Erin Fleming

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 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 on Marx was controversial. Many close to him admitted that she did much to revive his popularity by arranging a series of 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 Marx'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.

Marx died in August 1977. Litigation over his estate, which extended into the early 1980s, eventually resolved in favor of Arthur Marx; Fleming was ordered to repay $472,000 to the Marx estate.^[6]

Arrest

Fleming's mental health deteriorated in the 1990s. She was arrested once in the Los Angeles area on a weapons charge, and spent much of the decade in and out of various psychiatric facilities. She was reportedly impoverished and homeless in her final years, living on the streets of Hollywood and Beverly Hills.

Death

Fleming died on April 15, 2003, at age 61 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.^[7] She is buried in Hornings Mills Cemetery, Horning's Mills, Ontario, Canada.^[8]

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), 978-0375702075
• Miriam Marx Allen, Love, Groucho: Letters from Groucho Marx to his Daughter Miriam (1992), 978-0306811036
• Arthur Marx, My Life with Groucho (1992) revised from Life With Groucho (1954), 978-0942637458
• Steve Stoliar, Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho's House (1996), 978-1593936525
• Charlotte Chandler, Hello, I Must Be Going (1978), 978-1416544227

References

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.