Minnie Marx
Minnie Marx was the mother and manager of the Marx Brothers, a family of top-billed vaudevillians, top Broadway stars and, finally, film stars. She was also the sister of comedian and vaudeville star Al Shean.
Early life
Marx was born Miene Schönberg in Dornum, Kingdom of Hanover. Her parents Fanny née Salomons and Levy "Lafe" Schönberg were members of the local Jewish community. Her mother was a yodeling harpist, her father a ventriloquist. Her younger brother, Abraham Elieser Adolf, the future "Al Shean," was born in 1868.About 1880 the family emigrated to New York City, where Minnie married Samuel "Frenchie" Marx in 1884.
Her son Manfred died in infancy in 1886. Her other children were Leonard Joseph, Adolph, Julius, Milton and Herbert, who would grow up to perform as the Marx Brothers.
Career
While managing the Marx Brothers, she went under the name of Minnie Palmer, so that booking agents would not know that the agent representing the Marx Brothers was their mother. She played the harp.As a tribute to her, all the brothers' daughters were given names that began with 'M': Chico with Maxine; Harpo with Minnie; and Groucho with Miriam and Melinda. Gummo and Zeppo had no daughters.
Minnie lived long enough to see her sons' 1929 film debut in The Cocoanuts, but died later that year of a stroke.