On this day, Oct. 2, 1890, Julius Henry Marx was born. He became one of the most recognizable faces in the world, due to the greasepaint mustache he wore in the movies. And his comic delivery, in a dry, duck-squawk voice, is imitated to this day. A master of impromptu witticisms and cutting, yet endearing insults, his characters were conmen we rooted for and actually wanted to see prevail.
As Irving Berlin wrote in a birthday card to his friend,
"The world would be in less of a snarl
If Marx had been Groucho instead of Karl."
Happy birthday, Groucho!
