Region	Western Philosophy, German philosophy
Era	19th century philosophy
Color	#B0C4DE
Name	Karl Heinrich Marx
Birth date	5 May 1818
Birth place	Trier, Kingdom of Prussia
Death date	March 14, 1883 (bronchitis/pleurisy)
Death place	London, United Kingdom
Religion	Protestantism; later, none (atheist)
School tradition	Marxism, Communism, Socialism, Hegelianism
Signature	Karl Marx Signature.svg
Main interests	Politics, economics, philosophy, sociology, labour, history, class struggle
Influences	Hegel, Feuerbach, Spinoza, Proudhon, Stirner, Smith, Voltaire, Ricardo, Vico, Rousseau, Goethe, Helvetius, d'Holbach, Shakespeare, Dante, Chaucer, Fourier, Robert Owen, Balcescu, Hess, Hupay, Guizot
Influenced	Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky, Mao, Tito, Hoxha, Castro, Guevara, Ceaușescu, Ho, Christofias, Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Luxemburg, Lukács, Gramsci, Korsch, Kropotkin, Bakunin, Chomsky, Bookchin, Arendt, Marcuse, Lyotard, Tzara, Foucault, Deleuze, Debord, Frankfurt School, Negri, Taussig, Roy and others
Notable ideas	Co-founder of Marxism (with Engels), surplus value, contributions to the labor theory of value, alienation and exploitation of the worker, ''The Communist Manifesto,'' ''Das Kapital,'' materialist conception of history |}}

Karl Heinrich Marx (5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, sociologist, economic historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist who developed the socio-political theory of Marxism. His ideas have since played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement. He published various books during his lifetime, with the most notable being ''The Communist Manifesto'' (1848) and ''Capital'' (1867–1894), many of which were co-written with his friend, the fellow German revolutionary socialist Friedrich Engels.

Born into a wealthy middle class family in Trier, Prussia, Marx went on to study at both the University of Bonn and the University of Berlin, where he became interested in the philosophical ideas of the Young Hegelians. In 1836, he became engaged to Jenny von Westphalen, marrying her in 1843. Following the completion of his studies, he became a journalist in Cologne, writing for a radical newspaper, the ''Rheinische Zeitung'', where he began to use Hegelian concepts of dialectical materialism to influence his ideas on socialism. Moving to Paris in 1843, he began writing for other radical newspapers, the ''Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher'' and ''Vorwärts!'', as well as writing a series of books, several of which were co-written with Engels. Exiled to Brussels in Belgium in 1845, he became a leading figure of the Communist League, before moving back to Cologne, where he founded his own newspaper, the ''Neue Rheinische Zeitung''. Exiled once more, in 1849 he moved to London together with his wife Jenny and their children. In London, where the family was reduced to poverty, Marx continued writing and formulating his theories about the nature of society and how he believed it could be improved, as well as campaigning for socialism and becoming a significant figure in the International Workingmen's Association.

Marx's theories about society, economics and politics, which are collectively known as Marxism, hold that all societies progress through the dialectic of class struggle. He was heavily critical of the current socio-economic form of society, capitalism, which he called the "dictatorship of the bourgeoisie", believing it to be run by the wealthy middle and upper classes purely for their own benefit, and predicted that, like previous socioeconomic systems, it would inevitably produce internal tensions which would lead to its self-destruction and replacement by a new system, socialism. Under socialism, he argued that society would be governed by the working class in what he called the "dictatorship of the proletariat", the "workers state" or "workers' democracy". He believed that socialism would, in its turn, eventually be replaced by a stateless, classless society called pure communism. Along with believing in the inevitability of socialism and communism, Marx actively fought for the former's implementation, arguing that both social theorists and underprivileged people should carry out organised revolutionary action to topple capitalism and bring about socio-economic change.

While Marx remained a relatively unknown figure in his own lifetime, his ideas and the ideology of Marxism began to exert a major influence on socialist movements shortly after his death. Revolutionary socialist governments following Marxist concepts took power in a variety of countries in the 20th century, leading to the formation of such socialist states as the Soviet Union in 1922 and the People's Republic of China in 1949, whilst various theoretical variants, such as Leninism, Stalinism, Trotskyism and Maoism, were developed. Marx is typically cited, with Émile Durkheim and Max Weber, as one of the three principal architects of modern social science. Marx has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history, and in a 1999 BBC poll was voted the "thinker of the millennium" by people from around the world.

Biography

Early life: 1818–1835

Karl Heinrich Marx was born on 5 May 1818 at 664 Brückergasse in Trier, a town located in the Kingdom of Prussia's Province of the Lower Rhine. His ancestry was Jewish, with his paternal line having supplied the rabbis of Trier since 1723, a role that had been taken up by his own grandfather, Merier Halevi Marx; Merier's son and Karl's father would be the first in the line to receive a secular education. His maternal grandfather was a Dutch rabbi. Karl's father, Hirschel Marx, was middle-class and relatively prosperous, owning a number of Moselle vineyards; he converted from Judaism to the Protestant Christian denomination of Lutheranism prior to his son's birth, taking on the German forename of Heinrich over Hirschel. In 1815, he began working as an attorney and in 1819 moved his family from a five-room rented apartment into a ten-room property near the Porta Nigra. A man of the Enlightenment, Heinrich Marx was interested in the ideas of the philosophers Immanuel Kant and Voltaire, and took part in agitations for a constitution and reforms in Prussia, which was then governed by an absolute monarchy. Karl's mother, born Henrietta Pressburg, was a Dutch Jew who, unlike her husband, was only semi-literate. She claimed to suffer from "excessive mother love", devoting much time to her family, and insisting on cleanliness within her home. She was from a prosperous business family. Her family later founded the company Philips Electronics: she was great-aunt to Anton and Gerard Philips, and great-great-aunt to Frits Philips.

Little is known about Karl Marx's childhood. He was privately educated until 1830, when he entered Trier High School, which was then run by the headmaster Hugo Wyttenbach, a friend of his father. Wyttenbach had employed many liberal humanists as teachers, something which angered the government, and so the police raided the school in 1832, discovering what they labelled seditious literature espousing political liberalism being distributed amongst the students. In 1835, Karl, then aged seventeen, began attending the University of Bonn, where he wished to study philosophy and literature, but his father insisted on law as a more practical field of study. He was able to avoid military service when he turned eighteen because he suffered from a weak chest. Being fond of alcoholic beverages, at Bonn he joined the Trier Tavern Club drinking society (''Landsmannschaft der Treveraner'') and at one point served as its co-president. Marx was more interested in drinking and socialising than studying law, and due to his poor grades, his father forced him to transfer to the far more serious and academically oriented University of Berlin, where his legal studies became less significant than excursions into philosophy and history.

Hegelianism and early activism: 1836–1843

In 1836, Marx became engaged to Jenny von Westphalen, a baroness of the Prussian ruling class who broke off her engagement with a young aristocratic second lieutenant in order to be with him. Their eventual marriage was controversial for breaking three social taboos of the period; it was a marriage between a daughter of a noble background and a man of Jewish origin as well as being between individuals who belonged to the middle and upper class (aristocracy), respectively, and between a man and an older woman. Such issues were lessened by Marx's friendship with Jenny's father, Baron Ludwig von Westphalen, a liberal thinking aristocrat. Marx dedicated his doctoral thesis to him. The couple married seven years later, on 19 June 1843, at the ''Pauluskirche'' in Bad Kreuznach.

Marx became interested in, but critical of, the work of the German philosopher G.W.F Hegel (1770–1831), whose ideas were widely debated amongst European philosophical circles at the time. Marx wrote about falling ill "from intense vexation at having to make an idol of a view I detested." He became involved with a group of radical thinkers known as the Young Hegelians, who gathered around Ludwig Feuerbach and Bruno Bauer. Like Marx, the Young Hegelians were critical of Hegel's metaphysical assumptions, but still adopted his dialectical method in order to criticise established society, politics and religion. Marx befriended Bauer, and in July 1841 the two scandalised their class in Bonn by getting drunk, laughing in church, and galloping through the streets on donkeys. During that period, Marx concentrated on his criticism of Hegel and certain other Young Hegelians.

Marx also wrote for his own enjoyment, writing both non-fiction and fiction. In 1837, he completed a short novel, ''Scorpion and Felix''; a drama, ''Oulanem''; and some poems; none of which were published. He soon gave up writing fiction for other pursuits, including learning English and Italian.

He was deeply engaged in writing his doctoral thesis, ''The Difference Between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature'', which he finished in 1841. The essay has been described as "a daring and original piece of work in which he set out to show that theology must yield to the superior wisdom of philosophy", and as such was controversial, particularly among the conservative professors at the University of Berlin. Marx decided to submit it instead to the more liberal University of Jena, whose faculty awarded him his PhD based on it.

From considering an academic career, Marx turned to journalism. He moved to the city of Cologne in 1842, where he began writing for the radical newspaper ''Rheinische Zeitung'', where he expressed his increasingly socialist views on politics. He criticised the governments of Europe and their policies, but also liberals and other members of the socialist movement whose ideas he thought were ineffective or outright anti-socialist. The paper eventually attracted the attention of the Prussian government censors, who checked every issue for potentially seditious material before it could be printed. Marx said, "Our newspaper has to be presented to the police to be sniffed at, and if the police nose smells anything un-Christian or un-Prussian, the newspaper is not allowed to appear." After the paper published an article strongly criticising the monarchy in Russia, the Russian Tsar Nicholas I, an ally of the Prussian monarchy, requested that the ''Rheinische Zeitung'' be banned. The Prussian government shut down the paper in 1843. Marx wrote for the Young Hegelian journal, the ''Deutsche Jahrbücher'', in which he criticised the censorship instructions issued by Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. His article was censored and the newspaper closed down by the authorities shortly after.

In 1843, Marx published ''On the Jewish Question'', in which he distinguished between political and human emancipation. He also examined the role of religious practice in society. That same year he published ''Contribution to Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right'', in which he dealt more substantively with religion, describing it as "the opiate of the people". He completed both works shortly before leaving Cologne.

Paris: 1843–1845

Following the government-imposed shutdown of the ''Rheinische Zeitung'', Marx got involved with a new radical newspaper, the ''Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher'' (''German-French Annals''), which was then being set up by Arnold Ruge, another German socialist revolutionary. The paper was based not in Germany, but in the city of Paris in neighbouring France, and it was here that both Marx and his wife moved in October 1843. They initially lived with Ruge and his wife communally at 23 Rue Vaneau, but finding these living conditions difficult, the Marxes moved out following the birth of their daughter Jenny in 1844. Although it was intended to attract writers from both France and the German states, the ''Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher'' was dominated by the latter, with the only non-German writer being the exiled Russian anarcho-communist Michael Bakunin. Only one issue was ever published, but it was relatively successful, largely due to the inclusion of Heinrich Heine's satirical odes on King Ludwig of Bavaria, which led to those copies sent to Germany being confiscated by the state's police force.

It was in Paris that, on 28 August 1844, Marx met German socialist Friedrich Engels at the Café de la Régence after becoming interested in the ideas that the latter had expressed in articles written for the ''Rheinische Zeitung'' and the ''Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher''. Although they had briefly met each other at the offices of the ''Rheinische Zeitung'' in 1842, it was here in Paris that they began their friendship that would last for the rest of their lives. Engels showed Marx his recently published book, ''The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844'', which convinced Marx that the working class would be the agent and instrument of the final revolution in history. Engels and Marx soon set about writing a criticism of the philosophical ideas of Marx's former friend, the Young Hegelian Bruno Bauer, which would be published in 1845 as ''The Holy Family''. Although critical of Bauer, Marx was increasingly influenced by the ideas of the other Young Hegelians Max Stirner and Ludwig Feuerbach, but eventually also abandoned Feuerbachian materialism as well.

In 1844 Marx wrote ''The Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts'', a work which covered numerous topics, and went into detail to explain Marx's concept of alienated labour. A year later Marx would write ''Theses on Feuerbach'', best known for the statement that "the philosophers have only interpreted the world, the point is to change it". This work contains Marx's criticism of materialism (for being contemplative), idealism (for reducing practice to theory) and overall, criticising philosophy for putting abstract reality above the physical world. It thus introduced the first glimpse at Marx's historical materialism, an argument that the world is changed not by ideas but by actual, physical, material activity and practice.

After the collapse of the ''Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher'', Marx, still living on the Rue Vaneau, began writing for what was then the only uncensored German-language radical newspaper in Europe, ''Vorwärts!''. Based in Paris, the paper had been established and was run by many activists connected to the revolutionary socialist League of the Just, which would come to be better known as the Communist League within a few years. In ''Vorwärts!'', Marx continued to refine his views on socialism based upon the Hegelian and Feurbachian ideas of dialectical materialism, whilst at the same time criticising various liberals and other socialists operating in Europe at the time. However in 1845, after receiving a request from the Prussian king, the French government agreed to shut down ''Vorwärts!'', and furthermore, Marx himself was expelled from France by the interior minister François Guizot.

