Editing Harpo Marx

{{short description|American comedian (1888-1964)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Harpo Marx
| image              = Harpo Marx playing the harp (cropped).jpeg
| caption            = Marx {{circa}} 1926
| birth_name         = Adolph Marx
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1888|11|23}}
| birth_place        = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1964|09|28|1888|11|23}}
| death_place        = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
| occupation         = {{hlist|Comedian|actor|[[mime artist]]|[[harpist]]}}
| years_active       = 1910–1964
| parents            = {{ubl|[[Sam Marx|Sam "Frenchie" Marx]]|[[Minnie Marx|Minnie Schönberg]]}}
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Susan Fleming]]|1936<!--As marriage ended with his death, year is omitted per Template:Marriage instructions--->}}
| children           = 4, including [[Bill Marx (pianist)|Bill Marx]]<!--Typically the number of children; only list names of independently notable or particularly relevant children, as per Template:Infobox person#Parameters.-->
| relatives          = {{ubl|[[Groucho Marx]] (younger brother)|[[Chico Marx]] (older brother)|[[Gummo Marx]] (younger brother)|[[Zeppo Marx]] (younger brother)|[[Al Shean]] (maternal uncle)}}
}}
[[File:Monkey Business lobby card 1931.JPG|right|thumb|262px|Lobby card for ''[[Monkey Business (1931 film)|Monkey Business]]'' (1931) with Chico (left) and Harpo (right)]]
'''Arthur''' "'''Harpo'''" '''Marx''' (born '''Adolph Marx''';<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web | last1=Lankford | first1=Ronnie D. Jr. |title=The Marx Brothers Biography & History |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-marx-brothers-mn0000470004/biography#:~:text=Leonard%20Marx%20was%20born%20on,23%2C%201892%2C%20and%20adapted%20the |website=AllMusic |publisher=Netaktion, Inc. |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian and [[harpist]], and the second-oldest of the [[Marx Brothers]].<ref name="AllMusic" /> In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]] and [[Chico Marx|Chico]], Harpo's comic style 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,<ref name="JewishLibrary">{{cite book |last1=American Jewish Historical Society |title=American Jewish Desk Reference |date=19 October 1999 |publisher=Random House Reference |location=New York, NY |isbn=0375402438 |pages=467–468 |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-marx-brothers |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> instead blowing a horn<ref name="Kostenbaum">{{cite book |last1=Kostenbaum |first1=Wayne |title=The Anatomy of Harpo Marx |date=29 February 2012 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley, CA |isbn=978-0520269019 |edition=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=USyOeZb7W6EC&pg=PA13}}</ref> or whistling<ref name="NYTimes">{{cite news |title=The Silent Articulator; Harpo Marx Used Variety of Methods To Express Himself Without Dialogue |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/09/30/archives/the-silent-articulator-harpo-marx-used-variety-of-methods-to.html |access-date=25 November 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=30 September 1964}}</ref> to communicate. Marx frequently employed [[Theatrical property|props]]<ref name="OscarsSuitcase">{{cite web |last1=Dove |first1=Steve |title=HARPO MARX'S SUITCASE FROM THE ACADEMY COLLECTIONS |url=https://oscar.go.com/news/uncategorized/140211-academy-collection-harpo-marx-suitcase |website=ABC Oscars |publisher=ABC |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> such as a horn cane constructed from a lead pipe, tape, and a bulbhorn.<ref name="HarposPlaceEphemera">{{cite web |title=The Ephemera: Items |url=https://www.harposplace.com/Ephemera/EphemItem2.php |website=Harpo's Place |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=February 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203214141/http://harposplace.com/Ephemera/EphemItem2.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Early life ==
Harpo was born on November 23, 1888, in [[Manhattan]], New York City.<ref name="BritannicaBio">{{cite web |title=Marx Brothers |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Marx-Brothers |website=Britannica |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref><ref name="HarpoPassport">{{cite web |title=The Marx Brothers: Passports |url=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GF_X5q0eY90/SgDsUUEvlhI/AAAAAAAAA8g/pFcpgSUggSM/s1600/image.x.jpeg |website=THE MARX BROTHERS A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON THE GREATEST COMEDY TEAM OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref> He grew up in a neighborhood now known as [[Carnegie Hill]] (known at the time as Yorkville)<ref name="NYTimes2">{{cite news |title=Harpo Marx, the Silent Comedian, Is Dead at 70; Blond-Wigged, Horn-Tooting Star Scored on Stage and in Films With Brothers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/09/29/archives/harpo-marx-the-silent-comedian-is-dead-at-70-blondwigged.html |access-date=25 November 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=29 September 1964}}</ref> on the [[Upper East Side]] of Manhattan, on [[93rd Street (Manhattan)|East 93rd Street]] off [[Lexington Avenue]].<ref name="NYTimesChildhoodHome">{{cite news |last1=Mooney |first1=Jake |title=Trying to Save a Link to a Legend and an Era |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/nyregion/thecity/22marx.html |access-date=1 December 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=22 July 2008}}</ref> The turn-of-the-century tenement that Harpo later called "the first real home I can remember"<ref name="speaks" /> was situated in a neighborhood populated with European immigrants,<ref name="OttBiography">{{cite web |last1=Ott |first1=Tim |title=The Marx Brothers: Inside the Comedians' Early Life and Travels |url=https://www.biography.com/news/marx-brothers-beginnings |website=Biography |date=June 12, 2020 |publisher=A&E Television Networks LLC. |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref> mostly artisans. The neighborhood hosted many historic homes and other buildings,<ref name="NYTimes93Street">{{cite news |last1=Gray |first1=Christopher |title=Streetscapes/East 93rd Street; From Lex to Third, With Groucho, Chico and Harpo |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/11/realestate/streetscapes-east-93rd-street-from-lex-to-third-with-groucho-chico-and-harpo.html |access-date=1 January 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=11 January 2004}}</ref> such as the [[Spence School|William Goadby Loew House]] (now the Spence School),<ref name="Spence">{{cite web |title=The Spence School - A Private K-12 All-Girls' School in Manhattan |url=https://www.spenceschool.org/ |website=The Spence School |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref> the [[Congregation Shaare Zedek (Manhattan)|Congregation Shaare Zedek]],<ref name="ShaareZedek">{{cite web |title=Congregation Shaare Zedek |url=http://www.sznyc.org |website=Congregation Shaare Zedek |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref> and the [[Mrs. Graham Fair Vanderbilt House|Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt house]].<ref name="VanderbiltHouse">{{cite web |title=Mrs. Graham Fair Vanderbilt House |url=http://nyc-landmarks.com/mrs_graham_fair_vanderbilt_house.html |website=NYC Landmarks |publisher=New York Social Diary |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref>

