Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Truth in advertising: Woody plugs Groucho

I saw Groucho Marx perform in person.

Allow me to take a moment to stick my tongue out at you unfortunates who can't claim the same.

It was a few months shy of my Bar Mitzvah when Groucho agreed to do a favor for his old pal, Northwestern University professor of English and television host, Bergen Evans. Groucho consented to appear on campus for a one-man show, of sorts, in the then under renovation Dyches Stadium.

Two hundred folding chairs were set up in a corner of the entrance way for Groucho to regale the throng. To say that he wasn't in the best of spirits is an understatement. At one point during the Q&A someone asked, "Will you say, 'Say the secret woid and the duck will come down?'" "No," Groucho shot back. "What is this, giveaway night? Next question!" He wore his trademarked golf hat (topped off with Styrofoam figurines) and told patented anecdotes, but it was still the one, the only, Groucho.

Last night, this 1974 Village Voice advertisement for a two-disc recording of an evening with Groucho at Carnegie Hall brought it all back to me.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/feb/18/40310/

Woody's right, you know. There is Groucho Marx and everybody else.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WB-T0Ill08

Many of the stories he told that night at Northwestern made it to the album, although the absence of Marvin Hamlish limited Groucho's musical offerings to just one, Lydia the Tattooed Lady. The entire concert is on YouTube (everything is on YouTube!). It's been a good 30 years since I last heard the one man show and was shocked by how many times my lips moved as I followed along verbatim.

You'll have to listen on the installment plan (it's in 7 parts), but if you're a fan of the man and have never heard this, I'll say "you're welcome" in advance. If you are not a fan of Groucho Marx, beat it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OSOl3ykv50

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

At 4pm, this Farmer's Table restaurant in Chula Vista becomes Acqua e Farina

Brunch restaurant by day, Roman style trattoria by night

I saw Groucho Marx perform in person.

Allow me to take a moment to stick my tongue out at you unfortunates who can't claim the same.

It was a few months shy of my Bar Mitzvah when Groucho agreed to do a favor for his old pal, Northwestern University professor of English and television host, Bergen Evans. Groucho consented to appear on campus for a one-man show, of sorts, in the then under renovation Dyches Stadium.

Two hundred folding chairs were set up in a corner of the entrance way for Groucho to regale the throng. To say that he wasn't in the best of spirits is an understatement. At one point during the Q&A someone asked, "Will you say, 'Say the secret woid and the duck will come down?'" "No," Groucho shot back. "What is this, giveaway night? Next question!" He wore his trademarked golf hat (topped off with Styrofoam figurines) and told patented anecdotes, but it was still the one, the only, Groucho.

Last night, this 1974 Village Voice advertisement for a two-disc recording of an evening with Groucho at Carnegie Hall brought it all back to me.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/feb/18/40310/

Woody's right, you know. There is Groucho Marx and everybody else.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WB-T0Ill08

Many of the stories he told that night at Northwestern made it to the album, although the absence of Marvin Hamlish limited Groucho's musical offerings to just one, Lydia the Tattooed Lady. The entire concert is on YouTube (everything is on YouTube!). It's been a good 30 years since I last heard the one man show and was shocked by how many times my lips moved as I followed along verbatim.

You'll have to listen on the installment plan (it's in 7 parts), but if you're a fan of the man and have never heard this, I'll say "you're welcome" in advance. If you are not a fan of Groucho Marx, beat it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OSOl3ykv50

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Free movies: Anaglyph 3D edition

Next Article

Free movies of the week: director's trailer park

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader