Harpo Marx Brothers

[onepcwhiz]

What movie is this from?

[aldridgester]

At 1:15-ish, Harpo demonstrates how he taught Eddie Van Halen to tap

[EPJM1750]

WOW never took a lesson? such mastery and grace..

[5610winston]

I will consider myself to have reached the highest plane of the afterlife if Harpo is there giving lessons to the angels.

[Liam1H]

He shows his real genius at 2:30 when he does a synchopated improvization on the classic piece. Just brilliant. What a gift he was and still is.

[Planck999]

one of my favourite classic songs

[TheJediCharles]

Harpo, if I'm good enough to make it, and as I join so many loved ones on the other side, please be playing your harp on the other side. That would truly be.... heaven.

[usergently]

Fantastique!

[therealwitchno1]

He learned to play harp like learned to play guitar,just picked it up and had the admiration to continue practicing.He was a great musician and comedian,the marx bros, cannot be touched by the comedians of today,all the great ones sorry to say are usually gone.

[koh25]

What is the name of the intro of this song he is playing I've heard it before but never knew the name.

[djypsydjazz]

@koh25 It's Hungarian Rhapsody #2 by Franz Liszt.

[mintabiesheik]

his book Harpo Speaks is one of the best biographies of all time....

[5150zac]

hrpo plays the harp like eddie van halen plays guitar :D

[tonificador]

Lizst and the Marx brothers works just fine!

[MISSToToRo1]

i like it how he is all silly and then when he plays he is so serious

[Vejur9000]

I love how all the comedian goes out of his face when he begins to play, and harpo the artist comes forward.

[bastaedo]

which movie is this from, anyone know?

[emmie77777]

@bastaedo It's from A Night In Casablanca.  :)

[ErinMarieChase]

Such wonderful talent! Thanks for the upload!! Great one~favorited.

[anga10na]

great!



[Rawr5649]

hungarian rhapsody!

[WCairforce]

The "like" button is not good enough to show how much I love this.

Simply beautiful, thanks for the upload.

[kingcollie]

during my high school years, instead of listening to punk, rap, or that bullshit electronica/ techno I had an mp3 player that purely had Marx Bros. tunes; both harpo albums , and the recordings from movies, Chico's beautiful piano work and all the other marx albums. I got made fun of all the time but I'm happy I made that choice because I got the chance to listen to true, raw, unscathed talent. Unlike the other 95% of people. A massive BIG UP to the Marx Brothers

[pianoplayeruk]

I cant believe three people gave this a thumbs down. They should be taken out the back and shot!

[hazelmay64]

@pianoplayeruk Well... they have just informed everyone on the internet that they're morons.

[ringwoodisbest]

Amazing!



[rob1loxley]

wikipedia ftw!



[KBMCINTERNETRADIO]

Harpo was a genius. Prince can to this? Hell no!

[KBMCINTERNETRADIO]

@Koschei09 Yeah, Prince and Lady Gaga can to this too?? Not!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jermybug]

Hmmm... I wonder why they call him Harpo Marx. Oh well.

[hazelmay64]

@Jermybug Harpo, Groucho, Chico and Zeppo.... The Marx Brothers... it's amazing that there is a whole history out there before... uh... 50 Cent.

[Seir]

The reason why Harpo never spoke was apparently because he had a voice like Ted Williams. Kinda hard to laugh at someone who sounds like he should be narrating a documentary, I guess.

[kindweed]

@Koschei09 tuned, but wrongly tuned, and like a guitar....my friend read.

[coffeescup]

Love you, Harpo...

[BabyBoiQue]

@Koschei09 He actually tried to learn to play correctly a few times, but every time a professional would come in and try to train him they would try to learn HIS method

[thelorefolk]

anyone knows the name of the song ?

[EatMangos]

@thelorefolk Hungarian Rhapsody, by Liszt

[n10dkf]

love these old movies

[filosofism]

wow

[madmomentsgo]

what a talented family. love all the films.

[tachuman]

I believe he was self taught on the harp and, according to his book 'Harpo Speaks', he initially played it back to front because he had never seen anyone playing a harp. He was obviously very musical!

[polymerised]

timeless and beautiful

many thanks for posting

[radplaid22]

This kills me.

