Subj : Today is... National Gro To : Mike Dippel From : Daryl Stout Date : Wed Oct 15 2025 20:19:38 Mike, MD> The Story... MD> Honor a grouch; all grouches deserve a day to be MD> recognized. Even those who want to be like Groucho Marx. Several years ago, there was a show at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre (originally known as ART, but now known as The Rep), called "An Evening With Groucho". This gentleman was the ONLY individual authorized by the late actors'/comedians' estate to do this...and he had the mannerisms, speech, etc. down so well that you thought Groucho had come back from the dead. I don't remember the gentleman's name offhand, or if the show is still going on. Using classic Marx Brothers humor, he kept the audience in stitches (laughter) much of the evening. One of his songs talked about "Lydia, the tattooed lady"...noting that "on her back is the Battle Of Waterloo". This rather heavy set woman in the front row was beside herself in raucous laughter. So, after he was done with the number, he asked her what her name was. When she replied "Lydia", it brought the house down in screams and laughter, and he nearly fell off the stage!! I remember watching the shows of "What's My Line" and "You Bet Your Life", long before YouTube was around (that tells how old I am ). In both cases, Groucho stole the show with his antics. Many times, the audience would be laughing in hysterics, and he had the look on his face of the cat who had just swallowed the canary...before he made one of his snarky remarks. Another favorite of mine was on "You Bet Your Life", when the couple said "the secret word", and the duck would come down with $50 for each contestant. The 2 movies of theirs that come to mind are "Duck Soup", and "Animal Crackers"...although there were many more. One of Groucho's lines is the tagline below, but I believe that he also noted. "I never forget a face. But, in your case, I'll make an exception". Several years ago, in Branson, Missouri...Tom Mullica did a show in tribute to Red Skelton. Like with the guy with "An Evening With Groucho", Tom was the only one authorized by the late comedian's estate to do his stuff...and you thought Red had come back from the dead. Red had numerous hilarious routines and talents, but his shows always sold out. There's even a video of when he was on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson over 50 years ago now. Red noted that "When I open my eyes, if I don't see candles, or smell flowers...then, I get up. Then, I thumb through Playboy to get my heart started". In one routine, he said "I dreamed I died, and went to Heaven, and met God. God sneezed, and I didn't know what to say to Him"!! (How do you say "God Bless You" to God Himself??!!). This lady in the front row had "the deer in the headlights look" (Huh??!!)...and after a few seconds, it clicked, and she lost it!! Red asked her "Which joke you working on, honey??"...she was beside herself in laughter, and everyone else was as well. Then, he cautioned her "Don't get me laughing, dear heart...you'll never get out of here!!" He also had his friends of "The Mean Little Kid", "Two Seagulls" (Gertrude and Heathcliff), Freddy The Freeloader, Dead Eye, Clem Kaddidlehopper, and others. In one routine with Clem, he said "Since the last time I saw you, I got married. It was a military wedding. Well, there were guns there, let's put it that way!!". Both Red and Groucho have long since passed away, but they proved that "you don't have to be dirty to be funny". Laughter is indeed the best medicine (especially for when you're grouchy), and as the late Jerry Clower noted "If you're here tonight, and you've got a hump in your back, and your lips are pooched out...and you don't intend to laugh at nuthin'...you ought to go home, and look in the mirror, and see what everyone else has been laughing at all these years!!". Seriously, if you can't laugh at yourself, you have a lot of problems. And, as Roger Rabbit noted, "If you don't have a sense of humor...you're better off dead". And, as Groucho would say, "Hello, I must be going"...so, I'm off to other things. :) But, I hope everyone enjoyed the humor. Don't be like the person gritting their teeth, and told by someone else to smile, and the person replies "I *AM* smiling, d@mn it!!". Daryl .... Either this man is dead, or my watch is stopped - Groucho Marx === MultiMail/Win v0.52 --- SBBSecho 3.29-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (954:200/56) .