Unlike his brothers, Harpo found true love and married only once (to actress Susan Fleming) and that marriage lasted his entire life. He adored his four adopted children and was very happy in his family life. Can you imagine having Harpo as your father? When Harpo died, it was said that it was one of the few times Groucho ever cried.
Yup, that's him at the beginning. I once heard his voice described as a lot like Groucho's but softer and you can kind of hear that in this clip. I'm a sucker for Harpo too!
I had such a huge crush on Harpo....and then Groucho!! lol I even got the Harpo outfit all assembled with both a red and a blond wig! :D Even tried to learn the harp, well almost! lol
@@jessicathethreestoogesfan2635 there USED to be 6 but minnies 1st child died a few months after he was born so Chico is the #1 son n so thats why minnie fussed over him so much
This is a gem. Where did it come from? I've been a Marx Bros fan for over forty years and to actually hear Harpo speak is like finding the Holy Grail. The closest I've previously come to it is at the beginning of Monkey Business when they are singing close harmony from inside the barrels and you realise that there are four voices, Thanks for sharing this teejhead.
The same was true about Groucho. Without his trademark glasses and grasepaint mustache, no one would recognize him - even at the height of their film popularity.
There's a longer audio clip online someplace else, where he tells a story about playing piano in a brothel. Harpo Marx -- the sexiest man who ever lived!
he actually did speak before that other guy said harpo doesnt talk, very interesting on how he spoke, he actually talks about his accent in his book harpo speaks, my fave marx brother
At the very beginning he says ¨You gotta do the talking here.¨ He was off-mike and must have thought it wouldn't pick up his voice. I bet that's the only time his voice was captured on film since the early days of the Marx Brothers stage shows. Groucho said in a TV interview that a newspaper critic had made fun of Harpos's voice and he vowed never to speak on stage again.
he had lines in that 1st vaudeville act but was too stage struck/frightened to speak. His brothers realized this added to their act. I know this from hearing my father & his friends talking about it - they happened to be in the audience that night; they remained fans of these guys.
You should watch the scene in A day at the Races where they wash their hands before the medical examination of Margaret Dumont. They sing in that clip, and I think you can hear three voices. Groucho, Chico and... Harpo?!
Yeah, it's really hard to tell-- I've listened to it so many times, in hopes that I may be listening to sweet Harpo's voice! Sometimes I swear I can hear 4 people singing, while other times I can only hear 3. :D
I bought Harpos book, and he was a very talented man. Not only in comedy but musically as well. So he was kind of weird in his personal life? At least he wasn't boring to his family. God rest his soul😁
@budgienation The Stooges spent a fair amount of time on stage too. They were contemporaries so probably 30 years or so. I'm not too keen on the Stooges for reasons you mentioned but I still end up watching them. Sometimes.
@MrProjection so am I !!! and I am loving it!!! got me interested about the Algonquin round table. (watch "Mrs Parker and the vicious circle" here on youtube!) and increased the admiration I had for Ruth Gordon. Wish I could have met them back in those days. What a life they had!!!!!
Harpo Marx actually hung out with Alexander Woolcott and the Algonquin round table. He wrote an autobiography published a few years before his death called "Harpo Speaks."
Yes, I own the book "Harpo Speaks" too! In my book collection I mean - not OWN I wish :-) Readit first when I was in highschool. Just bought it about 2 years ago. I also read (from the library) "Son of Harpo Speaks". Really interesting. LOVE these guys!
@tannalv Huh ? I was giving "outtaker" credit for catching it by saying "Absolutely" to HIS previous post. ( I think Harpo's 1st "line" is usually missed cuz it comes so quick, before we're oriented, and cuz it also kind'a sounds like a muffled voice-over . . or even like the other guy is already speaking !! ) Of course, the fact that this is always presented as "Harpo says 'honk, honk'" helps one see it that way too. But I don't know what tannalv means by "I didn't miss it?" as a question.
