(He also apparently smuggled secret papers out on his way home, becoming one of America's unofficial spies.) Dad also spent the summer of 1928 on the French Riviera with Ruth Gordon and George Bernard Shaw. Those adventures include visiting Russia in the 1930s to become the first American to perform in the Soviet Union after the United States government officially recognized it. And at some much earlier point, my dad changed his name from Adolph to Arthur.ĭad wrote all about these adventures in his entertaining autobiography, (co-written by Rowland Barber) HARPO SPEAKS ( Amazon link). and on into movies, where they made 13 films together. Together the Four Marx Brothers went from vaudeville to the Palace Theater, to legitimate Broadway. And so did Brother Zeppo when Brother Gummo left. The singing group became a comedy troupe. However it happened, my Dad stayed in show biz pretty much from then on. (Or should I say his mother pulled him off a piano stool in a nickelodeon and dragged him into a singing act she'd created with Groucho, (Julius), Gummo and another guy. He even played piano in a whorehouse!īut the pull of the theater was too strong for him. But from that moment on he was a true "student of life." His childhood was rich with adventure - he skated on the ponds of Central Park (on one scavenged skate) he swam in the East River (with one hand pushing away floating trash) and he lit bonfires on street corners on Election Day. He wasn't exactly a scholar and he dropped out of school (literally) when two classmates threw him out the window of his second grade class. My Dad grew up poor in turn of the century New York City. Two other brothers - Milton (Gummo) was born in 1893 and Herbert (Zeppo) was born in 1901.
Leonard (who became Chico) was born on March 22, 1887, and Julius (who became Groucho) was born on October 2, 1890. before any of his brothers were even born. He was the third child of Minnie and Sam "Frenchie" Marx. and also resulted in fun collaborations with him both as Dad and Harpo.ĭad was born Adolph Marx on November 23, 1888. I was also fortunate to have had a musical kinship with him that spurred my own pursuits. My Dad was a great father to me and my two Marx Brothers - Jimmy and Alex, and my Marx sister - Minnie. But it was also the man who sat down and played the harp.Īnd it was the man that I knew best. The actor was the one who horsed around with his brothers and pulled all sorts of junk from that bottomless pit of a trench coat. In other words - the complete man.ĭad always said there were two Harpos - the actor and the man. and learn sides of the man that might not be very obvious from that crazy fright-wigged character who chases girls in Marx Brothers movies. I created this site on behalf of The Harpo Marx Foundation and his family so that visitors who stop by can see a different perspective on Harpo. My name is Bill Marx, and my dad is Harpo Marx.
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