Brussels: 1845–1847

Unable either to stay in France or move to Germany, Marx decided to emigrate to Brussels in Belgium, but had to pledge not to publish anything on the subject of contemporary politics in order to enter. In Brussels, he associated with other exiled socialists from across Europe, including Moses Hess, Karl Heinzen and Joseph Weydemeyer, and soon Engels moved to the city in order to join them. In 1845 Marx and Engels visited the leaders of the Chartists, a socialist movement in Britain, using the trip as an opportunity to study in various libraries in London and Manchester. In collaboration with Engels he also set about writing a book which is often seen as his best treatment of the concept of historical materialism, ''The German Ideology''; the work, like many others, would not see publication in Marx's lifetime, only being published in 1932. He followed this with ''The Poverty of Philosophy'' (1847), a response to the French anarcho-socialist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon's ''The Philosophy of Poverty'' and a critique of French socialist thought in general.

These books laid the foundation for Marx and Engels's most famous work, a political pamphlet that has since come to be commonly known as ''The Communist Manifesto''. First published on 21 February 1848, it laid out the beliefs of the Communist League, a group who had come increasingly under the influence of Marx and Engels, who argued that the League must make their aims and intentions clear to the general public rather than hiding them as they had formerly been doing. The opening lines of the pamphlet set forth the principal basis of Marxism, that "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." It goes on to look at the antagonisms that Marx claimed were arising between the clashes of interest between the bourgeoisie (the wealthy middle class) and the proletariat (the industrial working class). Proceeding on from this, the ''Manifesto'' presents the argument for why the Communist League, as opposed to other socialist and liberal political parties and groups at the time, was truly acting in the interests of the proletariat to overthrow capitalist society and replace it with socialism.

Later that year, Europe experienced a series of protests, rebellions, and often violent upheavals, the Revolutions of 1848. In France, a revolution led to the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of the French Second Republic. Marx was supportive of such activity, and having recently received a substantial inheritance from his father of either 6000 or 5000 francs, allegedly used a third of it to arm Belgian workers who were planning revolutionary action. Although the veracity of these allegations is disputed, the Belgian Ministry of Justice accused him of it, subsequently arresting him, and he was forced to flee back to France, where, with a new republican government in power, he believed that he would be safe.

Cologne: 1848-1849

Temporarily settling down in Paris, Marx transferred the Communist League executive headquarters to the city and also set up a German Workers' Club with various German socialists living there. Hoping to see the revolution spread to Germany, in 1848 Marx moved back to Cologne where he began issuing a handbill entitled the ''Demands of the Communist Party in Germany'', in which he argued for only four of the ten points of the ''Communist Manifesto'', believing that in Germany at that time, the bourgeoisie must overthrow the feudal monarchy and aristocracy before the proletariat could overthrow the bourgeoisie. On 1 June, Marx started publication of the daily ''Neue Rheinische Zeitung'' ("New Rhenish Newspaper"), which he helped to finance through his recent inheritance from his father. Designed to put forward news from across Europe with his own Marxist interpretation of events, Marx remained one of its primary writers, accompanied by other fellow members of the Communist League who wrote for the paper, although despite their input it remained, according to Friedrich Engels, "a simple dictatorship by Marx", who dominated the choice of content.

Whilst editor of the paper, Marx and the other revolutionary socialists were regularly harassed by the police, and Marx was brought to trial on several occasions, facing various allegations including insulting the Chief Public Prosecutor, an alleged press misdemeanor and inciting armed rebellion through tax boycotting, although each time he was acquitted. Meanwhile, the democratic parliament in Prussia collapsed, and the king, Frederick William IV, introduced a new cabinet of his reactionary supporters, who implemented counter-revolutionary measures to expunge leftist and other revolutionary elements from the country. As a part of this, the ''Neue Rheinische Zeitung'' was soon suppressed and Marx was ordered to leave the country on 16 May. Marx returned to Paris, which was then under the grip of both a reactionary counter-revolution and a cholera epidemic, and was soon expelled by the city authorities who considered him a political threat. With his wife Jenny expecting their fourth child, and not able to move back to Germany or Belgium, in August 1849 he sought refuge in London.

London: 1849–1883

Marx moved to London in May 1849 and would remain in the city for the rest of his life. It was here that he founded the new headquarters of the Communist League, and got heavily involved with the socialist German Workers' Educational Society, who held their meetings in Great Windmill Street, Soho, central London's entertainment district. Marx devoted himself to two activities: revolutionary organising, and an attempt to understand political economy and capitalism. For the first few years he and his family lived in extreme poverty. His main source of income was his colleague, Engels, who derived much of his income from his family's business. Marx also briefly worked as correspondent for the ''New York Tribune'' in 1851.

From December 1851 to March 1852 Marx wrote ''The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon'', a work on the French Revolution of 1848, in which he expanded upon his concepts of historical materialism, class struggle and the dictatorship of the proletariat, advancing the argument that victorious proletariat has to smash the bourgeois state.

The 1850s and 1860s also marks the line between what some scholars see as idealistic, Hegelian young Marx from the more scientifically-minded mature Marx writings of the later period. This distinction is usually associated with the structural Marxism school. Nor do all scholars agree that it indeed exists.

In 1864 Marx became involved in the International Workingmen's Association (also known as ''First International''). He became a leader of its General Council, to whose General Council he was elected at its inception in 1864. In that organisation Marx was involved in the struggle against the anarchist wing centred around Mikhail Bakunin (1814–1876). Although Marx won this contest, the transfer of the seat of the General Council from London to New York in 1872, which Marx supported, led to the decline of the International. The most important political event during the existence of the International was the ''Paris Commune of 1871'' when the citizens of Paris rebelled against their government and held the city for two months. On the bloody suppression of this rebellion, Marx wrote one of his most famous pamphlets, ''The Civil War in France'', a defense of the Commune.

Given the repeated failures and frustrations of workers' revolutions and movements, Marx also sought to understand capitalism, and spent a great deal of time in the reading room of the British Museum studying and reflecting on the works of political economists and on economic data. By 1857 he had accumulated over 800 pages of notes and short essays on capital, landed property, wage labour, the state, foreign trade and the world market; this work did not appear in print until 1941, under the title ''Grundrisse''. In 1859, Marx published ''Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy'', his first serious economic work. In the early 1860s he worked on composing three large volumes, the ''Theories of Surplus Value'', which discussed the theoreticians of political economy, particularly Adam Smith and David Ricardo. This work is often seen as the fourth book of ''Capital'', and constitutes one of the first comprehensive treatises on the history of economic thought. In 1867 the first volume of ''Capital'' was published, a work which analyzed the capitalist process of production. Here, Marx elaborated his labour theory of value and his conception of surplus value and exploitation which he argued would ultimately lead to a falling rate of profit and the collapse of industrial capitalism. Volumes II and III remained mere manuscripts upon which Marx continued to work for the rest of his life and were published posthumously by Engels.

During the last decade of his life, Marx's health declined and he became incapable of the sustained effort that had characterised his previous work. He did manage to comment substantially on contemporary politics, particularly in Germany and Russia. His ''Critique of the Gotha Programme'' opposed the tendency of his followers Wilhelm Liebknecht and August Bebel to compromise with the state socialism of Ferdinand Lassalle in the interests of a united socialist party. This work is also notable for another famous Marx's quote: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need."

In a letter to Vera Zasulich dated 8 March 1881, Marx even contemplated the possibility of Russia's bypassing the capitalist stage of development and building communism on the basis of the common ownership of land characteristic of the village ''mir''. While admitting that Russia's rural "commune is the fulcrum of social regeneration in Russia", Marx also warned that in order for the mir to operate as a means for moving straight to the socialist stage without a preceding capitalist stage, it "would first be necessary to eliminate the deleterious influences which are assailing it (the rural commune) from all sides." Given the elimination of these pernicious influences, Marx allowed, that "normal conditions of spontaneous development" of the rural commune could exist. However, in the same letter to Vera Zaulich, Marx points out that "at the core of the capitalist system ... lies the complete separation of the producer from the means of production."

Death

Following the death of his wife Jenny in December 1881, Marx developed a catarrh that kept him in ill health for the last 15 months of his life. It eventually brought on the bronchitis and pleurisy that killed him in London on 14 March 1883. He died a stateless person; family and friends in London buried his body in Highgate Cemetery, London, on 17 March 1883. There were between nine to eleven mourners at his funeral.

Several of his closest friends spoke at his funeral, including Wilhelm Liebknecht and Friedrich Engels. Engels's speech included the passage: }} Marx's daughter Eleanor and Charles Longuet and Paul Lafargue, Marx's two French socialist sons-in-law, were also in attendance. Liebknecht, a founder and leader of the German Social-Democratic Party, gave a speech in German, and Longuet, a prominent figure in the French working-class movement, made a short statement in French. Two telegrams from workers' parties in France and Spain were also read out. Together with Engels's speech, this constituted the entire programme of the funeral. Non-relatives attending the funeral included three communist associates of Marx: Friedrich Lessner, imprisoned for three years after the Cologne communist trial of 1852; G. Lochner, whom Engels described as "an old member of the Communist League" and Carl Schorlemmer, a professor of chemistry in Manchester, a member of the Royal Society, and a communist activist involved in the 1848 Baden revolution. Another attendee of the funeral was Ray Lankester, a British zoologist who would later become a prominent academic.

Marx's tombstone bears the carved message: "WORKERS OF ALL LANDS UNITE", the final line of ''The Communist Manifesto,'' and from the 11th ''Thesis on Feuerbach'' (edited by Engels): "The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways—the point however is to change it". The Communist Party of Great Britain had the monumental tombstone built in 1954 with a portrait bust by Laurence Bradshaw; Marx's original tomb had had only humble adornment. In 1970 there was an unsuccessful attempt to destroy the monument using a homemade bomb.

The later Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm remarked that "One cannot say Marx died a failure" because, although he had not achieved a large following of disciples in Britain, his writings had already begun to make an impact on the leftist movements in Germany and Russia. Within 25 years of his death, the continental European socialist parties that acknowledged Marx's influence on their politics were each gaining between 15 and 47% in those countries with representative democratic elections.

Marx's thought

Inspirations

Marx's thought demonstrates influences from many thinkers, including but not limited to: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's philosophy; The classical political economy (economics) of Adam Smith and David Ricardo; French socialist thought, in particular the thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Henri de Saint-Simon and Charles Fourier; Earlier German philosophical materialism, particularly that of Ludwig Feuerbach; The working class analysis by Friedrich Engels.

Marx's view of history, which came to be called historical materialism (controversially adapted as the philosophy of dialectical materialism by Engels and Lenin) certainly shows the influence of Hegel's claim that one should view reality (and history) dialectically. However, Hegel had thought in idealist terms, putting ideas in the forefront, whereas Marx sought to rewrite dialectics in materialist terms, arguing for the primacy of matter over idea. Where Hegel saw the "spirit" as driving history, Marx saw this as an unnecessary mystification, obscuring the reality of humanity and its physical actions shaping the world. He wrote that Hegelianism stood the movement of reality on its head, and that one needed to set it upon its feet.

Though inspired by French socialist and sociological thought, Marx criticised utopian socialists, arguing that their favoured small scale socialistic communities would be bound to marginalisation and poverty, and that only a large scale change in the economic system can bring about real change.

The other important contribution to Marx's revision of Hegelianism came from Engels's book, ''The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844'', which led Marx to conceive of the historical dialectic in terms of class conflict and to see the modern working class as the most progressive force for revolution.

Marx believed that he could study history and society scientifically and discern tendencies of history and the resulting outcome of social conflicts. Some followers of Marx concluded, therefore, that a communist revolution would inevitably occur. However, Marx famously asserted in the eleventh of his ''Theses on Feuerbach'' that "philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point however is to change it", and he clearly dedicated himself to trying to alter the world.

Philosophy and social thought

Marx polemic with other thinkers often occurred through critique, and thus he has been called "the first great user of critical method in social sciences." He criticised speculative philosophy, equating metaphysics with ideology. By adopting this approach, Marx attempted to separate key findings from ideological biases. This set him apart from many contemporary philosophers.

Human nature

Fundamentally, Marx assumed that human history involves transforming human nature, which encompasses both human beings and material objects. Humans recognise that they possess both actual and potential selves. For both Marx and Hegel, self-development begins with an experience of internal alienation stemming from this recognition, followed by a realisation that the actual self, as a subjective agent, renders its potential counterpart an object to be apprehended. Marx further argues that, by molding nature in desired ways, the subject takes the object as its own, and thus permits the individual to be actualised as fully human. For Marx, then, human nature—''Gattungswesen'', or species-being—exists as a function of human labour. Fundamental to Marx's idea of meaningful labour is the proposition that, in order for a subject to come to terms with its alienated object, it must first exert influence upon literal, material objects in the subject's world. Marx acknowledges that Hegel "grasps the nature of ''work'' and comprehends objective man, authentic because actual, as the result of his ''own work''", but characterises Hegelian self-development as unduly "spiritual" and abstract. Marx thus departs from Hegel by insisting that "the fact that man is a ''corporeal'', actual, sentient, objective being with natural capacities means that he has ''actual, sensuous objects'' for his nature as objects of his life-expression, or that he can only ''express'' his life in actual sensuous objects." Consequently, Marx revises Hegelian "work" into material "labour", and in the context of human capacity to transform nature the term "labour power".