Harpo was such a sweetie! Groucho on the other hand was not! He was actually a cold and somewhat bitter man. Story is he taught his kids to cheat at cards. Well, I guess he wasn't the fatherly type!
He was always able to speak, it was just part of his routine. In January of 1910, Harpo joined two of his brothers, Julius (later "Groucho") and Milton, to form "The Three Nightingales". Harpo was inspired to develop his "silent" routine after reading a review of one of their performances which had been largely ad-libbed. The theater critic wrote, "Adolph Marx performed beautiful pantomime which was ruined whenever he spoke."
Read "Harpo Speaks" His autobiography. Its excellent. The ironic thing is, the book is 482 pages. But boy could he speak! Really, you all should read it if your a Marx Brothers fan...
HARPO SPEAKS Is Also The Title Of Harpo's Autobiography. I Purchased A Copy In A Hollywood Book Store In 1989. He Explains Why He Never Spoke In The Films (But, Of Course He Really Did Talk In Real Life.) It Begins With Their Childhood And Tells About The Beginning Of The Marx Brothers Act In Vaudeville. There Were 5 Marx Brothers: Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Zeppo And Gummo. Gummo Quit The Act After World War 1 And Eventually Operated His Own Theatrical Agency And Later Became Groucho's Agent :-)
You're totally right about Harpo's adopted family. It's all in a chapter of the book Harpo speaks. Harpo had no problem speaking but as a boy he had a very high voice which didn't carry to the back of the music halls and I think it was his Uncle, Minnie's brother, who suggested the dumb act.
Wow. I've yet to read any of thier books. I have been a Marx Brothers fan for a few years now. Its great to find these clip in order to show my friends.
Wow. Thanks for putting this up. BTW if you watch At the Circus when Harpo and Chico set the bandstand free into the water, you can see Harpo talking to Chico. The Marx Brothers were the greatest - they always bring a smile to my face. :-)
Either than or Uncle Al Shean discouraged him from speaking by giving him no lines- a lot of people say it could have been because he had a naturally more resonant or powerful speaking voice than Groucho- which he did. It was very smooth sounding.
As I heard it, Harpo's lines didn't get many laughs on stage, so his uncle Al Shean (who wrote their first big act) cut his part down to one line. Harpo was offended and said he's rather have no lines than one. That gave Shean the idea to make Harpo a "dummy" (silent) comic.
It is implied that Harpo is singing (baritone) in the opening scene of Monkey Business (1931), where the four Marx Brothers, stowed away in barrels aboard a cruise liner, sing a four-part harmony of "Sweet Adeline."
Harpo is my hero, I adore him so much!!! It is beautiful story about the 5 smilling faces:-))) Do you know the best harpist in XX century was Nicanor Zabaleta - also very lovable man, also did not have own children but looked after the 2 childen of his second wife Graziela...
It is with great sadness that I inform you that Arthur Julius Marx, prolific screenwriter and son of Julius Henry 'Grouchl' Marx, passed away recently at age 89.
Unlike his brothers, Harpo found true love and married only once (to actress Susan Fleming) and that marriage lasted his entire life. He adored his four adopted children and was very happy in his family life. Can you imagine having Harpo as your father?
When Harpo died, it was said that it was one of the few times Groucho ever cried.
Gummo also only married once. His 47 year marriage, which ended when his wife Helen died, was the longest Marx Brother marriage.
I loved my dad but, yes, I could imagine what it would have been like to have Harpo as my dad
@@jimnething1264 now THAT woulda been something lol
@@AceripXF you're right, Jamie! lol!!
The nicest guy that ever lived,in my opinion.
Yup, that's him at the beginning. I once heard his voice described as a lot like Groucho's but softer and you can kind of hear that in this clip. I'm a sucker for Harpo too!
This clip would have been in early 1936. He sounded a lot like his little brother Groucho. He was a good looking guy especially at 47 years old.
I'm glad to know other people think he's hot, I thought I was the only one who noticed. And I used to have such a huge crush on him!
i think both chico n harpo were hot lol
"You're gonna do the talking on the air."
A great philosophy. Letting other people talk made him a success.
He had a deeper voice than I imagined. lol.
i was SO in love with Harpo when I was a little girl... he was HOT!!!!
him n chico! lol
@@AceripXF yes!!!
@@jimnething1264 harpo is adorable chicos just plain HOT lol
@@AceripXF hahaha!
His deep Brooklyn accent is hot
yassss
Although he looks cute but he’s deep
LOL XD Priceless!
I love the one scene in Duck Soup where he has a phone conversation useing only his horns XD
yes that was so cute! lol
I had such a huge crush on Harpo....and then Groucho!! lol
I even got the Harpo outfit all assembled with both a red and a blond wig! :D Even tried to learn the harp, well almost! lol
I feel sorry for Gummo. Nobody ever has a crush on him!
i like harpo n chico
Jim Townsend It’s a tough thing about Gummo not being remembered since he’s actually another Marx Brother
@@jessicathethreestoogesfan2635 there USED to be 6 but minnies 1st child died a few months after he was born so Chico is the #1 son n so thats why minnie fussed over him so much
Never expected to hear him speak. That is a rare clip. Thanks for sharing.
He looks like quite a normal guy without the wig and costumes!
That is Harpo
He actually looks almost identical to his brother Gummo.
Lawrence Watson OMG HE DOES LOOK LIKE HIS YOUNGER BROTHER
i think hes adorable
AceripXF Always has been cute
"You Gahdda do da toowalkin hee-ya"
"You gotta do the talking here"
Harpo had a cool early 20th century New York accent!
This is a gem. Where did it come from? I've been a Marx Bros fan for over forty years and to actually hear Harpo speak is like finding the Holy Grail. The closest I've previously come to it is at the beginning of Monkey Business when they are singing close harmony from inside the barrels and you realise that there are four voices, Thanks for sharing this teejhead.
i never noticed that
He actually does the horn honking noise..without his famous horns.
It sounds like he said, "You gotta do the talking on (the)air." He sounds a lot like Groucho, not surprisingly.
thats wut he said
Listen to the beginning of the clip. You can hear him say you got do the talking.
That was harpo's voice in the beginning. He sounds like a gangster.
The same was true about Groucho. Without his trademark glasses and grasepaint mustache, no one would recognize him - even at the height of their film popularity.
Probably my all time favorite book!
He has such a completely different voice than i imagined....I LOVE IT!
I just bought his autobiography, HARPO SPEAKS ... its hilarious and it reveals the man behind the character he played ... 10 stars!!!!
He says at the start "You gotta do the talkin'."
I wonder if one of the reasons Harpo didn't talk was that he had a really deep voice which may not have worked for his character.
what a nut!
I've always just wanted to hear him, just once. that was good enough for me.
There's a longer audio clip online someplace else, where he tells a story about playing piano in a brothel. Harpo Marx -- the sexiest man who ever lived!
"You gotta do the talking on the air"
I read Harpo's voice sounds pretty much like Chico.
Best. UA-cam video. Ever.
Even when he "Honk Honks" im laughing.
From what I've read about him in his autobiography, and other books, he was always kind of shy and quiet anyway.
he actually did speak before that other guy said harpo doesnt talk, very interesting on how he spoke, he actually talks about his accent in his book harpo speaks, my fave marx brother
That's true, Zeppo was probably the best looking one. And he still had a great body in Duck Soup.
At the very beginning he says ¨You gotta do the talking here.¨ He was off-mike and must have thought it wouldn't pick up his voice. I bet that's the only time his voice was captured on film since the early days of the Marx Brothers stage shows.
Groucho said in a TV interview that a newspaper critic had made fun of Harpos's voice and he vowed never to speak on stage again.
I think so. A bit slower, deeper and even more laid back than Groucho's 'real life' speaking voice.
