Groucho Marx's companion lost the fight over his estate, and his heirs lost the rights to his act

Erin Fleming, an aspiring actress, went to work for Groucho Marx after a series of assistants quit. Producer Jerry Davis referred her. She moved from errands to managing his business and his public appearances. Groucho's son Arthur obtained a court order before Groucho died that separated her from his business affairs. A court named writer Nat Perrin as Groucho's conservator in May 1977^†. Groucho died in August 1977 at 86^†. After his death, courts heard testimony that Fleming mistreated Groucho and his staff and wasted his money. She lost and said she would appeal. She was ordered to repay $472,000 to the estate^†, and the litigation ended in 1988 in favor of his children Miriam, Melinda and Arthur^†. Fleming was later reported homeless and arrested on firearms charges, and she shot herself in Hollywood in April 2003. A second fight concerned Groucho's comic identity. Groucho Marx Productions and Harpo's widow, Susan Marx, sued the producers of the 1980 Broadway show "A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine," whose actors reproduced the brothers' look and style. On September 10, 1982, the Second Circuit applied California law and ruled that the brothers' publicity rights did not pass to their heirs. In 1984 California enacted a statute making publicity rights descendible for 50 years after death, a term since raised to 70 years. Groucho's ashes are at Eden Memorial Park in Los Angeles in 2026^†.