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59-462: He began as a radio presenter, and then enjoyed great success and inspired controversy with his anarchic sense of humor while hosting many TV shows on Globo and other networks in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He would interrupt the musical numbers of major stars, blow a horn like Harpo Marx while poking fun at guests and throw codfish to the audience. Chacrinha was born in Surubim , Pernambuco . At

118-625: A Broadway musical that ran for 64 performances at the Imperial Theatre from March to May 1970. 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. Actress Priscilla Lopez played Gino, a character based on Harpo, in 1980's Broadway send-up of Hollywood filmmaking A Day in Hollywood/A Night in

177-578: A Carnival music show called Rei Momo na Chacrinha (" King Momo at the Farm") at Radio Fluminense , which became very successful. He was from then on known as Abelardo "Chacrinha" Barbosa. In the 1950s he would command several successful shows, in which he released various successes in the genre of Brazilian music . In one of his shows, Cassino do Chacrinha ("Chacrinha's Casino"), he pretended, with sounds and noises, to be throwing big parties and would make people expect big releases. In 1956, he began appearing on

236-505: A Secret , Here's Hollywood , Art Linkletter's House Party , Groucho's You Bet Your Life , The Ed Sullivan Show . In November 1961, he guest-starred with Carol Burnett in an installment of The DuPont Show of the Week entitled "The Wonderful World of Toys". The show was filmed in Central Park and featured Marx playing " Autumn Leaves " on the harp. Other stars appearing in

295-459: A blonde wig. Over time, he darkened the pink to more of a reddish color, which films again alluded to with character names, such as the name of his character in A Night in Casablanca , "Rusty". 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,

354-443: 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". 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 The Today Show , Play Your Hunch , Candid Camera , I've Got

413-670: A cup of coffee, and he subsequently produces a steaming cup, complete with saucer, from inside his coat. 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". In Duck Soup , he produces a lit blowtorch to light a cigar. Harpo often used facial expressions and mime 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 ,

472-659: A curly reddish blonde wig and did not speak, instead blowing a horn or whistling to communicate. Marx frequently employed props such as a horn cane constructed from a lead pipe, tape, and a bulbhorn. Harpo was born on November 23, 1888, in Manhattan , New York City. He grew up in a neighborhood now known as Carnegie Hill (known at the time as Yorkville) on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, on East 93rd Street off Lexington Avenue . The turn-of-the-century tenement that Harpo later called "the first real home I can remember"

531-404: 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 . 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

590-461: A name he disliked (as a child, he was routinely called "Ahdie" instead), to "Arthur" by 1911. The similarity to the name of prominent Chicago show business attorney Adolph Marks may have further encouraged the change. 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

649-678: 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. Marx himself was the subject of a sketch by Salvador Dalí , who was Harpo's friend and wrote the screenplay Giraffes on Horseback Salad . 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). Harpo made television appearances through

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708-588: A portion of his ashes were allegedly scattered in the sand trap at the 7th hole of a golf course in Rancho Mirage, California . 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, 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

767-476: Is a Brazilian television presenter and comedian . João Kleber began his career producing music videos for MTV Brasil . In Rede Globo , he wrote news programs. Kleber was the first to replace Cid Moreira in Jornal Nacional and made the final performances of the television program Cassino do Chacrinha before the death of the host, Chacrinha . He moved to a show from RedeTV! where he presented

826-582: Is how he was billed during his Soviet Union appearances. Harpo, having no knowledge of Russian, pronounced it as "Exapno Mapcase". At that time, Harpo and the Soviet Foreign Minister Maxim Litvinov became friends. During this time he served as a secret courier, delivering communiques to and from the US embassy in Moscow at the request of Ambassador William Christian Bullitt Jr. , smuggling

885-569: The Palm Springs, California , Walk of Stars , located at 190 E. Tahquitz Way, was dedicated to Harpo's memory. Harpo was frequently invited to parties thrown by newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst . Marx was portrayed by the actor J. M. Henry in the 1994 film Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle . Marx was portrayed by actor Daniel Fortus in the Broadway production of Minnie's Boys ,

944-763: The Walt Disney Production's Mickey's Polo Team , alongside Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy . Walt Disney would later feature Harpo (with Groucho and Chico) as one of King Cole's "Fiddlers Three" in the Silly Symphony Mother Goose Goes Hollywood . Harpo was also caricatured in Fleischer Studios' Popeye cartoon Sock-A-Bye Baby (1934), in which Harpo's harp playing awakens Popeye's baby resulting in Popeye punching Marx, apparently fatally (as suggested when Harpo develops