That's great! Always loved Harpo the best..then Chico of course. Thanks for sharing this!
he had lines in that 1st vaudeville act but was too stage struck/frightened to speak. His brothers realized this added to their act.
I know this from hearing my father & his friends talking about it - they happened to be in the audience that night; they remained fans of these guys.
its not that he was too scared to talk he got a bad review bc his dialog delivery wasnt very good so he decided to do pantimime instead
I wish more people these days were like Harpo...
Good God!!! What a masculine voice!!!
This is the best.
This clip was from the premiere of "The Great Ziegfeld" in 1936, so Harpo would have been 47 or 48 years old :D
That was good enough for me too. :)
Love him.
Wow; I'm really seeing the similarity between Harpo and Zeppo here!
The large foreheads? Yes
harpo...u gotta luv him! and i totally agree wit LilaMae217...i wish i could hav met him!
You should watch the scene in A day at the Races where they wash their hands before the medical examination of Margaret Dumont. They sing in that clip, and I think you can hear three voices. Groucho, Chico and... Harpo?!
This is priceless!
He does speak at the very start, and he honks at the end.
His voice reminds me of Groucho.
it's an AWESOME book!!!
Yeah, it's really hard to tell-- I've listened to it so many times, in hopes that I may be listening to sweet Harpo's voice! Sometimes I swear I can hear 4 people singing, while other times I can only hear 3. :D
Love this video!!
I bought Harpos book, and he was a very talented man. Not only in comedy but musically as well. So he was kind of weird in his personal life? At least he wasn't boring to his family. God rest his soul😁
I love Harpo!
@budgienation The Stooges spent a fair amount of time on stage too. They were contemporaries so probably 30 years or so. I'm not too keen on the Stooges for reasons you mentioned but I still end up watching them. Sometimes.
I love the Three Stooges, especially Curly
@MrProjection so am I !!! and I am loving it!!! got me interested about the Algonquin round table. (watch "Mrs Parker and the vicious circle" here on youtube!) and increased the admiration I had for Ruth Gordon. Wish I could have met them back in those days. What a life they had!!!!!
Wow! Just wow!
Harpo Marx actually hung out with Alexander Woolcott and the Algonquin round table. He wrote an autobiography published a few years before his death called "Harpo Speaks."
Harpo Speaks is also a great autobiography.
Harpo Marx was unique, they don't make that kind anymore.
Ever since I fell in love with Harpo I've had a thing for men in top hats. ..
God bless Trump and lotto 🙏 🙏😇 🙌
Harpo, in real life was a doll!!!
Yes, I own the book "Harpo Speaks" too! In my book collection I mean - not OWN I wish :-) Readit first when I was in highschool. Just bought it about 2 years ago. I also read (from the library) "Son of Harpo Speaks". Really interesting. LOVE these guys!
@tannalv Huh ?
I was giving "outtaker" credit for catching it by saying "Absolutely" to HIS previous post.
( I think Harpo's 1st "line" is usually missed cuz it comes so quick, before we're oriented, and cuz it also kind'a sounds like a muffled voice-over . . or even like the other guy is already speaking !! )
Of course, the fact that this is always presented as "Harpo says 'honk, honk'" helps one see it that way too.
But I don't know what tannalv means by "I didn't miss it?" as a question.
Harpo was such a sweetie! Groucho on the other hand was not! He was actually a cold and somewhat bitter man. Story is he taught his kids to cheat at cards. Well, I guess he wasn't the fatherly type!
He was always able to speak, it was just part of his routine.
In January of 1910, Harpo joined two of his brothers, Julius (later "Groucho") and Milton, to form "The Three Nightingales". Harpo was inspired to develop his "silent" routine after reading a review of one of their performances which had been largely ad-libbed. The theater critic wrote, "Adolph Marx performed beautiful pantomime which was ruined whenever he spoke."
WHOAA! Harpo spoke on camera! lol, the man is a legend right along with the rest of the Marx brother's.
