It’s
been 60 years since the Marx Brothers – Groucho, Chico, Harpo – officially
appeared together in their last feature film, Love Happy. Although fans have
little “love†for it and the brothers were not “happy†making it, the film did
provide some enjoyable moments showcasing Harpo’s silent talents.
Along
with brothers Zeppo and Gummo, the five Marx Brothers grew up in New York.
Gummo dropped out of the act and the four brothers traveled the country as
stage performers before taking Hollywood by storm, starting with Cocoanuts in
1929. Straight man Zeppo eventually
bailed too, and the three remaining brothers went on to become arguably the
greatest comedy team ever. Â
Between
them, the five brothers raised a dozen children and a few went into the
entertainment business. Now 72, Bill Marx (one of Harpo’s four children; see
www.sonofharpospeaks.com) had a successful career as a musician, composer,
comic, speaker, and writer. He talks at length about life with Harpo and his
brothers, concluding the interview by paraphrasing his Uncle Groucho’s biting
sarcasm!Â
Â
You
recently published a book, “Son of Harpo Speaks!†What’s it about?
It’s
not really a book about the Marx Brothers. It chronicles my relationship with
my dad and our working together for 12 years.Â
My stories have never been told before and I guess I’m one of the last
people left who actually worked with the Marx Brothers first hand. I’m just
finishing up an audio book of Son of Harpo Speaks! that should be available
soon. It contains material that nobody’s heard before.Â
Tell
us about your career.
I’m
what you’d call a sit down - stand up -sit down - stand up comic! I sit down,
play the piano, then stand up and tell stories, then sit down again and so on.
Then I do Q&A sessions. I’ve been a composer and jazz pianist most of my
life - doing film scores, symphonic writing, and arranging. I’ve played with
many of the great jazz artists of the twentieth century.
Did
Harpo influence your musical career?
Absolutely.
When I was 2 years old, he recognized my musical ability, but he never forced
anything on me. I was not a disciplined young musician - I hated scales and
lessons. I wanted to play baseball!Â
The
two of you worked together, correct?
Yes.
When I was 16, I wound up as his personal arranger and conductor. We did two
albums together for Mercury Records. When he appeared on TV programs like The
Lucy Show, he often played the harp and I did all the musical arrangements for
him. I was only in my late teens then, so he helped validate me as a composer
and musician.
Do
you play the harp?
No.
Dad used to say “one harpist in the family is enough!â€Â I have written a couple of concertos for the
harp and did all the pop arrangements for my dad later in his career.
Did
Harpo play the harp at home for the family much?
Not
really, he’d play to practice. He loved to practice; he’d do it for 2-3 hours a
day whether he was working or not. He just loved the harp – its feeling, its
sensuality, the vibrations, and the harmony and sounds of the chords. The harps
you see in the films were his personal instruments.
What
happened to his harps? They would be priceless Hollywood memorabilia today.
When
he passed away, my mother and I went to Israel and donated them to the Rubin
Academy of Music [now the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance]. Students are
still playing them, which is wonderful.Â
What
about his other old movie props, have they been saved?
I
have a lot of stuff – his prop chest, his coat, his hat, wigs. I’m looking for
a place to have it all displayed. I turned down the Smithsonian because I don’t
want it stored in a vault. These are pieces of American film history and they
need to be on permanent display somewhere.
What
happed to his famous walking stick with the honker?
My
sister has that. But it doesn’t work any more because the bulb has worn out
over the years.
Do
you have a favorite Marx Brothers film?
It’s
Go West, only because I thought dad was phenomenal in it. It was written by a
great friend, Irving Brecher who just passed away. He was one of the funniest
guys ever. I recommend reading his book, The Wicked Wit of the West, which is
full of delightful stories. I also love Monkey Business and A Night in
Casablanca. The Big Store was the first Marx Brothers movie I saw when I was 4
or 5. I love the scene where dad is playing the instruments in front of the
mirrors. It’s very charming.