His parents were [[Sam Marx]]<ref name="Louvish">{{cite book |last1=Louvish |first1=Simon |title=Monkey Business: The Lives and Legends of the Marx Brothers : Groucho, Chico, Harpo, Zeppo, with Added Gummo |date=8 June 2000 |publisher=Thomas Dunne Books |location=New York, NY |isbn=0312252927 |edition=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0hqCQgAACAAJ |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref> (known by his nickname "Frenchie"/"Frenchy") and his wife, [[Minnie Marx|Minnie Schoenberg Marx]],<ref name="WSJMinnie">{{cite news |last1=Mordden |first1=Ethan |title=The Stage Mom Behind the Marx Brothers |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-stage-mom-behind-the-marx-brothers-1476474428 |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=October 14, 2016 |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> sister of comedian and vaudeville performer [[Al Shean]]. Marx's family was Jewish. His mother was from [[East Frisia]], Germany,<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news |last1=Sansom |first1=Ian |title=Great dynasties of the world: The Marx Brothers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/04/great-dynasties-marx-brothers |access-date=1 December 2020 |work=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News & Media Limited |date=4 July 2011}}</ref> and his father, a tailor,<ref name="MinnieNYTObit">{{cite news| title=Mrs. Minnie Marx. Mother of Four Marx Brothers, Musical Comedy Stars, Dies| newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/09/16/95997162.html?pageNumber=21| date=September 16, 1929| page=21| access-date=2016-08-09| url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="AMGEveningGroucho">{{AllMusic | class= album | id= mw0000206727 | title= Review of ''An Evening with Groucho'' | first= Bruce | last= Eder| access-date= 1 January 2021}}</ref> 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.<ref name="SamMarxMarriageLicense">{{cite web |last1=Kogan |first1=Pierre |title=La famille paternelle des Marx Brothers |url=http://judaisme.sdv.fr/perso/marxbr/pict/releve.gif |website=Judaisme.sdv.fr|language=fr|trans-title=The Paternal Family of the Marx Brothers |publisher=ASIJA |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref>
[[File:Harpo Marx playing the harp.jpeg|thumb|left|Harpo playing harp in early 1920s]]
Harpo received little formal education and dropped out of New York Public School 86 at age eight (mainly due to bullying)<ref name="speaks"/> during his second attempt to pass the second grade. He began to work, gaining employment in numerous odd jobs alongside his older brother [[Chico Marx|Chico]] to contribute to the family income, including selling newspapers, working in a butcher shop, and as an office errand boy.<ref>Marx 1961, pp. 17–19</ref>

== Career ==
=== On stage ===
[[File:1930 - Strand Theater Ad - 21 Sep MC - Allentown PA.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Newspaper ad for ''[[Animal Crackers (1930 film)|Animal Crackers]]'' (1930) with [[Lillian Roth]] paragraph]]
In January 1910, Harpo joined two of his younger brothers, [[Groucho Marx|Julius]] (later "Groucho") and [[Gummo Marx|Milton]] (later "Gummo"), to form "The Three Nightingales",<ref name="LOC">{{cite web |last1=Hall |first1=Mark |title=The Marx Brothers: A Resource Guide |url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/marxbros/index.html |publisher=Library of Congress |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> which would later be renamed "The Marx Brothers". Multiple unverified stories attempt to explain Harpo's evolution as the "silent" character in 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."<ref>Marx, Groucho (1959). Groucho And Me. Da Capo Press. {{ISBN|978-0-306-80666-7}}, p. 46.</ref>

Differing stories exist regarding the origin of the Harpo [[stage name]]. The stories agree that the pseudonym originated during a card game at which [[Art Fisher]], the dealer that night, referred to Marx as "Harpo" because he played the [[harp]].<ref name="speaks">{{cite book| last=Marx| first=Harpo| author2=Rowland Barber| title=Harpo Speaks!| publisher=Limelight Editions| year=1988| location=New York| isbn=978-0879100360| url=https://archive.org/details/harpospeaks00marx}}</ref><ref name="Mitchell p169">Mitchell 1996, p. 169</ref>  The time and place of the game are disputed, however.  In his autobiography ''Harpo Speaks!'', Harpo claims that it took place in [[Rockford, Illinois]].  The most common version of the story places it at the [[Orpheum Theater (Galesburg)|Orpheum Theatre]] in [[Galesburg, Illinois]]. 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. In addition, Fisher is believed to have left vaudeville in 1912.  Some sources give an earlier date for its origin and suggest the game may have instead taken place at the Galesburg Auditorium Theatre or the same town's Gaiety Theatre.<ref name= "GalesburgCardGame">{{cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Tom |title=Of Groucho and Galesburg |url=https://www.galesburg.com/article/20090314/NEWS/303149941 |website=The Register-Mail |publisher=Illinois Press Association |access-date=31 December 2020}}</ref> 

Harpo learned how to hold the harp by emulating a harp-playing angel in a picture he saw in a [[five-and-dime]].<ref name="speaks" />  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,<ref name="TelegraphTenThings">{{cite news |last1=Chilton |first1=Martin |title=Harpo Marx: 10 Things You Might not Know |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comedy/comedians/harpo-marx-10-things-you-might-not-know/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comedy/comedians/harpo-marx-10-things-you-might-not-know/ |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |url-access= subscription |url-status=live |access-date=1 December 2020 |work=The Telegraph Limited |date=4 January 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> but that his method placed much less tension on the strings.{{citation needed|date=December 2011}} Despite Harpo's musical talent, he never learned to read or write music.<ref name="TelegraphTenThings" /> Although he paid top musicians handsome fees to teach him "proper" harp-playing technique,<ref name= "WoollcottVanityFair">{{cite magazine |last1=Woollcott |first1=Alexander |title= The Education of Harpo Marx |url= https://www.vanityfair.com/news/1926/03/harpo-marx-theater-music |access-date= 1 December 2020 |magazine= Vanity Fair |agency=Hive |date=March 1926}}</ref> he maintained his unique style his entire life (his "teachers," fascinated by his technique, spent their sessions watching and listening as Marx performed).<ref name= "speaks"/> 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.<ref name="DillingNYT">{{cite news| title=Mildred Dilling, 88, a Harpist, Performed for 5 Presidents| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/03/obituaries/mildred-dilling-88-a-harpist-performed-for-5-presidents.html| access-date=23 January 2018| newspaper=The New York Times| date=3 January 1983}}</ref> Upon his death in 1964, one of Harpo's harps was donated to the [[Israel|State of Israel]], and eventually found a home in an Israeli orchestra.<ref name="IsraeliHarpDonation">{{cite web |title=Harpo's Harp in the Holy Land |url=https://www.ifcj.org/news/stand-for-israel/harpo-s-harp-in-the-holy-land-2/ |website=International Fellowship of Christians and Jews |date=November 22, 2017 |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref>

[[Chico Marx|Chico]] found Harpo some of his first jobs. He and Chico were co-workers, playing piano to accompany [[silent film]]s.<ref name= "speaks" /> Unlike Chico, Harpo could play only two songs on the piano, "Waltz Me Around Again, Willie" and "[[Love Me and the World Is Mine (song)|Love Me and the World Is Mine]]",<ref name="WollcottOnHarposHarp">{{cite magazine |last1=Woollcott |first1= Alexander |title=Alexander Woollcott on the Harp of Harpo Marx |url= https://www.vanityfair.com/news/1926/03/harpo-marx-theater-music |access-date=31 December 2020 |magazine= Vanity Fair |date=March 1926}}</ref> but he adapted this small repertoire in different tempos to suit 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 (film)|A Day at the Races]]'',<ref name="BrownHelloGoodbye">{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Craig |title= Hello Goodbye Hello: A Circle of 101 Remarkable Meetings |date=7 August 2012 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-1451684513 |page=169 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=jVZoAAAAQBAJ&q=A+Day+at+the+Races&pg=PA169 |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> and played piano in ''[[A Night at the Opera (film)|A Night at the Opera]].''<ref name= "DissolveTobias">{{cite web |last1= Tobias |first1=Scott |title=A Night At The Opera saved the Marx Brothers' career while spoiling the act |url= https://thedissolve.com/features/departures/295-a-night-at-the-opera-saved-the-marx-brothers-caree/ |website=The Dissolve |publisher=Pitchfork Media, Inc. |access-date=31 December 2020}}</ref> Ultimately, he relinquished the piano to Chico in favor of his trademark harp, upon which he performed [[Nacio Herb Brown|Nacio Herb Brown's]] 1935 song "Alone", which was sung in the film by [[Kitty Carlisle]] and Allan Jones.<ref name= "IMDbNigtAtOperaSoundtrack">{{cite web |title=A Night at the Opera (1935) - Soundtracks |url= https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026778/soundtrack?ref_=tt_trv_snd |website= IMDb |publisher=Amazon |access-date=31 December 2020}}</ref>

