Erin Fleming
Erin Leslie Fleming | |
---|---|
Born |
Marilyn Fleming August 13, 1941 New Liskeard, Ontario |
Died |
April 15, 2003 61) Los Angeles, California | (aged
Nationality | Canadian |
Occupation | Actress |
Erin Leslie Fleming (August 13, 1941 – April 15, 2003[1]) was a Canadian actress best known as the companion of Groucho Marx in his final years.
Early career
Fleming was born Marilyn Fleming on August 13, 1941, in New Liskeard, Ontario, Canada. She appeared in minor roles in six films between 1965 and 1976, during which time she became acquainted with Groucho Marx and moved into his house. She appeared in the Woody Allen movie, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask).[2]
Relationship with Groucho Marx
Fleming's influence and relationship with Marx was controversial. Many close to him acknowledged that she did much to revive his popularity. This she did by arranging a series of personal appearances and one-man shows, culminating in a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall, which was released on a best-selling record album, and the honorary Academy Award he received in 1974.[3] Others, including Groucho's son Arthur, charged that she pushed the increasingly frail comedian to the limits of his endurance, largely for her own personal gain.[4] Sidney Sheldon wrote a roman à clef on Fleming's relationship with Marx titled A Stranger in the Mirror, published in 1976.[5] In a 1993 television adaptation, Lori Loughlin performed the role inspired by Fleming.[6]
Marx died in August 1977. Litigation over his estate, which extended into the early 1980s, eventually resolved in favour of Arthur Marx; Fleming was ordered to repay $472,000 to the Marx estate.[7]
Later life and death
Fleming was arrested in June 1990 on a suspicion of carrying a concealed loaded firearm when she brought into the West Hollywood sheriff's office.[8] She spent much of the decade of the 1990s in and out of various psychiatric facilities.[9]
Fleming died on April 15, 2003, at age 61 of suicide. She is buried in Hornings Mills Cemetery, Horning's Mills, Ontario.[10]
Filmography
- The Legend of Blood Mountain (1965)
- Hercules in New York (1970)
- Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972)
- Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
- Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York (1975)
- McCullough's Mountain (1976)
Television
- Adam-12 (Episode: "Venice Division", 1973)
- The Dick Cavett Show (December 16, 1971)
Sources
- Stefan Kanfer, Groucho: The Life and Times of Julius Henry Marx (2000), ISBN 978-0375702075
- Miriam Marx Allen, Love, Groucho: Letters from Groucho Marx to his Daughter Miriam (1992), ISBN 978-0306811036
- Arthur Marx, My Life with Groucho (1992) revised from Life With Groucho (1954), ISBN 978-0942637458
- Steve Stoliar, Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho's House (1996), ISBN 978-1593936525
- Charlotte Chandler, Hello, I Must Be Going (1978), ISBN 978-1416544227
References
- ↑ "Erin M Fleming". United States Social Security Death Index. index, FamilySearch. April 15, 2003. Retrieved August 24, 2014. citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
- ↑ Erin Fleming on IMDb
- ↑ Groucho Marx receiving an Honorary Oscar®. Oscars.org. 2009-11-24. Retrieved 2013-09-25 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Cavett, Dick (March 30, 2012). "Groucho Lives! (In Two Places)]". New York Times Online. New York City: New York Times Company. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
- ↑
- ↑ Beck, Marilyn (April 16, 1976). "Hollywood Closeup". The Milwaukee Journal. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Gannett Company. p. 55. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
- ↑ "Obituary of Arthur Marx". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California: Tronc. April 15, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
In his father's declining years, Marx became a central figure behind a successful legal battle to wrest back control of Marx's affairs from his late-in-life companion, Erin Fleming.
- ↑ "Erin Fleming Arrested With Gun". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California: Tronc. June 13, 1990. Retrieved August 29, 2018. (Subscription required (help)).
- ↑ Clothier, Gary (March 31, 2010). "Ask Mr. Know-It-All: Groucho's Sad Denouement". Star-Democrat. Easton, Maryland: Adams Publishing Group. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
- ↑ Erin Fleming profile at Find a Grave
External links
- "His Kids and Consort Wage an Unseemly Court Case Over an Ailing Groucho Marx" at the Wayback Machine (archived 11 May 2013) from the May 9, 1977 issue of People.
- "Loving Groucho Wrecked My Life" at the Wayback Machine (archived 11 May 2013) an article by Erin Fleming from the July 1983 issue of Movie Star.