I awoke this morning to e-mails from several folks asking me to tell them more about Erin Fleming, the controversial lady who managed and stage-managed the last years of Groucho Marx. I was only in the same room with her twice — once on the stage of a TV show and once in Groucho's home — and in both instances, we didn't talk much and she had reasons aplenty to be on her best behavior.
Want to know what it was really like in that house? Read my pal Steve's book. I would imagine you could also wait for the movie based on it but that won't be at the Cineplex for some time and I'm sure won't go into as much depth. I saw enough of Ms. Fleming — and heard things from others I trusted — that I had no problem believing every word of Raised Eyebrows when I first read it…and that was some time before I even knew Steve Stoliar.
The basic answer is that she did some good things and she did some bad things…and you have to wonder what would have happened to Groucho if she hadn't been there to do the good things. That, I can't tell you.
And if you want to get a look at Ms. Fleming, there is video around of her. Here she is being a guest on The Dick Cavett Show who Mr. Cavett clearly could not wait to stop talking with…