Labour, class struggle and false consciousness

)}} Marx had a special concern with how people relate to that most fundamental resource of all, their own labour power. He wrote extensively about this in terms of the problem of alienation. As with the dialectic, Marx began with a Hegelian notion of alienation but developed a more materialist conception. Capitalism mediates social relationships of production (such as among workers or between workers and capitalists) through commodities, including labour, that are bought and sold on the market. For Marx, the possibility that one may give up ownership of one's own labour—one's capacity to transform the world—is tantamount to being alienated from one's own nature; it is a spiritual loss. Marx described this loss as commodity fetishism, in which the things that people produce, commodities, appear to have a life and movement of their own to which humans and their behavior merely adapt.

Commodity fetishism provides an example of what Engels called "false consciousness", which relates closely to the understanding of ideology. By "ideology", Marx and Engels meant ideas that reflect the interests of a particular class at a particular time in history, but which contemporaries see as universal and eternal. Marx and Engels's point was not only that such beliefs are at best half-truths; they serve an important political function. Put another way, the control that one class exercises over the means of production includes not only the production of food or manufactured goods; it includes the production of ideas as well (this provides one possible explanation for why members of a subordinate class may hold ideas contrary to their own interests). An example of this sort of analysis is Marx's understanding of religion, summed up in a passage from the preface to his 1843 ''Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right'':

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Whereas his Gymnasium senior thesis argued that religion had as its primary social aim the promotion of solidarity, here Marx sees the social function of religion in terms of highlighting/preserving political and economic status quo and inequality.

Economy, history and society

Marx thoughts on labour were related to the primacy he gave to the economic relation in determining the society's past, present and future (see also economic determinism). Accumulation of capital shapes the social system. Social change, for Marx, was about conflict between opposing interests, driven, in the background, by economic forces. This became the inspiration for the body of works known as the conflict theory. In his evolutionary model of history, he argued that human history began with free, productive and creative work that was over time coerced and dehumanised, a trend most apparent under capitalism. Marx noted that this was not an intentional process; rather, no individual or even no state can go against the forces of economy.

The organisation of society depends on means of production. Literally those things, like land, natural resources, and technology, necessary for the production of material goods and the relations of production, in other words, the social relationships people enter into as they acquire and use the means of production. Together these compose the mode of production, and Marx distinguished historical eras in terms of distinct modes of production. Marx differentiated between base and superstructure, with the base (or substructure) referring to the economic system, and superstructure, to the cultural and political system. Marx regarded this mismatch between (economic) base and (social) superstructure as a major source of social disruption and conflict.

Despite Marx's stress on critique of capitalism and discussion of the new communist society that should replace it, his explicit critique of capitalism is guarded, as he saw it as an improved society compared to the past ones (slavery and feudal). Marx also never clearly discusses issues of morality and justice, although scholars agree that his work contained implicit discussion of those concepts.

Marx's view of capitalism was two sided. On one hand, Marx, in the 19th century's deepest critique of the dehumanising aspects of this system, noted that defining features of capitalism include alienation, exploitation and reoccurring, cyclical depressions leading to mass unemployment; on the other hand capitalism is also characterised by "revolutionizing, industrializing and universalizing qualities of development, growth and progressivity" (by which Marx meant industrialisation, urbanisation, technological progress, increased productivity and growth, rationality and scientific revolution), that are responsible for progress. Marx considered the capitalist class to be one of the most revolutionary in history, because it constantly improved the means of production, more so than any other class in history, and was responsible for the overthrow of feudalism and its transition to capitalism. Capitalism can stimulate considerable growth because the capitalist can, and has an incentive to, reinvest profits in new technologies and capital equipment.

According to Marx capitalists take advantage of the difference between the labour market and the market for whatever commodity the capitalist can produce. Marx observed that in practically every successful industry input unit-costs are lower than output unit-prices. Marx called the difference "surplus value" and argued that this surplus value had its source in surplus labour, the difference between what it costs to keep workers alive and what they can produce. Marx's dual view of capitalism can be seen in his description of the capitalists: he refers to them as to vampires sucking worker's blood, but at the same time, he notes that drawing profit is "by no means an injustice" and that capitalists simply cannot go against the system. The true problem lies with the "cancerous cell" of capital, understood not as property or equipment, but the relations between workers and owners – the economic system in general.

At the same time, Marx stressed that capitalism was unstable, and prone to periodic crises. He suggested that over time, capitalists would invest more and more in new technologies, and less and less in labour. Since Marx believed that surplus value appropriated from labour is the source of profits, he concluded that the rate of profit would fall even as the economy grew. Marx believed that increasingly severe crises would punctuate this cycle of growth, collapse, and more growth. Moreover, he believed that in the long-term this process would necessarily enrich and empower the capitalist class and impoverish the proletariat. In section one of ''The Communist Manifesto'' Marx describes feudalism, capitalism, and the role internal social contradictions play in the historical process:

Marx believed that those structural contradictions within capitalism necessitate its end, giving way to socialism, or a post-capitalistic, communist society:

Thanks to various processes overseen by capitalism, such as urbanisation, the working class, the proletariat, should grow in numbers and develop a class consciousness, in time realising that they have to change the system. Marx believed that if the proletariat were to seize the means of production, they would encourage social relations that would benefit everyone equally, abolishing exploiting class, and introduce a system of production less vulnerable to cyclical crises. Marx argued that capitalism will end through the organised actions of an international working class:

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In this new society the self-alienation would end, and humans would be free to act without being bound by the labour market. It would be a democratic society, enfranchising the entire population. In such a utopian world there would also be little if any need for a state, which goal was to enforce the alienation. He theorised that between capitalism and the establishment of a socialist/communist system, a dictatorship of the proletariat—a period where the working class holds political power and forcibly socialises the means of production—would exist. As he wrote in his "Critique of the Gotha Program", "between capitalist and communist society there lies the period of the revolutionary transformation of the one into the other. Corresponding to this is also a political transition period in which the state can be nothing but the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat." While he allowed for the possibility of peaceful transition in some countries with strong democratic institutional structures (such as Britain, the US and the Netherlands), he suggested that in other countries with strong centralised state-oriented traditions, like France and Germany, the "lever of our revolution must be force."

Personal life

Marx married Jenny von Westphalen in 1843. Together had seven children, but partly due to the poor living conditions they were forced to live in whilst in London, only three survived to adulthood. The children were: Jenny Caroline (m. Longuet; 1844–83); Jenny Laura (m. Lafargue; 1845–1911); Edgar (1847–1855); Henry Edward Guy ("Guido"; 1849–1850); Jenny Eveline Frances ("Franziska"; 1851–52); Jenny Julia Eleanor (1855–98) and one more who died before being named (July 1857). There are allegations that Marx also fathered a son out of wedlock by his housekeeper, Helene Demuth.

Marx frequently used pseudonyms, often when renting a house or flat, apparently to make it harder for the authorities to track him down. Whilst in Paris, he used that of 'Monsieur Ramboz', whilst in London he signed off his letters as 'A. Williams'. His friends referred to him as 'Moor', due to his dark complexion and black curly hair, something which they believed made him resemble the historical Moors of North Africa, whilst he encouraged his children to call him 'Old Nick' and 'Charley'. He also bestowed nicknames and pseudonyms on his friends and family as well, referring to Friedrich Engels as 'General', his housekeeper Helene Demuth as 'Lenchen' or 'Nym', whilst one of his daughters, Jennychen, was referred to as 'Qui Qui, Emperor of China' and another, Laura, was known as 'Kakadou' or 'the Hottentot'.

Legacy

Widespread influence

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Marx has widely been thought of as one of the most influential thinkers in history, who has had a significant influence on both world politics and intellectual thought. Marx's biographer Francis Wheen considered the "history of the twentieth century" to be "Marx's legacy", whilst Australian philosopher Peter Singer believed that Marx's impact could be compared with that of the founders of the two major world religions, Jesus Christ and Muhammad. Singer noted that "Marx's ideas brought about modern sociology, transformed the study of history, and profoundly affected philosophy, literature and the arts." Marx's ideas led to him becoming "the darling of both European and American intellectuals up until the 1960s", and have influenced a wide variety of disciplines, including archaeology, anthropology, media studies, political science, theater, history, sociological theory, cultural studies, education, economics, geography, literary criticism, aesthetics, critical psychology, and philosophy.

In July 2005, 27.9% of listeners in a BBC Radio 4 series ''In Our Time'' poll selected Marx as their favorite thinker.

The reasons for Marx's widespread influence revolve around his ethical message; a "morally empowering language of critique" against the dominant capitalist society. No other body of work was so relevant to the modern times, and at the same time, so outspoken about the need for change. In the political realm, Marx's ideas led to the establishment of governments using Marxist thought to replace capitalism with communism or socialism (or augment it with market socialism) across much of the world, whilst his intellectual thought has heavily influenced the academic study of the humanities and the arts.

Marxism

Followers of Marx have drawn on his work to propose grand, cohesive theoretical outlooks dubbed "Marxism". This body of works has had significant influence on the both political and scientific scenes. Nevertheless, Marxists have frequently debated amongst themselves over how to interpret Marx's writings and how to apply his concepts to their contemporary events and conditions. The legacy of Marx's thought has become bitterly contested between numerous tendencies which each see themselves as Marx's most accurate interpreters, including (but not limited to) Leninism, Stalinism, Trotskyism, Maoism, Luxemburgism, and libertarian Marxism. In academic Marxism, various currents have developed as well, often under influence of other views, resulting in structuralist Marxism, historical Marxism, phenomenological Marxism and Hegelian Marxism.

Moreover, one should distinguish between "Marxism" and "what Marx believed"; for example, shortly before he died in 1883, Marx wrote a letter to the French workers' leader Jules Guesde, and to his own son-in-law Paul Lafargue, accusing them of "revolutionary phrase-mongering" and of lack of faith in the working class. After the French party split into a reformist and revolutionary party, some accused Guesde (leader of the latter) of taking orders from Marx; Marx remarked to Lafargue, "if that is Marxism, then I am not a Marxist" (in a letter to Engels, Marx later accused Guesde of being a "Bakuninist").

Founder of social science

Marx is typically cited, along with Émile Durkheim and Max Weber, as one of the three principal architects of modern social science. In contrast to philosophers, Marx offered theories that could often be tested with the scientific method. Both Marx and Auguste Comte set out to develop scientifically justified ideologies in the wake of European secularisation and new developments in the philosophies of history and science. Whilst Marx, working in the Hegelian tradition, rejected Comtean sociological positivism, in attempting to develop a ''science of society'' he nevertheless came to be recognised as a founder of sociology as the word gained wider meaning. In modern sociological theory, Marxist sociology is recognised as one of the main classical perspectives. For Isaiah Berlin, Marx may be regarded as the "true father" of modern sociology, "in so far as anyone can claim the title."

Criticism

Predictions and theories

While many Marxist concepts are still of importance for modern social science, some specific predictions Marx made have been shown to be unlikely. Marx is often criticised for expecting a wave of socialist revolutions, originating in the most highly industrialised countries, to overturn capitalism. However others, pointing to Marx's encounter with late 19th-century Russian populism and Marx and Engels' preface to the second Russian edition of the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1882), have argued that Marx evinced a growing conviction in his late writings that revolution could in fact emerge first in Russia. Marx predicted the eventual fall of capitalism, to be replaced by socialism, yet since the late 20th century state socialism is in retreat, as the Soviet Union collapsed, and the People's Republic of China shifted towards a market economy. Additionally, his argument that profits are generated only through surplus labour has been challenged by the counterclaim that profits also come from investments in human capital and technology. Marx predicted that over time, inequality would grow (correctly) but also that this would mean growing impoverishment of the growing worker class, increasingly exploited by the capitalists. The latter has not borne true, as in the developed world, through liberal reforms, trade unions won many concessions, improving the situation of the workers (something that Marx considered very unlikely). The working class is also growing smaller, as the industrial sector is replaced by the service sector, and worldwide poverty has decreased since the end of the 19th century. (It should be noted that scholars have debated whether Marx's comments about the proletariat can be analyzed in the context of the working class). In addition to specific predictions, certain of Marx's theories, such as his labour theory of value, have also been criticised. However, in the wake of the economic crisis of 2008 some thinkers like Terry Eagleton, David Harvey, and David McNally have given renewed impetus to the debate on whether Marx was right that capitalism inherently tends towards crisis (which Marx discussed as the "contradictions of capital").

Marxism as the ideology of totalitarian states

While Marxist thought may be used to empower marginalised and dispossessed people, it has also been used to prop up governments who have utilised violence to remove those seen as impeding the revolution. In some instances, his ultimate goals have been used as justification for the end justifies the means logic. Moreover, contrary to his goal, his ideas have been used to promote dogmatism and intolerance. Polish historian Andrzej Walicki noted that Marx's and Engels's theory was the "theory of freedom", but a theory that, at the height of its influence, was used to legitimise the totalitarian socialist state of the Soviet Union. This abuse of Marx's thought is perhaps most clearly exemplified in Stalinist Marxism, described by critics as the "most widespread and successful form of mass indoctrination... a masterly achievement in transforming Marxism into the official ideology of a consistently totalitarian state." The controversy is further fueled as some left-wing theorists have tried to shield Marxism from any connection to the Soviet regime. Lastly, the undue focus on the Marxist thought in the former Eastern Bloc, often forbidding social science arguments from outside the Marxist perspective, led to a backlash against Marxism after the revolutions of 1989. In one example, references to Marx drastically decreased in Polish sociology after the fall of the revolutionary socialist governments, and two major research institutions which advocated the Marxist approach to sociology were closed.

