The Wonderful Wisecracks of Chico Marx

The time has come for Chico Marx to shine. Nobody played piano like him, before or after. He was an essential link in the Marx Brothers act with his slightly dodgy Italian accent and able to play the straight man, con man and friend in need beautifully.
His humour was usually on show in long comedy routines and as a response to the plot of the film he was in. But in this show reel we show you many of his wisecracks, play on the English language and of course the incredible piano playing.
Edited by Paul Hagl

[@kevinlane1219]

Those Marx Brothers were geniuses; they had such good timing and the always knew just how to surprise people.

[@GilsonChris]

My Grandad (born 1915) once told me he went to see Chico in a show and he played an entire song on the piano with an orange.

[@inuyashaslvr]

wow!!! o realy?

[@jadefoster702]

An orange???

[@edpriolo]

4:00

[@KutWrite]

My favorite, which I use myself, is: "Who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?"

[@linusp9316]

The Marx Bros predicted "What you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening"! Trump should pay them royalties!

[@caswellthompson6432]

Chico gets overlooked alot of times but the movies wouldn't have been half as good without him!! He was funny and made everyone else funnier

[@fuzzyscarfandmittens4772]

The piano skills that man had were legendary. But then the brothers were all from a Vaudeville background where everybody had to know a little bit of everything.

[@evenflow5491]

Best part of it all was most of it was just natural skill. Chico never took his piano lessons seriously

[@WaywardBrigand]

He was actually Freddy Mercury's biggest influence

[@AceripXF]

@@evenflow5491 he said in an interview he never wanted to play seriously

[@TheIceAnt]

No one plays the piano like Chico Marx. One of a kind talent.

[@AceripXF]

hes a great inspiration to me

[@brettmcknight4677]

Victor Borge would like a word

[@brianjordan3841]

@@brettmcknight4677 ah but Chico came first

[@StarSong936]

You know, I knew Chico could play the piano, but I only just realized exactly how good at it he really was. It takes a special kind of talent to make it look like fun no matter how complex the piece you play.

[@candaceohara9916]

I agree... given that the Marx Brothers were highly skilled musicians overall (harp, clarinet, drums, flute, guitar, mandolin, and violin)

[@StarSong936]

@@candaceohara9916 My word, I left that comment how long ago? That makes me feel so old. :-) Thank you for the reply, and I hope you are doing well.

[@candaceohara9916]

@@StarSong936 The "Brothers" could also carry a tune (albeit, Harpo never publically or in character), tap dance, keep abreast with the latest steps, and outshine all of their contemporaries in physical comedy.

[@brianjordan3841]

@@candaceohara9916 Chico: sure I know da Mandolin I saw his show on Disney+ hahahaha

[@PatrickRsGhost]

Chico and Groucho were always great on the wordplay. One thing I love about the movies is Margaret Beaumont's expressions whenever she's in the same shot with Groucho or Chico and they make one of their jokes. I remember reading somewhere that when she'd rehearse her lines, she never knew what Groucho or Chico would say to her after her lines, so she never knew the wit that was coming. You could tell she was trying to stay in character and keep from cracking up.

[@kimjungun-wv7kp]

Margaret Dumont not Beaumont

[@fredarok579]

Well, who you gonna believe, him or your own eyes?

[@TheDoctor1225]

@James Donnelly Groucho fostered that belief and she went along with it but there are interviews she herself gave (as well as later appearances, etc.) show that she instead knew, being a seasoned stage professional, how to perform as a "straight" man for Groucho's comedy. She absolutely got the jokes but knew to neither steal the scene nor the laughs from him. That took superb ability.

[@5610winston]

@@TheDoctor1225 "I can see you bending over the stove --- but I can't see the stove..."

[@michaelmaldonado7369]

Hands down,the greatest comedy team of all time!

