The Modesty and Musicality of Harpo Marx

Movie and vaudeville audiences knew him as the silent gag man, with outrageous pranks, a Casanova-like charm, and fabulous harp solos. His family and friends knew him as the “sweetheart” with the soft voice and the quiet smile.

Movie stardom and modesty are not two things that usually come in one package, but it would be hard to find a man more brash and confident on screen and more humble in his personal life than Harpo Marx. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, the Marx Brothers were wildly popular not only in America but around the world, even in Russia. Arthur Adolph Marx, who got his nickname Harpo from his impressive harp performances, was the silent brother in the act, always relying on wacky and over-the-top physical humor. His on-screen persona was worlds away from his real self.

Today is the anniversary of Harpo’s 1888 birth, the perfect time to remember the comic and musician who never spoke a word to the movie camera. The only extant recording of Harpo’s voice is an interview clip where the comedian describes one of the many instances in his life of antisemitic persecution (in fact, he left school in second grade after anti-Jewish classmates pitched him out a window). Unlike his brothers — particularly Groucho — Harpo hated the limelight. While he chased women in movies, he was so shy in real life his wife had to pursue him and propose a few times before he married her. After that, he was devoted to her and the children they adopted. Harpo’s son Bill idolized his dad and spent his life preserving Harpo’s legacy.

So who was the man behind the silly blonde wig and clownish clothes? Perhaps all the antisemitic harassment he suffered made him permanently unsure of himself, for all his friends and family remembered him as very shy and always willing to give others the preference. Sam Milligan was a technician for Lyon & Healy, where Harpo came for his musical needs. "Harpo came in to buy strings or have his harp regulated. He was a real sweetheart of a man," enthused Milligan. "He was very mild mannered. Soft spoken and quite modest."

Milligan recounted one incident in particular, according to the Harp Society. Harpo couldn't read music, and though he performed complicated musical numbers on the piano and harp, and even composed his own music, he did it all without writing down or reading any notes. Because he was largely self-taught, Harpo was always convinced he was a very inferior musician. One day, he rushed in to Lyon & Healy in a panic. Harpo was a great supporter of Israel's modern rebirth, and Israelis wished to return the favor.

"It was 1959, and Harpo had been asked to be a judge in the first Israel International Harp Competition," Milligan explained. "He came in to our store in a great panic because they had asked him to be one of the judges. Harpo said, 'Anyone of those harpists can play circles around me. I have no business judging that competition.' So, Harpo spoke to the man who managed Lyon & Healy in New York at the time; he had some connections to the people in Israel. They worked it out so that Harpo was an honorary judge, which thrilled him a great deal."

In contrast to Harpo's estimation of his own skill is the testimony of Carrol McLaughlin, a concert harpist and professor of harp at the University of Arizona, who performed in the 1980s and early 1990s with Harpo's son Bill in a tribute for Harpo. McLaughlin would play the music Harpo had composed and played. "I have played Harpo's music, note for note, and it is as tough as anything I have ever played on stage," McLaughlin affirmed. "Some of his music is tougher than pieces by [famed harp composer] Tournier. His music is very advanced harmonically. He would play chords over and over just to hear the harmonies. Harpo loved the harp. He practiced three to four hours a day. When we see Harpo playing, he's playing from his soul."

Harpo didn’t want to be recognized or praised by fans in public. He loved it when he could walk around and go unnoticed. Without his wig, weird stage clothing, and crazy pranks, he didn’t look much like the celebrity comedian. Harpo preferred to play with his kids at home to attending star-studded parties.

Son Bill remembered, “Dad once told a friend he wanted to have as many kids as he had front windows in our house on Canon Drive in Beverly Hills... so that he could see them waving at [him] when he got home from work.” Unfortunately, Harpo and his wife Sally couldn’t have biological children, but they adopted four kids and built a happy home. With all the broken homes, busted marriages, inflated egos, and overweening ambition in Hollywood over the decades, Harpo stands out for his familial devotion, humility, and integrity.

And that is why Harpo Marx’s family and friends were even more devoted to and admiring of the extraordinary man than his millions of fans were.

Editor’s Note: Support and follow PJ Media’s coverage of breaking news and cultural analysis. Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.