The former residence of the iconic comedian Groucho Marx has hit the market. Located in Great Neck at 21 Lincoln Road, the house has an asking price of $2.3 million. The Colonial-style property, adorned with Tudor accents, is in the Village of Thomaston.
Records reveal that this house was once home to the bushy-browed, vaudeville era comedian Marx, born Julius Henry Marx, from 1926 to 1931. During those years he lived here with his family before their move to Hollywood. The house was originally built in 1923.
Marx, celebrated for his radio, film, and television appearances, notably as the host of the game show “You Bet Your Life,” left his mark on the entertainment industry. He is considered to have been a master of quick wit and one of America’s greatest comedians. The comedian died in 1977.
The property was sold to Eric and Rady Bruell in 1959, and in recognition of the home’s unique historical significance, the Great Neck Historical Society bestowed Rady with a Heritage Recognition Plaque.
Offered through Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, the residence has some3,800 square feet of living space, featuring five bedrooms, a spacious living room, a formal dining room, an eat-in kitchen, and an inviting deck and patio. Situated on a half-acre plot of land, the property boasts a generously sized parcel, uncommon within the village.
Marx’s connection to the property is steeped in history; he acquired the residence for $27,000 in 1926, a value that roughly translates to $465,000 in today’s currency. This was a period when Groucho was married to his first wife, chorus girl Ruth Johnson, and was actively engaged in his career, performing in “The Cocoanuts” at the Lyric Theater on Broadway. At the time, other notable figures in the entertainment realm lived in and around Great Neck.
A Brooklyn Daily Eagle article, published shortly after Marx became a homeowner, captured his musings on his newfound residence: “I am now a regular resident of Great Neck, 200 by 150 feet of Long Island now belongs to me, body and soul, except for a few slight mortgages and assessments which are not very important until the time comes to pay them.”
The article also records his observations on suburban life. He said in the interview that he was “becoming well versed in the four topics of conversation, which are of paramount importance in a small community, i.e., domestic help, golf, bridge, and the trappings of mice. If these were listed in the order of their interest, mice would be leading the suburban league with domestic help as a snappy second.”
In the recollections shared by Marx’s son Arthur in his book “Arthur Marx’s Groucho: A Photographic Journey,” the family’s days at 21 Lincoln Road are fondly remembered. Arthur paints a vivid picture of a home overlooking vast expanses of unspoiled nature teeming with wildlife, including rabbits, squirrels, frogs, owls, and snakes, providing ample excitement for a young boy.
He wrote, “Our house overlooked hundreds of acres of deep forest rich with birch and oak trees, unpolluted ponds and streams, and all sort of wild flora…there was also an abundance of rabbits, squirrel, frogs, owls, and snakes, everything necessary to make life interesting for a boy.”
Today’s housing market trends in Great Neck provide context: In June 2023, home prices surged by 18.7% compared to the previous year, resulting in a median sale price of $915,000. However, sales volume experienced a decline, with only 21 transactions reported in June, down from 32 during the same period last year, as per data from brokerage Redfin.
