Marx Brothers Minnie helped her younger brother Abraham Elieser Adolf Schönberg (stage name Al Shean) to enter show business; he became highly successful on vaudeville and Broadway as half of the musical comedy double act Gallagher and Shean, and this gave the brothers an entree to musical comedy, vaudeville and Broadway at Minnie's instigation. Minnie also acted as the brothers' manager, using the name Minnie Palmer so that agents did not realize that she was also their mother. All the brothers confirmed that Minnie Marx had been the head of the family and the driving force in getting the troupe launched, the
A Silent Film Myke, which formed in early 2000. In 2005 two members (Benn Clarke and Steve Meyer-Rassow) left the band and were replaced by Ali Hussain, whose older brother is noted classical conductor Leo Hussain. The newly formed band chose the name A Silent Film after lead singer Stevenson wrote a song using the melody from a song from a Charlie Chaplin film; the band agreed they liked the style and chose the name as a reference to Chaplin's many silent films. The band released their first recording in 2007, an EP titled "The Projectionist". They performed on the BBC Introducing Stage