Harpo had changed his name from "Adolph", a name he disliked (as a child, he was routinely called "Ahdie" instead),<ref name="Louvish" /> to "Arthur" by 1911.<ref name= "IndependentNameChange">{{cite news |last1=Huggler |first1=Justin |title=Will it ever be OK to call your child Adolf? |url= https://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/will-it-ever-be-ok-to-call-your-child-adolf-37164083.html |access-date=2 December 2020 |work=The Sunday Independent |date=29 July 2018}}</ref> The similarity to the name of prominent Chicago show business attorney Adolph Marks may have further encouraged the change.<ref>{{cite book| last=Bader| first=Robert S.| title=Four of the Three Musketeers| publisher=Northwestern University Press| year=2016| location=Evanston, IL| page=147 |isbn=978-0-8101-3416-4}}</ref> [[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 the name, are groundless.<ref name="TIFONicknames">{{cite web |last1=Deezen |first1=Eddie |title=HOW THE MARX BROTHERS GOT THEIR NICKNAMES |url=https://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/10/how-the-marx-brothers-got-their-nicknames/ |website=Today I Found Out |date=October 2, 2012 |access-date=31 December 2020}}</ref>

=== On film ===
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 film|lost]].<ref name="HarposPlace2">{{cite web |last1=Marx |first1=Bill |title=Harpo Marx Filmography |url=https://www.harposplace.com/Character/CharacterFilm.php |website=Harpo's Place |access-date=25 November 2020 |archive-date=February 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203184159/http://harposplace.com/Character/CharacterFilm.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> Four years later, Harpo appeared without his brothers as the "Village Peter Pan" in ''[[Too Many Kisses]]''<ref name="PreservationSocietyTooManyKisses">{{cite web |title=TOO MANY KISSES: Screen Debut of Harpo Marx |url=https://filmpreservationsociety.org/posts/too-many-kisses |website=Film Preservation Society |date=October 2, 2020 |access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref> which predated the brothers' first collaborative film, ''[[The Cocoanuts]]'',<ref name="DeezenCocoanuts">{{cite web |last1=Deezen |first1=Eddie |title=The Cocoanuts: The Marx Brothers' First Film |url=https://www.neatorama.com/2015/09/10/The-Cocoanuts-The-Marx-Brothers-First-Film/ |website=Neatorama |date=September 10, 2015 |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref> by four years.<ref name="IMDbMain">{{cite web |title=Harpo Marx |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0555617/?ref_=tt_cl_t9 |website=IMDb |publisher=Amazon |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref> Not only is ''The Cocoanuts'' historical by virtue of being the first of the Marx's many [[Sound film|talkies]], but also for being the first film to feature an [[Bird's-eye view|overhead]] [[Camera angle|camera shot]], at least five years before [[Busby Berkeley|Busby Berkeley's]] renowned<ref name="RubinBusby">{{cite book |last1=Rubin |first1=Martin |title=Showstoppers: Busby Berkeley and the Tradition of Spectacle |date=5 August 1993 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=0231080549 |page=129 |edition=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wphbAy_y7IMC&pg=PA129 |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref><ref name="BeltonBusby">{{cite book |last1=Belton |first1=John |title=Movies & Mass Culture |series=Rutgers Depth of Field |date=1 October 1995 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |location=New Brunswick, NJ |isbn=0813522285 |page=85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BGY6Xdwwd4gC&pg=PA85 |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref><ref name="JablonskiBusby">{{cite book |last1=Jablonski |first1=Edward |title=Harold Arlen: Rhythm, Rainbows, and Blues |date=24 September 1998 |publisher=Northeastern University Press |location=Lebanon, NH |isbn=1555533663 |page=104 |edition=New |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XsgCHeS69q8C&pg=PA104 |access-date=31 December 2020}}</ref><ref name="BroadusBusby">{{cite news |last1=Broadus |first1=Will |title=Those Dancing Feet |url=https://www.salemnews.com/news/lifestyles/those-dancing-feet/article_8a9a4257-df62-52c4-a1f0-865bc7dd6f62.html |access-date=1 January 2021 |work=The Salem News |agency=Boston Media Group |publisher=Salem News |date=2 November 2017}}</ref> first use of the technique in his 1936 film ''[[Lullaby of Broadway (film)|Lullaby of Broadway]]'' to film a [[kaleidoscope|kaleidoscopic]] women's dance routine.<ref name="DeezenHomepageCocoanuts">{{cite web |last1=Deezen |first1=Eddie |title=The Cocoanuts |url=https://www.eddiedeezen.com/2009/01/the-cocoanuts.html |website=The Official Eddie Deezen Website |access-date=31 December 2020}}</ref> In ''Too Many Kisses'', Harpo spoke the only line he would ever speak on-camera in a film: "You sure you can't move?"<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://www.marx-brothers.org/watching/film/Too_Many_Kisses.htm| title=Too Many Kisses (1925)| website=Marx-brothers.org| access-date=2018-07-26}}</ref> (said to 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.<ref name="LATimesKissesSpeaking">{{cite news |last1=King |first1=Susan |title=Retro : Remarxable : DISNEY DOCUMENTARY OFFERS SOME MARX BROTHERS RARITIES |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-10-24-tv-49077-story.html |access-date=1 January 2021 |newspaper=LA Times |agency=Los Angeles Times |date=24 October 1993}}</ref>

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,<ref name="Vulture">{{cite web |last1=Ess |first1=Ramsey |title=Examining the Marx Brothers' Television Appearances |url=https://www.vulture.com/2014/08/examining-the-marx-brothers-television-appearances.html |website=Vulture |date=August 15, 2014 |publisher=NY Magazine |access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> as an alternative to a handshake<ref name="Kostenbaum" /> or simply to rest the leg.<ref name="Kostenbaum" />

[[File:Marx Brothers 1931.jpg|thumb|The four Marx Brothers. From the top down: Chico, Harpo, Groucho, and Zeppo, c. 1931]]
Harpo became known for prop-laden [[Visual gag|sight gags]],<ref name="IYMBillMarxInterview">{{cite web |title=Son of Harpo Speaks |url=https://iymoney.com/bill-marx/ |website=It's Your Money and Your Life Radio Show |date=January 2, 2016 |publisher=Richard J. Muscio |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref><ref name="NMAH">{{cite web |last1=NMAH |title=The Marx Brothers: The "comic combustion" celebrates 100 years |url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2014/05/the-marx-brothers-the-comic-combustion-celebrates-100-years.html |website=National Museum of American History |date=May 28, 2014 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref><ref name="FlaigLacansHarpo">{{cite journal |last1=Flaig |first1=Paul |title=Lacan's Harpo |journal=Cinema Journal |date=Summer 2011 |volume=50 |issue=4 |pages=98–116 |doi=10.1353/cj.2011.0046 |jstor=41240737 |s2cid=144967809 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41240737 |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref> in particular the seemingly [[Hammerspace|infinite number of odd things]] stored in his [[Overcoat|topcoat]]'s oversized pockets.<ref name="HarposPlace">{{cite web |last1=Marx |first1=Bill |title=The official Harpo Marx family online collection |url=https://www.harposplace.com/ |website=Harpo's Place |access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref name="WoodHorsefeathersQuote">{{cite news |last1=Wood |first1=Barry |title=Wood on Words: Column literally about figures of speech |url=https://sharon.wickedlocal.com/x1018068009/Wood-on-Words-Column-literally-about-figures-of-speech |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801133140/https://sharon.wickedlocal.com/x1018068009/Wood-on-Words-Column-literally-about-figures-of-speech |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 1, 2021 |access-date=1 January 2021 |work=Wicked Local |agency=Times Advocate |date=27 April 2012 }}</ref> In the same film, a homeless man on the street asks Harpo for money for a cup of coffee, and he subsequently produces a steaming cup, complete with saucer, from inside his coat.<ref name="VFMarxRevival">{{cite magazine |last1=Liebenson |first1=Donald |title=If There's a Marx Brothers Revival Coming, It Will Begin This Weekend |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/04/marx-brothers-horse-feathers |access-date=1 January 2021 |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=29 April 2016}}</ref> 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".<ref name="RearviewMirror">{{cite web |last1=Horvat |first1=Robert |title=Cinemas Greatest Scenes: "I think I got it. Is it swordfish?" Groucho and Chico Marx's password scene |url=https://rear-view-mirror.com/2020/10/01/cinemas-greatest-scenes-i-think-i-got-it-is-it-swordfish-groucho-and-chico-marxs-password-scene/ |website=Rearview Mirror |date=October 2020 |access-date=25 November 2020 |archive-date=October 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021020117/https://rear-view-mirror.com/2020/10/01/cinemas-greatest-scenes-i-think-i-got-it-is-it-swordfish-groucho-and-chico-marxs-password-scene/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In ''Duck Soup'', he produces a lit blowtorch to light a cigar.<ref name="BWDRCigarBit">{{cite web |last1=Osborne |first1=Graham |title=Humor (Plus) Risk |url=https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2017/08/08/humor-plus-risk/ |website=Bright Wall/Dark Room |date=August 8, 2017 |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref>

