In an intriguing tale, Chico Marx, the charmingly chaotic member of the Marx Brothers, allegedly faked a heart attack to escape a Las Vegas engagement he was no longer interested in attending.
His more renowned siblings, Groucho and Harpo, hurried to the city in a state of distress, only to find that Chico was perfectly healthy. He had, in fact, bribed a sympathetic doctor to amplify his medical condition.
“The narrative suggests that the heart attack was fabricated as a way to justify the cancellation,” a reader noted in a recent submission to Las Vegas Advisor. “The actual reason was that he was losing too much money at the casinos during his stay.”
On March 25, 1947, it was reported that Chico had suffered a heart attack just five days prior, following the opening night of a two-week engagement at the Nevada Biltmore, situated at the intersection of Main Street and Bonanza Road.
The Associated Press report, as depicted on the right, indicated that the incident was serious enough for Chico to consider retiring from show business.
Debunking the Myth
The idea that Chico faked his heart attack does not originate from 1947; it’s absent from newspapers, studio memos, union records, or gossip columns from that time. There are no mentions in the autobiographies of Groucho or Harpo, nor in any biographies about the Marx Brothers.
However, it is true that Chico was a compulsive gambler, squandering millions on gambling activities, including card games, sports betting, pool, and horse racing, starting from just nine years old.
His more affluent brothers frequently bailed him out and eventually took charge of his finances, placing him on a tight allowance until the end of his life. They are even said to have filmed 1946’s A Night in Casablanca (after announcing their retirement) partially to help Chico settle his gambling debts.
Chico also had a reputation for avoiding commitments whenever feasible. Biographers and family narratives often depict him as unreliable, elusive, and skilled at vanishing when responsibilities loomed. He was known to miss rehearsals and meetings, often offering excuses, although never skipping performances.
Given Chico’s public persona tied to his gambling antics and unmet obligations, it’s easy to see how later interpretations of his 1947 Las Vegas heart attack were constructed. The internet, with its penchant for conspiracy theories, wove these perceptions into a narrative that seemed predestined: a classic con.
Did you know?
Due to his character’s imitation of an Italian accent, many believed his name was pronounced “Cheeko.” However, Leonard Marx, fondly referred to as “Chicko,” earned this nickname from his other passion: pursuing women, which he was far more successful at than gambling. A typesetter mistakenly dropped the ‘k’ in his program name, and the error remained.
By this stage in his life, Chico’s health was deteriorating. Approaching 60, he walked with a pronounced stoop and often struggled with shortness of breath.
Notably, the most compelling evidence against the allegation that Chico faked his heart attack comes directly from the AP article itself. Jack Walsh, the manager of the Nevada Biltmore, informed the wire service that despite his health challenge, Chico honored his commitment by performing nightly, with a doctor present backstage.
Chico Marx was not someone trying to evade work; he was indeed a man in need of it. Just three months after his Las Vegas engagement, he returned to the stage at the Casino Theatre and the London Palladium.
Additional Myth
Additionally, an interesting event transpired three months post-Chico’s Las Vegas heart attack…
Mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, known for running the Flamingo for the mob, was assassinated in Beverly Hills.
There’s a myth circulating on Chico’s Internet Movie Database bio claiming that a check from Chico was discovered in Bugsy Siegel’s wallet at the time of his death, leading to police interrogating Chico.
The bio also attributes a quote to Groucho: “Chico was fortunate that Bugsy was killed. If Bugsy had tried to cash that check, it would have bounced. Then Bugsy would have taken care of Chico.”
Both the claim and the quote from Groucho are fabrications. While disproving an earlier myth that Siegel was found with three $50 bills, we uncovered primary sources that verified the actual contents of Siegel’s pockets and wallet, which contained no uncashed check from Chico.
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