Harpo Marx

The Loudest Silence on Broadway

Adolph Marx changed his name to Arthur because the original sounded too German during the Great War. It was not an artistic decision but one of social survival. Before becoming the most famous mute in movies, he toured the seedy theaters of the United States with his brothers on vaudeville circuits that frayed everyone's nerves.

That was a comedic massacre.

He taught himself to play the harp, holding it on the wrong shoulder. No one explained that the technique was wrong, so he developed a unique style that fascinated conservatory musicians. In The Cocoanuts in 1929, he already made it clear that his character didn't need grammar to steal the screen.

Harpo's character was born by accident when a critic wrote that the actor was much better when he kept his mouth shut. He accepted the challenge and put on an orange wool wig that looked blond in black-and-white films. But what defined his presence was that coat full of impossible pockets, from which he pulled out scalding cups of coffee or live dogs.

Anarchy vs. Order at MGM

In 1933 they filmed Duck Soup, and the result was a financial disaster that nearly ended their careers. Paramount turned its back on them because Depression-era audiences didn't understand such destructive, cynical humor. That was when Irving Thalberg signed them to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer with the aim of taming the wild beasts.

And the gamble paid off.

Thalberg imposed secondary romantic subplots and mandatory musical numbers so that the ladies wouldn't be frightened at the movies. In 1935, they premiered A Night at the Opera, and Harpo proved he could be tender without losing his ability to bite a villain. But the reality was that the shoot was a chaos of improvisation, where the writers sweated blood trying to keep up with him.

During the tours before filming, they tested the jokes in front of real audiences to discard whatever didn't get laughs. Harpo jotted down every reaction in a small notebook that he guarded closely. Because behind the grimaces and honking horns was a master of comic timing who left nothing to chance.

The Palm Springs retreat and farewell

In 1936, he married actress Susan Fleming and decided his private life would have nothing to do with show business. They adopted four children and settled into a home where silence was the rule. Off set, Arthur was a calm man who preferred golf and painting to the Hollywood parties his brother Groucho loved so much.

He published his memoir, Harpo Speaks, in 1961. In the book, he confessed that his silence on stage was a release from his family's constant chatter. In 1962, he filmed an episode of The Red Skelton Hour, where he performed his last long physical sketch.

It was his last time in front of a professional camera.

He died on September 28, 1964 after heart surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. He was seventy-five years old and had just celebrated his wedding anniversary. His ashes were scattered on the seventh hole of his favorite golf club in California.