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Before film made them international comedy legends, the Marx Brothers developed their comic skills on stage for twenty-five years. In Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage, Robert S. Bader offers the first comprehensive history of the foursome’s hardscrabble early years honing their act in front of live audiences.
From Groucho’s debut in 1905 to their final live performances of scenes from A Night in Casablanca in 1945, the brothers’ stage career shows how their characters and routines evolved before their arrival in Hollywood. Four of the Three Musketeers draws on an unmatched array of sources, many not referenced elsewhere. Bader’s detailed portrait of the struggling young actors both brings to vivid life a typical night on the road for the Marx Brothers and illuminates the inner workings of the vaudeville business, especially during its peak in the 1920s.
As Bader traces the origins of the characters that would later come to be beloved by filmgoers, he also skillfully scrapes away the accretion of rumors and mythology perpetuated not only by fans and writers but by the Marx Brothers themselves. Revealing, vital, and entertaining, Four of the Three Musketeers will take its place as an essential reference for this iconic American act.
Four Of The Three Musketeers
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
“As far as I’m concerned, the Marx Brothers practically invented comedy. And I love this great new book about them by Robert Bader!”
JERRY SEINFELD
“A new benchmark in Marx scholarship"
LOS ANGELES TIMES
“Fascinating”
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
"I have read virtually every book ever published about the Marx Brothers. I have even written about them myself. Robert Bader's book is a revelation."
LEONARD MALTIN
"Robert Bader's book is a brilliant and meticulously researched time capsule. I'm sure all five of the Marx Brothers would unquestionably concur in tandem that this most valuable historical documentation of their early days in show business should be, at least, punishable by a Pulitzer."
BILL MARX (son of Harpo)
"A treasure trove of Marxiana to delight the hearts and minds of those of us who can never get enough..."
DICK CAVETT
"By far the most researched and complete story of my family ever written. I can't believe some of the stories that I had never heard before."
BOB MARX (son of Gummo)
"A detailed history that brings to light the part of the Marx Brothers' career we know the least about."
PLAYBILL
"A book that no devoted Marx Brothers fan should be without… Four of the Three Musketeers is a fascinating, indispensable book that details the evolution of one of the greatest comedy teams as they went through a long, bumpy trial by fire."
MONTREAL TIMES
"I have seldom read anything as well researched and assembled as Four Of The Three Musketeers. The information is incredibly detailed but not to the point where it became an effort to read. I couldn't wait to see what was coming next. So many hilarious moments. So much I never knew. I wish I had been able to meet Minnie and Frenchy."
TIM MARX (son of Zeppo)
"One of the finest books of the year."
HUFFINGTON POST
For Media Inquiries contact minniepalmer@marxbrothers.net
The revisions in the updated edition of Four of the Three Musketeers will be subtle to readers already in possession of the book. (Although I encourage everyone to collect all future editions!) A few typographical errors have been corrected. (Sorry about that, but I take solace in the fact that the first edition of The Great Gatsby had a typo. So if typos determine the value of a first edition, hold on to those early copies of Four of the Three Musketeers!) Most of the revisions are in the stage chronology, which has been evolving since the publication of the book as a result of reader input and continuing research. Several previously undocumented performances have been added and a few that were not actually played have been removed. A few passages in the main text have been adjusted to reflect the changes in the stage chronology. A few other bits of new information have also resulted in some minor updates. One notable revelation about the Three Nightingales comes courtesy of Nightingale Mabel O’Donnell’s granddaughter.
A scaled down version of the newly updated stage chronology will soon appear on marxbrothers.net. The comprehensive version, which also includes reviews, cast listings, cancelled dates, later solo performances and numerous special appearances, can be found in the book. The web version simply lists the itinerary of the major shows involving the Marx Brothers. New information is still welcome, so please send any missing dates or corrections to minniepalmer@marxbrothers.net.
Robert S. Bader
Author of Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage
From The Author
It’s with a deep feeling of gratitude that I thank everyone who has purchased or read Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage. The success of the book has exceeded all expectation, and I’m pleased to announce that Northwestern University Press has now published an updated paperback edition of the book.
I have no self-indulgent delusions about why the book has been successful enough to have multiple printings. People simply love the Marx Brothers. Hopefully the book is bringing them new fans and entertaining old ones. The most gratifying aspect of the warm reception the book has received has been meeting other Marx Brothers fans at events and book signings. Many of them are young people, who have read, or are planning to read, a 500-page book about some comedians from the 20th Century. That’s especially pleasing because I became a Marx Brothers fan around the time the training wheels came off my bicycle. (I suppose that could have happened at anytime, but in fact it was more than 50 years ago.)
One of the questions I'm most frequently asked concerns the title of the book. I explain that the song "Four of the Three Musketeers" was written by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby for the stage version of Animal Crackers. But it didn’t make it into the filmed version of the show. The Four Marx Brothers performed the song at almost every one of their subsequent live appearances. It was the closest thing they ever had to a theme song, but they were never recorded or filmed performing it. They would frequently sing it at family gatherings, and as a result all their children knew the song well. But Marx Brothers fans don't. Here's a rare recording of Groucho demonstrating the song for interviewer Richard J. Anobile in 1973. It isn't really a performance, but it is remarkable to hear a frail 83-year-old Groucho remember the words in this solo rendering of the song he sang with his brothers hundreds of times on Broadway and vaudeville stages.
Author's Biography
Robert S. Bader is the author of Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage (Northwestern University Press, 2016, 2022) and the editor of Groucho Marx and Other Short Stories and Tall Tales (Faber & Faber, 1993 / Applause, 2011), an anthology of the comedian’s lost writings. He is also the coauthor of Speaking of Harpo (Applause, 2022), the autobiography of Harpo Marx's wife Susan Fleming Marx, and the author of Zeppo: The Reluctant Marx Brother (Applause, 2024).
Bader is also a filmmaker. His documentary Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes (2018) examines Dick Cavett’s long relationship with Muhammad Ali. It premiered on HBO in 2020 and won a Critics Choice Documentary Award. As part of his ongoing work with The Dick Cavett Show archive, Bader has also produced Dick Cavett’s Watergate (2014) and Dick Cavett’s Vietnam (2015) for PBS. His latest film, Groucho & Cavett, premiered on the acclaimed PBS series American Masters in December 2022.
Bader’s other credits include The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk (Warner Bros., 2007) and The Legendary Bing Crosby (PBS, 2009). His other Marx Brothers projects include a pair of DVD collections of Groucho’s television show You Bet Your Life and The Marx Brothers TV Collection, a DVD set of rare television appearances by the brothers. Bader has also appeared in Marx Brothers documentaries including Universal's Hollywood's Kings of Chaos in 2016, and the French production, Le folle histoire des Marx Brothers in 2015. He will also be seen in the forthcoming documentary, Buster Keaton: Home.
Bader's radio credits include Westwood One Radio Network’s series The Lost Lennon Tapes, Little Steven’s Underground Garage and Bing’s Basement for Sirius XM Satellite Radio. He also manages intellectual property for several celebrity estates, including those of Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Al Hirschfeld, Rosemary Clooney, and the Marx Brothers.
Other books by Robert S. Bader
Check out GROUCHO & CAVETT now showing on PBS
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