Harpo often used facial expressions<ref name="NYTimes2" /> and mime<ref name="NYPL">{{cite web | last1=Kiss | first1=Stephen Sr. |title=Who is Harpo Marx? |url=https://www.nypl.org/blog/2013/06/18/who-is-harpo-marx |website=New York Public Library |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> 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'', was known as "the Gookie".<ref name="BoingBoingGookie">{{cite web |last1=Doctorow |first1=Cory |title=Harpo Marx on the origin of the "Gookie" |url=https://boingboing.net/2008/06/28/harpo-marx-on-the-or.html |website=BoingBoing |date=June 28, 2008 |publisher=Jason Weisberger |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref> 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.<ref name="speaks"/><ref name="Mitchell">{{cite book| last=Mitchell| first=Glenn| title=The Marx Brothers Encyclopedia| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e28dAQAAIAAJ&q=gehrke| publisher=Reynolds & Hearn| year=2003| location=London| page=123| isbn=978-1903111499| url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Harpo further distinguished his character by wearing a "fright wig".<ref name="WillisteanFrightWig">{{cite news |last1=Willistean |first1=Paul |title=PAIR EVOKE THE SPIRIT OF THE MARX BROTHERS CONCERT REVIEW |url=https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1989-03-31-2670647-story.html |access-date=31 December 2020 |work=The Morning Call |date=31 March 1989}}</ref> Early in his career, it was dyed pink,<ref name="NYTimes" /> 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 a blonde wig.<ref name="SmithsonianBlondeWig">{{cite web |last1=Bredenbeck |first1=Hanna |title=Who has the best hair in our Entertainment Collection? |url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/de/node/47301 |website=National Museum of American History |date=April 18, 2018 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=31 December 2020 |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225053033/https://americanhistory.si.edu/de/node/47301 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Over time, he darkened the pink to more of a reddish color,<ref name="NYTimesBooks2">{{cite web |last1=Giddins |first1=Gary |title=There Ain't No Sanity Clause |url=https://movies2.nytimes.com/books/00/06/18/reviews/000618.18giddent.html |website=Books |publisher=NY Times |access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> which films again alluded to with character names, such as the name of his character in ''[[A Night in Casablanca]]'', "Rusty".<ref name="CasablancaIMDb">{{cite web |title=A Night in Casablanca (1946) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038777/?ref_=tt_ch |website=IMDb |date = October 12, 1946|publisher=Amazon |access-date=31 December 2020}}</ref>

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, 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 the idea.<ref name="NeatoramaSilenceOrigin">{{cite news |last1=Deezen |first1=Eddie |title=The Silent Marx Brother |url=https://www.neatorama.com/2012/10/02/The-Silent-Marx-Brother/ |newspaper=Neatorama |access-date=31 December 2020}}</ref> His brothers would make joking reference to this part of his act. For example, in ''[[Animal Crackers (1930 film)|Animal Crackers]]'', his character was ironically dubbed "The Professor".<ref name="RomeSentinel">{{cite web |title=Restored 'Animal Crackers' opens tonight G-rated film includes censored footage |url=https://romesentinel.com/stories/restored-animal-crackers-opens-tonight-g-rated-film-includes-censored-footage,28151 |website=Rome Sentinel |date=September 15, 2016 |publisher=Rome Sentinel Co. |access-date=25 November 2020 |archive-date=March 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303205208/https://romesentinel.com/stories/restored-animal-crackers-opens-tonight-g-rated-film-includes-censored-footage,28151 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In ''The Cocoanuts'', this exchange occurs:<ref name="MBdotORGWhyADuck">{{cite web |last1=Timphus |first1=Stefan |title=The Cocoanuts - Why A Duck? - The Marx Brothers |url=https://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/info/movies/scenes/whyaduck.htm |website=Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo, Zeppo - The Marx Brothers |access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref>

:{{dialogue
|g=Groucho
|c=Chico
|g|Who is this?
|c|Atsa my partner, but he no speak
|g|Oh, that's your [[wikt:silent partner|silent partner]]!
}}

In later films, Harpo was repeatedly put in situations where he attempted to convey a vital message by whistling and pantomime,<ref name="NYTimes" /> reinforcing the idea that his character was unable to speak.

The Marxes' film ''At the Circus'' (1939) contains a unique scene where Harpo is heard saying "A-choo!" twice, as he sneezes.<ref name="StaticMass">{{cite web |last1=Costello |first1=Paul |title=At The Circus |url=http://staticmass.net/early-films-and-cinema/at-the-circus-movie-1939-review/ |website=Static Mass Emporium |access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref>

=== Tour in the Soviet Union ===
[[File:Harpo and Chico Marx General Electric Theater 1959.JPG|thumb|right|Harpo and Chico Marx in ''The Incredible Jewelry Robbery'' (1959)]]
[[File:Harpo Marx Silent Panic DuPont Show 1960.JPG|thumb|right|Marx as the "mechanical man" in ''A Silent Panic'' (1960)]]
In 1933, following U.S. [[diplomatic recognition]] of the [[Soviet Union]], Harpo spent six weeks in [[Moscow]] as a performer and goodwill ambassador.<ref name="speaks" /> His tour was a huge success, and the show ran for six weeks.<ref name="speaks" /> Harpo's name was transliterated into [[Russian language|Russian]], using the [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic alphabet]], as "ХАРПО МАРКС," which is how he was billed during his Soviet Union appearances.<ref name="speaks" /> Harpo, having no knowledge of Russian, pronounced it as "Exapno Mapcase".<ref name="CroquetWorld">{{cite web |last1=Grandey |first1=Bill |title=The brightest croquet stars of 20th century America |url=http://www.croquetworld.com/News/stars.asp |website=Croquet World Magazine |access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> At that time, Harpo and the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Soviet Union)|Soviet Foreign Minister]] [[Maxim Litvinov]] became friends.<ref>{{cite podcast |url=https://beta.prx.org/stories/259528|title=Harpo and Susan Marx - An American Love Story|website=PRX.org|publisher=PRX|host=Love In America|date=12 November 2018|access-date=31 December 2020}}</ref>

During this time he served as a secret courier,<ref name="USDOS">{{cite web |last1=Bureau of Diplomatic Security |title=None Swifter Than These: 100 Years of the Diplomatic Courier Service |url=https://www.state.gov/none-swifter-than-these-100-years-of-the-diplomatic-courier-service/dcs |website=US Department of State |access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> delivering [[Message|communiques]] to and from the [[Embassy of the United States, Moscow|US embassy in Moscow]] at the request of Ambassador [[William Christian Bullitt Jr.]],<ref name="HarpoSpyModernRogue">{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Karen |title=5 Badass Celebrities Who Were Also Secretly Spies |url=https://www.themodernrogue.com/articles/2020/3/2/5-badass-celebrities-who-were-also-secretly-spies |access-date=31 December 2020 |work=The Modern Rogue |date=2 March 2020}}</ref> smuggling the messages in and out of the Soviet Union by taping a sealed envelope to his leg beneath his trousers.<ref name="FromkinBook">{{cite book |last1=Fromkin |first1=David |title=In The Time Of The Americans |date=15 May 1996 |publisher=Knopf |location=New York, NY |isbn=0394589017 }}</ref><ref name="Timespy">{{cite news |last1=Harlow |first1=John |title=Harpo Marx smuggled Stalin's secrets in his socks |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/harpo-marx-smuggled-stalins-secrets-in-his-socks-tp9hsrvtlsz |access-date=31 December 2020 |work=The Times |agency=Times Newspapers, Ltd. |date=22 December 2002}}</ref> 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."<ref>Marx 1961, p. 336.</ref>

