68-520: Harpo may refer to: Harpo Marx , American comedian, mime artist, and musician best known as a member of the Marx Brothers Harpo Productions , American multimedia company founded by Oprah Winfrey ("Harpo" is "Oprah" spelled backwards) Harpo (singer) , stage name of Jan Svensson, Swedish pop singer Slim Harpo , stage name of James Moore, American blues musician harpo-
136-648: A Broadway musical that ran for 64 performances at the Imperial Theatre from March to May 1970. The show focused on the early days of the Marx Brothers' act and the importance of their mother Minnie's strong hand in guiding and molding them into a successful vaudeville and film comedy team. Actress Priscilla Lopez played Gino, a character based on Harpo, in 1980's Broadway send-up of Hollywood filmmaking A Day in Hollywood/A Night in
204-515: A Secret , Here's Hollywood , Art Linkletter's House Party , Groucho's You Bet Your Life , The Ed Sullivan Show . In November 1961, he guest-starred with Carol Burnett in an installment of The DuPont Show of the Week entitled "The Wonderful World of Toys". The show was filmed in Central Park and featured Marx playing " Autumn Leaves " on the harp. Other stars appearing in
272-465: A blonde wig. Over time, he darkened the pink to more of a reddish color, which films again alluded to with character names, such as the name of his character in A Night in Casablanca , "Rusty". His non-speaking in his early films was occasionally referred to by the other Marx Brothers, who were careful to imply that his character's not speaking was a choice rather than a disability. In reality,
340-443: A brief surprise appearance by Groucho. In 1960, Marx appeared in his first dramatic role, in an episode of The DuPont Show with June Allyson titled "A Silent Panic". Harpo plays a deaf-mute who witnesses a gangland murder while working as a "mechanical man" in a department store window. In 1961, to publicize his autobiography Harpo Speaks! , he appeared on The Today Show , Play Your Hunch , Candid Camera , I've Got
408-682: A cup of coffee, and he subsequently produces a steaming cup, complete with saucer, from inside his coat. Also in Horse Feathers , he has a fish and a sword, and when he wants to go to his speakeasy, he stabs the fish in its mouth with his sword to give the password, "Swordfish". In Duck Soup , he produces a lit blowtorch to light a cigar. Harpo often used facial expressions and mime to get his point across instead of speaking. One of his facial expressions, which he used in every Marx Brothers film and stage play, beginning with Fun in Hi Skule ,
476-540: A few years prior. At around this time, the rest of the Marx brothers, finally aware of Chico's out-of-control gambling, took full control over his finances; they took all money away from Chico as he earned it and put him on an allowance to curb his constant betting and gambling. Chico stayed on the allowance until his death. Chico had a reputation as a world-class pinochle player, a game he and Harpo learned from their father. Groucho said Chico would throw away good cards (with
544-531: A gun, as part of the act. Other examples of his keyboard flamboyance are found in Go West (1940), where he plays the piano by rolling an apple over the keys and A Night in Casablanca (1946), where he performs a rendition of " The Beer Barrel Polka ". Chico became the unofficial manager of the Marx Brothers after their mother, Minnie , died in 1929. As manager, he negotiated with the studios to get
612-404: A halo and ascends to the heavens). Friz Freleng 's 1936 Merrie Melodies cartoon The Coo-Coo Nut Grove caricatured Harpo, one of multiple celebrities appearing as an animal, as a bird with a red beak who chases a "woman" who is later revealed to be Groucho . Harpo also took an interest in painting. Some of his works can be seen in his autobiography, in which he recalls having tried to paint
680-683: A line that plays a bit on Chico's lack of Italian nationality, but is more or less proper Marxian wordplay: There are moments, however, where his characters appear to be genuinely Italian; examples include the film The Big Store , in which his character Ravelli runs into an old friend he worked with in Naples (after a brief misunderstanding due to his accent), the film Monkey Business , in which Chico claims his grandfather sailed with Christopher Columbus , and their very first outing The Cocoanuts , where Mr. Hammer (Groucho) asks him if he knew what an auction was, in which he responds "I come from Italy on