Selected bibliography

''The Philosophical Manifesto of the Historical School of Law'' (1842)

''Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right'', 1843

''On the Jewish Question'', 1843

''Notes on James Mill'', 1844

''Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844'', 1844

''The Holy Family'', 1845

''Theses on Feuerbach'', 1845

''The German Ideology'', 1845

''The Poverty of Philosophy'', 1847

''Wage-Labour and Capital'', 1847

''Manifesto of the Communist Party'', 1848

''The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon'', 1852

''Grundrisse'', 1857

''A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy'', 1859

''Writings on the U.S. Civil War'', 1861

''Theories of Surplus Value'', 3 volumes, 1862

''Value, Price and Profit'', 1865

''Capital'', Volume I (''Das Kapital''), 1867

''The Civil War in France'', 1871

''Critique of the Gotha Program'', 1875

''Notes on Wagner'', 1883

''Capital'', Volume II (posthumously published by Engels), 1885

''Capital'', Volume III (posthumously published by Engels), 1894

See also

Karl Marx House

Marx Memorial Library

Marx’s method

Marx's notebooks on the history of technology

Marxian Class Theory

Marxian economics

Pre-Marx socialists

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

;Academic and Popular Books |year= 2002 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |location= Oxford |isbn=978–0631213475 |nopp=|ref=Cal02}} |year= 2010 [1983] |publisher=Bookmarks |location= Bloomsbury, London |isbn=978–1905192687 |nopp=|ref=Cal10}} |year= 2011 |publisher=Little, Brown |location= London |isbn=978–1408702871 |nopp=|ref=Hob11}} |year= 1967 [1913]|publisher=Foreign Languages Press |location= Peking |isbn=|nopp=|ref=Len67|url=http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1914/granat/index.htm}} |year= 1980 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location= Oxford |isbn=978–0192875105 |nopp=|ref=Sin80}} |year= 2004 |publisher=Index Books |location= Kettering |isbn=978–0572029357 |nopp=|ref=Sto04}} |year= 1973 |publisher=Verlag Die Wirtschaft |location= |isbn= |nopp=|ref=Vyg73|url=http://www.marxists.org/archive/vygodsky/1965/discovery.htm}} |year= 2001 |publisher=Fourth Estate |location= London |isbn=978–1857026375 |nopp=|ref=Whe00}}

Further reading

Althusser, Louis and Balibar, Étienne. ''Reading Capital''. London: Verso, 2009.

Avineri, Shlomo, ''The Social and Political Thought of Karl Marx'' (Cambridge University Press, 1968) ISBN 0–521–09619–7

Axelos, Kostas, ''Alienation, Praxis, and Techne in the Thought of Karl Marx'' (translated by Ronald Bruzina, University of Texas Press, 1976).

Barnett, Vincent, ''Marx'' (Routledge, 2009)

Blackledge, Paul. ''Reflections on the Marxist Theory of History'' (Manchester University Press, 2006)

Bottomore, Tom, ed. ''A Dictionary of Marxist Thought''. Oxford: Blackwell, 1998.

Alex Callinicos, ''The Revolutionary Ideas of Karl Marx'' (Bookmarks, 1983)

Isaiah Berlin, ''Karl Marx: His Life and Environment'' (Oxford University Press, 1963) ISBN 0–19–520052–7

G. A. Cohen, ''Karl Marx's Theory of History: A Defence'' (Princeton University Press, 1978) ISBN 0–691–07068–7

Andrew Collier, ''Marx'' (Oneworld, 2004)

Hal Draper, ''Karl Marx's Theory of Revolution'' (4 volumes) Monthly Review Press

Ronald Duncan and Colin Wilson, (editors) ''Marx Refuted'', (Bath, UK, 1987) ISBN 0–906798–71–X

Fine, Ben. ''Marx's Capital.'' 5th ed. London: Pluto, 2010.

Foster, John Bellamy. ''Marx's Ecology: Materialism and Nature''. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2000.

Stephen Jay Gould, ''A Darwinian Gentleman at Marx's Funeral – E. Ray Lankester'', Page 1, Find Articles.com (1999)

Harvey, David. ''A Companion to Marx's Capital.'' London: Verso, 2010.

Harvey, David. ''The Limits of Capital''. London: Verso, 2006.

Georg G. Iggers, "Historiography: From Scientific Objectivity to the Postmodern Challenge."(Wesleyan University Press, 1997, 2005)

Leszek Kołakowski, ''Main Currents of Marxism'' Oxford: Clarendon Press, OUP, 1978

Daniel Little, ''The Scientific Marx'', (University of Minnesota Press, 1986) ISBN 0–8166–1505–5

Mandel, Ernest. ''Marxist Economic Theory''. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1970.

Mandel, Ernest. ''The Formation of the Economic Thought of Karl Marx''. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1977.

McLellan, David ''Marx before Marxism'' (1980), Macmillan, ISBN 978–0–333–27882–6

McLellan, David. ''Karl Marx: his Life and Thought'' Harper & Row, 1973 ISBN 978–0–06–012829–6

Franz Mehring, ''Karl Marx: The Story of His Life'' (Routledge, 2003)

Miller, Richard W. ''Analyzing Marx: Morality, Power, and History''. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1984.

Boris Nicolaevsky and Otto Maenchen-Helfen (translator), ''Karl Marx: Man and Fighter'' (Penguin Books, 1976) ISBN 0–14–021594–8

Postone, Moishe. ''Time, Labour, and Social Domination: A Reinterpretation of Marx's Critical Theory.'' Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Murray Rothbard, ''An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought Volume II: Classical Economics'' (Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., 1995) ISBN 0–945466–48–X

Maximilien Rubel, ''Marx Without Myth: A Chronological Study of his Life and Work'' (Blackwell, 1975) ISBN 0–631–15780–8

Saad-Filho, Alfredo. ''The Value of Marx: Political Economy for Contemporary Capitalism''. London: Routledge, 2002.

Schmidt, Alfred. ''The Concept of Nature in Marx''. London: NLB, 1971.

Jerrold Seigel, ''Marx's fate: the shape of a life'' (Princeton University Press, 1978) ISBN 0–271–00935–7

Thomas T. Sekine, ''The Dialectic of Capital. A Study of the Inner Logic of Capitalism'', 2 volumes (preliminary edition), Tokyo 1986; ISBN 4924750449 (vol. 1), ISBN 4–924750–34–4 (vol. 2)

Paul Strathern, "Marx in 90 Minutes", (Ivan R. Dee, 2001)

Thomas, Paul. ''Karl Marx and the Anarchists''. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980.

Walker, Frank Thomas. 'Karl Marx: a Bibliographic and Political Biography''. (bj.publications), 2009.

Amy Wendling, ''Karl Marx on Technology and Alienation'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009)

Francis Wheen, ''Karl Marx: A Life'', (Fourth Estate, 1999), ISBN 1–85702–637–3

Francis Wheen, ''Marx's Das Kapital'', (Atlantic Books, 2006) ISBN 1–84354–400–8

External links

Bibliography and online texts

Works by Karl Marx at Zeno.org

Karl Marx at Libcom.org

Marxists.org, homepage of the Marxists Internet Archive

Works by Karl Marx in audio format from LibriVox

Articles and entries

Dead Labour: Marx and Lenin Reconsidered by Paul Craig Roberts

Hegel, Marx, Engels, and the Origins of Marxism, by David North

''In Praise of Marx'' Terry Eagleton synopsising his ''Why Marx was right'' chronicle.com 10 April 2011.

Karl Marx: Did he get it all Right? by Philip Collins, ''The Times'', 21 October 2008

''Karl Marx'' ,Ernest Mandel

''Karl Marx and the Iroquois'' by Franklin Rosemont

Liberalism, Marxism and The State, by Ralph Raico

Marx, Mao and mathematics: the politics of infinitesimals, by Joseph Dauben

Marx Was Right

Marxism and Ethics from ''International Socialism'' Paul Blackledge (2008)

Marxmyths.org Various essays on misinterpretations of Marx

Portraits of Karl Marx (International Institute of Social History)

Paul Dorn, The Paris Commune and Marx' Theory of Revolution

The Top Seven Reasons why Marx was Right by ''Green Left Weekly''

Why Marx is the Man of the Moment

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af:Karl Marx am:ካርል ማርክስ ar:كارل ماركس an:Karl Marx as:কাৰ্ল মাৰ্ক্স ast:Karl Marx ay:Karl Marx az:Karl Marks bn:কার্ল মার্ক্স zh-min-nan:Karl Marx be:Карл Маркс be-x-old:Карл Маркс bcl:Karl Marx bo:ཁཱར​་ལ་མར་ཁེ་སི། bs:Karl Marx br:Karl Marx bg:Карл Маркс ca:Karl Marx cv:Карл Маркс cs:Karl Marx co:Karl Marx cy:Karl Marx da:Karl Marx de:Karl Marx dsb:Karl Marx et:Karl Marx el:Καρλ Μαρξ es:Karl Marx eo:Karl Marx ext:Karl Marx eu:Karl Marx fa:کارل مارکس hif:Karl Marx fr:Karl Marx fy:Karl Marx ga:Karl Marx gd:Karl Marx gl:Karl Marx gan:馬克思 glk:کارل مارکس ko:카를 마르크스 hy:Կարլ Մարքս hi:कार्ल मार्क्स hsb:Karl Marx hr:Karl Marx io:Karl Marx bpy:কার্ল মার্ক্স্ id:Karl Marx ia:Karl Marx is:Karl Marx it:Karl Marx he:קרל מרקס jv:Karl Marx kn:ಕಾರ್ಲ್ ಮಾರ್ಕ್ಸ್ ka:კარლ მარქსი kk:Карл Маркс Генрих sw:Karl Marx ku:Karl Marx lad:Karl Marx la:Carolus Marx lv:Kārlis Markss lb:Karl Marx lt:Karl Marx li:Karl Marx jbo:karl. marks lmo:Karl Marx hu:Karl Marx mk:Карл Маркс ml:കാൾ മാക്സ് mt:Karl Marx mr:कार्ल मार्क्स arz:كارل ماركس mzn:کارل مارکس ms:Karl Marx mwl:Karl Marx mn:Карл Маркс my:ကားလ်မာ့ခ် nl:Karl Marx ne:कार्ल मार्क्स ja:カール・マルクス no:Karl Marx nn:Karl Marx nov:Karl Marx oc:Karl Marx uz:Karl Marx pa:ਕਾਰਲ ਮਾਰਕਸ pnb:کارل مارکس ps:کارل مارکس pms:Karl Marx nds:Karl Marx pl:Karol Marks pnt:Καρλ Μαρξ pt:Karl Marx kaa:Karl Marx ro:Karl Marx rm:Karl Marx qu:Karl Marx rue:Карл Маркс ru:Маркс, Карл sah:Карл Маркс sa:कार्ल मार्क्स sc:Karl Marx sco:Karl Marx st:Karl Marx sq:Karl Marx scn:Karl Marx si:කාල් මාක්ස් simple:Karl Marx sk:Karl Marx sl:Karl Marx so:Karl Marx ckb:کارڵ مارکس sr:Карл Маркс sh:Karl Marx fi:Karl Marx sv:Karl Marx tl:Karl Marx ta:கார்ல் மார்க்சு kab:Karl Marx tt:Карл Маркс te:కార్ల్ మార్క్స్ th:คาร์ล มาร์กซ์ tg:Карл Маркс tr:Karl Marx uk:Карл Маркс ur:کارل مارکس ug:كارل ماركىس za:Karl Marx vi:Karl Marx fiu-vro:Marxi Karl wa:Karl Marx war:Karl Marx yi:קארל מארקס yo:Karl Marx zh-yue:馬克思 diq:Karl Marx bat-smg:Karls Marksos zh:卡尔·马克思

name	Richard Marx
background	solo_singer
birth name	Richard Noel Marx
born	September 16, 1963
origin	Chicago, IL, United States
instrument	Vocals, keyboards, organ, piano, guitar
genre	Pop, soft rock, rock, adult contemporary, R&B;
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, record producer
years active	1982 - present
label	Capitol Records, EMI, Manhattan Records, Signal 21 Records, Zanzibar Records
associated acts	Dick Marx, Matt Scannell, Luther Vandross, Keith Urban
website	Official website
notable instruments	}}

Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American adult contemporary and pop/rock singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He had a string of hit singles in the late 1980s and 1990s, including "Endless Summer Nights", "Right Here Waiting", "Now and Forever", and "Hazard". Although most of his major hit songs were slow ballads, many of his songs had a classic rock style, such as "Don't Mean Nothing", "Should've Known Better," "Satisfied," and "Too Late To Say Goodbye". Marx placed himself in the record books by being the first solo artist to have his first seven singles hit the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart (3, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 4). His record sales worldwide exceed 30 million. Aside from songs that he has sung himself, he has written, co-written, and produced successful tracks for other artists such as "This I Promise You" by NSYNC and "Dance With My Father" by Luther Vandross. The latter song won several Grammy Awards.

Early life

Marx is the only child of Ruth, a former singer, and Dick Marx, a jazz musician and founder of a successful jingle company in the early 1960s. He has three half-siblings from his father's previous marriage.

