''Hello, I Must Be Going: Groucho and His Friends'' is a 1978 biography of

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...

by Charlotte Chandler. The biography was written towards the end of Groucho's life (and published after his death), and chronicles many interviews between Chandler and Groucho. When asked for an interview, Groucho declined, however he invited

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

to his house so he could tell her no in person. After several hours of conversation Groucho asked "Why aren't you writing?" Anecdotes and stories of Groucho's life and career as a star of stage and screen are hilariously told by his contemporaries and lifelong friends. Stories from Groucho's life from the beginning of the 20th century conjure up a picture of great poverty and great wealth and give the reader an insight to the phenomenon that was the Marx Brothers and an understanding of their individual relationships with colleagues and friends, and with one another. In addition to the "old timers" there are interviews and comment from

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

, Bill Cosby and Jack Nicholson to name but a few. The 1992 paperback edition features an introduction by Cosby.

References

1978 non-fiction books American biographies Biographies about actors Marx Brothers Doubleday (publisher) books {{actor-bio-book-stub