TFG Open House

The pages under www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/ were originally created by Frank Bland for his site www.whyaduck.com.

Open House participants watch some choice Marx rarities on the idiot box

Each year, Paul G. Wesolowski invites all the subscribers to his Marx fanzine, The Freedonia Gazette, for an afternoon at his home. This year's 16th Annual Freedonia Gazette Open House was the first I was qualified to attend, and I did so with my camera in hand. I hope you enjoy looking at the photos I took as much as I enjoyed taking them!

We arrived, "drunk and early," at Paul's home in New Hope, PA, on Monday afternoon. In his instructions, Paul asked everyone to bring some sort of comestibles for the enjoyment of the rest of the participants. We were staying for the weekend with my brother and sister-in-law in York, PA, and buzzed by the local bagel place. There we were sold a wondrous assortment of bagels, cut into quarters, along with various varieties (?) of spread to put on top. When we arrived with this cornucopia of bageldom in tow, our host looked at us as though we each had three heads, for a total of six. What Paul really wanted was for his guests to bring along unusual varieties of root beer. But at least the rest of the crowd seemed to enjoy our bageliscious treat!

Paul got a little miffed when I copped this shot of him eating cheese in his kitchen.

I had absolutely no idea what to expect at one of Paul's soiree's, but was pleasantly surprised. The only thing we knew for sure was that Frank Ferrante, Groucho Impersonator Extraordinaire, was slated to be the guest of honor at this year's event, and in this we were not disappointed. Frank was there, in the flesh, interacting with the rest of us like nobody's business (except yours and mine). Unfortunately, Mr. Ferrante suffered the theft of a 9-dollar stogie while a guest in Paul's house, a fact about which he was a bit miffed to say the least. (Paul asks that the guilty party mail him a check for this amount, which he will forward [so he says] to Mr. Ferrante.)

Frank Ferrante shoots the bull with Wayne Boenig and Rob Bader.

Besides all the wonderful food and drink, supplied both by Paul and his guests, we were treated to a couple of video programs chosen by Paul and Rob Bader (editor of Groucho Marx and Other Short Stories and Tall Tales (available from the "Why A Duck? Book Store")., who was also in attendance [speaking of Rob Bader, I met him on the subway on my way home from work this evening, which is pretty serendipitous, especially considering the fact that I was on a later train than usual and Rob was on an entirely different line than usual]). With few exceptions, I'd never seen any of this stuff before, and all of it was a bona fide treat. We also had the opportunity to tour Paul's home, which is filled to brimming with Marxabilia (I was told a humorous story about Maxine Marx's reaction on seeing Paul's collection, but I'm really not at liberty to say who told me or what the story was about. Nyah-hah-hah!), and to buy books, magazines, and other assorted Marxist wares presented in the basement.

The first video presentation we were shown was chosen by Paul. This video featured 14 Marx television appearances by the Marxes (the following descriptions are taken directly from Paul's notes):

Paul's living room wall features several wall hangings from "A Night At The Opera."

The Dating Game (June 16, 1967): Groucho interviews three bachelors on behalf of daughter Melinda in a special Father's Day edition of the show.

Candid Camera (May 2, 1961): Harpo appears inside a soda machine.

Groucho et Moi (February 11, 1973): Groucho is honored at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival and is also seen at the press conference that followed in this French television documentary.

The Hollywood Palace (March 7, 1964): Groucho makes a surprise appearance with host Dean Martin to promote his scheduled appearance on the following week's show.

Lux/Groucho Marx Easy Money Sweepstakes (Fall 1958): This commercial aired on The Lux Playhouse throughout the 1958-59 television season.

Showdown At Ulcer Gulch (1958): Groucho and Chico have cameos (as do several other stars) in this short promotional film made by Chico's son-in-law, Shamus Culhane, for a Saturday Evening Post sales convention.

Aimeé and Mike pose for a shot shortly before leaving the festivities.