1003-505: 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 . Both Marx and Ball, clad in his typical clothes, portray Harpo. He also appeared on NBC 's The Martha Raye Show circa 1950. Harpo and Chico appeared in the May 8, 1959, episode of General Electric Theater entitled "The Incredible Jewelry Robbery" entirely in pantomime . The episode concluded with

1062-618: The Circus (1939) contains a unique scene where Harpo is heard saying "A-choo!" twice, as he sneezes. In 1933, following U.S. diplomatic recognition of the Soviet Union , Harpo spent six weeks in Moscow as a performer and goodwill ambassador. His tour was a huge success, and the show ran for six weeks. Harpo's name was transliterated into Russian , using the Cyrillic alphabet , as "ХАРПО МАРКС," which

1121-679: The Ukraine . This role earned Lopez a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. Les Marsden portrayed Harpo in Groucho: A Life in Revue , written by Groucho's son, Arthur Marx, and Robert Fisher. The play, held at the off-Broadway Lucille Lortel Theatre, boasted a 264 show run from September 8, 1986, to May 3, 1987. Jo%C3%A3o Kl%C3%A9ber João Kleber , stage name of João Ferreira Filho (born August 2, 1957, in São Paulo )

1180-567: 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 , and played piano in A Night at the Opera . Ultimately, he relinquished the piano to Chico in favor of his trademark harp, upon which he performed Nacio Herb Brown's 1935 song "Alone", which was sung in the film by Kitty Carlisle and Allan Jones. Harpo had changed his name from "Adolph",

1239-421: The age of 10, he moved with his family to Campina Grande , Paraiba . At the age of 17, he went to the capital of Pernambuco, Recife to study. He was admitted to medical school in 1936 and in 1937 he had his first contact with radio at radio Clube Pernambuco, when he gave a speech about alcoholism. Chacrinha, besides several financial crisis in his family throughout his life, had a peaceful childhood. In Recife,

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1298-572: The audience found this rare speech from Harpo charmingly ironic, his personal opinion was that Harpo "wouldn't shut up!" Harpo, an avid croquet player, was inducted into the Croquet Hall of Fame in 1979. On September 26, 1964, Marx was admitted to the intensive care unit of 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. Harpo's death

1357-567: 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." Differing stories exist regarding the origin of the Harpo stage name . The first suggests the pseudonym originated during a card game at the Orpheum Theatre in Galesburg, Illinois . In this version of

1416-453: The controversial Eu vi na TV . The program was distinguished by "Teste de Fidelidade" (later reassembled in modified form as Fiel ou Infiel in the Portuguese version, also by Kleber). Kleber also commanded the program Canal Aberto and its successor, Tarde Quente , whose politically incorrect candid cameras drove RedeTV! be taken off the air in São Paulo for a day. Back on air,

1475-432: The country. He visited Israel in 1963. Harpo's final public appearance came on January 19, 1963, when he announced his retirement, causing singer/comedian Allan Sherman to burst into tears. 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. Allen remembered that although

1534-471: 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

1593-473: The episode included Eva Gabor , Audrey Meadows , Mitch Miller and Milton Berle . A visit to the set inspired poet Robert Lowell to pen his poem Harpo Marx. 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 CBS 's The Red Skelton Hour . His final role, opposite show star Fess Parker ,

1652-402: The family income, including selling newspapers, working in a butcher shop, and as an office errand boy. In January 1910, Harpo joined two of his younger brothers, Julius (later "Groucho") and Milton (later "Gummo"), to form "The Three Nightingales", which would later be renamed "The Marx Brothers". Multiple unverified stories attempt to explain Harpo's evolution as the "silent" character in

1711-454: 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. 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, as an alternative to a handshake or simply to rest the leg. Harpo became known for prop-laden sight gags , in particular

1770-463: The first of the Marx's many talkies , but also for being the first film to feature an overhead camera shot , at least five years before Busby Berkeley's renowned first use of the technique in his 1936 film Lullaby of Broadway to film a kaleidoscopic women's dance routine. In Too Many Kisses , Harpo spoke the only line he would ever speak on-camera in a film: "You sure you can't move?" (said to

1829-593: The game may have instead taken place at the Galesburg Auditorium Theatre or the same town's Gaiety Theatre. Harpo learned how to hold the harp by emulating a harp-playing angel in a picture he saw in a five-and-dime . 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, but that his method placed much less tension on