Early career

Marx began his career in music at the age of 5, singing commercial jingles written by his father, Dick Marx's list of "commercial" hits includes Arm & Hammer. Ken-L Ration and Nestlé Crunch.

Marx was 17 and living in Highland Park, Illinois when a tape of his songs ended up in the hands of Lionel Richie. Richie said he thought Marx had the talent to make it big, saying "I can't promise you anything, but you should come to L.A." So after graduating from North Shore Country Day School, Marx moved to Los Angeles and visited Richie. "He was recording his first solo album (''Lionel Richie'') and having trouble with the background vocal," Marx recalls. "He tells me, ‘Come try this part.’ It worked and I ended up singing on his album." Marx contributed backing vocals to Richie’s hit "You Are", as well as "Running with the Night" and "All Night Long (All Night)", both on Richie's follow-up album ''Can't Slow Down''.

In those early years, Marx would find any excuse possible to work in the recording industry. His enthusiasm and his presence in the studio landed him several jobs as a background singer for artists such as Madonna, Whitney Houston and Luther Vandross, and, eventually, as a songwriter. Marx also had a minor role in the television movie ''Coach Of The Year,'' which starred Robert Conrad. He was singing for Kenny Rogers in 1984 when he overheard Rogers say he needed a new song. Within days, Marx gave him a demo of "Crazy." Rogers recorded it, along with another of Marx’s songs, "What About Me?", which also featured James Ingram and Kim Carnes. The trio recording hit #1 Adult Contemporary and #15 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (while just scraping onto the Country and R&B; charts) in late 1984 while "Crazy" hit #1 Country and #5 AC the following year. Soon after, Marx began working with producer David Foster and writing songs for the group Chicago and R&B; singer Freddie Jackson.

While working as a songwriter and doing background vocals, Marx continued to pursue a record deal of his own. His demo tape was rejected by every label in Hollywood until, finally, four years after moving to Los Angeles, the president of EMI/Manhattan Records, Bruce Lundvall, heard Marx's demo and knew he had a star on his hands. He gave Marx a record deal and the opportunity to write and record whatever he wanted. Marx contacted his good friend Fee Waybill of The Tubes, and some very talented musicians, including Joe Walsh, and Randy Meisner of the Eagles, and created a ten-track album that led to a very successful career.

Music career

Debut album

Marx's self-titled debut album, released in June 1987, yielded four hit singles and sold nearly four million copies in the US. The debut single, "Don't Mean Nothing", had been released the previous month and climbed to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as #1 on Billboard's Album Rock charts. Marx became the first new artist played on 117 radio stations nationwide during his initial week on the charts. The next two singles, "Should’ve Known Better" and "Endless Summer Nights" reached #3 and #2, respectively. The fourth single release, "Hold on to the Nights", earned Marx his first #1 Pop single.

With the success of his self-titled album, Marx became the first male artist to reach the Top 3 with four singles from a debut album. He embarked on his first world tour, initially opening for REO Speedwagon, but quickly began headlining his own shows. Marx's first tour kept him on the road for 14 months while the album remained on the charts for more than a year and a half.

In 1988, Marx was nominated for a Grammy Award for 'Best Rock Vocal Performance - Male' for "Don’t Mean Nothing"

''Repeat Offender''

''Repeat Offender'', Marx’s second release (May 1989), hit pole position and pushed Prince out of the #1 spot on Billboard's Album chart. It went triple platinum within a few months and eventually sold over 5 million US copies. ''Repeat Offender'' was the result of the energy generated from over a year and a half on the road and was written or co-written entirely by Marx. "Some people might think that it would be easier this time around, that I could just kick back," Marx said at the time, "but the truth is, it’s harder, I’ve got more to prove."

The first two singles, "Satisfied" and the platinum-selling "Right Here Waiting," both reached #1, completing a string of three consecutive No. 1 singles. When the third single from Repeat Offender, "Angelia" climbed to #4, Marx became the first solo artist to reach the Top 5 with his first seven singles. Since then, "Right Here Waiting" has been covered numerous times, most notably by Monica and 112 in a 1998 duet.

Another song from the album, "Children of the Night", was written in support of the suburban Los Angeles (Van Nuys)-based organization for runaways. It became the fifth single from Repeat Offender, and all royalties were donated to the charity.

Marx's second world tour began in the spring of 1989 and took him to Australia, Singapore , Malaysia, Japan, Europe, Canada, and the United States, lasting through August 1990. Highlights of that tour included a performance in the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London and an invitation from Tina Turner to tour Germany.

Marx also had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform the Beatles’ "Help" at the Berlin Wall in late 1989. Marx also received his second Grammy nomination in 1990 for "Best Pop Vocal Performance - Male" for "Right Here Waiting".

''Rush Street''

Marx went on to release a number of other albums. In 1991 he released his third consecutive multi-platinum album ''Rush Street''. This album saw artists such as the late Luther Vandross and Billy Joel appear as backing vocalists and guest pianists. The disc's first single, "Keep Coming Back", went to #12 pop as well as #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary charts for 4 weeks running. "Hazard", which depicted a man being wrongfully accused of murder in a fictional version of Hazard, Nebraska, went #1 in charts around the world. Two more Top 10 singles were culled from ''Rush Street'' with "Take This Heart" (AC #4, Hot 100 #20) and "Chains Around My Heart" (AC #9, Hot 100 #44). In August 2001 Marx admitted that the track "Superstar," from the Rush Street album was about pop star Madonna.

''Paid Vacation''

In early 1994, as Marx and his family permanently left Los Angeles behind and returned to Chicago, Marx released ''Paid Vacation'', and scored his fourth consecutive platinum album. The acoustic ballad "Now and Forever" peaked at #7 on the Hot 100 and spent 11 weeks in the Top 10 (also #12 in the UK) and also held the #1 position on Billboard's Adult Contemporary charts for 11 weeks - at the time just one week short of the all-time record. The follow-up single, "The Way She Loves Me," climbed to #3 on the US AC chart and #20 on the Pop charts.

''Flesh and Bone''

1997 saw the release of ''Flesh and Bone'' - Marx's final studio album on the Capitol imprint. This album sold 250,000 copies in the United States. "Until I Find You Again" hit #1 in several countries and #3 in the US.

''Greatest Hits''

Marx's ''Greatest Hits'' compilation was released in November 1997. The 16-track album includes a variety of hit singles from his first five albums plus "Angel’s Lullaby," a song written about his children originally appearing on ''For Our Children, Too'', a compilation CD released in 1996 to benefit the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. ''Greatest Hits'' was released in Asia in November 1998 and included two new songs, "Slipping Away" and "Thanks To You," a touching tribute to his mother. Marx’s dedication and support of numerous charities has continued throughout his career.

''Days in Avalon''

In 2000, Marx debuted his sixth studio album ''Days in Avalon.'' This disc was released on the Signal 21 Records label founded by Marx and former Blood, Sweat & Tears drummer and record producer Bobby Colomby. Its title track, "Days in Avalon", was picked up by Adult Contemporary radio and spent 12 weeks in the chart's Top 30. The album was also quite successful in other parts of the world, particularly Asia and Australia. The label became the vehicle for the release of this disc, and folded shortly thereafter.

''My Own Best Enemy''

After signing a new deal with his former label, Manhattan Records, Marx released the 2004 album ''My Own Best Enemy''. It featured the two hit singles "When You're Gone" and "Ready to Fly."

''Duo''

In 2008, Marx released ''Duo'' with Vertical Horizon's lead singer Matt Scannell. This album features select acoustic versions of Marx and Vertical Horizon's hits, plus one they co-wrote and recorded together, "Always on Your Mind." This disc was not released under any label. It was available through Marx's website, and at concerts featuring Marx and Scannell together.

''Emotional Remains'' and ''Sundown''

On October 31, 2008, "Emotional Remains" and "Sundown" were released via digital download on Marx's official site. Marx composed the track "Through My Veins" in tribute to his late father, jazz musician and jingle writer Dick Marx, who died in 1997. The track appears on the ''Emotional Remains'' disc.

''Stories to Tell''

In November, 2010, "Stories to Tell" album was released in Europe supporting Richard Marx's European tour. "Stories to Tell" is Richard's first acoustic album. It features acoustic versions of hit songs from his previous albums like "Hazard" and "Right Here Waiting" and new studio recordings of songs Richard has written with or for other artists, like Josh Groban and Keith Urban. On May 3, 2011, the reissue of Stories to Tell was released in the United States as a three-disc set exclusively through Walmart, which included a best of disc, an acoustic disc of tracks, and a DVD of a live concert performance at the Shepherd's Bush venue in England. The album is also available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon, but without the bonus DVD and album booklet.

Collaborations

1993 – Marx played piano on John Farnham's 1993 song "The Reason Why."

1997 – Marx recorded "At the Beginning" with Donna Lewis for the 1997 film ''Anastasia.''

1999 – In 1999 Marx built "Renegade Studios," a state of the art recording facility located in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Artists such as Philip Sayce, Keith Urban, and Emerson Drive have recorded material at this location.

2004 – At the 46th Grammy Awards on February 8, 2004, Marx won a Grammy for Song of the Year for "Dance with My Father," which he wrote with Luther Vandross. On that same night, he played the piano accompanying Celine Dion in performing "Dance With My Father," since Vandross was not present at the ceremony for health reasons.

2006 – During Summer 2006, Marx toured with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band. Other members of that year's All-Starr Band included Edgar Winter, Sheila E, and Billy Squier.

2006 – Marx appeared on the Fox network's TV show "Celebrity Duets" (September 2006). Other singers to take part in the series included Smokey Robinson, Dionne Warwick, Cyndi Lauper, Kenny Loggins, Patti LaBelle, Randy Travis, Jesse McCartney, and Gladys Knight.

2007 – In 2007 Marx released a new ballad titled "Your Goodbye" and a remixed version of his classic love song "Hold On To The Nights" on a Phil Ramone compilation production called ''New Music From An Old Friend.'' This compilation was released on the Target label Spotlight.

Musical influences / favorite artists

In addition to his parents, Marx names recording artists like Sam Cooke and Elvis Presley as his biggest musical influences, along with Donny Hathaway, Steven Tyler, Elton John, Kenny Loggins, Peter Gabriel, Daniel Lanois, Annie Lennox, U2, Dave Grusin, and includes John Farnham, Billy Joel, Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, The Eagles, Luther Vandross, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Gladys Knight in his list of favorites.

2008-2011

On June 12, 2008 Marx was part of a PBS television series called "Songwriters In The Round Presents: Legends & Lyrics." In Episode 102 of the first season, Marx appears along with Kenny Loggins, Nathan Lee, and rock band Three Doors Down. The musical performance has recently been released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc through the Legends and Lyrics website. This episode also features an interview with singer/songwriter Diane Warren. On 6 December 2008 Marx headlined a fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis research, "Newsapalooza," sponsored by WLS-AM's Roe Conn program, in which Marx both performed several of his hits with his band and accompanied Chicago broadcast news reporters and anchors covering rock hits. On an interview published in Rolling Stone on June 26, 2009, Marx said he was "ashamed" of being linked to a $1.92 million fine against single mother Jammie Thomas-Rasset by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Rasset had shared 24 songs on the file-sharing website Kazaa in 2005. Marx's "Now and Forever" was one of them. Marx played piano on the song "Here" and produced Matt Scannell's vocals on two tracks for Vertical Horizon's latest album Burning the Days. Richard Marx appeared on a YouTube video "ASK KevJumba 2" , singing along with YouTube star KevJumba.

On March 27, 2011, Marx sang the National Anthem at the NASCAR race, the 2011 Auto Club 400.

On May 3, 2011 Richard Marx was invited on stage at the Curran Theater, San Francisco, by Hugh Jackman. It was opening night of Hugh Jackman In Performance. When introducing the mystery guest Hugh Jackman said that the person was instrumental in helping him put the show together and rehearse. That he had been on at least 4 occasions in this person's living room practicing. The mystery guest was revealed to be Richard Marx. They then sang "Right Here Waiting" together with Marx changing the lyrics on the last chorus to "Right here waiting for Hugh".

Personal life

On January 8, 1989, Marx married singer/dancer/actress Cynthia Rhodes. The couple have three sons: Brandon (born 1990), Lucas (born 1992), and Jesse (born 1994). They currently reside in Lake Bluff, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Rhodes acted and sang in 1982's ''Staying Alive'', 1983's ''Flashdance'', and most notably in the 1987 blockbuster ''Dirty Dancing, as well as appearing as the female lead in Marx's first video, "Don't Mean Nothing".'' Rhodes also briefly sang lead for the second incarnation of the synth-pop band Animotion in the late 1980s.

Discography

References

External links

;Official

RichardMarx.com (Official Site)

Official Richard Marx page at MySpace

Official Richard Marx page at Facebook

Richard Marx page at VH1

Richard Marx Music Page at Yahoo!

