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151st out of 163 books
—
26 voters
Harpo Speaks!
"This is a riotous story which is reasonably mad and as accurate as a Marx brother can make it. Despite only a year and a half of schooling, Harpo, or perhaps his collaborator, is the best writer of the Marx Brother. Highly recommended." -Library Journal
"A funny, affectionate and unpretentious autobiography done with a sharply professional assist from Rowland Barber." -Ne
Paperback, 482 pages
Published
July 1st 2004
by Limelight Editions
(first published 1971)
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I'm currently obsessed with the Marx Brothers, which is somewhat significant because only a month ago they kind of terrified me. Well, actually... it was mostly Harpo Marx, the mute, curly-wigged, trenchcoated one who tapped into my deep-seated fear of clowns.
Fear of clowns isn't itself very remarkable. It's pretty common, from what I can tell, but my phobia really got turbo-charged in my early adolescence from watching WGN of Chicago's The Bozo Show, which was a weekday morning nightmare-a-tho...more
Fear of clowns isn't itself very remarkable. It's pretty common, from what I can tell, but my phobia really got turbo-charged in my early adolescence from watching WGN of Chicago's The Bozo Show, which was a weekday morning nightmare-a-tho...more
One of the most thoroughly enjoyable books I have ever read. Neck and neck with Styron's Darkness Visible in terms of favorite memoirs.
Mar 20, 2008
Ben Essner
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone interested in learning what life in show business was like in the early 20th century.
Harpo Marx, (born Adolf, but early in the 20th century changed to Arthur) who never spoke onstage or onscreen, proves to be surprisingly eloquent in his writing. Although, perhaps it's not that surprising, given the crowd he became associated with as an adult. A member of the reputed Algonquin Roundtable, he spent many nights listening to the literary giants of the age unwind and just be themselves. Hanging out with people like Alexander Woolcott and George S. Kaufman, it makes sense that he'd p...more
The Marx Brothers.... more important than Karl Marx. And Harpo's memoir is hysterical. Especially when he writes about his great friend Oscar Levant, who came over his house for dinner and didn't leave for months. Also his brother Chico, who can actually smell money in a room. Chico loved to gamble, and the brothers would hide money from him. But once his noise is set for the smell of the green, he can always locate it ..... and remove it.
And I can't remember if this story is in this particular...more
And I can't remember if this story is in this particular...more
I don't get it. I do get the Marx Brothers, and I do get the humor, and I do (mostly) get Harpo, even though he's my third favorite (yes, Chico, you actually come in second), but why do so many people love this book ? Is it because they just want to hear Harpo 'say' something ? Because most of what he has to say here is pretty tedious, I'm sorry to say. I completely understand that everyone found him to be the most delightful and lovely man, but I longed for more on how he felt about his movies,...more
1 like · like · see review
This book is a cure for death. You simply wouldn't die until you found out what happened to Harpo after the Irish kids kept throwing him out of his grade school window.
This book is NOT about Harpo the movie star. It's about Harpo the human being, and it has depths that no amount of superficial glitz could ever reach. The humor is way beyond the movies. Even his movie alter ego would be cracking up.
The story starts with poverty, and lots of it to spread around. This is a type of poverty everyon...more
This book is NOT about Harpo the movie star. It's about Harpo the human being, and it has depths that no amount of superficial glitz could ever reach. The humor is way beyond the movies. Even his movie alter ego would be cracking up.
The story starts with poverty, and lots of it to spread around. This is a type of poverty everyon...more
I rated this book a four. It is neither a cut and paste of tired anecdotes nor a tell all with a depth of personal detail. There is little or none of the inside story on their plays or movies. And I wonder what younger readers may make of the many show business characters that were Harpo's friends and are dead these 30 years or more. An excellent caricature of Wollcott is preserved in the movie, The Man Who Came To Dinner, and I certainly enjoyed the section on Oscar Levant who I enjoyed many a...more
This is my desert island book. I often pull it out when I'm feeling blue. In fact, I think I loaned out my current copy to a friend. Time to buy another copy, my third. This time I'll get one for me and one for loaning.
