Milton "Gummo" Marx was an American vaudevillian performer, actor, comedian and theatrical agent. He was the second youngest of the five Marx Brothers. Born in Manhattan, New York City, he worked with his brothers on the vaudeville circuit, leaving the act when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1918, during World War I, and replaced by Zeppo. He had no taste for the theatre and became a successful businessman.
After his Army career he joined with Zeppo and operated a theatrical agency. After that collaboration ended, Gummo represented his brother Groucho and worked on the television show The Life of Riley, which he helped develop.
He also represented other on-screen talent and a number of writers, and was well respected as a businessman. He rarely required contracts, believing that if the people he represented liked his work, they would stay with him, and if not, would seek representation elsewhere.
Origin of Stage Name[]
In his autobiography, Harpo explained that Milton became Gummo because he crept about the theater like a gumshoe detective. Other sources reported that Gummo was the family's hypochondriac, having been the sickliest of the brothers in childhood, and therefore wore rubber overshoes, called gumshoes, in all kinds of weather. Still others reported that Milton was the troupe's best dancer, and dance shoes tended to have rubber soles. Groucho stated that the source of the name was Gummo wearing galoshes. Whatever the details, the name relates to rubber-soled shoes.
Personal LIfe[]
Marx married Helen von Tilzer on March 16, 1929; they remained married until her death in January 1976. Their son, Robert, was born in 1930.