the stage, radio, film, TV and in print. He was compleatly clued into humanity and it's absurdity, and it's on clear display here. Rather than bore us with dates and names, he knows the real pleasure in a read comes from the stories, and all his stories have many a good punchline! The dialogue crackles and you hear his voice in every line.

I first read this book when I was ten years old and have reread it several times since. I have found that it only became more enjoyable as I grew older. Groucho was obviously an extremely intelligent individual who traveled a hard road to success, and the stories he shares are often downright hilarious. It is truly a pleasure to read this book, and I look forward to reading it again.