== In other media ==
In 1936, he rode an ostrich on a team of [[polo]]-playing film stars who appeared as [[caricature]]s in the [[The Walt Disney Company|Walt Disney Production's]] ''[[Mickey's Polo Team]]'', alongside [[Charlie Chaplin]] and [[Laurel and Hardy]].<ref name="DisneyPoloTeam">{{cite web |title=Mickey's Polo Team is Released |url=https://d23.com/this-day/mickeys-polo-team-is-released/ |website=Walt Disney Archives |date=January 4, 1936 |publisher=Disney |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> Walt Disney would later feature Harpo (with Groucho and Chico) as one of [[King Cole|King Cole's]] "Fiddlers Three" in the [[Silly Symphony]] ''[[Mother Goose Goes Hollywood]]''.<ref name="IMDbMotherGoose">{{cite web |last1=Reeves |first1=Jon |title=Mother Goose Goes Hollywood (1938) - Plot Summary |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030465/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl |website=IMDb |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref>
Harpo was also caricatured in [[Fleischer Studios|Fleischer Studios']] [[Popeye]] cartoon ''[[Popeye the Sailor filmography (Fleischer Studios)#1934|Sock-A-Bye Baby]]'' (1934), in which Harpo's harp playing awakens Popeye's baby <ref name="IMDbSockABye">{{cite web |last1=Reeves |first1=Jon |title=Sock-a-Bye, Baby (1934) - Plot Summary |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025807/plotsummary |website=IMDb |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> resulting in Popeye punching Marx, apparently fatally (as suggested when Harpo develops 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 Marx|Groucho]].<ref name="BerkeleyCooCooNutGrove">{{cite web |title=The Coocoo Nut Grove (1935) |url=https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/mrcvault/videographies/coocoo-nut-grove-1935 |website=Berkeley Library |publisher=University of California |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref>

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 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.<ref>Marx 1961, pp. 204–205.</ref> Marx himself was the subject of a sketch by [[Salvador Dalí]],<ref name="PMoA">{{cite web|title=Philadelphia Museum of Art - Collections Object: Harpo Marx|url=http://philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/82907.html|website=Philadelphia Museum of Art|access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> who was Harpo's friend and wrote the screenplay ''[[Giraffes on Horseback Salad]]''.<ref name="NPRDali">{{cite web |last1=Breslow |first1=Peter |title=Salvador Dalí Meets The Marx Brothers In 'Giraffes On Horseback Salad' |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/04/07/710032236/salvador-dal-meets-the-marx-brothers-in-giraffes-on-horseback-salad |website=NPR |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref>

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).<ref name="Discogs">{{cite web |title=Harpo Marx Discography |url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/281711-Harpo-Marx |website=Discogs |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref>

Harpo made television appearances through 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 (1933 film)|Duck Soup]].''<ref>{{IMDb title|id=0609287|title=I Love Lucy: Lucy and Harpo Marx}}</ref> Both Marx and Ball, clad in his typical clothes, portray Harpo.<ref name="CBSLucy">{{cite web |title=10 of the best "I love Lucy" episodes |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/best-i-love-lucy-episodes/7/ |website=CBS News |date=October 14, 2016 |publisher=CBS Interactive |access-date=31 December 2020}}</ref> He also appeared on [[NBC]]'s ''The Martha Raye Show'' circa 1950.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Martha Raye Show |url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/actress-martha-raye-poses-with-harpo-marx-for-the-the-news-photo/545129793 |website=Getty Images |date=March 26, 2015 |publisher=Getty |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> Harpo and Chico appeared in the May 8, 1959, episode of ''[[General Electric Theater]]'' titled "The Incredible Jewelry Robbery" entirely in [[pantomime]].<ref name="TVComGenElectric">{{cite web |title=General Electric Theater Season 7 Episode 23 The Incredible Jewel Robbery |url=http://www.tv.com/shows/general-electric-theater/the-incredible-jewel-robbery-487891/ |website=TV.com |publisher=Red Ventures Company |access-date=1 December 2020 |archive-date=November 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102151932/http://www.tv.com/shows/general-electric-theater/the-incredible-jewel-robbery-487891/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The episode concluded with 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".<ref name="HagleySilentPanic">{{cite web |title=A Silent Panic |url=https://digital.hagley.org/FILM-1995300-FC348 |website=[[Hagley Digital Archives]] |publisher=Hagley Museum and Library |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> 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 ''[[Today (NBC program)|The Today Show]]'',<ref>{{cite book |title=Inside the NBC vault : Today show interviews with Harpo Marx, 1961, Groucho Marx, 1963, William Marx, 1985 |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57054236 |via=WorldCat |year=1988 |publisher=OCLC |isbn=9780573670503 |oclc=57054236 |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> ''[[Play Your Hunch]]'',<ref name="MervMemoir">{{cite book |last1=Griffin |first1=Merv |title=Merv: Making the Good Life Last |date=30 October 2007 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=978-0743236829 |page=40 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hf-upKBQGrQC&q=harpo+marx+play+your+hunch&pg=PA40 |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> ''[[Candid Camera]]'',<ref name="TVGuide121760">{{cite journal |title=Commercials: How Many? How Long? How Often? |journal=TV Guide |date=17 December 1960 |volume=Bonanza |issue=Checkmate }}</ref> ''[[I've Got a Secret]]'',<ref name="SecretIMDb">{{cite web |title=I've Got A Secret Episode dated 33 May 1961 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0609758/ |website=IMDb |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> ''[[Here's Hollywood]]'', ''[[Art Linkletter's House Party]]'',<ref name="TVComHouseParty">{{cite web |title=Art Linkletter's House Party Season 5 Episode 190 May 24, 1957 |url=http://www.tv.com/shows/art-linkletters-house-party/may-24-1957-2540585/ |website=TV.com |publisher=Red Ventures Company |access-date=1 December 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Groucho's ''[[You Bet Your Life]]'',<ref name="SparkBetYourLife">{{cite web |title=You Bet Your Life |url=https://www.sparkmuseum.org/you-bet-your-life/ |website=Spark Museum of Electrical Invention |publisher=SPARK Museum |access-date=1 December 2020 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624180144/https://www.sparkmuseum.org/you-bet-your-life/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]''.<ref name="GettyEdSullivan">{{cite web |title=Sullivan & Marx on "The Ed Sullivan Show" |url=https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/american-television-personality-ed-sullivan-hugs-comedian-news-photo/71006319?language=fr |website=Getty Images | date=May 22, 2006 |publisher=Getty |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref>

In November 1961, he guest-starred with [[Carol Burnett]] in an installment of ''[[The DuPont Show of the Week]]'' titled "The Wonderful World of Toys".<ref name="PaleyDupont">{{cite web |title=DUPONT SHOW OF THE WEEK: ROBERT MONTGOMERY PRESENTS: THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF TOYS {CAROL BURNETT, HARPO MARX, EDIE ADAMS, MERV GRIFFIN, AND OTHERS} (TV) |url=https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=harpo+marx&p=1&item=B:26275 |website=The Paley Center for Media |publisher=The Paley Center |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> The show was filmed in [[Central Park]]<ref name="IMDbDupont">{{cite web |title="The Dupont Show of the Week" The Wonderful World of Toys |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0566784/ |website=IMDb |date=November 12, 1961 |publisher=Amazon |access-date=31 December 2020}}</ref> and featured Marx playing "[[Autumn Leaves (1945 song)|Autumn Leaves]]" on the harp.<ref name="TVComDupont">{{cite web |title=The Dupont Show of the Week: Season 1, Episode 9: The Wonderful World of Toys |url=http://www.tv.com/shows/the-dupont-show-of-the-week/the-wonderful-world-of-toys-219616/ |website=TV.com |publisher=Red Ventures |access-date=31 December 2020 |archive-date=January 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200116001808/http://www.tv.com/shows/the-dupont-show-of-the-week/the-wonderful-world-of-toys-219616/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Other stars appearing in the episode included [[Eva Gabor]], [[Audrey Meadows]], [[Mitch Miller]] and [[Milton Berle]].<ref name="IMDbDupont" /> A visit to the set inspired poet [[Robert Lowell]] to pen his poem ''Harpo Marx.''{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}}

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 [[Columbia Broadcasting System|CBS]]'s ''[[The Red Skelton Hour]]''.<ref name="PaleyRedSkelton">{{cite web |title=RED SKELTON HOUR, THE (HARPO MARX, MAHALIA JACKSON, VIRGINIA GREY, DYAN CANNON) (TV) |url=https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=cbs+television+w..&p=81&item=T82:0232 |website=The Paley Center for Media |publisher=The Paley Center |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> His final role, opposite show star [[Fess Parker]], was as himself on the October 20 episode, "Musicale", of [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s sitcom ''[[Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (TV series)|Mr. Smith Goes to Washington]]''<ref name="NJComMarxTVCollectionDVD">{{cite web |last1=Voger |first1=Mark |title='Marx Brothers TV Collection' on DVD |url=https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2014/08/marx_brothers.html |website=NJ.com |date=August 15, 2014 |publisher=Advance Local Media LLC |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> (based on [[Frank Capra|Frank Capra's]] [[Mr. Smith Goes to Washington|film of the same name]]).<ref>{{cite news| last=Hickey| first=Matthew| title=TV's Silent Panic: Harpo Marx & the Golden Age of Television| magazine=Filmfax| pages=64–69| date=May–June 1996}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
[[Image:Harpo & kids.jpg|thumb|Marx and three of his children wearing Harpo wigs in Los Angeles, 1954]]
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]].<ref name="NYTimesMarriage">{{cite news| title=Harpo Marx Weds - Marriage to Susan Fleming Is Revealed In Wire to Roosevelt| url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/11/05/93531576.html?pageNumber=34| access-date=15 August 2016| newspaper=The New York Times| agency=[[Associated Press]]| date=November 5, 1936| page=34}}</ref> Harpo's marriage, like Gummo's, was lifelong<ref name="SusanMarxObitLATimes">{{cite news |last1=Oliver |first1=Myrna |title=Susan F. Marx, 94; Widow of Comedian Harpo Marx |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-dec-27-me-marx27-story.html |access-date=1 December 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=12 December 2002}}</ref> (Groucho was divorced three times,<ref name="GrouchoElderAbusePBS">{{cite web |last1=Markel |first1=Howard |title=How Groucho Marx Fell Prey to Elder Abuse |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/how-groucho-marx-fell-prey-to-elder-abuse |website=[[PBS NewsHour]] |date=August 19, 2019 |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> Zeppo twice,<ref name="BarbaraSinatraAffairNatPost">{{cite news |last1=Schudel |first1=Matt |title=Barbara was still married to Zeppo Marx when Frank Sinatra charmed her into bed |url=https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/celebrity/barbara-was-still-married-to-zeppo-marx-when-frank-sinatra-charmed-her-into-bed |website=National Post |date=July 26, 2017 |publisher=Washington Post |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref><ref name="DailyNewsMarionDivorce">{{cite news |title=Divorce Granted To Zeppo's Wife |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26507881/divorce-granted-to-zeppos-wife/ |access-date=1 December 2020 |work=Daily News |publisher=Associated Press |date=19 May 1954}}</ref> and Chico once<ref name="NYTimesZeppoDivorce">{{cite news|last1=Fraser|first1=C. Gerald|title=Zeppo Marx Dies on Coast at 78 Last Survivor of Comedy Team|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/01/archives/zeppo-marx-dies-on-coast-at-78-last-survivor-of-comedy-team-tired.html|access-date=1 December 2020|work=The New York Times |agency=United Press International|date=1 December 1979}}</ref>). The couple adopted four children: [[Bill Marx (pianist)|Bill]], Alex, Jimmy, and Minnie.<ref name="BeaconAdoptedChildren">{{cite news |last1=Annarino |first1=John |title=Harpo's son found early success in music |url=https://www.thebeaconnewspapers.com/harpos-son-found-early-success-in-music/ |access-date=1 December 2020 |work=The Beacon |publisher=The Beacon Newspapers}}</ref> When he 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."<ref name="TIFOClothing">{{cite web |last1=Deezen |first1=Eddie |title=HARPO MARX AND HIS HABIT OF SHEDDING HIS CLOTHING AT RANDOM TIMES |url=http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/10/harpo-marx-habit-shedding-clothing-random-times/ |website=Today I Found Out |date=October 21, 2014 |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref>
[[File:Algonquin Round Table.gif|left|thumb|Members and associates of the Algonquin Round Table: (''standing, left to right'') Art Samuels and Harpo Marx; (''sitting'') [[Charles MacArthur]], [[Dorothy Parker]], and [[Alexander Woollcott]]]]
Harpo was good friends with theater critic [[Alexander Woollcott]],<ref name="LongreadsMarxAndWoollcott">{{cite web |last1=Stuckey-French |first1=Ned |title=Alexander Woollcott and Harpo Marx: A Love Story |url=https://longreads.com/2014/04/30/the-odd-couple-alexander-woollcott-and-harpo-our-longreads-member-pick/ |website=Longreads |date=April 30, 2014 |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> alongside whom he became a regular member of the [[Algonquin Round Table]].<ref name="BritannicaAlgonquin">{{cite web |title=Algonquin Round Table |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Algonquin-Round-Table |website=Britannica |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> He once said his main contribution was to be the audience for the quips of other members.<ref name="speaks" /> In their play ''[[The Man Who Came to Dinner]]'', [[George S. Kaufman]] and [[Moss Hart]] based the character of "Banjo" on Harpo.<ref name="AZTheaterManWhoCametoDinner">{{cite web |title=From the Dramaturgs of THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER |url=https://theatre.arizona.edu/dramaturgy/aboutthemanwhocametodinner/ |website=Arizona Repertory Theater |publisher=College of Fine Arts |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> Harpo later played the role in Los Angeles<ref name="LATimesDinner">{{cite news |last1=McCulloh |first1=T.H. |title="Dinner" is Almost Ready in Huntington |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-03-14-ca-38004-story.html |access-date=1 December 2020 |newspaper=LA Times |publisher=Los Angeles Times |date=14 March 1997}}</ref> opposite Woollcott, himself the inspiration for the character of Sheridan Whiteside.<ref>{{cite news| last=Batistick| first=Mike| title=The Man Who Came to Bubby's: Nathan Lane Takes on Critics| url=https://observer.com/2000/07/the-man-who-came-to-bubbys-nathan-lane-takes-on-critics/| newspaper=[[The New York Observer]]| date=July 24, 2000| access-date=2020-04-10}}</ref>

[[File:Marx Brothers 1948.jpg|thumb|The Marx Brothers (clockwise: Chico, Harpo, and Groucho) by [[Yousuf Karsh]] in 1948]]
In 1961, Harpo published his autobiography, ''Harpo Speaks!'' <ref name="speaks" /> Because he did not speak in any of his film appearances, many moviegoers believed he actually was [[Muteness|mute]]. In fact, radio and TV news recordings of his voice can be found on the Internet,<ref name="YTVoice">{{cite web |title=Harpo Marx Speaks |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19prL2ue4pk | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522100253/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19prL2ue4pk| archive-date=2014-05-22 | url-status=dead|website=Youtube |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> in documentaries,<ref name="NastasiHarpoVoice">{{cite web |last1=Nastasi |first1=Alison |title=Why Harpo Marx Never Spoke, Plus: Here's What His Voice Actually Sounded Like |url=https://www.imdb.com/news/ni54262607 |website=Movies.Com |publisher=IMDb}}</ref> and on bonus materials of Marx Brothers DVDs.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} 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.<ref>{{cite AV media| url=http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/harposp.htm| title=Harpo Speaks| website=The Marx Brothers| access-date=2020-04-10}}</ref> According to those who personally knew him, Harpo's voice 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.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.journalnow.com/relishnow/film_tv/tv_tidbits/marx-brothers-featured-in-new-dvd-release/article_1bfaf4ba-106a-57a5-b8bf-bc29fd7732ef.html| title=Marx Brothers featured in new DVD release| last=Clodfelter| first=Tim| newspaper=[[Winston-Salem Journal]]| date=August 17, 2014| access-date=2014-09-02}}</ref>

Harpo expressed public support for Zionism and Israel since the 1940s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Medoff |first=Rafael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vMl0-azdbVYC |title=Militant Zionism in America: The Rise and Impact of the Jabotinsky Movement in the United States, 1926-1948 |date=2002-07-02 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |isbn=978-0-8173-1071-4 |pages=150 |language=en}}</ref> He often appeared as a speaker at pro-Israel functions throughout the country. He visited Israel in 1963.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1964-09-30 |title=Harpo Marx Dead at 70; Broke Silence for Pro-israel Causes |url=https://www.jta.org/archive/harpo-marx-dead-at-70-broke-silence-for-pro-israel-causes |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US}}</ref>

Harpo's final public appearance came on January 19, 1963, when he announced his retirement, causing singer/comedian [[Allan Sherman]] to burst into tears.<ref name="PBSBillMarx">{{cite web |last1=Marx |first1=Bill |title=Great Lines - Bill Marx on Harpo |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/makeemlaugh/video/all-interviews/great-lines-bill-marx-on-harpo/100/ |website=Make 'Em Laugh |date=January 21, 2009 |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref name="attic">{{cite web |title=THE ONE, THE ONLY -- HARPO! |url=https://www.theattic.space/home-page-blogs/2020/11/13/the-one-the-only-harpo|website=The Attic|date=November 13, 2020 |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> Allen remembered that although the audience found this rare speech from Harpo charmingly ironic, his personal opinion was that Harpo "wouldn't shut up!"<ref name=colvin>{{cite journal| last=Colvin| first=Rod| title=Remembering Harpo: His Life and Legacy| journal=American Harp Journal| date=Winter 2009| url=https://www.questia.com/magazine/1G1-217240691/remembering-harpo-his-life-and-legacy| volume=22| number=2| page=36| access-date=April 11, 2020| archive-date=April 11, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411010811/https://www.questia.com/magazine/1G1-217240691/remembering-harpo-his-life-and-legacy| url-status=dead}}</ref> Harpo, an avid [[croquet]] player, was inducted into the [[Croquet Hall of Fame]] in 1979.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.croquetamerica.com/usca/halloffame/| title=United States Croquet Hall of Fame| website=[[United States Croquet Association]]| access-date=February 19, 2016}}</ref>

== Death ==
On September 26, 1964, Marx was admitted to the [[intensive care unit]] of [[West Los Angeles VA Medical Center|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.<ref name="NYTimes2" /> Harpo's death 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,<ref name="NYTFuneral">{{cite news |last1=Lindsey |first1=Robert |title=Family Honors Groucho Marx at Private Gathering |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/08/22/archives/family-honors-groucho-marx-at-private-gathering.html |access-date=31 December 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=22 August 1977}}</ref> later said that Harpo's funeral was the only time in his life that he ever saw his father cry.<ref name="attic" /> In his will, Harpo Marx donated his trademark harp to the State of [[Israel]],<ref name="Mitchell" /> where it was later used in an Israeli orchestra.<ref name="IsraeliHarpDonation" /> His remains were cremated<ref name="IMDbMain" /> at the [[Hollywood Forever Cemetery]] and a portion of his ashes were allegedly scattered in the sand trap at the 7th hole of a golf course in [[Rancho Mirage, California]].{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

== Legacy ==
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,<ref name="TIFOClothing" /> 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 the globe.<ref name=colvin/> His talent extended to piano and clarinet<ref name="HarpJournal">{{cite journal |last1=McLaughlin |first1=Carrol |title=Harpo Marx |journal=American Harp Journal |date=Summer 1983 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=51–52 |url=http://harpsociety.org/publications/journal/extras/summer2020/pdfs/marx_summer1983_pp51-52.pdf |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=January 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121074126/https://harpsociety.org/publications/journal/extras/summer2020/pdfs/marx_summer1983_pp51-52.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> (on which he played ''When My Dreams Come True'' in ''The Cocoanuts''),<ref name="DiscogsCocoanuts">{{cite web |title=The Marx Brothers – The Cocoanuts / Monkey Business |url=https://www.discogs.com/The-Marx-Brothers-The-Cocoanuts-Monkey-Business/release/11142643 |website=Discogs |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref> which, as he had with the harp, Harpo mostly learned independent of professional instruction.<ref name="HarposPlaceBio">{{Cite web|url=https://www.harposplace.com/Artist/ArtistStory.php|title=Harpo's Place - The Artist: Story|website=Harposplace.com|access-date=November 30, 2020|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108102438/http://www.harposplace.com/Artist/ArtistStory.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref name="MorningCallBillMarxMusic">{{cite web |last1=Oakes |first1=Loisann |title=HARPO MARX'S SON CARRIES ON HIS MUSICAL GIFT |url=https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1989-03-26-2671349-story.html |website=The Morning Call |date=March 26, 1989 |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> In 2002, a Golden Palm Star on the [[Palm Springs, California]], [[Palm Springs Walk of Stars|Walk of Stars]], located at 190 E. Tahquitz Way, was dedicated to Harpo's memory.<ref name="PalmSpringsStar">{{cite web |title=Palm Springs Walk of Stars - Complete List |url=https://www.palmsprings.com/walk-of-stars/ |website=PalmSprings.com |publisher=Palm Springs, California |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref>

=== Media portrayals ===
Marx was portrayed by the actor J. M. Henry in the 1994 film ''[[Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle: Full Cast & Crew|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110588/fullcredits#cast|website=IMDb}}</ref>

Marx was portrayed by actor Daniel Fortus in the Broadway production of ''[[Minnie's Boys]]'', a [[Broadway musical]] that ran for 64 performances at the [[Imperial Theatre]] from March to May 1970.<ref name="MinniesBoysIMDb">{{cite web| title=Minnie's Boys| website=IMDb| url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/minnies-boys-3517}}</ref> 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.<ref name="MinniesBoysPlot">{{cite web |title=Minnie's Boys |url=https://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_m/minniesboys.htm |website=Guide to Musical Theater |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref>

Actress [[Priscilla Lopez]] played Gino,<ref name="PLopezPlaybill">{{cite web |title=Priscilla Lopez |url=https://www.playbill.com/person/priscilla-lopez-vault-0000003571 |website=Playbill |publisher=Playbill Inc. |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref> a character based on Harpo,<ref name="NYTDayInHollywood">{{cite news |last1=Klein |first1=Alvin |title=THEATER; 'DAY IN HOLLYWOOD' WORTH AN EVENING |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/15/nyregion/theater-day-in-hollywood-worth-an-evening.html |access-date=1 January 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=15 January 1984}}</ref> in 1980's Broadway send-up of Hollywood filmmaking ''[[A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine]].'' This role earned Lopez a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical.<ref name="PriscillaLopezBio">{{cite web |title=Priscilla Lopez |url=https://masterworksbroadway.com/artist/priscilla-lopez/ |website=Masterworks Broadway |publisher=Sony Music Entertainment |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref>

Les Marsden portrayed Harpo in ''[[Groucho: A Life in Revue]]'',<ref name="BaltimoreGrouchoRevue">{{cite news |last1=Rousuck |first1=J. Wynn |title='Groucho: A Life in Revue' plays it again, unimaginatively |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1995-06-09-1995160031-story.html |access-date=1 January 2021 |work=Baltimore Sun |agency=Baltimore Sun Media Group |date=9 June 1995}}</ref> written by Groucho's son, Arthur Marx, and Robert Fisher.<ref name="NYTGrouchoRevue">{{cite news |last1=Gussow |first1=Mel |title=Stage: 'Groucho: A Life in Review' at the Lortel |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/09/theater/stage-groucho-a-life-in-revue-at-the-lortel.html |access-date=1 January 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=9 October 1986}}</ref> The play, held at the [[off-Broadway]] [[Lucille Lortel]] Theatre, boasted a 264 show run from September 8, 1986, to May 3, 1987.<ref name="IOBDGrouchoRevue">{{cite web |title=Groucho: A Life in Revue |url=http://www.iobdb.com/production/559 |website=Internet Off-Broadway Database |publisher=Lucille Lortel Theatre |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref>

=== References in other media ===
{{bulleted list |[[Jack Kerouac]] composed a poem titled "To Harpo Marx".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.marx-brothers.org/info/reference.htm|title=References – The Marx Brothers|website=www.marx-brothers.org|access-date=April 14, 2019|archive-date=April 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401231000/https://www.marx-brothers.org/info/reference.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
The Swedish singer [[Harpo (singer)|Harpo]] named himself after Harpo Marx.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}|[[Jonathan Richman]] references Harpo in his song "When Harpo Played His Harp".<ref name="Genius">{{cite web |title=Jonathan Richman - Harpo Played his Harp Lyrics |url=https://genius.com/Jonathan-richman-harpo-played-his-harp-lyrics |website=Genius |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref>|[[Neil Cicierega|Lemon Demon]] references Harpo Marx in the song "Vow of Silence".<ref name="LemonDemonRockol">{{cite web |title=Lyric {{!}} Song lyrics {{!}} Vow of Silence - Lemon Demon on Rockol |url=https://www.rockol.com/uk/lyrics-5001787/lemon-demon-vow-of-silence |website=Rockol - la musica online è qui - Novità Musicali |publisher=Rockol |access-date=1 December 2020 |last1=s. r. l. |first1=Rockol. com }}</ref>|[[Phoebe Snow]]'s "Harpo's Blues" (1975) was written about "a guy in a band who 'became' Harpo Marx ... he wouldn't talk, and his eyes would roll around&nbsp;...&nbsp;".<ref name="SnowRollingStone">{{cite magazine| last=Palmer| first=Robert| title=Phoebe Snow Finds the Suburbs of the Soul| magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]| date=April 26, 2011| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/phoebe-snow-finds-the-suburbs-of-the-soul-rolling-stones-1975-cover-story-20110426}}</ref>|Harpo appears in cartoon form on the cover of The Kinks' 1972 album ''[[Everybody's in Show-Biz]]''.}}

== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1921|| ''[[Humor Risk]]'' || Watson || Short, lost
|-
|1925|| ''[[Too Many Kisses]]'' || The Village Peter Pan ||
|-
|1929|| ''[[The Cocoanuts]]'' || Harpo ||
|-
|1930|| ''[[Animal Crackers (1930 film)|Animal Crackers]]'' || The Professor ||
|-
|1931|| ''[[The House That Shadows Built]]'' || The Merchant of Wieners ||
|-
|1931|| ''[[Monkey Business (1931 film)|Monkey Business]]'' || Harpo ||
|-
|1932|| ''[[Hollywood on Parade]], #A-5'' || Himself || Short
|-
|1932|| ''[[Horse Feathers]]'' || Pinky ||
|-
|1932|| ''[[Hollywood on Parade]], #11'' || Himself || Short
|-
|1933|| ''[[Duck Soup (1933 film)|Duck Soup]]'' || Pinky ||
|-
|1935|| ''[[A Night at the Opera (film)|A Night at the Opera]]'' || Tomasso ||
|-
|1935|| ''[[La Fiesta de Santa Barbara]]'' || Himself || Short
|-
|1937|| ''[[A Day at the Races (film)|A Day at the Races]]'' || Stuffy ||
|-
|1938|| ''[[Room Service (1938 film)|Room Service]]'' || Faker Englund ||
|-
|1939|| ''[[At the Circus]]'' || 'Punchy' ||
|-
|1940|| ''[[Go West (1940 film)|Go West]]'' || 'Rusty' Panello ||
|-
|1941|| ''[[The Big Store]]'' || Wacky ||
|-
|1943|| ''[[Stage Door Canteen (film)|Stage Door Canteen]]'' || Harpo Marx ||
|-
|1945|| ''All Star Bond Rally'' || Himself ||
|-
|1946|| ''[[A Night in Casablanca]]'' || Rusty ||
|-
|1949|| ''[[Love Happy]]'' || Harpo ||
|-
|1957|| ''[[The Story of Mankind (film)|The Story of Mankind]]'' || Sir Isaac Newton ||
|-
|1962|| ''Got It Made'' || || lost<ref name="HarposPlace2" />
|}

=== TV ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1952|| ''The [[Ezio Pinza]] Show'' || Himself - Comic Actor || 1 episode
|-
|1952-1953|| ''[[All Star Revue]]'' || Himself || 3 episodes
|-
|1953|| ''Season's Greetings'' || Himself || TV movie
|-
|1954|| ''[[The Colgate Comedy Hour]]'' || Governor || Episode: "Revenge with Music"
|-
|1955|| ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' || Himself || Episode: "Harpo Marx"
|-
|1957|| ''[[Playhouse 90]]'' || The Jinx || Episode: "Snowshoes: A Comedy of People and Horses"
|-
|1958|| ''[[The DuPont Show of the Month]]'' || Narrator - Harpist || Episode: "The Red Mill"
|-
|1959|| ''[[General Electric Theater]]'' || Nick || Episode: "The Incredible Jewel Robbery"
|-
|1960|| ''[[The DuPont Show with June Allyson]]'' || Benson || Episode: "A Silent Panic"
|-
|1961|| ''[[The DuPont Show of the Week]]'' || Himself || Episode: "The Wonderful World of Toys"
|-
|1962|| ''[[The Red Skelton Hour]]'' || Guardian Angel || Episode: "Somebody Up There Should Stay There"
|-
|1962|| ''[[Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (TV series)|Mr. Smith Goes to Washington]]'' || Himself || Episode: "The Musicale" (final appearance)
|}

== Discography ==
*1952 ''Harp by Harpo'' 
*1957 ''Harpo'' 
*1958 ''Harpo at Work!'' 
*1964 [[Mahalia Jackson]] - ''Let's Pray Together'' (harp accompanist on "Guardian Angels")

== Bibliography ==
*1961 ''Harpo Speaks!''
*2000 ''Harpo Speaks ...About New York'' (the first two chapters of the above, repackaged)

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== References ==
* Adamson, Joe (1973). ''Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo: A Celebration of the Marx Brothers''. New York: Simon & Schuster. {{ISBN|0-671-21458-6}}
* Marx, Harpo (1961). ''Harpo Speaks!''. New York: B. Geis Associates; New York: Limelight Editions, 1985. {{ISBN|0-879-10036-2}}
* Mitchell, Glenn (1996). ''The Marx Brothers Encyclopedia''. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. {{ISBN|0-713-47838-1}}
* Koestenbaum, Wayne (2012). ''The Anatomy of Harpo Marx''. Berkeley: University of California Press. {{ISBN|978-0-520-26900-2}}
* Fix, Charlene (2013) ''Harpo Marx asTrickster. ''Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishers Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-786-47147-8}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
{{wikiquote}}
* [http://www.harposplace.com/ Harpo Marx family website, run by his son Bill]
* {{IMDb name|555617|Harpo Marx}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{discogs artist|Harpo Marx}}

{{Marx Brothers}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marx, Harpo}}
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