748-464: A name he disliked (as a child, he was routinely called "Ahdie" instead), to "Arthur" by 1911. The similarity to the name of prominent Chicago show business attorney Adolph Marks may have further encouraged the change. Urban legends stating that the name change came about during World War I due to anti-German sentiment in the US, or during World War II because of the stigma that Adolf Hitler imposed on
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#1732801045690816-481: A neighborhood now known as Carnegie Hill (known at the time as Yorkville) on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, on East 93rd Street off Lexington Avenue . The turn-of-the-century tenement that Harpo later called "the first real home I can remember" was situated in a neighborhood populated with European immigrants, mostly artisans. The neighborhood hosted many historic homes and other buildings, such as
884-682: A nude female model, but that he had frozen up because he simply did not know how to paint properly. The model, pitying Marx, taught him some basic brush strokes. Eventually, the original project was abandoned in lieu of a painting, by the model herself, of a fully-clothed Harpo. Marx himself was the subject of a sketch by Salvador Dalí , who was Harpo's friend and wrote the screenplay Giraffes on Horseback Salad . Harpo recorded an album of harp music for RCA Victor ( Harp by Harpo , 1952) and two for Mercury Records ( Harpo in Hi-Fi , 1957; Harpo at Work , 1958). Harpo made television appearances through
952-595: A portion of his ashes were allegedly scattered in the sand trap at the 7th hole of a golf course in Rancho Mirage, California . Harpo's trademark outfit consisted of a trench coat with over-large pockets, red wig (he switched to a blond one for every film after The Cocoanuts because the red wig photographed dark in black-and-white), top hat, the comical horn heard in his movies, and his ever-present harp. In time, his talent earned him an international reputation as he performed in films as well as in stage shows around
1020-502: A tailor, was from Alsace , which was part of the Second French Empire at the time the elder Marx was born and for most of his childhood. Harpo received little formal education and dropped out of New York Public School 86 at age eight (mainly due to bullying) during his second attempt to pass the second grade. He began to work, gaining employment in numerous odd jobs alongside his older brother Chico to contribute to
1088-419: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Harpo Marx Arthur " Harpo " Marx (born Adolph Marx ; November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, mime artist , and harpist , and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers . In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Groucho and Chico , Harpo's comic style
1156-485: Is entombed in the mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California . Chico's brother Gummo is in a crypt across the hall from him. Actor Michael Tucci portrayed Chico alongside Gabe Kaplan as Groucho in the play Groucho (later released on home video under the title Gabe Kaplan as Groucho ) originally broadcast on HBO in 1982. Actors who have portrayed Chico Marx in stage revivals of
1224-604: Is how he was billed during his Soviet Union appearances. Harpo, having no knowledge of Russian, pronounced it as "Exapno Mapcase". At that time, Harpo and the Soviet Foreign Minister Maxim Litvinov became friends. During this time he served as a secret courier, delivering communiques to and from the US embassy in Moscow at the request of Ambassador William Christian Bullitt Jr. , smuggling
1292-639: Is often in alliance with Harpo, usually as partners in crime, and is also frequently seen trying to con or outfox Groucho. Leonard was the oldest of the Marx Brothers to live past early childhood, the first-born being Manfred Marx who had died in infancy. In addition to his work as a performer, he played an important role in the management and development of the act in its early years. Marx was born in Manhattan , New York City, on March 22, 1887. His parents were Sam Marx (called "Frenchie" throughout his life), and his wife, Minnie Schoenberg Marx . Minnie's brother
