Geez, I got a lot of messages from folks opining on who played who in that Marx Brothers sketch on Fridays. At first, the guesses were all over the place including one person who thought Groucho was David Steinberg and another who thought Phil Hartman was someplace in there.
Eventually, a consensus emerged. Of many e-mails that said the same thing, I picked this one from Dennis Heisler to run here…
I believe the two bombers are Michael Richards and Darrow Igus. The "announcer" is Larry David. John Roarke is Groucho. Brandis Kemp is the Margaret Dumont character. Chico is Bruce Mahler and Harpo is Mark Blankfield.
That's what most said except a sizable percentage think the Dumont-type lady was Maryedith Burrell.
At first, Steve Stoliar and I weren't sure about Roarke as Groucho. We've both met him and the Groucho in the sketch didn't seem like him…but I figure maybe he's a better impressionist than I thought. He did so much of his best work under heavy makeup that he's probably harder to recognize than I thought.
But among those who wrote and said it was him, a lot said they'd come to that conclusion by ruling out all the other male cast members, thereby leaving Mr. Roarke as the only possibility. Still others said something like "It was a great impression and he was the best impressionist in the cast so it had to be him." No one said "I'd recognize John Roarke anywhere!" Still, I've decided it's him.
If you're interested in reading more about Fridays, I came across this article. You might give it a read. Anyway, thanks to all of you for playing Name That Marx Brother.