Category:American pop singers Category:American rock guitarists Category:American rock keyboardists Category:American rock pianists Category:American rock singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:American musicians of German descent Category:Musicians from Chicago, Illinois Category:1963 births Category:Living people

da:Richard Marx de:Richard Marx es:Richard Marx fa:ریچارد مارکس fr:Richard Marx ko:리처드 막스 id:Richard Marx it:Richard Marx ja:リチャード・マークス no:Richard Marx pl:Richard Marx pt:Richard Marx ru:Маркс, Ричард fi:Richard Marx sv:Richard Marx th:ริชาร์ด มาร์กซ uk:Річард Маркс vi:Richard Marx zh:理查·马克斯

name	Mark Steel
birth date	July 04, 1960
birth place	Swanley, Kent, United Kingdom
medium	Stand-up, Television, Books, Radio
nationality	British
active	1983-present
genre	Political satire
subject	Politics
influences	Paul Merton
influenced	Seann Walsh, Alan Davies
notable work	''The Mark Steel Lectures''''The Mark Steel Revolution'' ''The Mark Steel Solution'' ''Mark Steel's in Town''
website	http://www.marksteelinfo.com/
footnotes	}}

Mark Steel (born 4 July 1960) is a British socialist columnist, author and comedian. He was a member of the Socialist Workers Party from his late teens until 2007.

Early life

Steel grew up in Swanley, Kent. He was expelled from Swanley Comprehensive School for attending a cricket course at the age of 15, and went on to work in a garage. From there he went on to make his first public performance as a poet.

In the late 1970s his father suffered a mental breakdown and was placed into care at Stonehouse Hospital. The shabby conditions of the home reinforced Steel's political beliefs.

Career

Steel has given varying accounts of his early life: he became bored with constantly being asked how he had started in comedy and took to telling the questioner the first thing that came into his head. He is often described as having worked as a television repair man but confesses that he has no technical ability whatsoever. He worked the comedy circuit for several years, and then in 1992 presented a satirical radio show ''The Mark Steel Solution'' on BBC Radio 5, consisting of half-hour monologues which offered solutions to social problems. It ran to four series. ''It's Not a Runner Bean'', a comic autobiography, was published in 1996, and this led to a column in ''The Guardian''.

Steel wrote a column for ''The Guardian'' between 1996 and 1999. He was sacked by that newspaper, according to him because ''The Guardian'' wanted to "realign towards Tony Blair" - though ''The Guardian'' denies this. In 2000 he started writing a weekly column for ''The Independent'', which appears in the Wednesday Opinion Column.

He has written and performed several radio and television series for the BBC, and authored several books, as detailed below.

In 2005 he toured the UK, where he discussed the French revolution from a comic view point.

Personal life

Steel lives in Clapham, London. He is a supporter of Crystal Palace F.C. and Kent County Cricket Club and enjoys watching both play on occasion. He was interviewed by Jonathan Agnew on Test Match Special during the South Africa series, giving an interview on his love of cricket.

He has a son (Elliot) and a daughter (Eloise) from a relationship, but he and his partner separated in 2006.

Politics

During the Thatcher years, when he was in his 20s, Steel developed his left-wing political views. His anger and depression at society's injustices were vented by political protests, punk rock and poetry.

Seeing the Soviet Union as "shit", and state capitalist rather than truly socialist, Steel joined the Socialist Workers Party rather than the Communist Party. He attended marches, strikes and demonstrations, and was present at the death of Blair Peach. In the early '80s he also persuaded his mother to allow striking steelworkers to spend a night in the Steel residence. His political activism continued throughout the decade, from the miners' strike through to the Poll Tax Riots. During this time he moved into a squat with his old friend Mick Hannan, before taking up residence in a flat.

In 2000 Steel took part in the London Assembly elections on behalf of the London Socialist Alliance (part of the Socialist Alliance) in the Croydon and Sutton constituency; he received 1,823 votes (1.5 per cent of the vote).

In 2007 he left the SWP and justified his decision in his book ''Whats Going On?'' In the book he wrote that he left the party because whilst the membership base had become smaller and smaller, the members that remained became increasingly delusional over the size and relevance of the organisation. He also condemned how at a time when there was broad public support for socialist ideals, increasingly bitter and futile in-fighting on the left made political success untenable. Alex Callinicos, International Secretary of the SWP, reviewed the book in the ''Socialist Review'', arguing that it "evinces a kind of grandiose ignorance" and that "the only principle one can detect here is that the SWP is always in the wrong". Literary critic Nicholas Lezard praised the book in ''The Guardian'', particularly for its discussion of the break-up of Steel's relationship, which "gives it a poignancy and depth which at its outset one might not have expected".

Steel is a Palestinian human rights activist, having been a member of the British-based ENOUGH! coalition that seeks to end the "Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank."

Radio and television

Radio

''The Mark Steel Solution'' (1992, 1994–1996) BBC Radio 5, BBC Radio 4, repeated BBC 7

''The Mark Steel Revolution'' (1998) BBC Radio 4, (2007) repeated BBC 7 Australia - Radio National 17.30 2009-01-13 to 2009-01-16 and 2009-01-19 to 2009-01-23

''The Mark Steel Lectures'' (1999–2002) BBC Radio 4, (2007) repeated BBC 7

''Dedicated Troublemaker'' (2004) BBC Radio 4

''Mark Steel's in Town'' (2009–2010) BBC Radio 4

He has also contributed to or appeared on the following shows:

''The Good Human Guide'' BBC Radio 2(1985). Contributing writer.

''Extra Time'' BBC Radio 5. Presenter. Sports programme.

''Late Edition'' BBC Radio 4 (1995). Regular panellist on this satirical talk show.

''The News Quiz'' BBC Radio 4 several occasions from the late 1990s onwards. Guest panellist on this satirical news based panel game.

''Loose Ends'' BBC Radio 4. Interviewee.

''Midweek'' BBC Radio 4. Interviewee.

''Excess Baggage'' BBC Radio 4. Interviewee.

''Test Match Special'' BBC Radio 4. Lunchtime interviewee, 1 August 2008 - England vs South Africa, 3rd test, Edgbaston.

''I've Never Seen Star Wars'' BBC Radio 4 (2008). Interviewee

''Heresy'' BBC Radio 4 (2009).

Television

''The Mark Steel Lectures'' BBC Four (2003, 2004, 2006). Writer and Presenter. Television version of his radio programme of the same title. Produced in association with The Open University.

He also appeared in the following shows:

''Red Dwarf'' BBC Two (1989). Playing 'Ski-man' in episode "Timeslides" (non-speaking part).

''Loose Talk'' (1994). Guest.

''The Late Jonathan Ross'' (1996). Guest.

''Does China Exist''. (1997).

''If I Ruled the World'' BBC Two (1998). Guest panellist.

''Lamarr's Attacks'' BBC Two (2000). Guest.

''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' BBC Two (2000, 2001). Guest panellist on the satirical music based panel game.

''Have I Got News for You'' BBC One (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009). Guest panellist on this satirical news based panel game.

''Question Time'' BBC One (2003, 2005). Guest panellist on discussion show.

''QI'' BBC Two, BBC Four (2004, 2005, 2006). Guest panellist.

''Mock the Week'', BBC Two (2005, 2006). Guest panellist.

''Room 101'' BBC Two, (2006). Guest

Bibliography

Printed

*''Vive La Revolution'' (2003) ISBN 0-7432-0805-6, (2004) ISBN 0-7432-0806-4 History of the French Revolution.

*''Reasons To Be Cheerful'' (2001) ISBN 0-7432-0803-X, (2002) ISBN 0-7432-0804-8 Autobiography concentrating on political activism.

*''It's Not A Runner Bean'' (1996) ISBN 1-899344-12-8, (2004) ISBN 1-904316-43-3 Autobiography concentrating on his comedy career.

*''What's Going On? The Meanderings of a Comic Mind in Confusion'' (2008) ISBN 1-847372-81-9 Autobiography charting changes to his own personal life and the politics of the left.

Audiobooks

*''Reasons to Be Cheerful: From Punk to New Labour Through the Eyes of a Dedicated Troublemaker'' (2001) cassette ISBN 0-7435-0062-8

See also

List of newspaper columnists

References

External links

Mark Steel's official website

Off the Kerb Comedy Agency

Mark Steel's article archive at ''The Independent''

Open University site dedicated to the television version of ''The Mark Steel Lectures''.

Chortle profile.

Information about ''It’s Not A Runner Bean'' (including extract).

Interview with Jared Wilson for LeftLion.

Interview with ''The Third Estate''.

Interview with ''Socialist Review''.

BBC Comedy Guide - Mark Steel Lectures Includes a clip of one of the shows

Reviews of his book ''Reasons to be Cheerful''.

Audio Files

*The Russian Revolution: Was It A Coup? - Lecture at Marxism 1999 (MP3)

*Karl Marx - Part 2 - Lecture at Marxism 2002 (MP3)

*The French Revolution - Part 2 - Lecture at Marxism 2002 (MP3)

*Viva La Revolution A Stand Up History Of The French Revolution - Part 2 - Lecture at Marxism 2003 (MP3)

*Albert Einstein - Part 2 - Lecture at Marxism 2005 (MP3)

*Large selection of audio (mp3) and video (mp4) files available at www.marksteelinfo.com/audiovideo/

Category:1960 births Category:Living people Category:British republicans Category:English atheists Category:English columnists Category:English comedians Category:British Trotskyists Category:People from Swanley Category:Socialist Workers Party (UK) members Category:English socialists

name	Groucho Marx
birth date	October 02, 1890
birth place	New York City, New York, U.S.
death date
death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
birth name	Julius Henry Marx
medium	Film, television, music
nationality	American
active	1919-72
genre	Wit/WordplaySlapstick
influenced	Johnny CarsonWoody AllenBrendon SmallMilton BerleBill Cosby Conan O'BrienRicky Gervais
spouse	Ruth Johnson (1920-42) (divorced)Kay Marvis Gorcey (1945-51) (divorced)Eden Hartford (1954-69) (divorced) }}

Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born. He also had a successful solo career, most notably as the host of the radio and television game show ''You Bet Your Life''. His distinctive appearance, carried over from his days in vaudeville, included quirks such as an exaggerated stooped posture, glasses, cigars, and a thick greasepaint mustache and eyebrows.

Early life

In a 1950 radio episode of ''You Bet Your Life'', Groucho states that he was born in a room above a butcher's shop on 78th Street in New York City.

The Jewish Marx family grew up on East 93rd Street off Lexington Avenue in a neighborhood now known as Carnegie Hill on the Upper East Side of the borough of Manhattan, in New York City. The turn-of-the-century building that Harpo called "the first real home they ever knew" (in his memoir ''Harpo Speaks'') was populated with European immigrants, mostly artisans. Just across the street were the oldest brownstones in the area, owned by people such as the well-connected Loew Brothers and William Orth.

Groucho's parents were Minnie Schoenberg Marx and Sam Marx (called "Frenchie" throughout his life because of his birthplace, Alsace-Lorraine). Minnie's brother was Al Schoenberg, who shortened his name to Al Shean when he went into show business as half of Gallagher and Shean, a noted vaudeville act of the early 20th century. According to Groucho, when Shean visited he would throw the local waifs a few coins so that when he knocked at the door he would be surrounded by adoring fans. Marx and his brothers respected his opinions and asked him on several occasions to write some material for them.

Minnie Marx did not have an entertainment industry career, but had intense ambition for her sons to go on the stage like their uncle. While pushing her eldest son Leonard (Chico Marx) in piano lessons, she found that Julius had a pleasant soprano voice and the ability to remain on key. Even though Julius's early career goal was to become a doctor, the family's need for income forced Julius out of school at the age of twelve. By that time, Julius had become a voracious reader, particularly fond of Horatio Alger. Throughout the rest of his life, Marx would overcome his lack of formal education by becoming very well-read.

After a few comically unsuccessful stabs at entry-level office work and other jobs suitable for adolescents, Julius took to the stage as a boy singer in 1905. Though he reputedly claimed that as a vaudevillian he was "hopelessly average," it was merely a wisecrack. By 1909, Minnie Marx successfully managed to assemble her sons into a low-quality vaudeville singing group. Billed as "The Four Nightingales", Julius, Milton (Gummo Marx), Arthur (originally Adolph; Harpo Marx), and another boy singer, Lou Levy, traveled the U.S. vaudeville circuits to little fanfare. After exhausting their prospects in the East, the family moved to La Grange, Illinois, to play the Midwest.

After a particularly dispiriting performance in Nacogdoches, Texas, Julius, Milton, and Arthur began cracking jokes onstage for their own amusement. Much to their surprise, the audience liked them better as comedians than as singers. They modified the then-popular Gus Edwards comedy skit "School Days" and renamed it "Fun In Hi Skule". The Marx Brothers would perform variations on this routine for the next seven years.

For a time in vaudeville all the brothers performed using ethnic accents. Leonard, the oldest, developed the Italian accent he used as Chico Marx to convince some roving bullies that he was Italian, not Jewish. Julius Marx's character from "Fun In Hi Skule" was an ethnic German, so Julius played him with a German accent. However, after the sinking of the RMS Lusitania in 1915, public anti-German sentiment was widespread, and Marx's German character was booed, so he quickly dropped the accent and developed the fast-talking wise-guy character he would be remembered for.

The Marx Brothers became the biggest comedic stars of the Palace Theatre, which billed itself as the "Valhalla of Vaudeville". Brother Chico's deal-making skills resulted in three hit plays on Broadway. No comedy routine had ever infected the hallowed Broadway circuit.

