Harpo speaks! New recordings reveal mute Marx brother chatting with audience

The comedy legend, who adopted his silent persona because of stage nerves, did occasionally address his audience, as revealed by a new archive release Groucho was the cigar-chomping wit with the improbable moustache, Chico was the piano-playing rustic grifter and Zeppo played the straight man and the lover. But as any Marx Brothers fan knows, Harpo was the pantomime, who cracked up the audience without saying a word, dressed in his tattered raincoat and curly wig. His persona was childlike and mischievous but also musical – he let his harp and his taxi horn do the talking. But now we get to see, or rather hear, a new side to Harpo Marx. A very special recording has been unearthed of Harpo in 1964 speaking to an audience, in character. Arthur “Harpo” Marx was born Adolph Marx in New York in 1888. He started performing with his brothers in 1910, and his nickname probably came about because of his instrument of choice – he was an entirely self-taught musician. By 1915, due to his nerves a...

The moment I knew: ‘I pledged I would go to mass for 30 days to understand what I was feeling’

After years of friendship, Josie still wasn’t sure whether she was into Chris. So she struck a deal with God

I was 18 when I first met Chris at a church youth group. Although we came from the same ethno-religious group, Chris wasn’t strictly religious. For him, youth group was a way to socialise with people from our community.

I never really paid him any attention, but one night after youth group he walked me to my car. He was trying to get to know me – he told me later that he had noticed me playing Scrabble at our camp and that was the kind of life he wanted with someone. I summed my interests up for him very clearly: pizza, ice-cream and making lists. He must have liked that answer because suddenly, it felt like he was everywhere.

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from Love And Sex | The Guardian https://ift.tt/wrQyOov

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