History professor’s biography on Zeppo Marx attracting early attention

Herbert “Zeppo” Marx generated scores of attention for the years he served as the “straight-man” in the comedy routines of the Marx Brothers early in the 20th Century. And while some argue that his value to the comedy team has been undervalued by critics, Dickinson State University assistant professor of history Dr. Michael Taylor argues there’s much more about Zeppo Marx which has gone underappreciated – and unnoticed – by historians.

“Herbert Marx is the only one of the Marx Brothers who has never had a biography written about him,” notes Taylor. “And from a historical standpoint, he’s probably the most interesting of the bunch.”

That will all change sometime around the start of 2004, when Taylor releases “’Cause There’s Nothing I Can’t Do: Zeppo Marx and the American Dream.” The project is an authorized biography that hopes to focus attention upon the many talents of the man many only know as Zeppo Marx.

Many are already taking attention, despite the 18 months between now and the book’s expected publication. In the past month alone, Taylor has fielded radio interviews from stations in Grand Forks, St. Louis and Monterey, Calif. He was also contacted by the British Broadcasting Corporation’s London office for an interview about the book.

“It baffles the heck out of me that there’s this much interest and attention being given this far ahead of the publication date,” said Taylor. “A lot of the interest seems to be focused on the things Zeppo did after his time with the Marx Brothers. Those are the things that a lot of people don’t know about, but are really more spectacular than what he did as an entertainer.”

For instance, Taylor notes it was Zeppo Marx who invented the Marman clamp, which held the atomic bomb during World War II and which remains the industry standard in just about every moving vehicle to this day. He also served as the co-inventor of the Cardio wristwatch and as a talent agent for a number of years. Unbeknownst to many, Marx was also one of the original investors in the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, along with mafia notables Bugsy Seagal and Moe Sedway, and, according to some of Taylor’s most recent findings, was a popular supporter of the Haganah (which would become known as the Israeli Defense Forces following World War II) and Zionist causes, apparently to the tune of millions of dollars each year.

Taylor will have plenty of original material to help him tell the story of Zeppo. Thanks to the support of Zeppo’s son Tim Marx, Taylor has had access to hundreds of previously unpublished letters, documents and photographs pertaining to the famous “Fifth Marx Brother.”

“Tim has been incredibly helpful and accommodating with this project,” said Taylor. “This is a fully authorized biography and I’ll forever be grateful for being able to access that material for the book.”

Taylor’s biography of Zeppo Marx is expected to be ready for publication in early 2004.

9/26/02 3:02:54 PM