[theblacksheep1000]

They didnt call him Harpo for nothing you know

[MiHiVidz]

Could you imagine what a concerto would be like with Harpo on the harp and Larry Fine on violin? What a missed opportunity!

[harpmad1]

In his book "Harpo Speaks" by Harpo Marx and Rowland Barber, he says that in one of his early vaudeville style family shows, a critic said that the only thing that ruined the performance was when Harpo spoke. So from that time he decided to hone his other skills!

[LeDoctoer]

I love it where he segues into the syncopated jazz section.

Bravo, Harpo!

[LouisLambert]

@LeDoctoer ouais, il y a du jazz la, et un ptitpeu d'improv. magnifigue d ^____^ b il les sent. il les sent entierement

[auto4532]

What's the name of the piece of music he's playing

[MrMKH2010]

@auto4532 The Second Hungarian Rhapsody

[TheTenCommandments]

@MrMKH2010 Franz Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 more correctly

[hmrdulcimer]

Don't you love how he takes one song and plays around with it, changing rhythms, keys, the works. Listening to him and watching him (thanks for the great transfer, themethodman87) always, always brings a smile to my face and peace in my heart.

[jock1076]

Considering that he learned playing the Harp by just doing it - never got real lessonsof playing the harp (see his biography HARPO SPEAKS) he was a genius playing the harp.. and an extremely good comedian.

Thanks Harpo!, Thanks to the Marx Brothers! And thanks to themethodman87 for sharing this video.

[kaiata1]

thanks for sharing this with others, this Harpo was pure genius, not just a talented comedian/actor also he was a fine musician.

[nondoggies]

I don't understand what you foos mean "despite the gurning and slapstick" or "buffoon and clown." He was an excellent musician and an excellent comic. I don't care to parse him that way. He was all that, sans division. And a bag of potato chips. And a hard boiled egg.

[HeartoftheDragonColo]

@nondoggies And a horn and a shoe with a loose sole.

[BeMyBigHero]

. . . and given the chance, the anti-Semites would silence them.

[Dfrankjazz]

Enjoy a hilarious master class on the music of Chico and Harpo. Type in "Dave Frank" Marx in youtube. Big fun and very educational!

[rickatplaykeyzdotcom]

These guys were so talented. Their slapstick also took incredible concentration and practice. Incredible!

[melodyworks]

My favourite..Harpo Marx.

[clazymon]

great peice to post, thanks, the video quality is also outstanding compaired to many other posts of the marx brothers.

[JDueler11]

If only Dorian Gray would have done that to his picture.

[gwensay12]

Oh this Th e Movie A Night At Casablanca

[MegTheGem83]

Utterly amazing...he was self-taught and he tuned his harp himself (incorrectly, even) and though he tried throughout his life to learn how to play properly (the teachers ended up watching him in awe of his pure talent), he gave jaw-dropping performances!

[jazzharp52]

"Tom & Jerry" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TheBatgirl31]

i love how Harpo can be such a goof and is always smiling and laughing but whenever he gets ready to play his face gets real serious and he plays amazing music.

[NScole6407]

For the only Marx to not talk, I think this makes up for it. :)

That was kinda cute at the beginning, with the picture. I sort of feel bad for how no matter how many times Harpo chases girls, they turn him down.

[TheBatgirl31]

@NScole6407 but its okay that all the girls turn him down because he married a woman named Susan Flemming and they were happy =)

[NScole6407]

@TheBatgirl31 I've heard that his marriage to her lasted the longest out of all the brothers. No divorce between them!

[missgibbdreamer]

@NScole6407  You are right. Harpo married only once at age 49 / 50. He maried latter in life but it lasted for life. Have you notice that none of his four childern as ever saied or wrote a bad thing about him and he has been gone since 1964. That too is most rare in today s world/ But all accounts Harpo married his true love and was devoted to her and thier childern. HOW BEATIFUL and REFRESHING

[superdavid002]

I mention Harpo in The Celebrity Song.

[lorrainejames]

Anytime I watch a Marx Brothers movie, I look forward to Harpo playing the harp: lovely.

[HitsPianoman]

I guess you couldn't make much money back then playing the harp, cause I've never seen or heard anyone play so well

[liriko13]

I like this

[mercury11043]

Is it my imagination, or does Harpo look a bit like Malcolm Gladwell here?

You're the best Harpo.

[youtub3cowman]

yea it does rising thanks you butte why else would i ask

[sawkursyco]

yeah it was parts of Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody.. fun stuff

[TheRising187]

wow, shows you how much i know about music lol. Thanks! I'm thinking of renting a harp and I will definitely, with some practice, learn how to play that

[TheRising187]

okay, first of all, i absolutely love the Marx Brothers and think they were such a great comedy team. Second, I love Harpo's ability to connect three or four different songs and make it sound as one...he's a great music innovator.  Can someone tell me what three songs he played in this video, in order?

[youtub3cowman]

What is that very last par that he plays at 3:13 is that part of the nutcracker suite?

[TomBarristerX]

@youtub3cowman No, it's part of the same Liszt piece, the Hungarian Rhapsody #2.

[Penfold8]

To think that Harpo self taught himself to play the harp too.

Damn that boy had talent!

[TexasLindy]

omfg... this was great too... someone just gave me this link and one of Chico playing piano... I never cared for all the slapstick stuff, but omg, they were great musicians... I never knew.

Awesome.

[MrBallbreakers]

yeah they are a pain it takes a while cuz i play for my school and say what the fuck you want about boys and harps cuz look at my insaration right up above

[sailtheseaofcheese]

would be a pain to tune one of those!

[rrtodd95]

he actually created his own system of tuning when he first learned on a second hand harp.

After he'd been playing for 20 years he took a few lessons and found out that he'd been tuning it wrong and if he tuned it correctly he'd have broken the harp.

He's actually considered an innovator in the musical genre.

[ysbaddaden2003]

Actually the Marx brothers are usually called Absurdists, and the French considered them Surrealists.

[thesafetygarden]

Very very cool! The marx brothers are an institution! They ruled non-sens humor

[manoljo]

not nonsense, that's an insult to them...most of their humor is highbrow, and some slapstick...

[thesafetygarden]

Hi manoljo! in your life you should open a dictionnary from time to time and take some information about what non-sense humor is and whatch a full marx brothers' movie

[manoljo]

first of all what you wrongly call nonsense comedy is actually Nonsensism, which includes any kind of funny nonsense, absurdity without realistic logic.

And what the Marx bros. actually use is Switching, which is a type of comedy that involves changing the main parts of a story, such as the punch line to create humor.

All the physical stuff they do is SLAPSTICK.

Don't preach about others looking into what words mean...because my knowledge base of words approaches that of George Carlin...

[voxhammer]

@manoljo... Their stuff is sophisticated, but highbrow kinda implies pompous, or posing in the direction of sophisticated. You know, like you. Or the characters in the Marx Brothers movies that the Marx Brothers take great delight in exposing as douchebags.

[manoljo]

well I am Greek ;P maybe highbrow is the wrong word. But it is certainly sophisticated. It wouldn't be good to over simplify what they have done. There ARE things that piss me off though. For instance, when I tell somebody about the rare 'standup comedy' that some of the Marx Brothers or Three Stooges have done, and the person I'm telling, in turn, tells me "I don't like stand up comedy!" makes me want to pommel them into the ground, you know what I mean?

[manoljo]

thanks to methodman for putting up a clear version...and the complete scene!

[MrBobadil]

@ p1mpst1ck3r

THe whole piece is Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No.2

[heipanhei]

fantastic,super !!

[p1mpst1ck3r]

What song is he playing from 2:08 to 2:20 ?

[TomBarristerX]

@p1mpst1ck3r The entire piece is excerpts from Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody #2.

[b42baritone]

Every time I watch a old Marx Brothers movies, when Harpo or Chico plays, I just watch two very gifted individuals at there best.

[moose17]

it's funny when his shoe eats the feather. we replayed it sixty times yo.

i just lied.

yeah

[redgloria]

Was he high functioning autistic?

[kfag101]

was he really a mute?

