The Marx Brothers

Although the Marx Brothers enjoyed long and varied careers in show business, they are best remembered for their anarchic film comedies of the 1930s. Their animated physical and verbal performances, cultivated on the vaudeville and Broadway stages, have proved an enormous influence on subsequent generations of film comedians. The brothers' essentially irreverent brand of humor never enjoyed the widespread appeal of Chaplin and other silent comics nor the box-office popularity of less influential talents such as Abbott and Costello. Nevertheless, a folkloric affection for their memorable, idiosyncratic personas (especially Groucho's) has pervaded American popular culture, thanks to the frequent revival of their films and a never-ending stream of imitators.