New Movie magazine on how Harpo became Harpo
The Marx Brothers need no introduction. This story appeared in a profile in the January 1932 issue of The New Movie magazine.
Harpo’s theatrical debut was made twenty-four years ago [1908] on a Coney Island stage. He was pushed on by his mother while three of his brothers were performing in an act she had thrown together and called “The Three Mascots.”
Harpo wore a white duck suit and a frightened look. He stood with his back to the wall and didn’t say a word. After that performance “The Three Mascots” became “The Four Nightingales.” Not a line in the script had to be changed.
From that day to this Harpo has never uttered a word on the stage, except for a certain New Year’s Eve when he got reckless, shouted “Cheer up!” and was fined ten dollars.
One night in Newark, when they were in “Animal Crackers,” Harpo and Chico switched parts and no one in the audience knew the difference.
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