1360-587: The Palm Springs, California , Walk of Stars , located at 190 E. Tahquitz Way, was dedicated to Harpo's memory. Harpo was frequently invited to parties thrown by newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst . Marx was portrayed by the actor J. M. Henry in the 1994 film Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle . Marx was portrayed by actor Daniel Fortus in the Broadway production of Minnie's Boys ,
1428-801: The Walt Disney Production's Mickey's Polo Team , alongside Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy . Walt Disney would later feature Harpo (with Groucho and Chico) as one of King Cole's "Fiddlers Three" in the Silly Symphony Mother Goose Goes Hollywood . Harpo was also caricatured in Fleischer Studios' Popeye cartoon Sock-A-Bye Baby (1934), in which Harpo's harp playing awakens Popeye's baby resulting in Popeye punching Marx, apparently fatally (as suggested when Harpo develops
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#17328010456901496-706: The William Goadby Loew House (now the Spence School), the Congregation Shaare Zedek , and the Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt house . His parents were Sam Marx (known by his nickname "Frenchie"/"Frenchy") and his wife, Minnie Schoenberg Marx , sister of comedian and vaudeville performer Al Shean . Marx's family was Jewish. His mother was from East Frisia , Germany, and his father,
1564-491: The 1930s and 1940s, Chico led a big band . Crooner Mel Tormé began his professional career singing with the Chico Marx Orchestra. Through the 1950s, Chico occasionally appeared on a variety of television anthology shows and some television commercials, most notably with Harpo (and a cameo appearance by Groucho) in "The Incredible Jewelry Robbery", a pantomime episode of General Electric Theater in 1959; This
1632-508: The 1950s and 60s, including a 1955 episode of I Love Lucy , in which he and Lucille Ball re-enacted the famous mirror scene from Duck Soup . Both Marx and Ball, clad in his typical clothes, portray Harpo. He also appeared on NBC 's The Martha Raye Show circa 1950. Harpo and Chico appeared in the May 8, 1959, episode of General Electric Theater entitled "The Incredible Jewelry Robbery" entirely in pantomime . The episode concluded with
1700-592: The Atlantic Auction [Atlantic Ocean]!" Chico's character is often assumed to be dim-witted, as he frequently misunderstands words spoken by other characters (particularly Groucho). However, he often gets the better of the same characters by extorting money from them, either by con or blackmail; again, Groucho is his most frequent target. Chico was a talented pianist . He originally started playing with only his right hand and fake playing with his left, as his teacher did so herself. Although he took lessons, Chico
1768-637: The Circus (1939) contains a unique scene where Harpo is heard saying "A-choo!" twice, as he sneezes. In 1933, following U.S. diplomatic recognition of the Soviet Union , Harpo spent six weeks in Moscow as a performer and goodwill ambassador. His tour was a huge success, and the show ran for six weeks. Harpo's name was transliterated into Russian , using the Cyrillic alphabet , as "ХАРПО МАРКС," which
1836-652: The Ukraine . This role earned Lopez a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. Les Marsden portrayed Harpo in Groucho: A Life in Revue , written by Groucho's son, Arthur Marx, and Robert Fisher. The play, held at the off-Broadway Lucille Lortel Theatre, boasted a 264 show run from September 8, 1986, to May 3, 1987. Chico Marx Leonard Joseph " Chico " Marx ( / ˈ tʃ ɪ k oʊ / CHIK -oh ; March 22, 1887 – October 11, 1961)
1904-578: The action on the screen. He was also seen playing a portion of Rachmaninoff's "Prelude in C# minor" in A Day at the Races , and played piano in A Night at the Opera . Ultimately, he relinquished the piano to Chico in favor of his trademark harp, upon which he performed Nacio Herb Brown's 1935 song "Alone", which was sung in the film by Kitty Carlisle and Allan Jones. Harpo had changed his name from "Adolph",
1972-584: The audience found this rare speech from Harpo charmingly ironic, his personal opinion was that Harpo "wouldn't shut up!" Harpo, an avid croquet player, was inducted into the Croquet Hall of Fame in 1979. On September 26, 1964, Marx was admitted to the intensive care unit of West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Los Angeles for a heart operation. Marx died in the hospital after surgery on September 28, 1964, aged 75. Harpo's death