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1888-487: The girls...Hello, hello, Mr. Chacrinha, old warrior." On October 30, 2009, a documentary film about Chacrinha was released in Brazil . The film, directed by Brazilian filmmaker Nélson Hoineff, was titled Alô Alô Terezinha (a nonsense expression constantly cited by Chacrinha in his TV shows). [1] "Chacrinha, o Velho Guerreiro" a biopic directed by Andrucha Waddington , was released in 2018, with Stepan Nercessian in

1947-461: The globe. His talent extended to piano and clarinet (on which he played When My Dreams Come True in The Cocoanuts ), which, as he had with the harp, Harpo mostly learned independent of professional instruction. 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. In 2002, a Golden Palm Star on

2006-481: The idea. His brothers would make joking reference to this part of his act. For example, in Animal Crackers , his character was ironically dubbed "The Professor". In The Cocoanuts , this exchange occurs: In later films, Harpo was repeatedly put in situations where he attempted to convey a vital message by whistling and pantomime, reinforcing the idea that his character was unable to speak. The Marxes' film At

2065-475: The messages in and out of the Soviet Union by taping a sealed envelope to his leg beneath his trousers. 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." In 1936, he rode an ostrich on a team of polo -playing film stars who appeared as caricatures in

2124-498: The name, are groundless. 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 . Four years later, Harpo appeared without his brothers as the "Village Peter Pan" in Too Many Kisses which predated the brothers' first collaborative film, The Cocoanuts , by four years. Not only is The Cocoanuts historical by virtue of being

2183-426: The non-sense expression "Teresinha!" came from one of his sponsors, a bleach product called Clarinha. He would advertise them and by the end he would say "Clarinha, Clarinha.". He said that the public liked how that sounded somehow, and when the sponsorship was over, he decided he needed something to substitute. That's when Teresinha came up. The judges would help him maintain the fake party climate. Another element for

2242-399: The seemingly infinite number of odd things stored in his topcoat 's oversized pockets. 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. In the same film, a homeless man on the street asks Harpo for money for

2301-516: The show Rancho Alegre , at TV Tupi , where he also started his show Discoteca do Chacrinha (Chacrinha Disco). After that, he went to TV Rio , and in 1967, he was contracted by Rede Globo . At some point in his career, he maintained two weekly shows: Buzina do Chacrinha (Chacrinha's Honk) and Discoteca do Chacrinha . Five years later he went back to TV Tupi. In 1978 he transferred to TV Bandeirantes and in 1982 he returned to Rede Globo, where his two shows became one: Cassino do Chacrinha . This show

2360-526: The situation. During the show, he would turn to the public and ask "Do you want codfish?!" and then would throw a codfish to the auditorium, where the public would fight for the product. The sales exploded. He explained "Brazilians like to receive gifts". In the lyrics of his 1969 hit song, " Aquele Abraço ," the Brazilian MPB singer-songwriter Gilberto Gil included an homage to Chacrinha, writing "Chacrinha keeps on swinging his belly and honking his horn at

2419-412: The starting point of his career, he finished his studies and everything seemed to point medical school for his future. Because he did not want to spend a year in the military, he falsified his date of birth on his identification document and ended up at Tiro de Guerra, a Brazilian military institution. After this experience, he started playing drums. Two years after beginning his medical studies, in 1938, he

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2478-543: The station fired Kleber and canceled Tarde Quente and Eu vi na TV. After his departure from RedeTV!, he moved to Portugal, where he led the program Fiel ou Infiel on TVI . He lived in Lisbon with his wife. Recently, he returned to Brazil and appeared on reality TV show A Fazenda 4 of Rede Record . He came fourth with 47% of the vote. During his participation, he fought with former colleagues in RedeTV! Monique Evans and

2537-470: The story, Marx was referred to by Art Fisher , the dealer that night, as "Harpo" because he played harp . 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. There is no dispute that Fisher coined the name, but some sources give an earlier date for its origin and suggest

2596-568: The strings. Despite Harpo's musical talent, he never learned to read or write music. Although he paid top musicians handsome fees to teach him "proper" harp-playing technique, he maintained his unique style his entire life (his "teachers," fascinated by his technique, spent their sessions watching and listening as Marx performed). 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. Upon his death in 1964, one of Harpo's harps

2655-575: The success of his shows were the Chacretes, professional dancers that would make choreographs to the music and cheer up the show. Annually, Chacrinha would release at his show a new Carnival hit. Known as Velho Guerreiro (Old Warrior), in 1987, the Samba School Imperio Serrano made him a homage. That was the only time he participated in a carnival parade. In 1987, he received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa . On his seventieth anniversary,