The stories in this book are often difficult, as his tour to Russia in WWII speaks volumes, but they are also uplifting, as in the household rules his family made for each other. All his kids were adopted, and their favorite bedtime story was about how their parents, Harpo and Su...more
The stories in this book are often difficult, as his tour to Russia in WWII speaks volumes, but they are also uplifting, as in the household rules his family made for each other. All his kids were adopted, and their favorite bedtime story was about how their parents, Harpo and Su...more
What can you say about this book? Well, what can you say about Harpo Marx?
He was an uncommon comedian whose talent has yet to be matched. Finally getting a chance to speak, Harpo gives a lengthy but infinitely worthwhile account of his life. He is, in many ways, as endearingly childlike and mischievious in his writing as his on-screen persona, but in many ways he is also alarmingly eloquent.
He provides insight as well as laughs, real history (as he remembers it) as well as zany anecdotes worthy...more
He was an uncommon comedian whose talent has yet to be matched. Finally getting a chance to speak, Harpo gives a lengthy but infinitely worthwhile account of his life. He is, in many ways, as endearingly childlike and mischievious in his writing as his on-screen persona, but in many ways he is also alarmingly eloquent.
He provides insight as well as laughs, real history (as he remembers it) as well as zany anecdotes worthy...more
I loved this book. It's Harpo Marx' (of the Marx Brothers) autobiography. It's full of humorous stories that happened in his life, by somebody who spent his life making people laugh. I liked it because it was personal and touching. He told the story of how he became famous, after starting out life very, very poor and then after age 40, settling down to marry and have children. It was just fun to read about his life.
If you like reading about the rich and famous, you'll love this book. Harpo name-...more
If you like reading about the rich and famous, you'll love this book. Harpo name-...more
I loved this book from page one. Even though its a rather thick novel, I am so sad so say goodbye to Harpo, but can't wait to read it again and again. There has been some discussion whether the genius of this book comes from the author or Harpo, or a combined effort. I suspect Harpo is due a little more credit than he is given. Since he was a comic entertainer, and (from what the book reveals) a sought after storyteller, I suspect a lot of the words a genuinely his. Especially since there is a l...more
Groucho was my favorite Marx brother when I was a kid, but as I got older I discovered what a sweetheart Harpo was and what a prick Groucho could be. This is still one of my favorite film biographies, and my hardcover edition is a prized possession. When you're done with the book, find a recording of Jonathan Richman singing "When Harpo Played his Harp" (equally affecting in English or Spanish).
1 like · like · see review
I'm not much of a reader of biographies (or any sort of non-fiction), and when I do pick them up, they usually take me a long, long while to read.
I read this one in just a little bit more than 24 hours. That's how good it is. Harpo led a truly fascinating life, and wrote about it with humor, poignancy, and a great deal of whimsy. I was completely transported from almost page one, and I was extraordinarily sad to find myself at the end of the book- I could have kept reading for another 400 pages,...more
I read this one in just a little bit more than 24 hours. That's how good it is. Harpo led a truly fascinating life, and wrote about it with humor, poignancy, and a great deal of whimsy. I was completely transported from almost page one, and I was extraordinarily sad to find myself at the end of the book- I could have kept reading for another 400 pages,...more
I read this first when I was eighteen, and could get to L.A. Public, downtown. Then I reread it during my Hollywood years, before the Hollywood library burned down.
It's very g-rated--unlike the Marx brothers' lives--but somehow that rings true for Harpo. He seems to have been a genuinely good person, even escaping some of the darker shenanigans at Wits End, perpetrated by Woolcott, when he was the Emperor of the Algonquin Round Table. I suspect Woolcott had a crush on him.
Anyway, the part that h...more
It's very g-rated--unlike the Marx brothers' lives--but somehow that rings true for Harpo. He seems to have been a genuinely good person, even escaping some of the darker shenanigans at Wits End, perpetrated by Woolcott, when he was the Emperor of the Algonquin Round Table. I suspect Woolcott had a crush on him.
Anyway, the part that h...more
Harpo Marx was a wonderful man and a comedic genius. Harpo's autobiography shows the wit, kindness, and grace that are hallmarks of his personality. From his childhood to vaudeville to having a successful Broadway and Hollywood career did not leave him cynical about the way the world treats individuals.
