Dick Cavett is 86 years old and appears to be in fine physical and mental shape. His friend and idol Groucho Marx is dead, has been for a long time, having taken his last breath and offered his final witty remark in August 1977 when he was 86, his obituaries overshadowed by those of Elvis Presley, who died three days earlier.
They had met on a summer day in 1961 at the Manhattan funeral of playwright, director and humorist George S. Kaufman, when Cavett was a fresh-faced 25-year-old writer for television and Marx was a 70-year-old — no other word for it — legend.
After the funeral, Cavett sheepishly approached Marx and said, “Hello Groucho, I’m a big fan of yours,” to which Marx replied, “If it gets any hotter, I could use a big fan.”