2714-536: The then Brazil's president Jose Sarney hosted a dinner in his honor. In 1988, already sick, he was substituted in some of his shows by João Kléber . He would return in June of the same year. He died on June 30, 1988, at 11:30 pm, from a heart attack and throat cancer. His last show was aired on July 2, 1988. When cod was not selling well in a store called Casas da Banha, his sponsor in TV Tupi, he decided he would try to revert

2773-517: The title role. Harpo Marx Arthur " Harpo " Marx (born Adolph Marx ; November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, mime artist , and harpist , and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers . In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Groucho and Chico , Harpo's comic style was visual, being an example of vaudeville , clown and pantomime traditions. In all of his movie appearances, he wore

2832-476: Was mute . In fact, radio and TV news recordings of his voice can be found on the Internet, in documentaries, and on bonus materials of Marx Brothers DVDs. 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. According to those who personally knew him, Harpo's voice

2891-566: Was Jewish. His mother was from East Frisia , Germany, and his father, a tailor, 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. Harpo received little formal education and dropped out of New York Public School 86 at age eight (mainly due to bullying) during his second attempt to pass the second grade. He began to work, gaining employment in numerous odd jobs alongside his older brother Chico to contribute to

2950-581: Was as himself on the October 20 episode, "Musicale", of ABC 's sitcom Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (based on Frank Capra's film of the same name ). 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 . Harpo's marriage, like Gummo's, was lifelong (Groucho was divorced three times, Zeppo twice, and Chico once ). The couple adopted four children: Bill , Alex, Jimmy, and Minnie. When he

3009-470: 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." Harpo was good friends with theater critic Alexander Woollcott , alongside whom he became a regular member of the Algonquin Round Table . He once said his main contribution

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3068-511: Was donated to the State of Israel , and eventually found a home in an Israeli orchestra. Chico found Harpo some of his first jobs. He and Chico were co-workers, playing piano to accompany silent films . Unlike Chico, Harpo could play only two songs on the piano, "Waltz Me Around Again, Willie" and " Love Me and the World Is Mine ", but he adapted this small repertoire in different tempos to suit

3127-637: Was known as "the Gookie". 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. Harpo further distinguished his character by wearing a "fright wig". Early in his career, it was dyed pink, 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

3186-422: 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. Harpo expressed public support for Zionism and Israel since the 1940s. He often appeared as a speaker at pro-Israel functions throughout

3245-551: 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, later said that Harpo's funeral was the only time in his life that he ever saw his father cry. In his will, Harpo Marx donated his trademark harp to the State of Israel , where it was later used in an Israeli orchestra. His remains were cremated at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery and

3304-492: Was saved by graduate colleagues from severe appendicitis. While still recovering from the surgery, he, as a percussionist at the group Bando Academico, decided to travel as a musician in a ship called Bage , heading to Germany . However, on that day in 1939, the Second World War forced him to cancel his plans and land at Brazil 's then capital, Rio de Janeiro . There, he became a speaker at Rádio Tupi . In 1943, he started

3363-750: Was situated in a neighborhood populated with European immigrants, mostly artisans. The neighborhood hosted many historic homes and other buildings, such as the William Goadby Loew House (now the Spence School), the Congregation Shaare Zedek , and the Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt house . His parents were Sam Marx (known by his nickname "Frenchie"/"Frenchy") and his wife, Minnie Schoenberg Marx , sister of comedian and vaudeville performer Al Shean . Marx's family

3422-591: Was successful on Saturday evenings. One of his most well known phrases would be "In television, nothing is created, everything is copied". In one of his shows, he would introduce himself wearing funny and sloppy clothes, honking a hand honk to declassify participants, while joking and mocking them with then famous expressions such as "Teresinha!", "Eu vim aqui pra confundir, nao pra explicar!" ("I came here to make you confused, not to explain!") and "Quem nao se comunica, se trumbica!" ("Whoever doesn't communicate, gets in trouble!"). In an interview, Chacrinha explained that

3481-521: Was to be the audience for the quips of other members. In their play The Man Who Came to Dinner , George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart based the character of "Banjo" on Harpo. Harpo later played the role in Los Angeles opposite Woollcott, himself the inspiration for the character of Sheridan Whiteside. In 1961, Harpo published his autobiography, Harpo Speaks! Because he did not speak in any of his film appearances, many moviegoers believed he actually

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