Episode 65: Our Rowe, Rohauer, and Groucho Hour (featuring Mike Rowe and Groucho Marx)
We’re always pleased to have a major guest on an episode of The Marx Brothers Council Podcast — and this episode has two. First, there’s Mike Rowe, the great standup comedian turned Emmy-winning comedy writer and producer, a man responsible for many things you’ve laughed at on television in the last few decades, as well as for the delightful recent memoir It’s a Funny Thing: How the Professional Comedy Business Made Me Fat and Bald. Mike joins us to discuss his career and background, and his lifelong affection for the Marx Brothers.
Now, if you look at the list of guests we’ve had on the show, you’ll see that in addition to the many Marxian notables we’ve interviewed, there have been several “archival” guests — i.e. interviews conducted in the dear, dim past, previously unavailable and now heard exclusively on The Marx Brothers Council Podcast. Thanks to the generosity of Jay Hopkins, we’ve hosted his interviews with Erin Fleming, John Guedel, Arthur Marx, Nat Perrin, and Bernie Smith; and thanks to the generosity of Peter Mintun, we’ve hosted his interview with June MacCloy. All of those noteworthy Marx Brothers associates have appeared “archivally” on our show.
And today, thanks to the generosity of Mike Rowe, we add a decidedly big name to our list. Mike has chosen the MBCP as the venue for sharing an exclusive, rarely-heard audio recording of Groucho Marx Himself being interviewed by the notorious Raymond Rohauer. This is the interview which was distilled and printed in the booklet which accompanied the Gallery of Modern Art’s Marx Brothers event in 1967, but there are notable differences between the familiar print version and the unfamiliar recording. In the second half of this episode, we listen to the Groucho/Rohauer interview in its entirety, then discuss our findings. This is what you call a very special episode, and we’re grateful to both Mike Rowe and Groucho Marx!
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Matthew, Mike, and Noah recording episode 65
Official description: “A very special episode as we are joined by TV writer, comedian, and Council member Mike Rowe to premiere a previously unheard 1967 interview with Groucho, conducted by the infamous film collector and distributor, Raymond Rohauer.
“We discuss the interview’s numerous departures from oft-told Marx lore, including Minnie’s importance to their rise and how the team transitioned from a musical act to a comedic one. We learn which film Groucho thinks is their worst, and what later-effort gets a surprisingly glowing reaction from him.
“Mike tells of his introduction to the Marx films and his start in the world of comedy, including working with Henny Youngman and Rodney Dangerfield. We get the creation story of his ‘lost’ Marx Brothers film Donkey Shines. Mike also details meeting the enigmatic Rohauer, who entrusted him with the tape of his Groucho interview.”
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Footnotes:
You can read the Rohauer/Groucho interview, as it appeared in print in 1967, here.
Mike’s book, It’s a Funny Thing: How the Professional Comedy Business Made Me Fat and Bald, is available from Bookshop.org, Amazon, etc.
“Raymond Rayhauer: King of the Film Freebooters,” an essay by William K. Everson
“RAYMOND ROHAUER presents The Sneeze,” by David Shepard:
Donkey Shines, “the lost Marx Brothers movie,” assembled by Mike Rowe:
