Harpo Speaks

[blabbermouth777]

The video of him talking is even spookier. Cause itt also shows him without the wig.

[mravantgarde123]

its so funny to hear the my favorite mime -so simple and childish- suddenly come out and talk about his life in a brothel, INZANY!!!

[doctrDave]

If you read "Harpo Speaks" and other books about the Marx Brothers, (Grouch's "Hello, I Must Be Going" etc.) you learn that Harpo remaining silent was a very carefully planned comedic device. Groucho and Chico were already wisecracking and punning at a furious pace, and they realized that the last thing the act needed was more talking. So it was decided that Harpo would be the comic mime. A very similar decision to Jerome Howard (3 Stooges) shaving his hair off and using the name Curly.

[USCol]

You can get it on Amazon.

[kyrastube]

I am reading the book right now. been looking for it for a long time, but its impossible to find here, then my mother found a SWEDISH print of it (I am swedish) in a flea-market. since she knows I named my cat after groucho she figured I might like that book, and I absolutely LOVE it so far! harpo is my favourite, but my cat got his name for his non-stop talking, so the name harpo would not fit him at all... guess I have to get 3 more cats and name them harpo, chico and zeppo. haha

[artiefun]

The way I heard the story on Biography, was that the Marx Brothers were going over a contract regarding a new movie. Harpo Marks, decided to get his input regarding the provisions of the contract. And one of the other brothers told him to keep he's mouth shut when they were conducting business. So with that he swore he would never talk again. And supposedly that's how he didn't talk in movies.

[plasticonofan]

@artiefun

Harpo was in vaudeville on a show and

Harpo received some unfavorable reviews about his speaking parts, but very favorable reviews about his pantomime.

Here is what the review said:

"The Marx Brother who plays 'Patsy Brannigan' is made up and costumed to a fare-thee-well and he takes off on an Irish immigrant most amusingly in pantomime. Unfortunately the effect is spoiled when he speaks."

So from that point on, Harpo never uttered another word, onstage or in front of a camera.

[trilceOOO]

what a man...

[ZAPDUNGAA]

this is definitely Harpo speaking...He sounds alot like groucho....

[TrixieLovesSpeed]

He did sound a lot like Groucho (similar accent and all), but Harpo's voice was much more smooth and elegant. :) A sweet, smart man... who absolutely loved children. As I remember it, all his kids (I believe there were 4) were adopted. :)

[kamsy1969]

One of the reasons Harpo didn't speak in any of their films was because he had such a rich, sexy voice. It just didn't fit his character at all. So they left it up to his facial expressions and mime antics to communicate for him....and thank God they did:-)

[TheBookWorm1718]

@kamsy1969 Makes you wonder what it would've been like if Buster Keaton had continued in sound pictures but kept himself basically the same way, a mute or a mime or something, whatever he was when the pictures were silent, if he had kept with that and not gone to dialogue, wonder how things would've gone differently for him.

[kamsy1969]

One of the reasons Harpo didn't speak in any of their films was because he had such a rich, sexy voice. It just didn't fit his character at all. So they left it up to his facial expressions and mime antics to communicate for him....and thank God they did:-)

[Hodson2000]

it sounds a lot like Groucho...

[Smokedizz]

that is harpo marx there was actually pics that went along with the audio

[judyrusso]

Harpo was always my favorite. The expressions he would make were hilarious. He can still make me laugh today.

[jerseygirl860]

Woah. For some reason I expected his voice to be... not so deep... *shrug* pretty cool, though.

[Quizcoot]

This was taken from a taped interview with the co-author of his book "Harpo Speaks."

He did make a long public speech in 1963 about a year before his death. It began "As I was saying in 1907..."  I don't know if it was recorded, but I wish it was!

[Scottrchrdsn]

@Quizcoot The speech in 1963 (or 1964) was at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. And, it caught the audience by surprise. They were astounded and flabergasted, but it was not recorded.

[25ghr]

He has an Old Time NewYork accent , I lived in the states , and my landlord , met Harpo many times , he said his voice was Very New York and low, just like the recording , he sounds pretty much like I imagined , it is a shame there is not more recordings of him speaking ,

[herasfolly]

This is for Grongrue and others on here.

I believe it is a surviving piece of tape recorded by his cobiographer Rowland Barber..Usually when a memoir or biography is being cowritten, the subject will speak into a recorder for notes..My God don't you people READ books anymore?

[grongrue]

I dont think this is real...the autobiography is called HARPO SPEAKS..for what reason would a man who has never spoken in front of live television except on a view occasions would suddenly decide he wants to read a few snippets from their book? what is the source of this recording?

[USCol]

The recording of Harpo's voice was broadcast by a British radio program called "The Birth of Screen Comedy" which was aired by BBC2 on November 28, 2000. The show was hosted by Richard Curtis, with an introduction by Harpo's son Bill Marx.

[peasblossom1973]

@grongrue

This IS real, I heard it when I was a kid. This is the one story that's been identified as being the only one he recorded on tape.

[StivCa]

@grongrue This really is Harpo.He is dictating his book into a tape recorder for someone else to type out.It was never ment for public broadcast.

[BehindYourEyes7]

@grongrue This is real. Enter in this web page, and listen his voice ;)

marx-brothers . org / biography / harposp . htm

(Delete the spaces)

[MaimedAngel]

Harpo was young when this happened, too---only about 14 or 15.

[princesstamika]

@MaimedAngel That's a common misconception but he wasn't. As a team, the Brothers had been putting their ages back for years for image purposes. That came in handy when writing this book because of this story about the brothel but really if you adjust for the 5 year or so difference he's actually in his early 20s or about 18 or 19. For obvious reasons, the age is bumped down in the book.

[robphilll]

It's a shame but Harpo didn't live long enough to star in Mel Brook's "SILENT MOVIE".He could of played Marcel Marceau's part on the telephone sketch.

[smscamp]

Thank you for posting this.

Always wanted to know what Harpo sounded like, and it will not hurt his legacy one bit.

[143AC]

Mr.Harpo Marx..Please! Watch your language..this is a

family website!(LOL).

[HeraldMB]

My friend refuses to ever hear him speak, she wants to keep it all mysterious, hehe. But I did describe his voice to her and she was surprised. She expected him to have a somewhat higher voice.

Love listening to it though, it's one of those missing pieces to the puzzle. :)

[ColtBarrettUSA]

He seemed to be quite a gentleman. He is sadly missed.

[HumanoidCarbonUnit]

If he narrated the audio book, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

Man I would love to have a guy with his voice and his accent. Oh so very sexy.

[elanieli]

'guyrl's sound australian.

[philster61]

"One of the guyrls"

If thats not NY then I dont know what is

[ProjectHumanoid]

This IS his voice, you can find proof of it all over the internet.

[Michaelbos]

NOPE. not harpo. Harpo spoke witha thick NY accent

[USCol]

you don't think that's a thick NY accent? My grandfather was a contemporary brooklyner and sounded very similar.

[Scottrchrdsn]

@USCol Sounds very much like the contemporary Dustin Hoffman.

[americandevo]

This is a recording made by Harpo during the writing of his book.

[MissHarpoMarx]

If that aint a NY accent..i dont know what is. You do know that if you have an accent that it dosnt always show in every single word. It is his voice and i can prove it. Look up Harpo speaks and you could find a lot.

[Westsidekid67]

Native NYer here-- If you play The into to 1948 The Naked City or the conclusion You will hear the Narrator, Mark Hellinger born & raised in same upper East Side Neighborhood as Harpo; (East 92nd St. & East 94th Street, respectively) has Harpo's accent. Their accent, so characteristic of NYC in the first half of the 20th century, is sadly extinct today.