2040-515: The brothers a percentage of a film's gross receipts—the first deal of its kind in Hollywood which has become common practice today. Furthermore, it was Chico's connection with Irving Thalberg , head of production at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , that led to Thalberg's signing the Brothers when they were in a career slump after Duck Soup (1933), the last of their films for Paramount . For a while in
2108-583: The brothers' act. In his memoir, Groucho wrote that Harpo simply was not very good at memorizing dialogue, and thus was ideal to portray the archetypal vaudeville role of the "dunce who couldn't speak." Differing stories exist regarding the origin of the Harpo stage name . The first suggests the pseudonym originated during a card game at the Orpheum Theatre in Galesburg, Illinois . In this version of
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2176-416: The brothers' last film, Love Happy , Chico plays a piano and violin duet with 'Mr. Lyons' ( Leon Belasco ). Lyons plays some ornate riffs on the violin; Chico comments, "Look-a, Mister Lyons, I know you wanna make a good impression, but please don't-a play better than me!" In a record album about the Marx Brothers, narrator Gary Owens stated that "although Chico's technique was limited, his repertoire
2244-432: The country. He visited Israel in 1963. Harpo's final public appearance came on January 19, 1963, when he announced his retirement, causing singer/comedian Allan Sherman to burst into tears. Comedian Steve Allen , who was in the audience, remembered that Harpo spoke for several minutes about his career, and how he would miss it all, and repeatedly interrupted Sherman when he tried to speak. Allen remembered that although
2312-420: The decision to remain silent began when Harpo received a negative review, part of which suggested that Harpo's portrayal of a fool was convincing only until he spoke. Soon after, the Brothers' uncle shared with Harpo a script he had written for them. Harpo was dismayed to find he had just three lines and said to his uncle, "Well, maybe I won't talk at all!" This was meant sarcastically, but his uncle genuinely liked
2380-478: The episode included Eva Gabor , Audrey Meadows , Mitch Miller and Milton Berle . A visit to the set inspired poet Robert Lowell to pen his poem Harpo Marx. Late 1962 brought Harpo's final pair of television appearances, which aired within a month of each other. He portrayed a guardian angel on the September 25 episode of CBS 's The Red Skelton Hour . His final role, opposite show star Fess Parker ,
2448-402: The family income, including selling newspapers, working in a butcher shop, and as an office errand boy. In January 1910, Harpo joined two of his younger brothers, Julius (later "Groucho") and Milton (later "Gummo"), to form "The Three Nightingales", which would later be renamed "The Marx Brothers". Multiple unverified stories attempt to explain Harpo's evolution as the "silent" character in
2516-454: The film's tied-up hero before punching him). Fittingly, it was a silent film, and the audience saw only his lips move and the line on a title card. Harpo was often cast as Chico's eccentric partner-in-crime, whom he would often help by playing charades to tell of Groucho's problem, and/or annoy by giving Chico his leg, as an alternative to a handshake or simply to rest the leg. Harpo became known for prop-laden sight gags , in particular
2584-416: The first of the Marx's many talkies , but also for being the first film to feature an overhead camera shot , at least five years before Busby Berkeley's renowned first use of the technique in his 1936 film Lullaby of Broadway to film a kaleidoscopic women's dance routine. In Too Many Kisses , Harpo spoke the only line he would ever speak on-camera in a film: "You sure you can't move?" (said to
2652-605: The game may have instead taken place at the Galesburg Auditorium Theatre or the same town's Gaiety Theatre. Harpo learned how to hold the harp by emulating a harp-playing angel in a picture he saw in a five-and-dime . No one in town knew how to play the harp, so Harpo tuned it as best he could, starting with one basic note and tuning it from there. He began learning to play the instrument without lessons. Three years later, he found out he had tuned it incorrectly, but that his method placed much less tension on
