iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Here's a Marx Brother #FourMarxBrothers Their mother Minnie—herself from a family of traveling European entertainers—pushed her sons into show business as children and teenagers, organizing them into early musical and vaudeville acts like the Four Nightingales.

4 younger Marx Brothers wearing suits. They look very much alike.

232

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 12h

This pic I took could be an album cover

0121

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Here's a Marx Brother #ADayAtTheRaces Queen named their 1976 album "A Day at the Races" after the film. It was a companion piece to their 1975 album "A Night at the Opera", also named after a The Marx Brothers film. Groucho heard the album and sent them a note congratulating them.

020

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Here's a Marx Brother #ANightattheOpera The first film of The Marx Brothers that doesn't have Zeppo. When producer Thalberg learned that the fourth Brother would not be joining, he asked the troupe to take a pay cut. Groucho responded "Without Zeppo we're worth twice as much."

Scene from A Night at the Opera more than dozen people crammed into a small room.

042

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Here's a Marx Brother #HorseFeathers 4th Film. According to Groucho, when Thelma Todd fell out of the boat, he kept rowing not knowing she couldn't swim. Crew members saved her As was typical of movies made during 1930s all the singing was done live in the soundstages instead of being prerecorded

Groucho and Thelma Todd in the boat scene in Horsefeathers

130

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

More accurate than he knew: at his absolute best, he adds zero value, and every three seconds he's an asshole.

Headline: Senate Republican on Trump posting Cotton’s number: ‘From zero to a–hole in about 3 seconds

020

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Here's a Marx Brother #MonkeyBusiness 3rd feature, first not adapted from stage. Dad Sam Marx has a cameo. The Brothers, concealed in barrels, harmonize 'Sweet Adeline'. It is debated whether Harpo's voice was used. There is a rumor he was the puppet master's voice in the Punch and Judy show.

Poster for Monkey Business featuring "The Four Marx Brothers"

060

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Wow. Maybe I'll use my windfall to fill up the tank.

Headline: Trump says US to send one-time $90 payment to 20 million seniors enrolled in Medicated

240

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Here's a Marx Brother #DailyMarxBrother #AnimalCrackers 2nd released Marx Brothers feature. This film is adapted from a stage play. While filming The Cocoanuts (1929), the brothers would shoot the film in the mornings and act in the Animal Crackers stage play in the evenings.

Chico Groucho Harpo and Zeppo in poster for Animal Crackers

020

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Here's a Marx Brother #DailyMarxBrother #Cocoanuts Their 1st feature, Cocoanuts was made in the early days of Talkies. Filmed early in the day because the soundstage wasn't soundproof, paper was soaked to avoid crinkle noises. They hated it & didn't want it released, but it did well financially.

Poster for the Marx Brothers first released feature, The Cocoanuts

030

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Here's a Marx Brother #DailyMarxBrother #DuckSoup "Duck soup" was American slang at that time; it meant something easy to do. Benito Mussolini banned the film from Italy because he thought it was a direct attack on him. When news of this reached The Marx Brothers, they were reportedly ecstatic.

Promotion shot for film Duck Soup. Chico, Zeppo, Groucho, Harpo

081

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Here's a Marx Brother #DailyMarxBrother #Chico In 1913, Chico spent time out of the act recovering from an operation. Groucho mentioned later that Chico had been shot by the father of a woman he seduced, and author Robert Bader suggests that the time off was to recover from a bullet wound.

140

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Here's a Marx Brother #DailyMarxBrother #Harpo George Bernard Shaw and his wife were vacationing at a seaside resort when someone told them that Harpo Marx was nude-sunbathing, down on the beach. Shaw and his wife went to the beach and surprised Marx in the act. This began their long friendship.

120

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Here's a Marx Brother #DailyMarxBrother #Groucho After a particularly dispiriting singing performance, Julius (Groucho), Milton, & Arthur began making jokes onstage. The audience liked them better as comedians than as singers. They modified the skit "School Days" and renamed it "Fun In Hi Skule"

030

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Here's a Marx Brother #DailyMarxBrother #Chico He played piano to earn for the family. Chico even worked in 2 places at once. He would get a job playing piano, then sub Harpo on one of the jobs. During boyhood, Chico & Harpo looked so alike that they were often mistaken for each other.

1835931

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Here's a Marx Brother #DailyMarxBrother #Harpo Groucho wrote that Harpo simply was not very good at memorizing dialogue. It has also been said that Harpo reinvented himself as a mute clown by 1915 due to his nerves around speaking on stage; He did however sometimes speak in live performances.

3341338

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Here's a Marx Brother #DailyMarxBrother #Chico The eldest of the brothers. In his mid-teens, with pressure from his parents to stop gambling, he left home, supporting himself by playing piano in nickelodeons and whorehouses

040

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Here's a Marx Brother #DailyMarxBrother #Groucho The middle of the 5 brothers. Started as a singing performer. In 1909, Groucho (age 18) and his brothers had become a group act, at first called The Three Nightingales and later The Four Nightingales

Groucho Marx looking with side eye derision.

041

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Here's a Marx Brother #DailyMarxBrother #Zeppo The youngest of the 5 brothers, he was forced into the vaudeville act when Gummo joined the army, acted in several movies, then went on to careers as an engineer and a theatrical agent.

040

David @eccherdavid.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Here's a Marx Brother #DailyMarxBrother #Gummo He was part of the family vaudeville act as a singer and dancer, but didn't want that career. He joined the army, then became a successful business man and theatrical agent.