Groucho Marx was wise about aging. It’s a shame he was the victim of elder abuse

“Age is not a particularly interesting subject. Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough.”
— Groucho Marx

A pop culture fixture long before my time, Groucho Marx was still a presence when I was growing up. You Bet Your Life went off the air in 1961, several years before I was born, but I guess it aired in reruns; I remember the “say the secret word” line and the duck dropping from above.

All these years later, you can find novelty gag items featuring plastic glasses and an oversized Groucho mustache. How’s that for staying power?

Groucho died in 1977, at 86. This came just three days after death of Elvis Presley, and I remember it being overshadowed. I also recall seeing photos of Groucho as he was … and that his glasses and own mustache were quite different from the schtick everyone knew. This was an early lesson, I guess, in distinguishing between persona and person.

Some years later, I read one of his books and was struck by his warmth.

This week, I was saddened to read this PBS medical column about how Groucho — who had a litany of medical issues in his final years, including dementia — fell victim to elder abuse, a phrase that did not even exist at the time. He had fallen under a conservatorship run by a former assistant who became his manager and presented herself as his companion, despite their 50-year age difference; after litigation, courts eventually ruled in favour of the Marx children, including a posthumous decision on the ownership of his image. It’s all very sad to consider.

It’s important to remember how quick-witted Groucho was.

Dick Cavett years ago posted a full interview with Groucho from 1969, when he was 78. The conversation went far over the half hour needed for broadcast, and fortunately the producers kept the rest for posterity. He was still in his prime.

Groucho left quite a legacy. The Marx Brothers movies are still watched almost a century after they were released, and YouTube is filled with his work, including You Bet Your Life.

I’m not sure if “say the magic word” has the same impact now, but it should.