2720-468: The globe. His talent extended to piano and clarinet (on which he played When My Dreams Come True in The Cocoanuts ), which, as he had with the harp, Harpo mostly learned independent of professional instruction. Marx's son Bill went on to display his own musical abilities, performing his own compositions on piano live in concert alongside harpist Carrol McLaughlin. In 2002, a Golden Palm Star on
2788-488: The idea. His brothers would make joking reference to this part of his act. For example, in Animal Crackers , his character was ironically dubbed "The Professor". In The Cocoanuts , this exchange occurs: In later films, Harpo was repeatedly put in situations where he attempted to convey a vital message by whistling and pantomime, reinforcing the idea that his character was unable to speak. The Marxes' film At
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2856-399: The knowledge of spectators) to make the play "more interesting". Chico's last public appearance was in 1960, playing cards on the television show Championship Bridge . He and his partner lost the game. Chico was married twice. His first marriage was to Betty Karp in 1917. They had a daughter, Maxine (1918–2009). His first marriage was affected by his infidelity, ending in divorce in 1940. He
2924-481: The messages in and out of the Soviet Union by taping a sealed envelope to his leg beneath his trousers. Marx recounted his relief at his voyage's end: "I pulled up my pants, ripped off the tape, unwound the straps, handed over the dispatches from Ambassador Bullitt, and gave my leg its first scratch in ten days." In 1936, he rode an ostrich on a team of polo -playing film stars who appeared as caricatures in
2992-776: The name Chico because he was a "chicken-chaser" (early 20th century slang for womanizer). As well as being a compulsive womanizer, Chico had a lifelong gambling habit. His favorite gambling pursuits were card games, horse racing, dog racing, and various sports betting. His addiction cost him millions of dollars by his own account. When an interviewer in the late 1930s asked him how much money he had lost from gambling, he answered, "Find out how much money Harpo's got. That's how much I've lost." Gummo Marx, in an interview years after Chico's death, said: "Chico's favorite people were actors who gambled, producers who gambled, and women who screwed." In reference to Chico's well-known promiscuity, George Jessel quipped, "Chico didn't button his fly until he
3060-505: The name, are groundless. His first screen appearance was in the film Humor Risk (1921), with his brothers, although according to Groucho it was screened only once and then lost . Four years later, Harpo appeared without his brothers as the "Village Peter Pan" in Too Many Kisses which predated the brothers' first collaborative film, The Cocoanuts , by four years. Not only is The Cocoanuts historical by virtue of being
3128-534: The nickname, but Chico does not correct them. As late as the 1950s, Groucho used the wrong pronunciation for comedic effect. A guest on You Bet Your Life told the quizmaster she grew up around Chico (California) and Groucho responded, "I grew up around Chico myself. You aren't Gummo, are you?" In most interviews, Groucho is heard correctly pronouncing it "Chicko", as in a Dick Cavett episode with Groucho talking to Dan Rowan . During Groucho's live performance at Carnegie Hall in 1972, he states that his brother got
3196-399: The seemingly infinite number of odd things stored in his topcoat 's oversized pockets. In the film Horse Feathers (1932), Groucho, referring to an impossible situation, tells Harpo that he cannot "burn the candle at both ends". Harpo immediately produces from within his coat pocket a lit candle burning at both ends. In the same film, a homeless man on the street asks Harpo for money for
3264-477: The story, Marx was referred to by Art Fisher , the dealer that night, as "Harpo" because he played harp . However, this version of events is disputed, at least partially because the Orpheum Theatre was not constructed until late 1916, whereas Harpo later remembered acquiring the name in 1914. There is no dispute that Fisher coined the name, but some sources give an earlier date for its origin and suggest
3332-568: The strings. Despite Harpo's musical talent, he never learned to read or write music. Although he paid top musicians handsome fees to teach him "proper" harp-playing technique, he maintained his unique style his entire life (his "teachers," fascinated by his technique, spent their sessions watching and listening as Marx performed). The major exception was Mildred Dilling , the professional harpist who finally taught Harpo proper harp technique and collaborated with him regularly when he had difficulty composing. Upon his death in 1964, one of Harpo's harps
