Groucho Marx did not start out trying to be funny. Born on October 2, 1890, in New York City, he wanted to be a doctor. But his family was poor, so he dropped out of school at age twelve. His mother pushed him and his brothers into performing on stage. At first, they sang. They were not very good at singing. But whenever something went wrong, Groucho made a joke about it. The audience loved the jokes more than the songs. So the brothers switched to comedy. The Marx Brothers became one of the most famous comedy groups ever. They made thirteen movies. Groucho was the star. He wore a signature painted-on mustache, thick glasses, and walked in an exaggerated crouch. His comedy style was based on wordplay. He twisted the meaning of words to create unexpected jokes. For example, when someone said, "This morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas," Groucho replied, "How he got in my pajamas, I'll never know." After movies, Groucho hosted a popular TV quiz show called *You Bet Your Life*. He interviewed ordinary people and made every conversation hilarious. Groucho proved that the fastest mind in the room is often the funniest.