[@jessicathethreestoogesfan2635]

“Chicolini here may talk like an idiot and look like an idiot. But don’t let that fool you, He really is an idiot.” Lmao

[@rmurphy3435]

Still makes me smile after all these years, the Marx brothers were priceless.

[@ragzrocco8803]

And one of the best piano players ever, so fluid and played effortlessly

[@mselsbethreads8927]

Love him so much! All of them, really.

[@smoog]

They were all so insanely talented! Why do we not have people like this anymore? You can see he loved playing the piano, his smiles are so open and genuine. You can also see how much of their stuff was ad-libbed because the other actors are laughing or trying not to laugh.

[@grahamblack1961]

They also had 20 years in Vaudeville to perfect their act before they made a single movie, there's no training ground like that for entertainers today.

[@smoog]

Graham Black Very true. Vaudeville is also the reason why Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd and others were so damn good. Vaudeville audiences were brutal. The Marx Bros etc had to be quick, clever, talented and extremely funny to survive. Nowadays if you can swear and say something outrageous, you're given a TV series and movie deal.

[@rikspring]

they can't make this anymore. comedy without being rude. Almost 100 years old....and i never get bored...watching this..

[@mikeyates7931]

Salute , Maestro 🇮🇹 Absolutamente Bellisima musica 🇮🇹

[@RagnarokMic]

They just don't make 'em like the Marx brothers anymore, geniuses of both wordplay and physical comedy.

[@lynnlobliner3933]

I used to have a VHS tape of all Chico's piano laying and all Harpo's harp playing. Both intrigued me. Thanks for sharing. Chico's daughter wrote a bio about her dad after he died. I read it in the early 80s. Harpo and Groucho wrote their own -- Chico was too busy to be bothered.

[@AceripXF]

did i mention how much i love watching him play?!?!

[@AHHHHHHHHHHHHl]

"I have a falsetto voice" "That's a funny, my last pupil she got false set of teeth"

[@mrstarfishmusic2813]

Chico: why a dock? Groucho: I'm alright how are you?

[@feralbluee]

Chico was my favorite. Such a fooling-around twinkle in his eye and what a piano player. He was probably so much fun and an intelligent guy. I know he had a gamboling problem, and that Groucho paid a lot of his debts, but his sense of comedy was wonderful and he just gave off such wonderful vibes like everything was all right and life was a blast. At the same time, you knew was very serious about things. I’d like to think he was a wonderful father,, but probably irresponsible about money. A wonderful man to love, but very difficult to do so. All the Marx Brothers needed each other and they were so important to the soul of America at that time - when people went to the movies and had everyone around you laughing their heads off and loving it together. 🤣😂😋😜🌷🌱

[@wayneelmoreevysdad1774]

I just love the Marx Brothers and they're all talented in their own unique ways and this is a fun video

[@stephensylvester2006]

These brothers were outstanding. I wish we had more like them nowadays

[@BobbyL5757]

When people ask me who my favorite piano player is I don't say Chick Corea, Bill Evans or Glenn Gould. Nope. I say Chico Marx. My favorite singer? The cowardly lion.

[@MattHawes]

Nicely edited! Thanks for making this compilation. Chico was a talent in his own right and usually gets overlooked, so it's great to see a showcase of some of his bits, including his music,

[@candaceohara9916]

Chico did have a serious gambling problem (cards, horses, dice, and/or any bet he could get wind of) with major family and financial consequences.

[@5610winston]

"I wasn't kissing her. I was whispering in her mouth!"

