Hello, I Must Be Going: Groucho and His Friends » (Reprint)

Charlotte Chandler is the author of several biographies of actors and directors, including Groucho Marx, Federico Fellini, Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, Bette Davis, Ingrid Bergman, Joan Crawford, and Mae West, all of whom she interviewed extensively. She is a member of the board of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and lives in New York City.

When Charlotte Chandler called Groucho Marx for an interview, he answered the phone himself. Declining to be interviewed, he invited her over to his house so he could tell her no in person. After talking with her for hours, Groucho asked, "Why aren't you writing?"

Hello, I Must Be Going is the story of Groucho and the Marx Brothers, told through Groucho's everyday conversations with Charlotte Chandler and his friends. And what a group of friends they were! Woody Allen, Jack Nicholson, Elliott Gould, Bill Cosby, Marvin Hamlisch, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Sidney Sheldon, and dozens of others walk through the pages of this fascinating book. Anyone interested in Groucho or the Marx Brothers, or who wants to spend a few hours in fabulous company, will find this book irresistible.

Author's Note

Introduction

Titles Page

"Hello, I must be going"

GROUCHO AND OLD AGE

"I'm too rich to eat bread"

LIFE AT GROUCHO'S HOUSE

"He never kissed an ugly girl"

THE WOMEN IN GROUCHO'S LIFE

"If I didn't have Erin, I'd have old furniture"

THE WOMAN IN GROUCHO'S LIFE

"The Lord Alps those that Alps themselves"

GROUCHO AND RELIGION

"We're four of the three musketeers"

THE MARX FAMILY

"Is it sad or high kickin'?"

GROUCHO IN SHOW BUSINESS AFTER EIGHTY

"I've got the key to my front door"

GROUCHO REVISITS NEW YORK

"I wouldn't be 78 again for anything in the world"

GROUCHO'S EIGHTY-FIFTH BIRTHDAY PARTY

"I look like George Washington with a mustache"

GROUCHO ON GROUCHO

"I keep the ones I want"

GROUCHO AND HIS FRIENDS

Backward

Postlogue: "Never say goodbye, say auf Wiedersehen"

Chronology

"If it gets a laugh, leave it in"

RARE MARX BROTHERS FILM SCENE