Zeppo, p.35
Zeppo, page 35
Zeppo’s second cancer diagnosis came so late there was no time to reach out to many people. Tim learned that his father had died when he heard the news on the radio in Philadelphia. Marion, who had remained in touch with Zeppo, had no idea he was sick and learned of his death from a news report. Tom was informed by Tim and, not surprisingly, had no reaction to the news.
Zeppo had entered the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage on November 25, 1979, as the cancer in his lungs spread and incapacitated him. It all happened very quickly. Zeppo died shortly after midnight on November 30. The following day Barbara told the Desert Sun, “He had been told it was terminal and inoperable two months ago.” Roxann recalls, “We had Thanksgiving dinner on November 22, and I talked to him the next day. Then nothing. I wasn’t sure what I’d done to make him angry and was trying to get hold of him when Erin Fleming called me to ask why Zeppo was in the hospital.”
Bobby was one of the few visitors allowed to see Zeppo that week. “I went to the hospital maybe a day or two before he died. I remember him trying to talk, and he could barely get a word out.” On November 26, Zeppo signed a new will with the assistance of Patrick Winans, the practical nurse who cared for him during his final days. Zeppo’s attorney, Robert Schlesinger, and Winans signed the will as witnesses. Zeppo’s signature on the will, which superseded one signed only a month earlier, is just short of indecipherable. The most notable changes in the new will were the elimination of any bequest to Marion and the inclusion of one for Barbara’s sister, Patricia Jo Welch.
In her book Barbara wrote, “A few days before he died, I went to visit Zeppo in the hospital. He had an awful rattle in his throat, which told me the end was near. I’d loved him once, so it was horrible to see the dashing gambler who’d wooed me in Vegas looking old and frail.” It is very possible that Barbara’s visit to Zeppo on his death bed was on the day the new will was signed. Roxann says,
I wanted to go to the hospital, but I was told I couldn’t see him because I wasn’t a relative. I talked to him finally on the phone, and we were making plans for how to handle each day once he came home. I was working at the Indian Wells Hotel, and I told him I would quit my job to spend some real time with him and that pleased him. I was getting ready for work one morning when the phone rang, and a reporter asked for my reaction to the death of Zeppo Marx.
On December 2 around a hundred people attended a memorial service for Zeppo at Wiefels and Son Mortuary Chapel in Palm Springs. Along with Barbara and Frank Sinatra, mourners included Susan Marx, Bill Marx, Eden Marx, Erin Fleming, and Roxann Ploss. Baseball great Leo Durocher, comedian Ukie Sherin, composer Frederick Loewe, and actor William Demarest were also in attendance.
In his eulogy Bobby Marx said Zeppo was “not only a father figure, but a friend. . . . I am grateful for his care, concern and advice. My gratitude, love and prayers go with him.” Rabbi Joseph Hurwitz of Temple Isaiah conducted the service and said it marked “the passing of the final member of one of the greatest institutions—the Marx Brothers, as well as the passing of Zeppo himself.”
Rabbi Hurwitz seemed to have little personal knowledge of Zeppo. He paid tribute to him saying, “He believed in decency and honor. He was a feisty guy. He fought anti-Semitism in the country clubs and in the media. . . . There we see the character of the man. In Hollywood he was a fashion plate, on covers year after year. When he moved to Palm Springs the opposite took place. He wore baggy pants . . . after all, how can you fish in a double-breasted suit? He hated to dress up, hated formal affairs. He loved the peace and solitude fishing gave him.” Marion, Tom, and Tim could have provided the perspective the rabbi lacked, but they were not invited to the service.
Longtime fishing buddy Eddie Suisman, who had met Zeppo in 1956, told the Desert Sun, “I went on fishing trips with him to Mexico and the Salton Sea. . . . He was a good person, pleasant company to be with and a considerate person. He’s a good friend I’m going to miss. We played a lot of golf together, a lot of cards together.” Susan Marx told the Desert Sun, “He had a wonderful life and I think he enjoyed it. . . . although he did feel the pressure of the family name.”
On December 8, Desert Sun columnist Bruce Fessier eulogized Zeppo. He interviewed several of Zeppo’s friends including Roxann Ploss, who was described in newspaper obituaries as his girlfriend. She called Zeppo a “walking library of jokes,” adding “[h]e was not a practical joker. He loved telling stories. He was a kidder. . . . He loved to flirt and make people joke and be outrageous. He’d do something that was just not apropos to the moment.”
Fessier wrote, “Several of Zeppo’s friends in the Palm Springs area said Zeppo was the master storyteller. But one of his gin rummy buddies from the Tamarisk Country Club” told Fessier a story about Zeppo pulling a silly gag during a gin rummy game. Zeppo drew gin, but rather than call it, he left the table to make a phone call. He called the club, had his opponent paged, and called gin over the phone.
More than forty years after Zeppo’s death, Roxann Ploss said, “Zeppo had a wicked sense of humor. For many years he was my best friend. He and I traveled together on occasion, went out to dinner or to parties at least once a week and talked almost every day. I adored him and missed him terribly for the longest time after he was gone.”
ZEPILOGUE
AS SOON AS THE DETAILS OF ZEPPO’S WILL BECAME KNOWN, MARION contested it. In a petition filed in Indio Superior Court on January 4, 1980, Marion claimed the will was fraudulent and that Zeppo was “unduly influenced by a young and pretty girl.” Patricia Jo Welch—Barbara’s sister—it was asserted, “suggested the contents of the document.” Zeppo left Welch his Safeway store in Kansas City and his Rolls-Royce, writing in the will that the bequest was “in consideration of the many kindnesses she has shown me during my lifetime.” The Safeway store in Redding was left to Jacqueline Elam, a manager at Security-Pacific National Bank in Cathedral City. She managed Zeppo’s accounts for several years and later married Gene Autry. Zeppo had occasionally joked with friends about Elam backing him into the vault, eager for him to propose marriage.
The Safeway store in Blythe, the Honda automobile, and $10,000 went to Roxann Ploss, who was also named by Marion in the court filing. Roxann says, “Anyone who knew Zeppo knew he simply could not be manipulated that way. I was told he had changed the will close to the end—during his time in the hospital when I was not allowed to see him. I didn’t even know I was in his will. I truly didn’t know what his assets were. I thought he probably had money in the bank, the condo at Desert Island, the motorhome, the Rolls-Royce—things like that. The Safeway stores were a complete surprise to me.” Marion’s accusation against Roxann was based solely on her being a young woman who was involved with Zeppo.
Roxann offers a more plausible and less nefarious reason for Zeppo removing Marion from his will. For several years Zeppo attempted to get out of paying Marion alimony based on her living with Harry Kitson, the son of a British navy commander, whose alcoholism prevented him from having his own naval career. In England he had worked in the film and television industry and was known to socialize with legendary drinkers like Peter O’Toole and Richard Burton. By the time he became Marion’s companion, his drinking destroyed any career he might have had in the United States. Tim says Kitson “underwent electric shock therapy to cure his alcohol addiction but it didn’t work. Nonetheless, he was a good companion for Marion. He was charming and debonair and all of Marion’s pals liked him very much. He was her constant companion and was there for her at the end.” Zeppo learned that Marion and Kitson had traveled to Mexico, checked into hotels together and were essentially living as man and wife. Zeppo resented supporting Kitson’s lifestyle but his efforts to have the courts relieve him of Marion’s alimony payments went nowhere.
Zeppo’s collection of first editions was left to Gummo’s son Bob. It included many signed books, among them several by Willa Cather—an author recommended to Zeppo by his one-time client Upton Sinclair. Books signed by Sinclair, George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, and former Zeppo collaborator S. J. Perelman were included in the collection along with fine copies of works by Mark Twain and Robert Louis Stevenson. Bob was also left $5,000 and allowed to choose any paintings, sculptures, and objects of art from Zeppo’s collection.
Marion and Tom were not provided for in any way, but Tim was left $5,000—the same amount Zeppo left for both Larry Martindale and Elizabeth Cole, two employees of Alexander Tucker, his financial advisor. Fishing buddy Chuck Flick also received $5,000 in addition to getting Zeppo’s boat and fishing gear. Erin Fleming received $10,000. Tom says, “He hated me. In his will he put, ‘I have a son Thomas.’ That’s it. That’s the only time I’m ever mentioned. I guess that’s so I couldn’t sue for not being mentioned.” Bobby was given Zeppo’s diamond ring and gold belt buckles as well as $25,000. According to the will, the primary purpose of the monetary gift was to make possible Bobby’s legal education, but he was allowed to “use the funds for whatever purpose he deems best.” Bobby says, “I had no legal relationship with Zeppo. He hadn’t adopted me, and I wasn’t expecting anything. I was told I’d been left some of his personal effects, but I found out that when they opened his safe everything was already gone.”
Members of Barbara’s family were collectively the largest benefactors of Zeppo’s will. Her parents, Charles and Irene Blakeley, received forty shares of International Leisure Corporation. In 1969, Zeppo invested in a Las Vegas construction project spearheaded by his friend, billionaire businessman Kirk Kerkorian. The project would result in the building of the International Hotel, which was the largest hotel in the world when it opened. The original value of Zeppo’s investment was $44,000. Kerkorian sold his shares, and the hotel became the Las Vegas Hilton in 1971. Zeppo retained his shares and their value increased under the Hilton management. The investment paid regular dividends and would continue to provide income to Barbara’s parents. Along with the Safeway stores it was one of the most generous bequests in Zeppo’s will.
The will provided charitable donations to environmental and animal rescue organizations Save-a-Paw, Greenpeace, and Save the Whales. Proceeds from the sale of the Desert Island condominium and its furnishings also went to Zeppo’s designated charities. Marion claimed that Zeppo was “not of sound and disposing mind” when the will was written. The problem with Marion’s claim was that the bequests were not unusual or unreasonable. The estate was valued at approximately $1.1 million. (The value was understated due in part to the equity in the Safeway properties not being properly accounted for.) Patricia Jo Welch and Roxann Ploss—whether they influenced Zeppo or not—weren’t left anything close to the bulk of the estate. Months before the trial date, one of Marion’s attorneys, Samuel Norton, said his client was only contesting the bequest of the Safeway stores in St. Louis and Blythe, which he said were valued at about $100,000. But that was not consistent with the actual complaint that was filed. Marion’s representation bordered on incompetent. For starters, the Missouri Safeway Store was in Kansas City, not St. Louis. Furthermore, the mortgage documents on the Safeway properties indicated a much higher value.
Marion’s day in court came on September 23, 1980. Zeppo’s attending physician at the time of his death, Dr. Phillip Driesbach, testified that neither his illness nor prescribed drugs—including narcotics—would individually incapacitate Zeppo mentally. Zeppo’s attorney Robert Schlesinger testified that Zeppo was attentive and absorbed when signing his will, and that Zeppo informed him that he would be revising it approximately five days before he signed it. Larry Martindale, who had handled Zeppo’s business affairs through the Alexander Tucker office, testified that Zeppo told him he was planning to leave the Kansas City Safeway store to Marion as late as early November—only a few weeks before he died. But no evidence was offered that the change in the will was the result of any action by Patricia Jo Welch or Roxann Ploss.
Attorneys Samuel Norton and Roy Murray presented a case for Marion that suggested Welch had a sexual relationship with Zeppo and accused her of living with him. But they offered no evidence to support their allegations. Welch testified that in her twenty-two-year friendship with Zeppo, at no time did the relationship go beyond “a kiss on the cheek or the mouth.”
Welch’s attorney John Blumberg argued that Marion’s accusations against Welch were “totally without a shred of evidence” and that there was “a wealth of evidence to the contrary.” After two days of testimony the judge dismissed the case immediately after Norton and Murray’s presentation. The defense didn’t even need to present opposing testimony. Zeppo’s will was valid. Blumberg called Marion’s allegations “totally frivolous and malicious.” Roy Murray vowed to appeal the decision and Blumberg countered, saying that an appeal would be “even more frivolous.”
It appeared this would be the last time Zeppo made headlines, but four years later Patricia Jo Welch sued both of Marion’s attorneys for malicious prosecution. Welch told the Desert Sun, “I’m suing because of all the lies and allegations released to the newspapers.” Welch had initially included Marion in the lawsuit, but they settled out of court. Welch said, “I feel Marion Marx was as much a victim as I was.” Robert Schlesinger, the executor of Zeppo’s will, and Roxann Ploss each filed separate civil suits against Marion that were settled quietly. Roxann wanted to be done with the entire mess and was happy to just have Marion pay her legal fees, saying, “The whole thing was a coda to Zeppo’s story which he did not deserve.”
Bobby Marx theorizes that “Zeppo took pride in being a strong, competent man. As he weakened and started to get frail it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to think of what sort of kindnesses Zeppo might have received from Patricia Jo Welch. My mom and her had a falling out at that time. I can’t say it was over Zeppo’s will, but it might have been. I think that’s probably why Roxann got a bad rap. There’s an industry that’s built up around people as they grow frail and as they get older. People hang around and are very kind and very nice and see what rewards come from it. That’s where that whole suspicion probably came into play.”
In any case, Marion’s accusations were legally baseless and on September 7, 1984, a Superior Court jury in Indio awarded Patricia Jo Welch $312,500 for suffering caused when she was wrongly accused of improper meddling in Zeppo’s will. Samuel Norton was responsible for two-thirds of the damage award and Roy Murray one-third. Norton and Murray’s attorney Steve Levy argued that discrepancies in the will—including the shakiness of Zeppo’s signature and the fact that a nurse had to help him sign his name—justified contesting the will.
Levy acknowledged that his clients may have been guilty of negligence or incompetence, but they believed Marion’s complaint was legitimate. One look at Zeppo’s signature on the will and the fact that Welch essentially replaced Marion as a beneficiary would suggest that contesting the will was justified. Marion simply hired a pair of terrible lawyers. Zeppo had cheated on her one last time from the grave.
Marion died on February 26, 1986, at the age of eighty-two. Zeppo had made his last headline. Marion’s death went without notice in the press. She left a holographic will—a handwritten document with no witnesses or lawyers involved—bearing only her own signature. She assured Tim it was legal. Marion had no faith in the traditional document after the debacle surrounding Zeppo’s will.
Being thrown into the Four Marx Brothers may not have been what seventeen-year-old Zeppo Marx had planned, but he did later admit that being taken away from the street life in Chicago probably saved his life. He wasn’t initially bitter about taking the job or even being relegated to straight man status. He lived a lucrative and extravagant life as a celebrity and that was not something he would have automatically achieved on his own.
What put a permanent chip on his shoulder was being an employee of his brothers for the entire time he was in the act. From 1918 until 1934, there never came a point when anyone even suggested cutting him in as a partner. Remaining loyal to his brothers while carrying this slight for the rest of his life created a paradox that motivated and drove Zeppo. His son Tim concludes, “He was always trying to prove himself. ‘Screw show business. I’m getting a pittance here. I’ll show you how much money I can make for other people and for myself.’”
Narcissism, self-indulgence, and selfishness permeated all aspects of Zeppo’s life after he left the Four Marx Brothers. This had no more harmful effect than what it did to the people who tried to love him. Although he spent more than forty years in his two marriages, he was far from a good husband in either of them. He was successful in almost everything he touched, yet he was a woeful failure as a father. Tom Marx certainly was the person most damaged by Zeppo’s insensitivity and callousness. While his brothers may have threatened to disown Zeppo, Tom was the guy who did it: “If you were in Beverly Hills and you had famous parents, that’s who you were. That’s always who I was. Zeppo Marx’s son. That’s why later in life and to this day I still don’t tell anybody about it. I didn’t really want to be that for the rest of my life.” The best lesson Tom learned from Zeppo was to be nothing like him.
Tim survived a childhood that devastated Tom. He developed an understanding of his father at a young age. It didn’t make things any better; he just came to expect less. Tim recognized the forces that made his father a surly man with a violently quick temper—and he noticed that it all had a lot to do with his famous uncles:
Zeppo thought he was better than they were in many ways. He was funnier. He would do things that they had yet to think of. Pranks and things like that. His mind worked in a way where he could do these types of things and they couldn’t. “I’m an inventor, I’m this, I’m that. They’re not.” This drove him to be the best at whatever he was doing—golf, gambling, machinery, even a grapefruit ranch. Whatever. He always had this bug up his ass to be the best and to be noticed for being the best.