Technology has allowed us to hear harpos voice, which means generations prior that grew up in the era only knew a silent Harpo Marx.
Read "Harpo Speaks" His autobiography. Its excellent. The ironic thing is, the book is 482 pages. But boy could he speak! Really, you all should read it if your a Marx Brothers fan...
Harpo and Chico would occassionally played each parts on stage to trick the auidence.
Wow, he looks so....normal! When he's not in character
“You gotta do the talkin.’”
You can hear his voice in the first few seconds before the fellow on the right starts talking.
I've been in love with Harpo since I was 14 :>
'youre gonna do the talk now' he says
I am pretty sure Harpo says at the very beginning "You gotta do the taking on air."
HARPO SPEAKS Is Also The Title Of Harpo's Autobiography. I Purchased A Copy In A Hollywood Book Store In 1989. He Explains Why He Never Spoke In The Films (But, Of Course He Really Did Talk In Real Life.) It Begins With Their Childhood And Tells About The Beginning Of The Marx Brothers Act In Vaudeville. There Were 5 Marx Brothers: Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Zeppo And Gummo. Gummo Quit The Act After World War 1 And Eventually Operated His Own Theatrical Agency And Later Became Groucho's Agent :-)
Harpo talking is like Curly with hair!
I'd love to hear him saying "Nyuk nyuk nyuk".
You're totally right about Harpo's adopted family. It's all in a chapter of the book Harpo speaks. Harpo had no problem speaking but as a boy he had a very high voice which didn't carry to the back of the music halls and I think it was his Uncle, Minnie's brother, who suggested the dumb act.
Yes, that's him.
Wow !! Just found out he could talk today on a different channel !!
Absolutely - sounds like Groucho.
I just heard it. Look up harpo talks. But it is kind of spooky to see him here out of costume talking.
You're not the only one. I've stumbled across a few others who think the same.
Wow. I've yet to read any of thier books. I have been a Marx Brothers fan for a few years now. Its great to find these clip in order to show my friends.
yes yes they are!
@outtaker Absolutely, funny how we all miss that.... it's rather obvious.
Wow. Thanks for putting this up. BTW if you watch At the Circus when Harpo and Chico set the bandstand free into the water, you can see Harpo talking to Chico. The Marx Brothers were the greatest - they always bring a smile to my face.
:-)
huh i never noticed that will have to look for it
huh i never noticed that will have to look for it
I eagerly rushed to click the link when I saw the title, but it's kinda like finding dad eating Santa's cookies, isn't it?
Either than or Uncle Al Shean discouraged him from speaking by giving him no lines- a lot of people say it could have been because he had a naturally more resonant or powerful speaking voice than Groucho- which he did. It was very smooth sounding.
As I heard it, Harpo's lines didn't get many laughs on stage, so his uncle Al Shean (who wrote their first big act) cut his part down to one line.
Harpo was offended and said he's rather have no lines than one. That gave Shean the idea to make Harpo a "dummy" (silent) comic.
It is implied that Harpo is singing (baritone) in the opening scene of Monkey Business (1931), where the four Marx Brothers, stowed away in barrels aboard a cruise liner, sing a four-part harmony of "Sweet Adeline."
Harpo is with Nicholas Schenck, Louis B Mayer's boss.
A man of few words
Harpo is my hero, I adore him so much!!! It is beautiful story about the 5 smilling faces:-)))
Do you know the best harpist in XX century was Nicanor Zabaleta - also very lovable man, also did not have own children but looked after the 2 childen of his second wife Graziela...
If you guys google "Harpo Speaks" you get a few dozen pages of the book and Harpo explains why he never spoke.
I believe this was at the opening of The Great Ziegfeld.
It is with great sadness that I inform you that Arthur Julius Marx, prolific screenwriter and son of Julius Henry 'Grouchl' Marx, passed away recently at age 89.
yes, that's true, but he still was a great actor
he got a book