The last significant work by Groucho Marx as a performer was An Evening With Groucho -- which is the title of his 1972 concert, and the resulting LP. To the question "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" Groucho provided an irrefutable if unhelpful answer: You reach the age of 81 having been a vaudeville headliner, a Broadway star, a Hollywood icon, a hit on radio and television, a successful author, and a living legend.
Official description: "Our deep dive into 1972’s An Evening With Groucho LP, and the historic performance at Carnegie Hall.
"To be frank, we’re as conflicted about this as you are…Groucho finally gets the late-in-life showcase he craved and obviously deserved, but perhaps a bit too late for him to take full advantage of. We point out the triumphs, tragedies, and missed opportunities that Groucho dealt with in 1972, culminating with this hit album.
"We detail favorite moments as well as our disparate experiences first hearing this LP, and whether it is a piece of entertainment, a piece of history, or both...
"Name-checked in this episode: Brent Spiner, The Beach Boys, Diane Keaton."
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Footnotes:
- "Groucho Stars in a Night at the Carnegie," New York Times, May 8, 1972
- "Recordings: From Marx to Merman," New York Times, January 14, 1973
- Dick Cavett: "They Dressed Like Groucho," New York Times, April 20, 2012
- Recordings of Groucho at the Masonic Auditorium, San Francisco, August 11, 1972
- Library of Congress essay by Robert Bader, upon An Evening With Groucho's inclusion in the National Registry of historically significant recordings