Melinda Marie Marx (born August 14, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and musician who had a brief movie career. She is the daughter and only surviving child 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 ...

and his second wife, Kay Marvis Gorcey.

Life and work

Marx appeared frequently on television with her father. She was a contestant on his quiz show ''

You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show deb ...

'' at least four times: She first appeared at age 8 (a surprise contestant who did not play the game) with boxer Mickey Walker. On this same episode Melinda and Groucho sang "There Is Beauty in the Bellow of the Blast" from ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'' by

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

. On a later episode she and Groucho teamed up with

Edgar Bergen Edgar John Bergen (born Edgar John Berggren; February 16, 1903 – September 30, 1978) was an American ventriloquist, actor, comedian, vaudevillian and radio performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his characters Ch ...

and his then 11-year-old daughter

Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also know ...

to win $1,000 for the

Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as simply Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. Founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, it was organized a ...

.; Melinda Marx appeared on You Bet Your Life again on June 12–not as a contestant, but as a surprise guest to sing "

Witch Doctor A witch doctor (also spelled witch-doctor) was originally a type of Folk healer, healer who treated ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. The term is now more commonly used to refer to Alternative medicine, healers, particularly in region ...

". She appeared a fourth time in a 1961 episode with singer/actor

Bobby Van Robert Jack Stein (December 6, 1928 – July 31, 1980), known by his legalized stage name Bobby Van, was a Musician, musical actor and dancer, best known for his career on Broadway theatre, Broadway, in films and television from the 1950s throu ...

as a contestant and sang and danced " Put On A Happy Face" from ''

Bye, Bye Birdie ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a musical theatre, stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart (playwright), Michael Stewart. Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set i ...

'' with him on stage. They won $2000. Six years later, father and daughter shared a Father's Day installment of ''

The Dating Game ''The Dating Game'' is an American television game show that first aired on December 20, 1965, and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it c ...

''. She acted alongside her father in a television production of ''

'' (1960) on ''

The Bell Telephone Hour ''The Bell Telephone Hour'' (also known as ''The Telephone Hour'') is a concert series that began April 29, 1940, on NBC Radio, and was heard on NBC until June 30, 1958. Sponsored by Bell Telephone as the name implies, it showcased the best in ...

'' and the film ''

The Story of Mankind ''The Story of Mankind'' is a book written and illustrated by Dutch-American journalist, professor, and author Hendrik Willem van Loon. It was published in 1921. In 1922, it was awarded the Newbery Medal for an outstanding contribution to children ...

'' (1957) in which her father and uncles Chico and Harpo also appeared. After a few more roles in films, including an uncredited appearance in the movie ''

'' (1963), and ''

The Violent Ones ''The Violent Ones'' is a 1967 film directed by and starring Fernando Lamas. The story was written and created by Charles Davis, Fred Freiberger, Herman Miller, and Doug Wilson. The film was shot in the Alabama Hills, Mojave Desert and Lone Pine, ...

'', Melinda retired from acting in 1972. A musician, mostly playing the mandolin, she was in a Gloriana Opera Company (

Mendocino County Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish for "of Mendoza) is a county located on the North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,601. The county seat is Ukiah. Mendocino County consists whol ...

, CA) production of ''Bye, Bye Birdie'', in 1996, alternately playing bass and guitar. She is one of their regular ensemble. In addition to acting, Melinda had a brief career as a recording artist in 1965, appearing on shows such as '' Shivaree'', ''

Shindig! ''Shindig!'' is an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles,The Hollywood Palace ''The Hollywood Palace'' was an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly Saturday nights (except September 1967 to January 1968, when it was seen Monday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Title ...

'', to promote her singles "The East Side of Town" and "

What What or WHAT may refer to: * What, an interrogative pronoun and adverb * "What?", one of the Five Ws used in journalism Film and television * ''What!'' (film) or ''The Whip and the Body'', a 1963 Italian film directed by Mario Bava * '' What ...

". She is divorced from Sahn Berti with whom she has two children, including actress Jade Marx-Berti. She married Jack Leung in 1985, and was also briefly married to Mack J. Gilbert, and also uses the name Melinda Marx Leung professionally.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marx, Melinda 1946 births American people of German-Jewish descent American television actresses Place of birth missing (living people) Jewish American actresses Living people 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women