40. Who’s Laughing Now?
In 1964, Marx traveled with a few friends to East Germany and visited the village where his mother was born. To the shock of the group, they learned the Jewish cemetery there had been violated by the Nazis during the Second World War. Enraged, Marx hired a car to take him back to Berlin to visit the bunker where Adolf Hitler had taken his life. In an act of vengeful spite, Marx climbed on top of it and furiously danced on the bunker.
He literally danced on Hitler's grave. As his friend later described, “Nobody applauded. Nobody laughed.”
41. Bitter End
During the late 1960s, Marx hired Canadian actress Erin Fleming to be his secretary. From then on, she not only became his constant companion (as noted by Roger Ebert and others) but also his manager. Fleming organized several one-man shows for Marx. While this revitalized his popularity in his later years, Marx’s children accused Fleming of exploiting an elderly man for personal gain.
After Marx’s death, Fleming fought several legal battles with Marx’s three children and was eventually ordered to repay nearly $500,000. Fleming spent the rest of her life struggling with mental illness and abject poverty before taking her own life in 2003.
42. Lost Brother
Of his brothers, Marx was very close with Milton (who performed on stage as Gummo before Zeppo replaced him). Gummo and Marx remained close for their entire lives. After Gummo died in April 1977, the family didn’t have the heart to tell the ailing Groucho, who was already incredibly frail. He died four months later never knowing that his brother had predeceased him.