All of this predated their Hollywood career. By the time the Marxes made their first movie, they were major stars with sharply honed skills, and when Groucho was relaunched to stardom on ''You Bet Your Life'', he had already been performing successfully for half a century.

Career

Hollywood

Groucho Marx made 26 movies, 13 of them with his brothers Chico and Harpo. Marx developed a routine as a wise-cracking hustler with a distinctive chicken-walking lope, an exaggerated greasepaint mustache and eyebrows, and an ever-present cigar, improvising insults to stuffy dowagers (often played by Margaret Dumont) and anyone else who stood in his way. As the Marx Brothers, he and his brothers starred in a series of popular stage shows and movies.

Their first movie was a silent film made in 1921 that was never released, and is believed to have been destroyed at the time. A decade later, the team made some of their Broadway hits into movies, including ''The Cocoanuts'' and ''Animal Crackers''. Other successful films were ''Monkey Business'', ''Horse Feathers'', ''Duck Soup'', and ''A Night at the Opera''. One quip from Marx concerned his response to Sam Wood, the director of the classic film ''A Night at the Opera''. Furious with the Marx Brothers' ad-libs and antics on the set, Wood yelled in disgust: "You can't make an actor out of clay." Groucho responded, "Nor a director out of Wood."

Marx worked as a radio comedian and show host. One of his earliest stints was in a short-lived series in 1932 ''Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel,'' co-starring Chico. Most of the scripts and discs were thought to have been destroyed, but all but one of the scripts were found in 1988 in the Library of Congress.

In 1947, Marx was chosen to host a radio quiz program ''You Bet Your Life'' broadcast by ABC and then CBS, before moving over to NBC radio ''and'' television in 1950. Filmed before a live audience, the television show consisted of Marx interviewing the contestants and ad libbing jokes, before playing a brief quiz. The show was responsible for the phrases "Say the secret woid [word] and divide $100" (that is, each contestant would get $50); and "Who's buried in Grant's Tomb?" or "What color is the White House?" (asked when Marx felt sorry for a contestant who had not won anything). It ran for eleven years on television.

Groucho was the subject of an urban legend about a supposed response to a contestant who had nine children which supposedly brought down the house. In response to Marx asking in disbelief why she had so many children, the contestant replied, "I love my husband." To this, Marx responded, "I love my cigar, too, but I take it out of my mouth once in a while." Groucho often asserted in interviews that this exchange never took place, but it remains one of the most often quoted "Groucho-isms" nonetheless.

Throughout his career he introduced a number of memorable songs in films, including "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" and "Hello, I Must Be Going", in ''Animal Crackers'', "Whatever It Is, I'm Against It", "Everyone Says I Love You" and "Lydia the Tattooed Lady". Frank Sinatra, who once quipped that the only thing he could do better than Marx was sing, made a film with Marx and Jane Russell in 1951 titled ''Double Dynamite''.

Mustache, eyebrows and walk

In public and off-camera, Harpo and Chico were difficult to recognize by their fans without their wigs and costumes, but it was almost impossible to recognize Groucho without his trademark eye-glasses, fake eyebrows and mustache.

The greasepaint mustache and eyebrows originated spontaneously prior to a vaudeville performance in the early 1920s when he did not have time to apply the pasted-on mustache he had been using (or, according to his autobiography, simply did not enjoy the removal of the mustache every night because of the effects of tearing an adhesive bandage off the same patch of skin every night). After applying the greasepaint mustache, a quick glance in the mirror revealed his natural hair eyebrows were too undertoned and did not match the rest of his face, so Marx added the greasepaint to his eyebrows and headed for the stage. The absurdity of the greasepaint was never discussed on-screen, but in a famous scene in ''Duck Soup,'' where both Chicolini (Chico) and Pinky (Harpo) disguise themselves as Groucho, they are briefly seen applying the greasepaint, implicitly answering any question a viewer might have had about where he got his mustache and eyebrows.

Marx was asked to apply the greasepaint mustache once more for ''You Bet Your Life'' when it came to television, but he refused, opting instead to grow a real one, which he wore for the rest of his life. By this time, his eyesight had weakened enough for him actually to need corrective lenses; before then, his eye-glasses had merely been a stage prop. He debuted this new, and now much-older, appearance in ''Love Happy,'' the Marx Brothers's last film as a comedy team.

He did paint the old character mustache over his real one on a few rare performing occasions, including a TV sketch with Jackie Gleason on the latter's variety show in the 1960s (in which they performed a variation on the song "Positively Mr. Gallagher, Absolutely Mr. Shean," written by Marx's uncle Al Shean) and the 1968 Otto Preminger film ''Skidoo''. In his 70s at the time, Marx remarked on his appearance: "I looked like I was embalmed." He played a mob boss called "God" and, according to Marx, "both my performance and the film were God-awful!".

The exaggerated walk, with one hand on the small of his back and his torso bent almost 90 degrees at the waist was a parody of a fad from the 1880s and 1890s. Then, fashionable young men of the upper classes would affect a walk with their right hand held fast to the base of their spines, and with a slight lean forward at the waist and a very slight twist toward the right with the left shoulder, allowing the left hand to swing free with the gait. Edmund Morris, in his biography ''The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt'', describes a young Roosevelt, newly elected to the State Assembly, walking into the House Chamber for the first time in this trendy, affected gait, somewhat to the amusement of the older and more rural Members who were present. Groucho exaggerated this fad to a marked degree, and the comedy effect was enhanced by how out of date the fashion was by the 1920s and 30s.

Personal life

Groucho's three marriages all ended in divorce. His first wife was chorus girl Ruth Johnson (married February 4, 1920, divorced July 15, 1942). He was 29 and she 19 at the time of their wedding. The couple had two children, Arthur Marx and Miriam Marx. His second wife was Kay Marvis, née Catherine Dittig (married February 24, 1945, divorced May 12, 1951), former wife of Leo Gorcey. Groucho was 54 and Kay 24 at the time of their marriage. They had a daughter, Melinda Marx. His third wife was actress Eden Hartford (married July 17, 1954, divorced December 4, 1969). She was 20 when she married the 63-year-old Groucho.

During the early 1950s, Groucho described his perfect woman: “Someone who looks like Marilyn Monroe and talks like George S. Kaufman.”

Often when the Marxes arrived at restaurants, there would be a long wait for a table. "Just tell the maître d' who we are," his wife would say. (In his pre-mustache days, he was rarely recognized in public.) Groucho would say, "OK, OK. Good evening, sir. My name is Jones. This is Mrs. Jones, and here are all the little Joneses." Now his wife would be furious and insist that he tell the maître d' the truth. "Oh, all right," said Groucho. "My name is Smith. This is Mrs. Smith, and here are all the little Smiths."

Similar anecdotes are corroborated by Groucho's friends, not one of whom went without being publicly embarrassed by Groucho on at least one occasion. Once, at a restaurant (the most common location of Groucho's antics), a fan came up to him and said, "Excuse me, but aren't you Groucho Marx?" "Yes," Groucho answered annoyedly. "Oh, I'm your biggest fan! Could I ask you a favor?" the man asked. "Sure, what is it?" asked the even-more annoyed Groucho. "See my wife sitting over there? She's an even bigger fan of yours than I am! Would you be willing to insult her?" Groucho replied, "Sir, if my wife looked like ''that,'' I wouldn't need any help thinking of insults!"

Groucho's son Arthur published a brief account of an incident that occurred when Arthur was a child. The family was going through airport customs and, while filling out a form, Groucho listed his name as "Julius Henry Marx" and his occupation as "smuggler." Thereafter, chaos ensued.

Later in life, Groucho would sometimes note to talk-show hosts, not entirely jokingly, that he was unable to actually insult anyone, because the target of his comment assumed it was a Groucho-esque joke and would laugh.

Despite his lack of formal education, he wrote many books, including his autobiography, ''Groucho and Me'' (1959) and ''Memoirs of a Mangy Lover'' (1963). He was personal friends with such literary figures as T. S. Eliot and Carl Sandburg. Much of his personal correspondence with those and other figures is featured in the book ''The Groucho Letters'' (1967) with an introduction and commentary on the letters written by Groucho, who donated his letters to the Library of Congress.

Although Irving Berlin quipped, "The world would not be in such a snarl, had Marx been Groucho instead of Karl", Groucho's political views were liberal. In his book ''The Groucho Phile'', Marx says "I've been a liberal Democrat all my life", and "I frankly find Democrats a better, more sympathetic crowd.... I'll continue to believe that Democrats have a greater regard for the common man than Republicans do". ''Marx & Lennon: The Parallel Sayings'' was published in 2005; the book records similar sayings between Groucho Marx and John Lennon.

Later years

''You Bet Your Life''

Groucho's radio life was not as successful as his life on stage and in film, though historians such as Gerald Nachman and Michael Barson suggest that, in the case of the single-season ''Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel'' (1932), the failure may have been a combination of a poor time slot and the Marx Brothers' returning to Hollywood to make another film.

In the mid-1940s, during a depressing lull in his career (his radio show ''Blue Ribbon Town'' had failed to hold on, and the Marx Brothers looked finished as film performers), Groucho was scheduled to appear on a radio show with Bob Hope. Annoyed that he was made to wait in the waiting room for 40 minutes, Groucho went on the air in a foul mood. Hope started by saying "Why, it's Groucho Marx, ladies and gentlemen! (''applause'') Groucho, what brings you here from the hot desert?" Groucho retorted, "Hot desert my foot, I've been standing in the cold waiting room for forty minutes!" Groucho continued to ignore the script, and although Hope was a formidable ad-libber in his own right, he could not begin to keep up with Groucho, who lengthened the scene well beyond its allotted time slot with a veritable onslaught of improvised wisecracks.

Listening in on the show was producer John Guedel, who got a brainstorm. He approached Groucho about doing a quiz show, to which Groucho derisively retorted, "A ''quiz show''? Only actors who are completely washed up resort to a quiz show!" Undeterred, Guedel explained that the quiz would be only a backdrop for Groucho's interviews of people, and the storm of ad-libbing that they would elicit. Groucho said, "Well, I've had no success in radio, and I can't hold on to a sponsor. At this point, I'll try anything!"

''You Bet Your Life'' debuted in October 1947 on radio on ABC (which aired it from 1947–49), sponsored by costume jewelry manufacturer Allen Gellman; and then on CBS (1949–50), and finally NBC, continuing until May 1961—on radio only, 1947–1950; on both radio and television, 1950–1960; and on television only, 1960-1961. The show proved a huge hit, being one of the most popular on television by the mid-1950s. With George Fenneman, as his announcer and straight man, Groucho slayed his audiences with improvised conversation with his guests. Since ''You Bet Your Life'' was mostly ad-libbed and unscripted, Groucho insisted that the network prerecord it (instead of being broadcast live) so that they could edit out any profanity or sexual innuendos that he or his guests might say. The television show was cancelled in 1961 after 11 successful seasons.

The program's theme music was an instrumental version of "Hooray for Captain Spaulding", which became increasingly identified as Groucho's personal theme song. Groucho released a record of the song with the Ken Lane singers and orchestra directed by Victor Young in 1952. Another recording made by Groucho during this period was "The Funniest Song in the World", released on the Young Peoples' Records label in 1949. It was a series of five original children's songs with a connecting narrative about a monkey and his fellow zoo creatures.

Other work

By the time ''You Bet Your Life'' debuted on TV on October 5, 1950, Groucho had grown a real mustache (which he had already sported earlier in the films ''Copacabana'' and ''Love Happy'').

During a tour of Germany in 1958, accompanied by then-wife Eden, daughter Melinda, Robert Dwan and Dwan's daughter Judith, he climbed a pile of rubble that marked the site of Adolf Hitler's bunker, the site of Hitler's death, and performed a two-minute Charleston. He later remarked to Richard J. Anobile in ''The Marx Brothers Scrapbook,'' "Not much satisfaction after he killed six million Jews!"

In 1960, Groucho, a lifelong devotee of the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, appeared as Koko the Lord High Executioner in a televised production of ''The Mikado'' on NBC's ''Bell Telephone Hour''.

Another TV show, ''Tell It To Groucho'', premiered January 11, 1962 on CBS, but only lasted five months. On October 1, 1962, Groucho, after acting as occasional guest host of ''The Tonight Show'' during the six-month interval between Jack Paar and Johnny Carson, introduced Carson as the new host. In 1965, a weekly show for British TV titled ''Groucho'' was poorly received and only lasted 11 weeks.

Groucho appeared as a gangster named God in the movie ''Skidoo'' (1968), co-starring Jackie Gleason and Carol Channing, directed by Otto Preminger, and released by the studio where he got his Hollywood start, Paramount Pictures. The film got almost universally negative reviews. As a side note, writer Paul Krassner published a story in the February 1981 issue of ''High Times'', relating how Groucho prepared for the LSD-themed movie by taking a dose of the drug in Krassner's company, and had a moving, largely pleasant experience. Four years later came Groucho's last theatrical film appearance; a brief, uncredited cameo in Michael Ritchie's ''The Candidate'' (1972).

In the early 1970s, largely at the behest of companion Erin Fleming, Groucho, now aged 82, made a comeback with a live one-man show, including one recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1972 and released as a double album, ''An Evening with Groucho'', on A&M; Records. He also made an appearance in 1973 on a short-lived variety show hosted by Bill Cosby, who idolized Groucho.

