GROUCHO AND CAVETT (and Yip)

Yip Harburg is featured in Groucho and Cavett, a 2022 installment of the PBS series American Masters. The episode recounts the years-long friendship between talk show host Dick Cavett and comedian Groucho Marx. One of Groucho’s favorite songs was “Lydia, the Tattooed Lady,” written by Yip with Harold Arlen for the 1939 MGM feature film At the Circus. Groucho performed it often throughout the ensuing decades, including on Dick Cavett’s talk show. Yip talked about Groucho and the song on one of Cavett’s 1978 PBS broadcasts, excerpts from which are part of this documentary.