The Marx Brothers Council Podcast

The Marx Brothers Council Podcast


31 “Our BRAIN DONORS Special” (featuring David Zucker and Pat Proft)

January 29, 2021

Imagine a Marx Brothers-like film in 1992, now imagine a really good Marx Brothers-like film in 1992…well, imagine no longer because such a movie actually exists, "Brain Donors". Created by the team behind "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun", "Brain Donors" achieved everything it set out to do…except find an audience.

To explain why, we are joined by producer David Zucker and screenwriter Pat Proft, both life-long Marx fans. They detail the making of the film, including the casting of John Turturro as the Groucho-inspired Roland T. Flakfizer. David and Pat also discuss the Hollywood politics that derailed what could have been a series of faux-Marx films.

Surely, one of our most requested topics…

Name-checked in this episode: Jason Alexander, Bob Costas, Senator Joseph McCarthy