Hollywood Spotlight (1937): Movietone newsreel includes footage of Groucho and Charlie Chaplin's tennis match with pros Ellsworth Vines and Fred Perry. (Also included here is a British newsreel version of the same event as produced by the Gaumont Company.)

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (October 4, 1959): Carl Reiner introduces Groucho, who duets with Dinah on "Peasie Weasie." The Tonight Show (July 28, 1964): Johnny Carson had the night off, so Melinda Marx sings and chats with the substitute host.

The Perry Como Show (December 15, 1956): Groucho and Melinda join Perry in a "You Bet Your Life" spoof.

The Dupont Show Of The Month: The Red Mill (April 19, 1958): Harpo and young Evelyn Rudie share a credit as the narrator of the story.

Dave Tomanek and Wayne Boenig mug for the camera.

What's My Line (September 20, 1959): Guest panelist Groucho disrupts the proceedings while Claudette Colbert appears as the mystery guest.

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (October 20, 1962): Harpo appears with Fess Parker in an episode of the short-lived situation comedy based on the film of the same name.

The GE Theater: The Incredible Jewel Robbery (March 8, 1959): Groucho, Harpo, and Chico appear together for the final time. Groucho's appearance was unbilled and unannounced due to his NBC contract (GE Theater aired on CBS).

Robert Bader selected the clips on the second tape, and these included:

Gary Sassaman [creator of the comic Innocent Bystander] chats with Ira Dolnick.

DeSoto-Plymouth Dealers Convention Film (1952): Groucho, joined by George Fenneman, John Guedel, Bernie Smith, and Bod Dwan, hosts a 17-minute, behind-the-scenes look at the production of "You Bet Your Life." (The photo on the right features many of Paul Wesolowski's extensive Marx Brothers toys and gadgets.)

The DuPont Show Starring June Allyson: A Silent Panic (December 22, 1960): Harpo's only dramatic performance shown in its entirety.

Bob Hope In Joys (March 5, 1976): A Bob Hope special parodying the film "Jaws" concerned the mysterious demise of each of the 46 comedians who made cameo appearances. One of Groucho's last performances.

Paul Wesolowski's Hatrack is being put to good use. Seems to me I recognize the figure it's supposed to represent...

Celebrity Golf (April 23, 1961): Harpo -- with his 21 handicap -- squares off against golf great Sam Snead. Harry von Zell hosts.

Groucho (July 1, 1965): Groucho revived "You Bet Your Life" in England for 13 weeks in the summer of 1965. They dropped the secret word, but the show was essentially the same with a slightly older Groucho.

Foreign Film Clips (excerpts from Marx films dubbed into German and Spanish):

• Die Marx Brothers Auf See (1931)
• Die Marx Brothers Im Krieg (1933)
• Animal Crackers (en espanol) (1930)
• In Der Oper (1935)
• Das Grosse Rennen (1937)
• Eine Nacht In Casablanca (1946)

You Bet Your Life Blooper (1954)

A few fans in obvious hysterics over the Marxes' zany antics on video.

For a man who claims, he's "...not a collector, rather a researcher..." Paul G. Wesolowski has more Marx Brothers memorabilia than any of us are likely to see in one place!

Paul Wesolowski talks about some of his wall hangings.)

After about five hours chez Paul we returned to our humble digs in Queens (after a trip which featured me having my civil rights violated by a New Jersey State Trooper, but that's another story). It was a great day, I met good people, enjoyed good food, saw great video...I'm looking forward to many Open Houses to come. If you would like to attend next year's shindig, the first step is to subscribe to The Freedonia Gazette. Hope to see you there!

©1995-2006, Frank M. Bland

The pages under www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck were originally created by Frank Bland for his site www.whyaduck.com. Frank did kindly give me permission to use the contents of his site.

If you find text referring to "I" or "me" on pages under www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck, this will usually refer to Frank.