audiobook Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage by Robert S. Bader in History

Review

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Essential; genuinely essential book for all true MarxiansBy Douglas Keith McEwanI've been a fanatical Marx Brothers fan for almost 50 years. I've interviewed Groucho on radio. I've read EVERY darn book written by or about them. I thought I knew it all. But this amazing book told me many; man things I did not know. He sweeps away the lies and great-but-untrue stories that fill all the other books; and get down to as much of the truth as could ever be discovered a century after its events. The book is FASCINATING. I can not recommend it TOO highly. Great book.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. I enjoyed this book so muchBy Arnold L. FogelI enjoyed this book so much; and did NOT want it to end. For the fan of the Marx Brothers; you can buy this book without any fear of it being repetitious or doubling over the same old stories and information you’ve acquired from other books about the team or the individual “players”. Brand-new research; color; history; etc.; all pertaining to the years BEFORE the brothers hit the movies big-time. Finally; you can learn in tremendous detail the way in which the Marx Brothers morphed throughout the formative years. In so do doing; they mirrored the tremendous power and scope of the Vaudeville industry during the early years of the 20th Century; and the reader will gain enormous insight into the ways of the Vaudeville culture that so dominated the early years of the last century. Notable too; is the fact that the book includes as near-complete an itinerary of the Brothers' individual stage appearances in a very detailed listing as is possible. Season-by-season information on players; plot lines; locales; theater names; dates; etc..... Incredible coverage.Informative; entertaining; fascinating; educational; revealing; unique; ......FUN! This book; by Robert S. Bader; called "FOUR OF THE THE THREE MUSKETEERS" - THE MARX BROTHERS ON STAGE." Was years in the writing and compilation; and worth the wait. So glad this book exists. Wonderful to discover as well; that after a lifetime of enraptured study; there is still so much to learn about the subjects that I love. Richly illustrated; including many pictures that have previously been unseen by the general public; and also including many contemporary newspaper ads for the Brothers’ various stage appearances.40 of 42 people found the following review helpful. The book I've waited 40 years to read!By Paul WesolowskiI have provided research and reference material to the authors of several books about the Marx Brothers. Many of them were good books in their day. But all now suffer in comparison to Robert Bader’s incredible new book. [Full disclosure: I am proud to have provided research for this book as well.]The problem with other Marx Bros. books is that the authors had a life to live or a publisher’s deadline to meet. Ultimately they had to settle for “good;” or “better than the others;” but it was still a compromise.But Mr. Bader is unique. He has spent several decades doing research on the Marxes. Along the way he published a wonderful anthology of Groucho’s writings; and then a revised and expanded edition a few years later. (To say nothing of the several incredible Marx-related DVD sets he produced; and the commentary on the recent Paramount collection Blu-ray release.)He could have written a great biography several years ago; but instead he continued digging. He has not only dug deeper than any of the rest of us; he has dug deeper than most of us thought was even possible. He has dug deep enough to find the Marx Brothers in four vaudeville acts that we never knew about previously!He is the first person to make sense of the conflicting versions of stories told by Kyle Crichton (their authorized biographer); by Groucho and Harpo in their autobiographies; and by Groucho on various TV shows and in his interviews with later biographers. He has tirelessly dug through contemporary news accounts to finally prove which elements of each story are correct: when and where and how these legendary stories actually took place. It’s not his opinion of which version is funniest or most probable; but the verifiable underlying truth.He has used genealogical research to determine the actual names of fellow performers who were given pseudonyms in early biographies. By doing so he has also been able to determine the intriguing stories of what happened to these cast mates after they left the Marx act. [Harpo’s relationship with Katie Fleming spans several chapters and could have been a book on its own.] He has also been able to identify these cast mates in dozens of previously unpublished photos from Groucho’s and Harpo’s scrapbooks. And by figuring out who exactly was who; he discovered another Nightingale who was never previously identified.Along the journey Mr. Bader has uncovered so many other fascinating stories. As only one example; a poor joke told by Groucho on an obscure TV show has led to an incredible tragic story about their cousin Lou Shean that was never part of the Marxian lore.Mr. Bader began organizing his research into a book perhaps eight years ago. No; he isn’t a slow typist. While writing the book he continued digging; until he tied up as many loose ends as possible. Only when he had answered every question; after numerous drafts; after filling all of the holes in the timeline; did he look for a publisher. It would be nice to think that any of us could have written this book if we’d had enough time; but the truth is that Mr. Bader had the tenacity nobody else has demonstrated; as well as the understanding of how the disjointed pieces actually fit together.Robert Bader intended to write a definitive biography of the Marx Brothers on stage. The end result is the definitive biography of the Marx Brothers; the definitive history of vaudeville as a business; and a fascinating book that I have waited 40 years to read.