[@evanabbott2737]

Hahahahahahahahahaha

[@AceripXF]

LMAOOOO

[@jessicathethreestoogesfan2635]

Chico was cheating on his wife

[@AceripXF]

@@jessicathethreestoogesfan2635 Now how the hell would u know THAT

[@jessicathethreestoogesfan2635]

AceripXF Find the information online

[@arm5685]

No one like him since. Awesome fella

[@davidekstrand8544]

Chico: How did you get to be Rosco W. Chandler? Chandler: How did you get to be an Italian? Chico: Never mind that! Whose confession is this?!? 🤣

[@rockville34]

This video was done very well. Thanks

[@colinp2238]

I love the Sanity Clause quip

[@mariadamon4975]

one of the greatest routines of all time

[@blacbraun]

"Would you like a suite on the 3rd floor?" "No I'll take a Polock in the basement" LMAO Love that. (My wife is Swedish)

[@andrewkling9530]

Thursday was a double header, nobody show up.

[@desmb9754]

Rest in peace Chico Marx

[@davidrodgersNJ]

Priceless

[@bigcooksteeshirts9919]

Magic...they all were.

[@rockhero2274]

Someone asked Groucho about Chico. His response, "He introduced gonorrhea to vaudeville."

[@robertsnyder1890]

I always love his piano playing but Harpo on the harp? Incredible.

[@fuzzyscarfandmittens4772]

The amazing thing about Harpo is he never got any formal training on the harp. He taught himself to play which was something that people said was impossible to do. He was an excellent harpist but he didn't play it in a professional manner. He played it very well but in a way uniquely his own.

[@kimjungun-wv7kp]

i did not know that.thank you.

[@5610winston]

Harpo took lessons, but usually the teachers were watching to learn his technique. In his autobiography, he remarked that since he was left-handed he rested the harp on the wrong shoulder and that seeing a picture of an angel playing correctly was his first lesson.

[@brucephoenix3989]

robert snyder Agreed! B4 vhs, dvd(&YT), would go see their movies at artsy theaters-when Harpo would play, audience would erupt with cheers, applause! 🎼

[@spring-jo8xv]

Why a duck, hillarious lmao thx for this post 👍

[@Mikado8848]

Loved it...but want more. ;)

[@BB120776]

He was his mother's favorite and could make anybody fall in love with him... romantic OR platonic.

[@jessicathethreestoogesfan2635]

It’s because her love of her 2nd son came from her love of Manfred Marx

[@texasmimi5566]

Oh, yea. I definitely would be one..........romantic.

[@petermcgill1559]

"Thas-a good joke, huh, boss?" Otto, of Otto and George, used that line, sometimes. I guess it was a kind of tribute to Chico.

[@AceripXF]

i cant get enough of watching Chico play the piano!

[@texasmimi5566]

Yep!

[@AceripXF]

@@texasmimi5566 like....it puts u on a trance cos its so fasinating how he plays

[@texasmimi5566]

@@AceripXF I sit here with a love-sick smile on my face, lost in watching him act, speak and play. He is a cutie!

[@AceripXF]

@@texasmimi5566 u said it!

[@jessicathethreestoogesfan2635]

AceripXF HELP! I’M DYING OF HIS CUTENESS!

[@MediaBuster]

"would you like a suite (swede) on the third floor? No I'll take a pollack in there basement" LMAO!!

[@LaCroixCreative]

I've watched a lot of old films over the years, and I don't think I've EVER heard "polak" uttered before! (As a Polish girl, I would have noticed!)

[@paulevans9858]

I love the fact that chico was the only pianist who would shoots the keys.

[@Buford_T_Justice1]

Eh, dats a pretty good eh boss? Thank you for cutting together all of these awesome videos!

[@silyknow]

Chico was so good at piano, what a iconic guy

[@Menckenperson]

Brilliant editing

[@jeffreyholmes7216]

Whomever posted this....Thank you.

[@StephanielovesDisney]

“You noodle on that, I macaroni on this” 🤣

[@Carolyn665]

He was great, wasn't he?