[JaK3iZzLE]

how do you know if he never spoke?

[Westsidekid67]

LOL- After all, the title of this snippet IS "Harpo Speaks" -- 0:35 seconds and I know he's got it--

[XiiLoveHorsesX]

not harpo

[next2lastmohican]

I hear a similarity to his brothers voices.If he'd talk with an Italian accent he'd sound just like Chico.If he'd speak faster he'd sound like Groucho...

[eleventhdr]

Yeah he does talk and yeah that's problay just how you would expect him to sound so!

[Freethinker82]

That rich voice is so contrasting to his clownish character!

[DisfiguredCowboy]

Hehe, it's not his voice, it's someone reading his book.

[hootinouts]

Holy cow, what a dignified voice!

[bdonohue1]

Wow, what a great voice. S'too bad they didn't let him talk in their shows--then again, that produced the iconic slapstick god that is Harpo Marx.

[Ricangal]

I wonder who "she" was. What a witch.

[tookie9293]

"She" was a madame of a whorehouse who also ran a theft ring.

[revengeofcleveland]

a real quality person(sarcasm)

[solmonhut]

he sounds like Stan Laurel.

[PsychicKnife]

No, he freaking well doesn't sound like Stan Laurel. Laurel has an English accent, first. Harpo's is from New York.

[darkhorsegeorge]

XD i full on agree with you. someone else obviously hasnt been watching enough laurel & hardy films!

i have this sound byte on my iPod, sad as i am. love to hear just even the smallest snippet from harpo!

[diddymuck]

great voice, but not a FUNNY voice. Too matter of fact and mellow.

[mgushulak]

In his autobiography, Harpo recalled a newspaper review of his brothers' act when they were in vaudeville. The writer said that the Marxes put on a great show that was spoiled only whenever Harpo opened his mouth. So he kept it shut from then on.

[Jourell1]

I remember they elaborated on that in The Unknown Marx Brothers. According to Harpo's son Bill their mother Minnie, who was acting as their agent at the time, promised an entirely new show at the last minute as a gimmick to get them signed. She turned to her brother Al Shean (himself a famous vaudeville comedian) to write it and in his haste he forgot to in write lines for Harpo. The young comedian decided to ad lib with disastrous results

[classorisso]

damn. sexy voice. deep and strong new york accent. love it.

[Nicar526]

Hard to put the voice with the character-the two certainly don't match for me

[tookie9293]

Watch "Horsefeathers" and you will notice that Harpo was the first hippie. He would have fit right in in SF during the 60s.

[USCol]

Hmmm.... assuming jesus is in heaven. lol

[FightDPower]

What context is this in? Who was this woman?

[Meitrannan]

This is one of the many wonderful stories from "Harpo Speaks!" Harpo's autobiography. The woman was a madam, and our hero was playing the piano in her brothel. Harpo had come down with the...mumps, I believe. He fell off his piano stool and a couple of...erm...ladies helped him back on. It was after this was repeated a couple of times that the madam finally caught on and cast the poor young man out on his kiester. Hope that helped! :0)

[mikimiki1010]

after all, Harpo was Jewish

[0FindGlory]

Sexy voice.

[godofrock2004]

Is that actually him narrating?

[USCol]

Yes. There's a video out there where it accidentally catches him saying "You've got to do the talking." It's the same voice, although this is a much more substantial recording

[CaliKid74]

harpo is the best!!!

[daughterMYslaughter]

Reminds me of Steven Wright.

[sapphiresanchez]

nice voice!

[driftwoodviking]

Thanks for posting this!! I read "Harpo Speaks" last year, and it's one of my favorite memoirs. I especially loved his anecdotes about the Algonquin Round Table.

[diddymuck]

he had a terrific voice. just wasn't a FUNNY voice.

[olivej1914]

WOW!

[gothiclolita15]

Harpo swearing, that can't be! lol