My favorite Marx Brother and personal idol.

Components:

* Greasepaint moustache and eyebrows (in this photoset I foolishly used non-grease makeup, which I quickly started sweating off. I had to constantly clean up and touch up. If you want to do Groucho, spring for the greasepaint.

* Knit red necktie from a thrift store.

* Modern black overcoat from a thrift store. It originally came straight down in front. I chopped off and re-seamed the front bottom corners for that penguin-style cutaway.

* Cheap round sunglasses from a gift shop, which I simply poked the lenses out of.

* Black hair spray in these photos. I've since shaved myself bald, so any future Groucho-ing will require a hairpiece.

* White shirt, checked trousers from my own wardrobe.

* Random cheap stale cigar from a tobacconist, who gave me a deal on something once he saw the outfit. This is the only thing about the costume I don't enoy, since I'm a vehement anti-smoker. However, you just can't do Groucho without the cheroot.


Groucho is a great character to play if you're circulating a lot in a big crowd, as you need to worry less about repeating your jokes. I can hold my own in improv, and being a hopeless Groucho fan I've a headful of Groucho lines and mannerisms anyway, but playing Groucho for an extended length of time does tax my skills after a while. I can only stay "on" as Groucho for so long.