Gummo Marx was born in Manhattan, New York City on October 23, 1892. His parents were Sam Marx (called “Frenchie” throughout his life), and his wife, Minnie Schoenberg Marx. Marx’s family was Jewish. His mother was from Dornum in East Frisia, and his father was a native of Alsace and worked as a tailor. Although the fourth Marx Brother in age, he was the first to make his debut, pretending to be a dummy in an act with his uncle Henry Shean (né Heinemann Schoenberg) in 1899. Milton was put into a costume with a papier-mâché head and pretended to be a dummy while Henry pretended to work him. The act may have only performed once and wasn’t helped by Shean’s deafness or Milton’s stammer. Gummo Marx, who in an interview said he never liked being on stage, left the group and joined the military during World War I. He wasn’t sent overseas because the armistice was signed shortly afterward. Gummo’s younger brother Zeppo took his place in the group. Gummo later went into the raincoat business. After his Army career he joined with Zeppo and operated a theatrical agency. After that collaboration ended, Gummo represented his brother Groucho and worked on the television show The Life of Riley, which he helped develop. He also represented other on-screen talent and a number of writers. Gummo was well respected as a businessman. He rarely had contracts with those he represented, his philosophy being that, if they liked his work, they would continue to use him, and if not, they would seek representation elsewhere.

Around the time he left his brothers’ Vaudeville act, Gummo Marx applied for a patent for a clothes packing rack. On October 28, 1919, Marx was granted patent US1320335A. Gummo was given his nickname because he had a tendency to be sneaky backstage, and creep up on others without them knowing (like a gumshoe). Another explanation cited by biographers and family members is that Milton, being the sickliest of the brothers, often wore rubber overshoes, also called “gumshoes,” to protect himself from taking sick in inclement weather. Gummo died on April 21, 1977, at his home in Palm Springs, California, aged 84, from a cerebral hemorrhage. His death was never reported to Groucho, who by that time had become so ill and weak that it was thought the news would be a further detriment to his health. Groucho died four months later. Marx was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.