[@halheywood3910]

timeless

[@HellhammerSS]

Harpo cutting the guys hair as he's facepalming 🤣

[@redstrat1234]

Wonderful

[@HarpoSpoke]

I always think of Chico as the glue of the act. He could create a great scene with either Groucho or Harpo....but Harpo and Groucho rarely did a scene together. (one great exception is in Duck Soup) That's a pretty versatile comic to be able to work with two completely different styles and make it genius. Groucho claimed that Chico didn't work hard on his act. But I have a hard time believing Chico could get that great on piano and develop such a unique style without working on it. If so...that means Chico was a musical genius.

[@Gumboz1953]

Another movie where the brothers worked together A LOT was Day at the Races. That scene where they are examining "Mrs. Upjohn" (Margaret Dumont, of course) had me peeing on myself, laughing so hard.

[@frankhogan7541]

Yeah What ABOUT that "Duck Soup" Scene where Chico And Harpo BOTH play Piano Side By Side that's Classic

[@michaelszczys8316]

Groucho had his own tv show in 50s, and Harpo showed that he probably could have carried along pretty good by himself in Love Happy, but I don’t think Chico could have done a whole lot by himself. He needed one or the other to do his thing properly

[@viggosimonsen]

Was thinking exactly the same the other day after watching a lot of Marx Brothers. He was in the middle, quite obviously. Actually the way the 3 or even 4 characters complemented each other was so well composed.

[@PotrzebieConolly]

The one I liked (not included) is in LOVE HAPPY when he says to Leon Belasco, on violin, "Are we playing the same song?"

[@stevenbryant1954]

I think that was Joe Venuti. not sure

[@texasmimi5566]

@@stevenbryant1954 No, it was Leon Belasco.

[@anthonyvaughan4853]

BRILLIANT !!!

[@michaelkramer1657]

Oh where has all the talent gone there has never been nor will there be anything like the Marx. Brothers they are time less and priceless

[@grahamblack1961]

Many people mispronounce his name as 'Cheeko', assuming he was called that because he faked an Italian accent in the films. In fact it was pronounced 'Chick-o', he was called that because of his womanising - he was always chasing chicks.

[@handsdownchulo6579]

Love this

[@midknightranger1493]

Beautiful

[@johnjurkewicz9925]

He is Great to listening to and I love it

[@victormalyar9200]

I can never understand why Zeppo only starred in the first few films with his brothers and Gummo never appeared in films.

[@texasmimi5566]

Read about both. There is much information on the internet.

[@rambler241]

Excellent.

[@bkdro70]

As much of a smartass Groucho was...when he interacted with Chico...he became the strait man...thats why theyre geniuses...I think Im the only Puerto Rican that gets the Marx Bros...lol

[@dawnslater1065]

Great!

[@GravesRWFiA]

chico's piano was essential to the marx brothers doing comedy. in groucho autobiography he said they fired a singer who wanted too much money, groucho would sing and chico would play-but groucho couldn't sing so after the first chorus chico would try to stop him. they gtot big laughs, realized they didn't need anyone else and "The Maerx Brothers' were born as an act.

[@ddraig1957]

Golden comedy legends.Few others come close to their comic genius bar Laurel and Hardy,and WC Fields.

[@woodyjagla328]

,,,, Tops !!!!!!

[@juliomontoya8824]

Those hands! He makes it look as easy as breathing!

[@mehdimallory5910]

So roses are red x))))

[@11anonymous6]

‘Tanks’ ‘You’re welcome’ 😭

[@vincentdesapio]

My father, who was Italian, was watching a documentary on the Marx Brothers and was surprised to find out they were German Jews. He had long thought they were Italian because of Chico Marx.

[@PRR5406]

He came home from lessons and taught Harpo what he had learned. Chico was a problem gambler and was far more lecherous than the other brothers. Groucho said of him, if he hadn't gone into comedy and films, he might have been a math genius. I don't think he gets enough credit for his verbal,wit against Groucho.

[@suzieqwonder3089]

“We sat all day”.....”What day was that?”..... “Saturday!”

[@37Dionysos]

THANKS

[@saracenseven8314]

there is no sanity clause'🤣🤣🤣

[@robertanderson1788]

5.44 so great

[@lorenzomagazzeni5425]

Chico was the best.

[@brianjordan3841]

Truly Chico was a master of communication/ don’t u mean miscommunication/ nah she’s in the other room waiting 4 him

[@mrbadx19]

but he never got a "good name", how can you not win with "Rufus T Firefly"?

[@TheaterPup]

Well he got the "ethnic" names, which makes sense for his characters.

[@rorylapidus5772]

The 3 Marx brothers were amazing and their worst comedy was better then anything coming out today. Zeppo Marx though not big in the movies was a brilliant man, known to many for his talent management. But what's much more impressive is his inventions. One of them a device that helped hold the atomic bomb stable for the trip to Japan that helped end World War II.

[@tulliverscrim1513]

Although Zeppo barely has any funny lines, according to his brothers he was the funniest. Additionally, he could imitate the other brothers' voices well

[@frunkybooii]

Helped to drop an atomic bomb which instantly obliterated thousands of lives and decimated many more. What an achievement.

[@bendanieli9325]

Rory Lapidus

[@smoog]

Ben Classen ...and stopped a war that was killing millions.

[@matildamichel3463]

doesn't make the actual act of killing hundreds of thousands of innocent lives okay.

[@MaximeLoonatic2]

I Challenge any pianist to emulate Chico's way to play piano.

[@324wonder]

Pure Comedy

[@peterh1353]

The birth of bonkers comedy.

[@seanpatrickcain2]

6:04 There ain't no Sanity Clause!

[@gregoryadkins2213]

Was it pronounced(cheeko ,or chicko)?

[@georgealderson4424]

Chicko as in chicks

[@AceripXF]

u want i should steal? ohh noo its not stealing! then i couldnt do it LMAO!

[@jessicathethreestoogesfan2635]

Lol

[@mikestand5163]

38 dislikes to this video...see...everybody wants to think they have a sense of humor but not everybody does

[@TheMonyarm]

What film is the bit near the end where Chico and Harpo trick Grouch out of the change

[@PaulHagl]

Go West 1940

[@halheywood3910]

Phagl Productions job well done

[@anthonydignazio7871]

They do that in the beginning of Go West and in the middle of A Day at the Races, and another film that I can't recollect

[@jessicathethreestoogesfan2635]

Phagl Productions Lol that was their 10th movie

[@harlow743]

GO WEST/1940

[@boombapdoom493]

Is it true Chicos' last words before his death were "I'm not even italian"!?

[@jessicathethreestoogesfan2635]

No wonder why he’s overlooked

[@AceripXF]

i sent for his beard u did? yah its coming by hair mail😂

[@blodgettshouseofinsanity]

Great video. Are you a fan of Jimmy Durante? He would make a good video. Just an idea.

[@AceripXF]

ohh nooo its not stealing then i couldnt do it LMAO😂

[@JohnnyCardinale]

"...why a no chicken?"

[@anthonypopa2947]

Without Chico, there's no Groucho. Without Chico there's no Harpo.. and he's obviously the best musician.

[@AceripXF]

u ever see a coleslaw like that? ya look at this *pulls lip out* i dont want none of ur lip now lol

[@AceripXF]

i wouldnt go out there unless i was in 1 of those big iron things that go up n down like that wut do ya call those things tanks! ur welcome 😂

[@frankhamilton3874]

Heheh beat you that time 🤣🤣🤣

[@sluggzmcgee7420]

Maybe it's just me, but I thought Margaret Dumont was gorgeous.

[@harlow743]

you need glasses

[@FerusZaz]

I feel silly, but for the life of me, I can't get why Groucho's response to Chico saying "why a duck" is "I'm fine, how are you?"

[@texasmimi5566]

Me too. Comments on here make me think it was cuz Groucho "heard" doc(tor) rather than "duck" and replied appropriately (for the joke). It makes sense to me.