[healthynuggetsreturn]

no sir

[MusicMyOnlyLove15]

nope actually first time he performed he peed his pants

& another time he did tlk in a skit & people actually got upset & were pretty maad

[methogonzo]

noooope

[TomBarristerX]

@kfag101 No. Harpo developed that persona for two reasons: His voice sounded very similar to Chico's, and his voice didn't project well on stage (where the Brothers got their start). It carried over to motion pictures, because sound techniques were very primitive when they made their first picture. People loved Harpo's character, so he stayed with it throughout his career.

[afoolonahill]

@TomBarristerX I may be reiterrating others now, but to my understanding and ffrom what i've heard on Marx Bros. documentaries (this coming from their own children and wives) was that at one stage in their early vaudevile days a script write forgot to write in any lines for harpo and so he add-libbed the whole thing. It was such a hit that they had to keep it going.

[Zeta9966]

@TomBarristerX Its also said he had a speech impediment and that people made fun of him when they'd perform live.

[PinkOld]

@Zeta9966

Actually, it turns out that his speaking voice was very deep and resonant, much deeper than the usual speaker's, Groucho.

No speech impediment at all.

Most people believe he didn't speak in his films or on stage because he wanted to use a different enough persona to stand out as his character.

[geowyn]

@PinkOld As I understand it, Groucho was jealous that Harpo's voice was deeper than his, so he made sure Harpo never spoke.

[PinkOld]

@geowyn

Dunno if that's true or not.

My guess would be that it wasn't so much that as it was that Groucho was just better at pulling off those trademark one-liners, while Harpo was better at the physical comedy.

[PapercutVulture16]

I read that he couldn't play any other instrument except the harp for some reason and that is where his name came from

[Saraspoon]

Search for chico and harpo playing the piano.

There you can see that the harp was not the only intrument that he could play.

[Mimm42]

He could play the piano... well, one or two songs. He tried playing a lot of instruments, but the harp was his favourite and the only one he stuck with. Read his autobiography "Harpo Speaks". It's a great read.

[TomBarristerX]

@PapercutVulture16 according to Groucho and Harpo himself (this from what I've read in the various Marx books), Harpo reportedly could play any instrument, given a bit of time to familiarize himself with it, and he was at least modestly proficient on piano, harp, all saxophones, clarinet, violin, cello, and double bass.

[TheGunslinger5854]

@TomBarristerX I honestly believe Harpo was a little more than modestly proficient whe it came to playing the harp. You can see the concentration and hear the emotion he infused in his playing style. This is the main difference between being able to play and actually being a musician. But this is only my opinion!!

[TomBarristerX]

@TheGunslinger5854 Harpo Marx was very accomplished on the harp. My comment about his being modestly proficient was directed towards other instruments.

[gunslinger5854]

@TomBarristerX All the Marx Brothers were musicians who played almost nightly as children in Vaudeville shows. With that much practice they became fairly accomplished in just a few years. Most musicians don't get the opportunity to perfect their style onstage as the Marx Brothers did. All the brothers were able to play at least two instruments and all of them sang.

[PinkOld]

@PapercutVulture16

He could play several different instruments, including piano, although he knew only two songs on that particular instrument.

On the harp, however, he was most definitely in a league of his own.

[godsloved3]

INCREDIBLE!!!! MY GOD THAT IS AMAZING! The Hungarian Rhapsody #2 on the harp. excellent. just astounding.

[operaemi]

well i saw somwhere that the marx bro's who played instruments learned to play them by ear, they couldn't read music at all.

[godsloved3]

if that is true then they are musically gifted alright.

[redredreds100]

i'm not a classical music buff, but what moves me to tears, you see harpo, the buffoon and clown, with all the antics and face distortions, and as soon as he plays the harp, his face become harpo, the real harpo, this is beautiful music

[TexasLindy]

@redredreds100 ...I'm sorry... just a quick note to say I meant to click on ThumbsUp, and accidently hit ThumbsDwn... (why do they have the ThumbsDwn symbol right next to the +9, dang-it?) I am so sorry... Your comment was right on. You shouldn't have any negatives at all.

[PinkOld]

@redredreds100

Nicely said!

[ineedatimemachine]

@redredreds100 oh i so agree you put that so well thanku the man is a joy real tal ent of the old school

[DaAwkwardShow]

i dont care if he doesnt play the right way, he was still amazing.

[somercet1]

Unspeakably beautiful. I am always amazed at people who can pluck music from a harp.

