How did he get the name Zeppo?
The answer to this is uncertain. Groucho, in his old age, claimed it had to do with the fact that the zeppelin was introduced around the time Zeppo was born. This isn’t totally impossible, since the first zeppelin was built in 1898 and Zeppo was born in 1901. It seems unlikely, however. Harpo, in his autobiography, claimed that Herbert was originally called Zippo, after a cartoon monkey, because Herbie was athletic and good at gymnastics. He didn’t like being named after a monkey, and insisted on being called Zeppo. However it happened, he became Zeppo for good. Occasionally, one finds on eBay cancelled checks from his account signed “Zeppo Marx.
The answer to this is uncertain. Groucho, in his old age, claimed it had to do with the fact that the zeppelin was introduced around the time Zeppo was born. This isn’t totally impossible, since the first zeppelin was built in 1898 and Zeppo was born in 1901. It seems unlikely, however. Harpo, in his autobiography, claimed that Herbert was originally called Zippo, after the Mr. Zippo, the star of a famous chimpanzee act, because Herbie was “always chinning himself and practicing acrobatics.” He didn’t like being named after a chimp, and insisted on being called Zeppo. However it happened, he became Zeppo for good.
