Using Groucho Marx, illustrate the progression from vaudeville, to Essay

Using Groucho Marx, illustrate the progression from vaudeville, to movies, to radio, to television in the history of popular culture. Be explicit about the time - Essay Example By studying the career of Groucho Marx in detail, much about the history of popular culture could be learned. Marx, having lived and performed in the first half of the twentieth century, bore witness to the advances in the way entertainment will be produced and delivered. Hence, Marx’s progress as a performer is interlinked with the revolutionary technological advancements of the day. (The Best of Groucho, 37) Vaudeville was a highly innovative form of entertainment that was very popular during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. It comprised a series of short but action-packed â€Å"acts† that could range from comedy skits to dance and music to mimicry. The acts were performed for a direct audience similar to the contemporary theatre and hence required the actors to possess qualities of spontaneity and talents for ad-libbing. Groucho Marx was a prominent exponent of this form of entertainment. The comedy team of the Marx Brothers is best remembered for how they induced convulsions of laughter in the audience. Groucho’s quick wit and funny insults during the Vaudeville days are still remembered fondly by his fans. (The Best of Groucho, 37) The Marx Brothers’ made a move into a more conventional form of performance art when they worked for the Broadway show â€Å"I’ll Say She Is†. The success of this show led to the more popular shows like The Cocoanuts (1925) and Animal Crackers (1928). This was about the time when silent movies were taking centre stage. It led to both Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers being made into â€Å"talkies†. Its success led to further silent movie offers from Paramount Studios – Monkey Business (1931), Horse Feathers (1932) and Duck Soup (1933). Although these movies were regarded as classics by the critics, their box-office returns were uninspiring, leading to speculation that the Marx Brothers’ days in Hollywood were at an end. (Rosten 104). But