Groucho developed friendships with rock star Alice Cooper—the two were photographed together for ''Rolling Stone'' magazine—and television host Dick Cavett, becoming a frequent guest on Cavett's late-night talk show. He befriended Elton John when the British singer was staying in California in 1972, insisting on calling him "John Elton." According to writer Philip Norman, when Groucho jokingly pointed his index fingers as if holding a pair of six-shooters, Elton John put up his hands and said, "Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player," thereby naming the album he had just completed. Elton John accompanied Groucho to a performance of ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. As the lights went down, Groucho called out, "Does it have a happy ending?" And during the Crucifixion scene, he declared, "This is sure to offend the Jews."

Groucho's previous works regained popularity and were accompanied by new books of transcribed conversations by Richard J. Anobile and Charlotte Chandler. In a BBC interview in 1975, Groucho called his greatest achievement having a book selected for cultural preservation in the American Library of Congress. As a man who never had formal schooling, to have his writings declared to be culturally important was a point of great satisfaction. As he passed his 81st birthday in October 1971, however, Groucho became increasingly frail physically and mentally as a result of several minor strokes he suffered. Controversy surrounded the companionship he had developed with Erin Fleming, which consequently raised disputes over his estate.

Jack Lemmon presented Groucho with an honorary Academy Award in 1974, his final major public appearance, in which he received a standing ovation. Noticeably frail and sluggish, Groucho took a bow for his deceased brothers, saying, "I wish that Harpo and Chico could be here to share with me this great honor." He also wished that Margaret Dumont could have been present, adding that she was a great straight woman for him and that she never understood any of his jokes. Groucho's final appearance was a brief sketch with George Burns in the Bob Hope television Special ''Joys'' in 1976.

His health was noticeably worsening by the following year and when Gummo died, aged 84, on April 21, 1977, in Palm Springs, California, the death of his younger brother was not reported to Groucho because it was thought too detrimental to his health.

Groucho maintained his irrepressible sense of humor to the very end, however. According to Dick Cavett's memoir ''Eye on Cavett'', when the elderly Groucho visited an old friend in the hospital, he said to the elevator attendant, as if in a department store, "Men's tonsils, please." When Groucho himself was on his deathbed, and a nurse came around with a thermometer, explaining that she wanted to see if he had a temperature, he responded, "Don't be silly—everybody has a temperature." George Fenneman, his radio and TV announcer, good-natured foil, and lifelong friend, often related a story in subsequent years of one of his final visits to Groucho's home: When the time came to end the visit, Fenneman lifted Groucho from his wheelchair, put his arms around his torso, and began to "walk" the frail comedian backwards across the room toward his bed. As he did, he heard a weak voice in his ear: "Fenneman," whispered Groucho, "you always were a lousy dancer."

Death

Marx's children, particularly his son Arthur, felt strongly that Fleming was pushing their weak father beyond his physical and mental limits. Writer Mark Evanier concurred. Marx was hospitalized for pneumonia on June 22, 1977 and died on August 19 at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

He was cremated and the ashes were interred in the Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Groucho had the longest lifespan of all the Marx Brothers and was survived only by younger brother Zeppo, who outlived him by two years, dying in 1979 at the age of 78. Groucho's death was somewhat overshadowed because it occurred three days after that of Elvis Presley. In an interview, he jokingly suggested his epitaph read: "Excuse me, I can't stand up." But his mausoleum marker bears only his stage name, a Star of David that represents his Judaism, and the years of his birth and death.

Legacy

Groucho Marx was, and is, the most recognizable and well-known of the Marx Brothers. Groucho-like characters and references have appeared in popular culture both during and after his life, some aimed at audiences who would never have seen a Marx Brothers movie. Groucho's trademark eye glasses, nose, mustache, and cigar have become icons of comedy— glasses with fake noses and mustaches (referred to as "Groucho glasses", "nose-glasses," and other names) are sold by novelty and costume shops around the world.

Actor Frank Ferrante has performed as Groucho Marx on stage for more than two decades. He continues to tour under rights granted by the Marx family in a one-man show entitled ''An Evening With Groucho'' in theaters throughout the United States and Canada with piano accompanist Jim Furmston. In the late 1980s Ferrante starred as Groucho in the off-Broadway and London show ''Groucho: A Life in Revue'' penned by Groucho's son Arthur. Ferrante portrayed the comedian from age 15 to 85. The show was later filmed for PBS in 2001.

Gabe Kaplan has appeared in a filmed version. Alan Alda often vamped as Groucho on ''M*A*S*H'' and a minor semi-recurring character in the series (played by Loudon Wainwright III) was named Captain Calvin Spalding in a nod towards Groucho's character in ''Animal Crackers'', Captain Geoffrey T. Spaulding.

Two of the British Rock Band Queen's albums, ''A Night at the Opera'' (1975) and ''A Day at the Races'' (1976), are named after Marx Brothers films. In March 1977, Groucho invited Queen to visit him in his Los Angeles home; there they performed "'39" a capella. A long-running ad campaign for Vlasic Pickles features an animated stork that imitates Groucho's mannerisms and voice. On the famous Hollywood Sign in California, one of the "O"s is dedicated to Groucho. Alice Cooper contributed over $27,000 to remodel the sign, in memory of his friend.

Woody Allen's 1996 musical "Everyone Says I Love You", in addition to being named for one of Groucho's signature songs, ends with a Groucho-themed New Year's Eve party in Paris, which some of the stars, including Allen and Goldie Hawn, attend in full Groucho costume. The highlight of the scene is an ensemble song-and-dance performance of "Hooray for Captain Spaulding"—done entirely in French.

The BBC remade the radio sitcom ''Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel'', with contemporary actors playing the parts of the original cast. The series was repeated on digital radio station BBC7. Scottish playwright Louise Oliver wrote a play named "Waiting For Groucho" about Chico and Harpo waiting for Groucho to turn up for the filming of their last project together. This was performed by Glasgow theatre company Rhymes with Purple Productions at the Edinburgh Fringe and in Glasgow and Hamilton in 2007-08. Groucho was played by Scottish actor Frodo McDaniel.

Solo filmography

Features

''Yours for the Asking'' (as sunbather, uncredited) (1936), released by Paramount Pictures

''Instatanes'' (1943)

''Copacabana'' (1947), released by United Artists

''Mr. Music'' (as himself) (1950), released by Paramount Pictures

''Double Dynamite'' (as Emile J. Keck) (1951), released by RKO

''A Girl in Every Port'' (as Benjamin Linn) (1952), released by RKO

''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'' (1957) (as George Schmidlap, uncredited), released by 20th Century Fox

''The Story of Mankind'', (1957) (Harpo and Chico also appeared, but in individual scenes)

''The Mikado'' (as Koko) (1960), made for television

''Skidoo'' (as God) (1968), released by Paramount

Short subjects

''Hollywood on Parade No. 11'' (1933)

''Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 3'' (1936)

''Sunday Night at the Trocadero'' (1937)

''Screen Snapshots: The Great Al Jolson'' (1955)

''Showdown at Ulcer Gulch'' (1956) (voice)

''Screen Snapshots: Playtime in Hollywood'' (1956)

See also

Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana. - a quotation attributed to Marx

Paraprosdokian, a phrase type Marx was known for

References

Further reading

Miriam Marx Allen, ''Love, Groucho: Letters From Groucho Marx to His Daughter Miriam'' (1992, ISBN 0-571-12915-3)

Charlotte Chandler, ''Hello, I Must Be Going'' (1979, ISBN 0-14-005222-4)

Stefan Kanfer, ''Groucho: The Life and Times of Julius Henry Marx'' (2000, ISBN 0-375-70207-5)

Simon Louvish, ''Monkey Business: The Lives and Legends of the Marx Brothers'' (2001, ISBN 0-312-25292-7)

Arthur Marx, ''Life With Groucho'' (1954, revised as ''My Life with Groucho: A Son's Eye View'' 1988, ISBN 0-330-31132-8))

Arthur Marx, ''Son of Groucho'' (1972, ISBN 0-679-50355-2)

Groucho Marx, ''Groucho and Me'' (1959, ISBN 0-306-80666-5)

Groucho Marx, ''Memoirs of a Mangy Lover'' (1963, ISBN 0-306-81104-9)

Groucho Marx, ''The Groucho Letters: Letters From and To Groucho Marx'' (1967, ISBN 0-306-80607-X)

Groucho Marx, ''Beds'' (1977, ISBN 0-672-52224-1)

Harpo Marx, ''Harpo Speaks'' (1961, revised as ''Harpo Speaks!'' 1985, ISBN 0-87910-036-2)

Glenn Mitchell, ''The Marx Brothers Encyclopedia'' (1996, ISBN 0-7134-7838-1)

Steve Stoliar, ''Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho's House'' (1996, ISBN 1-881649-73-3)

''Julius H. (Groucho) Marx v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue'', 29 T.C. 88 (1957)

External links

Alistair Cooke's reflections on his friendship with Groucho

Lydia's Marx Brothers Tribute Website

Groucho Marx Old Time Radio Mp3s from Archive.org

Groucho's letter to Warner Brothers when they threatened to sue him

Urban Legends Reference Page: Groucho Marx: "I Love My Cigar"

Esquire magazine profile of Groucho Marx in 1972, by Roger Ebert

1922 passport photo of Groucho and first wife Ruth Johnson(courtesy of the Puzzlemaster, Flickr.com)

Category:1890 births Category:1977 deaths Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American game show hosts Category:American radio personalities Category:National Radio Hall of Fame inductees Category:Deaths from pneumonia Category:American Jews Category:American people of German-Jewish descent Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish comedians Category:People from New York City Category:Vaudeville performers Category:Infectious disease deaths in California Category:Marx Brothers (film series) Category:Academy Honorary Award recipients

ast:Groucho Marx bg:Граучо Маркс ca:Groucho Marx cs:Groucho Marx cy:Groucho Marx da:Groucho Marx de:Groucho Marx es:Groucho Marx eu:Groucho Marx fr:Groucho Marx ga:Groucho Marx gl:Groucho Marx ko:그루초 막스 hr:Groucho Marx io:Groucho Marx it:Groucho Marx he:גראוצ'ו מרקס ku:Groucho Marx nl:Groucho Marx no:Groucho Marx pt:Groucho Marx ru:Маркс, Граучо scn:Groucho Marx simple:Groucho Marx sh:Groucho Marx fi:Groucho Marx sv:Groucho Marx zh:格魯喬·馬克思

Kurt Schneider (7 January 1887 – 27 October 1967) was a German psychiatrist known largely for his writing on the diagnosis and understanding of schizophrenia.

Biography

Schneider was born in Crailsheim, Kingdom of Württemberg, and trained in medicine in Berlin and Tübingen. He was drafted for military service in World War I and later obtained a postgraduate qualification in psychiatry. In 1931 he became director of the Psychiatric Research Institute in Munich, which was previously founded by Emil Kraepelin.

Disgusted by the developing tide of psychiatric eugenics championed by the Nazi Party, Schneider left the institute and served as an army doctor during World War II. After the war, anti-Nazi academics were appointed to serve in, and rebuild Germany's medical institutions and Schneider was given the post of Dean of the Medical School at Heidelberg University. Schneider kept this post until his retirement in 1955.

Contributions to psychiatry

Schneider was concerned with improving the method of diagnosis in psychiatry. Like Karl Jaspers, he particularly championed diagnoses based on the form, rather than the content of a sign or symptom. For example, he argued that a delusion should not be diagnosed by the content of the belief, but by the way in which a belief is held.

He coined the terms ''endogenous depression'', derived from Emil Kraepelin's use of the adjective for biological in origin, and ''reactive depression'', more usually seen in outpatients, in 1920.

First-rank symptoms

He was also concerned with differentiating schizophrenia from other forms of psychosis, by listing the psychotic symptoms that are particularly characteristic of schizophrenia. These have become known as Schneiderian First-Rank Symptoms or simply, first-rank symptoms.

These were:

Audible thoughts (thought echo)

Voices heard arguing

Voices heard commenting on one's actions

Somatic/thought passivity experiences (delusions of control)

Thought withdrawal

Thought insertion - Thoughts are ascribed to other people who intrude their thoughts upon the patient

Thought broadcasting (also called thought diffusion)

Delusional perception (i.e. taking a normal sensory perception to mean a bizarre situation such as taking seeing an aeroplane as indicating the patient should be the next president)

The reliability of using first-rank symptoms for the diagnosis of schizophrenia has since been questioned, although the terms might still be used descriptively by mental health professionals who do not use them as diagnostic aids.

A memory device that is frequently used to remember the first rank symptoms is ''ABCD: Auditory hallucinations, Broadcasting of thought, Controlled thought (delusions of control), Delusional perception.''

See also

Karl Jaspers

Schizophrenia

References

Category:1887 births Category:1967 deaths Category:People from Crailsheim Category:German psychiatrists Category:German military personnel of World War I Category:German military personnel of World War II Category:German military physicians Category:People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Category:Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Category:University of Tübingen alumni Category:University of Heidelberg faculty Category:History of psychiatry

de:Kurt Schneider es:Kurt Schneider fa:کورت اشنایدر fr:Kurt Schneider ja:クルト・シュナイダー pl:Kurt Schneider (psychiatra) ru:Шнайдер, Курт tr:Kurt Schneider