Dark Mafia Secret of Money-Crazed Youngest Marx Brother Revealed: Zeppo’s Links to Mobsters Up to Necks in Prostitution, Gambling and Murders
Silver screen funnyman Zeppo Marx was overshadowed by his siblings in life who grabbed most of the plaudits and headlines but he's now been revealed as a dodgy crook.
Silver screen funnyman Zeppo Marx was overshadowed by his siblings in life who grabbed most of the plaudits and headlines.
But in death, a new biography reveals the extent of his involvement with organized crime and mobsters who were involved in high-stakes gambling, drugs, prostitution, burglary, and murder, RadarOnline can reveal.
He was said to be the funniest of the Marx Brothers off-screen, yet he was eclipsed by Groucho, Chico and Harpo in comic masterpieces such as Duck Soup and Monkey Business.
Silver icon Marx was shady character with links to the Mafia.
Robert S Bader the author of Zeppo: The Reluctant Marx Brother said: "This guy was really shady. It’s hard to believe, but he was on this driven mission to make more money than his brothers, and he didn’t care how he did it. But he never killed anybody, as far as I know."
Born Herbert Marx in 1901, Marx was the youngest of the five brothers and appeared in the first five Marx Brothers films. He went on to become a successful talent agent, representing famous actors and was friends with Frank Sinatra, who later had an affair with his second wife, Barbara.
But Bader found that Marx's associates also included mobsters Gus Greenbaum and Moe Sedway – whose names were combined for the gangster character Moe Greene in The Godfather.
Marx was friends with Frank Sinatra, who later had an affair with his second wife, Barbara.
Greenbaum, who took over the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas after the murder of co-founder Bugsy Siegel in 1947, was himself murdered by mobsters who suspected him of stealing their money.
Another associate was Pat DiCicco, who worked for Charlie 'Lucky' Luciano, the underworld’s notorious drug dealer.
Bader said: "One night at a boxing match in Los Angeles, DiCicco got into an argument with Zeppo, who punched him in the face and knocked him out. If anybody else had done that to Pat DiCicco, they probably would have been killed. But Zeppo was so well connected that it was overlooked. They didn’t do anything to him. He was not frightened at all. He was one of them."
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Gus Greenbaum, who took over the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas after the murder of co-founder Bugsy Siegel in 1947, was himself murdered by mobsters who suspected him of stealing their money.
The author spent years researching his book, speaking to people who knew him and studying court records.
Marx was called before a grand jury in 1958 to testify over missing funds in a gambling syndicate, but never named his good friend Greenbaum, the biographer said. "Zeppo said that he just went to Las Vegas and paid some man who told him how much he owed. It was pretty obvious it was Greenbaum. Shortly after Zeppo’s testimony, the mob paid Greenbaum a visit with a butcher’s knife. Greenbaum was killed because he was skimming casino profits."
Bader said Marx’s brothers were so worried about the company he kept and his high-stakes gambling that they considered disowning him.
The biographer said Marx was called before a grand jury in 1958 to testify over missing funds in a gambling syndicate but never named his good friend Greenbaum.
"He would lose $100,000 playing cards and the next night he’d win $200,000. The Marx brothers were frightened of this … They didn’t want to have any connection to his debt."
But the brothers were torn because they adored him. Bader said: "They were always personally close. They called each other almost every day … That’s the way they were."
Marx was such a funny, gifted raconteur that he would have Groucho crying with laughter. But, away from the family, he mixed as easily with mobsters as movie stars.
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