America After Dark "Marx Brothers Reunion" (lost episode of NBC late night talk show; 1957)
America After Dark was one of the first late-night talk shows, now mostly remembered as the direct forerunner of the Tonight Show.[1] One AAD episode, however, gained notoriety on its own for unexpectedly hosting the reunion of all five Marx Brothers, by then comedy and film legends.[2] Unfortunately, like most early TV programs, America After Dark was not routinely recorded and the episode is considered almost surely lost.
Background
The Marx Brothers (Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Zeppo and Gummo) had long since attained worldwide comedy superstardom via their films together, but by the mid-1950's the troupe had largely disbanded and the brothers embarked on solo projects. On February 18, 1957 Chico Marx, the eldest, was set to appear in The Fifth Season, a comedy play premiering that night. [3]. In a show of brotherly support, Chico’s younger brothers Adolf (Harpo), Julius Henry (Groucho), Milton (Gummo) and Herbert Manfred (Zeppo), who were scheduled to appear on America After Dark later in the evening, first stopped off to join the audience for Chico's play.
Presented with this golden opportunity, the producers wasted no time arranging for all five brothers to meet in Chico’s dressing room for some photographs - and hopefully, a great deal of the fast-paced, ad-libbed banter they were all famous for - prior to/after the scheduled five-minute segment at 11:15pm. Jack Lescouli hosted.[4]
Preservation
To date, no copies of this presumed classic comedy goldmine have turned up. A routine method of recording directly from film, either professionally or by the viewers did not exist at this point, but it is possible that kinetoscope recordings were taken. Unfortunately America After Dark was not considered a success, running through several hosts over its short lifespan in an effort to stay afloat - and recordings of its episodes would not have been valued highly in any case.