Hello, I Must Be Going: Groucho and His Friends

by Charlotte Chandler

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416544224
• ISBN13: 9781416544227
• Release Date: August 2007
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 576 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

good stuff from groucho!

This may sound funny, but i read harpo speaks! by harpo marx, and i thought he was my favorite marx brother and on film he is definetly one of my favorites and the book was pretty good, but this book I think is as good or better! might be because of the co-author , I,m not sure , but its a good read!

Nice Look at Groucho

This is an interesting look at Groucho Marx (1890-1977) as he was nearing the end of his long years. Even in his aged condition Groucho retained much of the quick-wit that endeared him to so many for so long. Author Charlotte Chandler is respectful and warm towards her subject without losing her proper journalistic distance. Groucho was a funny man, but he could over-do the wisecracks and he had a couple bouts with the blues. Still, this book contains many smiles, along with a sad feeling at the great comic's passing. The book gains substantially from the interviews with such others as Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, etc.

A rare glimpse of Groucho toward the end of his life

As the author points out, Groucho was a willing participant in this book but didn't live to see its publication. Charlotte Chandler spent a good deal of time with Groucho in his home toward the end of his life, and it's a perspective not offered by other authors (and I've read a number of books on the Brothers). Ms. Chandler conveys a sense of mutual warmth between herself and Groucho but doesn't idolize Groucho the Legend to the point of forgetting to capture the man. I also appreciated her kindness and restraint in treating Groucho's twilight-years relationship with the much, much younger Erin Fleming (the subject of a lawsuit by son Arthur Marx and many vitriolic pieces by the tabloid press). My husband points out that a few of the stories are told twice (anecdotally by the author, then in interview form), but that's well worth the price of admission. Transcripts of coversations with Woody Allen, Bill Cosby and others are priceless.

Memoirs of a Mangy Reviewer

I've read part of this book in the library. It contains MANY anecdotes and quotes NOT found in any other Marx Bros. books-- and I've read most of the main ones! Thrill to the revelations about the sixth Marx brother! Gasp in Amazement at the meeting between Groucho and Woody Allen! Cheer at the revelation of the Missing Sketch from "I'll Say She Is!". And last but least, laugh. Of course some tiny smidgen (say, what IS a smidgen, anyway?) of information is incorrect, but hey, beggars can't be writers. Or is that critics can't be boozers?

Best Book On The Marx Brothers

This book is the most delightful, most fun book about the Marx Brothers that I have ever read. It's a series of interviews with Groucho and his friends--friends like George Burns, Bill Cosby, Woody Allen. And the book is written in such a style that by the time you've read the whole book, you really feel like you've spent a lot of wonderful hours chatting with Groucho.