3400-451: The two deceased brothers (Zeppo was still alive at the time and in the audience). Groucho also praised the late Margaret Dumont as a great straight woman who never understood any of his jokes. Chico died of arteriosclerosis at the age of 74 on October 11, 1961, at his Hollywood home. He was the eldest brother and the first to die. He was survived by his second wife Mary and daughter Maxine (from his first marriage to Betty Karp). Chico
3468-481: Was mute . In fact, radio and TV news recordings of his voice can be found on the Internet, in documentaries, and on bonus materials of Marx Brothers DVDs. A reporter who interviewed him in the early 1930s wrote that Harpo "had a deep and distinguished voice, like a professional announcer", and like his brothers, spoke with a New York accent his entire life. According to those who personally knew him, Harpo's voice
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#17328010456903536-501: Was a 1993 facetious proposal for an SI unit prefix standing for 10 Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Harpo . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harpo&oldid=1149631781 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
3604-427: Was a largely self-taught pianist. As a young boy, he gained jobs playing piano to earn money for the Marx family. Sometimes Chico even worked playing in two places at the same time. He would acquire the first job with his piano-playing skills, work for a few nights, and then substitute Harpo on one of the jobs. (During their boyhood, Chico and Harpo looked so much alike that they were often mistaken for each other.) In
3672-426: Was an American comedian, actor and pianist. He was the oldest brother in the Marx Brothers comedy troupe, alongside his brothers Arthur ("Harpo"), Julius ("Groucho"), Milton ("Gummo") and Herbert ("Zeppo"). His persona in the act was that of a charming, uneducated but crafty con artist, seemingly of rural Italian origin, who wore shabby clothes and sported a curly-haired wig and Tyrolean hat . On screen, Chico
3740-586: Was as himself on the October 20 episode, "Musicale", of ABC 's sitcom Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (based on Frank Capra's film of the same name ). Harpo's September 28, 1936, marriage to actress Susan Fleming became public knowledge the next month due to a congratulatory telegram sent by President Franklin D. Roosevelt . Harpo's marriage, like Gummo's, was lifelong (Groucho was divorced three times, Zeppo twice, and Chico once ). The couple adopted four children: Bill , Alex, Jimmy, and Minnie. When he
3808-479: Was asked by George Burns in 1948 how many children he planned to adopt, he answered, "I'd like to adopt as many children as I have windows in my house. So when I leave for work, I want a kid in every window, waving goodbye." Harpo was good friends with theater critic Alexander Woollcott , alongside whom he became a regular member of the Algonquin Round Table . He once said his main contribution
3876-522: Was donated to the State of Israel , and eventually found a home in an Israeli orchestra. Chico found Harpo some of his first jobs. He and Chico were co-workers, playing piano to accompany silent films . Unlike Chico, Harpo could play only two songs on the piano, "Waltz Me Around Again, Willie" and " Love Me and the World Is Mine ", but he adapted this small repertoire in different tempos to suit
3944-646: Was known as "the Gookie". Harpo created it by mimicking the expression of Mr. Gehrke, a New York tobacconist who would make a similar face while concentrating on rolling cigars. Harpo further distinguished his character by wearing a "fright wig". Early in his career, it was dyed pink, as evidenced by color film posters and by allusions to it in films, with character names such as "Pinky" in Duck Soup . This wig sometimes appeared blond on-screen due to black-and-white film stock. In some films, however, Harpo actually wore
4012-422: Was much deeper than Groucho's, but it also sounded very similar to Chico's. His son, Bill, recalled that in private, Harpo had a very deep and mature soft-spoken voice, but that he was "not verbose" like the other Marx brothers, instead preferring to listen and learn from others. Harpo expressed public support for Zionism and Israel since the 1940s. He often appeared as a speaker at pro-Israel functions throughout
