City Sets New Groucho Record

By Staff in Miscellaneous on Aug 25, 2009 8:20PM

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. Wearing a deceased comedian’s mask may fall around fifth or sixth. Regardless, Groucho Marx may have reiterated “humor is reason gone made,” when 4,000+ Chicagoans donned his famous nose and glasses mask en route to a Guinness World Record. Last month citizens gathered in Grant Park to pay homage to one of the great comedians of our time, sporting the classic Groucho mask during a showing of the Marx Brothers’ comedy, “Duck Soup.” The Guinness-verified 4,436 wearing the masks beat the previous record of 4,077, which was set on July 9, 2007, in Missouri.

The Chicago Outdoor Film Festival and the Goodman Theatre, responsible for coordinating the event, encouraged people to wear the masks in an attempt to break the record. Mayor Daley was proud of the quirky record, saying "We are a city of many firsts, and I hope this is one of many records yet to be broken in the City of Chicago. I would also like to congratulate and thank the Goodman Theatre for the idea and the Mayor's Office of Special Events for their diligence.”

However, the record may be short lived for those who congregated on July 21st in Grant Park. The Mid-America Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which coordinated the previous record-setting event, will try to break it again. A record truly meant to be broken, so it seems. [CBS 2, Tribune]

Post by Jake Guidry