[rosmarinofinofino]

yeeeeeaah! thank you

[nicestrat]

absolutely incredible....

[crossharpchronicles]

I just love his jazzy flourish at approximately 2:40. Classic.

[yohannbiimu]

I read that Harpo (Arthur Marx) had no idea of how to properly tune or play a harp when he began playing--probably 40 years before this performance. In fact, he NEVER learned the "proper" technique of tuning, but it worked for him regardless. Even when he found harpists to teach him the right techniques, THEY ended up becoming mere spectators who marveled at his remarkable raw ability. They probably learned more from him than he ever learned from them.

[crossharpchronicles]

Bravisimo! Bravo! Bravo!

[crossharps]

Just noticed your user name! Do you play cross-strung?  If so, please join my Yahoo group called HarpersCrossing. Just do a search at Yahoo groups. We'd love to have you join us.

[alexandshady]

im trying to be like him i haven't spoken for 3o minutes i know not a long time im gonna start talking again

[Nintay01]

Beautiful!

[greennose3]

the foot thing xD

[JEMCO2008]

Harpo did it well. Just to hear List

[lonelygnome1]

Harpo for president!

[marius478]

Nice version of List! Harpo was amazing.

[poppalarge68]

Damn... That was absolutely breath taking.. I could watch that over and over.

[bibibabkagirl]

thats why they call him harpo. :D

[TS57ovr4]

Having a teacher stare at you and say nothing is hardly a lesson; I would say that he was pretty completely self-taught.

[jillybear326]

Yes he seems self taught. You can tell because his technique is wrong, though it doesn't translate in his playing. I love this man.

[TS57ovr4]

Me too.

[next2lastmohican]

Harpo was the greatest! I like this clip best of all.whata great song! I also like the way you cut it off at the end

! I almost wet myself laughung when I saw Groucho sitting on that stool!

[MarxBrothersPlace]

The Marx Brothers childhood home in New York is in danger of demolition.

Please go to the MarxBrothersPlace You Tube channel to see a video where "Harpo" tells you how you can help by signing two petitions and sending an email cut and paste letter to the powers that be.

[perromanchado]

Beautiful.

[Spookiedoofus]

My gosh, that's hard enough on the piano! He was amazing!

[kaisenji]

Excellent!! Damn, just so beautiful and creative.

[haruba]

they're genius'

[hippyandchicky]

This is from A Night in Casablanca. Classic. (and blew my fucking mind, on mushrooms)

[casab1anca]

Love it! Despite all the gurning and slapstick, it's pure concentration when he plays

[valiouchke]

belle prestation !!

[Fozzymaple]

he actually did spend money on teachers and lessons later in his life, but it was in vain, because the teachers would sit, listen and watch Harpo and his unorthodox technique. No matter what anyone says Harpo was an excellent harpist.

[grouchofan3]

Harpo's appeal is timeless. Everyone should see their movies to know what real movie comedy is all about. Long live the Marxes!

[Vikkibeth]

Bravo!

[sandoridiot]

what is this from?

[steveeeeelj]

A Night In Casablanca, 1946

[PinCaster60]

I really like 2:30 part...

[ColdTearSP]

he needs to be more aware of the sound he is makiing. Harp's sound can sound twice nicer than that. But he is fast, excellent harpist.

[JadyLester]

Never had one lesson!

[horroraddict121]

i was groucho 4 halloween

[timegrinder]

Harpo really freaks me out, the way he messes with people is psychotic. Very scary man.

[classorisso]

no matter how old his face is he still got that young smile.

[RBBlues]

Harpo is my favourite Marx

[sapphiresanchez]

very peaceful, I love it!

[Chocolatelover123]

No. Your not the only kid. I know about him as well. He was a bad ass on the Harp! Man, he had skillz!! I enjoy watching him!=]

[InvalidShadow]

It's sad. I'm the only kid my age I know who knows of the talents of the Marx brothers. Its a shame what passes as comedy and entertainments today. We need more things like this to come back.

[popliuythj]

I doubt that, I'm a kid too. =)

[Bangsol69]

You said it!

[creativityrox]

hear hear!

[mudersville]

@InvalidShadow too true. kids at my school think america pie movies are funny.