Birth name
Leonard Marx
Date of birth (location)
March 22, 1887 New York, NY
Date of death (details)
October 11, 1961 Hollywood, California, USA. (heart ailment)
Height
5' 8"
Married
Mary DeVithas 1958 - 1961) (his death)
Betty Carp (? - ?) (divorced); 1 daughter
Bio As a kid trying to negotiate his way through various gang territories to a floating crap game or a new pool hall where he was not yet known as a hustler, Leonard (Chico) Marx learned to fake several accents. Because he later employed an Italian accent in the Marx Brothers' act, people assumed his name was pronounced "Cheeko." Instead, Leonard was dubbed "Chicko" for his other consuming passion, women (or "chicks") at which he was more successful than gambling, but when a typesetter dropped the "k" out of his name, When the brothers let it stay as Chico. Chico was the brother who guided the Marxes to stardom. He took over the act's managment (amicably) from their mother, Minnie, and through audacity and charm, Chico secured the Brothers their first international (London) booking, their first Broadway show and their MGM contract with Irving Thalberg among other successes. Chico adopted the Italian dialect routines no doubt from the many Italian immigrants he grew up with in his New York City neighborhood. An avid gambler and womanizer, (chasing "chicks" some say is how he got his nickname), he was an accomplished pianist with his own unique finger pecking style. Marx, Leonard With his brothers, he usually played a rakish con artist with a Italian accent. He often had a scene where he would play the piano in his own unique comedy way.