When Groucho Marx’s face appeared on the front cover of the December 31, 1951, issue of Time magazine, he sat down and composed the following letter to the magazine’s publisher.
January 4, 1952
Dear Mr. Linen: The picture of me on the cover of Time has changed my entire life. Where formerly my hours were spent playing golf and chasing girls, I now while away the days loitering around Beverly Hills’s largest newsstand, selling copies of December 31’s issue of Time at premium prices.
Admittedly the picture on the cover didn’t do me justice (I doubt if any camera could capture my inner beauty), but nevertheless my following is so fanatical that they buy anything that even remotely resembles me. Yesterday, despite the fact that it was raining, I made $13. This is all tax free, for I steal the copies of Time while the owner of the newsstand is out eating lunch.
Please use my picture again soon and next time I promise to give you half of everything I get away with.
Cordially,
Groucho Marx
P.S. In addition to Henry James, I also read the St. Louis Sporting News.
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