Herbert Manfred "Zeppo" Marx (February 25, 1901 – November 30, 1979) was an American actor, theatrical agent, and engineer. He was the youngest of the five Marx Brothers. He appeared in the first five Marx Brothers feature films, from 1929 to 1933, but then left the act to start his second career as an engineer and theatrical agent. Zeppo Marx was a multi-millionaire due to his engineering efforts.
Duck Soup, Horse Feathers, The House That Shadows Built, Monkey Business, Animal Crackers, The Cocoanuts, Humor Risk, A Kiss in the Dark
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Usually played the romantic straight man in films with his brothers
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Was the tallest of the Marx Brothers even though he stood only at 5'8".
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He was the only one of the Marx Brothers who was politically conservative.
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His company, Marman Products, marketed and produced what came to be known as the Marman Clamp, which proved to have numerous applications in aircraft and aerospace, and is used to this day. The company eventually grew to two factories employing more than 500 workers. Marx would often hire studio prop men and unemployed big band musicians.
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Officially left the brothers' comedy team to become an agent on March 30, 1934.
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He and his first wife adopted their only child, Timothy, in 1944.
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When he married Barbara Marx, her son, Bobby Oliver, took the Marx surname, although Marx never legally adopted him.
At the time of his death, he was the last surviving of The Marx Brothers.
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He was portrayed by actor Alvin Kupperman in the Broadway musical "Minnie's Boys," which ran an at the Imperial Theatre for 80 Performances from Mar 26 to May 30, 1970.
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Since he'd missed out when his brothers received their nicknames, he was given one by his siblings. He was always practicing acrobatics, so he was named "Zippo" -- after "Mr. Zippo," the star of a well-known chimpanzee act. Feeling it was unflattering, he insisted it be Zeppo. Another version of this story , was that his name was changed to "Zeppo" in honor of the then popular "Zepplin".
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One of only two of The Marx Brothers to play a recurring role in their films (not counting when they used their own names). He played the role of "Jamison" in both The Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930).
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He was a serious amateur machinist, and among the products his company, Marman, developed in the late 1940s was a 2-cylinder motorized bicycle, the Marman Twin (produced 1948-1949). Unfortunately, his bike was unable to compete with the more established Whizzers, despite being far more powerful. These bikes are highly collectible today.
$1 Million