4080-436: Was not." The opposite was true of Harpo, who reportedly could play only two tunes on the piano, which typically thwarted Chico's scam and resulted in both brothers being fired. Groucho Marx once said that Chico never practiced the pieces he played. Instead, before performances he soaked his fingers in hot water. He was known for 'shooting' the keys of the piano. He played passages with his thumb up and index finger straight, like
4148-566: Was said to have hit the surviving Marx brothers very hard. Groucho's son Arthur Marx , who attended the funeral with most of the Marx family, later said that Harpo's funeral was the only time in his life that he ever saw his father cry. In his will, Harpo Marx donated his trademark harp to the State of Israel , where it was later used in an Israeli orchestra. His remains were cremated at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery and
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#17328010456904216-471: Was seventy." Chico's lifelong gambling addiction compelled him to continue working in show business long after his brothers had retired in comfort from their Hollywood income, and in the early 1940s, he found himself playing in the same small, cheap theater halls in which he had begun his career 30 years earlier. The Marx Brothers' penultimate film, A Night in Casablanca (1946), was made largely for Chico's financial benefit since he had filed for bankruptcy
4284-525: Was specifically referred to twice on film: In their second feature, Animal Crackers , he recognizes someone he knows to be a fish peddler from Czechoslovakia impersonating a respected art collector: In A Night at the Opera , which begins in Italy, his character, Fiorello, claims not to be Italian, eliciting a surprised look from Groucho : A scene in the film Go West , in which Chico attempts to placate an Indian chief of whom Groucho has run afoul, has
4352-550: Was the final appearance of the three Marx Brothers. His nickname (acquired during a card game in Galesburg, Illinois in 1914) was originally spelled Chicko . A typesetter accidentally omitted the 'k', so his name became Chico but the Marxes still pronounced it "Chick-oh", although others sometimes mistakenly pronounced it "Cheek-oh". Numerous radio recordings from the 1940s exist in which announcers and fellow actors mispronounce
4420-527: Was to be the audience for the quips of other members. In their play The Man Who Came to Dinner , George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart based the character of "Banjo" on Harpo. Harpo later played the role in Los Angeles opposite Woollcott, himself the inspiration for the character of Sheridan Whiteside. In 1961, Harpo published his autobiography, Harpo Speaks! Because he did not speak in any of his film appearances, many moviegoers believed he actually
4488-501: Was vaudeville comedian Al Shean , best known as one half of Gallagher and Shean . The Marx family was Franco-German Jewish . His father was a native of Alsace who worked as a tailor and his mother was from East Frisia in Germany . Billing himself as Chico (pronounced as "Chicko"), he used an Italian persona for his onstage character. Stereotyped ethnic characters were common with vaudevillians. His questionable Italian ethnicity
4556-522: Was very close to his daughter Maxine and gave her acting lessons. Chico's second marriage was to Mary De Vithas. They married in 1958, three years before his death. In the 1974 Academy Awards telecast , Jack Lemmon presented Groucho with an honorary Academy Award to a standing ovation. The award was also for Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo, whom Lemmon mentioned by name. It was one of Groucho's last public appearances. "I wish that Harpo and Chico could be here to share with me this great honor," he said, naming
4624-416: Was visual, being an example of vaudeville , clown and pantomime traditions. In all of his movie appearances, he wore a curly reddish blonde wig and did not speak, instead blowing a horn or whistling to communicate. Marx frequently employed props such as a horn cane constructed from a lead pipe, tape, and a bulbhorn. Harpo was born on November 23, 1888, in Manhattan , New York City. He grew up in
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