#ONE OF THE MARX BROTHERS FULL#
#ONE OF THE MARX BROTHERS WINDOWS#

That we might never agree exactly what happened at the corner of East Main and Church Street on that long ago day, but that we would always know that it was something small that led to something big, and that that big thing is still growing.

#ONE OF THE MARX BROTHERS FULL#

And that Nacogdoches would grow and outgrow its charming downtown full of ghosts.

That they would go on to salute their roots in Nacogdoches in their classic film вЂњDuck Soup,вЂќ by naming its fictional country Freedonia after our cityвЂ™s historic Fredonian Rebellion. That within little more than a decade, these same Nightingales would begin transforming the world of comedy and the world itself with their outrageous routines and films. Surely none of them could have known that they had all witnessed a moment in history that would resound down through the years of the coming century. The audience roared their approval, and both they and the performers knew a discovery had been made. They knew a good joke when they heard one, and they had a quick ability to laugh at themselves, a trait still present in the best of us. Give the Nacogdochians their fair share of the credit. вЂњThe Jackass is the Flower of Tex-ass!вЂќ was flung out into the crowd like a battle flag. JuliusвЂ™ brothers caught on, and suddenly the stage came to life in a cathartic frenzy of nerves and slapstick energy. Singing some popular ditty of the day, they say he segued into a round of вЂњNacogdoches is full of roaches,вЂќ a chorus which proves not only that his famous ad-lib abilities were already formed, but that heвЂ™d been in town long enough to scope it out. Julius Marx, still a ways from becoming the Groucho that the whole world would know and love, took exception to this mass exit and launched into an extemporaneous fit of comedy.

#ONE OF THE MARX BROTHERS WINDOWS#

Whatever his intention, patrons began to unseat themselves and head for doors and windows to get a look at the street drama. The mule broke from its tether, knocking over various and sundry things, starting a fire in the process according to some, but generally causing a commotion and then taking off, heading east.ДЄlarmed at the scene playing itself out on Church Street, a passerby, for reasons only he could know, rushed into the Opera House, mid-performace, yelling вЂњRunaway Mule! Runaway Mule!вЂќ Perhaps heвЂ™d seen an earlier show and knew what odds the audience was up against. This sudden, fortuitous blast frightened a mule that was tied to a pole on Church Street, running right alongside the Opera House. The story goes that during a weekend afternoon matinee, the brothers were right in the middle of what was probably a fairly slow performance to the local crowd, when the very first automobile in town careened into the downtown area and promptly backfired. The funniest thing, there was no real comedy to speak of. Lots of harmony singing, popular songs of the day with some dramatic recitation thrown in. Their act in 1910 consisted mostly of singing. The Nightingales were doing the southern vaudeville circuit, one of four times they would come into Texas between 19. Staying at the Redland Hotel on East Main Street, they were booked for an engagement at the Nacogdoches Opera House, directly across the street from their accommodations. In 1910, the Marx Brothers, who were touring America under the name The Nightingales, had just finished a short engagement at the beautiful Opera House in Galveston and headed north, finding themselves in the oldest town in Texas, Nacogdoches.

One of the marx brothers