He became a member of the famed Algonquin Round Table during the 1920's and was befriended by theater critic Alexander Woollcott. They had many adventures together including visiting France toget...more
He became a member of the famed Algonquin Round Table during the 1920's and was befriended by theater critic Alexander Woollcott. They had many adventures together including visiting France toget...more
my bible. we should all learn from the joy and wisdom of this book. a complete pleasure from start to finish. beware of unavoidable giggling and grinning.
This is one of my all time favorite books. I scrimped and saved and bought the hardback in the late 70s, when I was about 13. I was obsessed with the Marx Brothers. I found the book in a used bookshop in Santa Barbara....it cost me $25! A lot to a preteen back then. It was my bible. Honestly. Anything to do with Harpo and his friends ... I was all about it. I haven't read it in years, but remember it so fondly. I'll have to re-read it one of these days. I hate to spoil my young memories, though....more
a Memoir by Harpo Marx, of the zany Marx brothers, first published in 1962, reprinted in paperback in 2010. The Marx brothers were declining popularity in my growing up years. Groucho was on TV each week on his show “You Bet Your Life,” one of the earlier quiz shows that was really designed to show off Groucho’s wit. We watched it every week. Harpo was the silent brother, at least his stage presence was always silent. If I had lived in the previous generation I probably would have enjoyed Harpo’...more
Wonderful autobiography. You really get a sense of his voice and personality. Some parts seem ready made for adaptation, like his adventures in Russia, while others are surprisingly sad and touching. A very different experience from Buster Keaton's book, but an interesting comparison, as each book seems to captures the differences in their personalities. This one took me a while to finish, partly because March was a busy month but also because the book is almost 500 pages long. After so long lis...more
Harpo Speaks! has given me a whole new respect for the wonderful Harpo Marx. His autobiography narrates his life, from his childhood on the Lower East Side to a mansion in Hollywood. After quitting school in the third grade, he taught himself how to read and write, and then taught himself how to play the piano and the harp without being able to read music. As a Marx Brother, he moved from the vaudeville circut to Broadway and finally to movies, and he narrates it all with warmth and humor that m...more
This isn't as witty as Groucho's book, but it is definitely more detailed. The stories about the early days of the Marx Bros. on the Vaudeville circuit are very entertaining and funny, but the book slows down quite a bit once the Bros. make the big time and Harpo goes into detail about his social life. It almost feels like a Fitzgerald novella at times. The book would be better if it was 100 pages shorter, but any old-time comedy fan will find a lot to love here, even if it takes some extended s...more
The title is just as clever as the man himself. Harpo, the silent clown of the Marx Brothers movies, finally gets to tell his own story after years of witnessing the antics of some of the most famous people of his time. Adolph "Harpo" Marx grew up in the poor Jewish slums of New York, quit school in 2nd grade, and proceeded to become one of the most famous and lovable faces of the movies. He led a colorful life influenced by his four famous brothers and the people he associated himself with. His...more
This is the best autobiography I've ever read.
Harpo Marx is a man famous for not speaking, who describes himself as a professional listener, and yet he somehow became far more eloquent and cutting than his brother Groucho, a man reputed as the mouth and wit not only of the family, but possibly of the century.
Harpo Speaks covers the whole of Harpo's life, from his childhood in New York city, where he played piano in a whorehouse, to his beginnings in vaudeville and subsequent friendships with so...more
Harpo Marx is a man famous for not speaking, who describes himself as a professional listener, and yet he somehow became far more eloquent and cutting than his brother Groucho, a man reputed as the mouth and wit not only of the family, but possibly of the century.
Harpo Speaks covers the whole of Harpo's life, from his childhood in New York city, where he played piano in a whorehouse, to his beginnings in vaudeville and subsequent friendships with so...more
Harpo Marx wrote his autobiography, "Harpo Speaks", in 1961 three years before he died.
The reader gets a first-hand account of what it was like growing up in New York at the turn of the century in the early 1900's: day to day living, hustling for food, hustling for money, gangs, crime, odd jobs, etc. In the first part of the book I felt like I was reading Dickens except on this side of the Atlantic - and in non-fiction format.
He also wrote about touring the vaudeville circuit for 14 years. I oft...more
The reader gets a first-hand account of what it was like growing up in New York at the turn of the century in the early 1900's: day to day living, hustling for food, hustling for money, gangs, crime, odd jobs, etc. In the first part of the book I felt like I was reading Dickens except on this side of the Atlantic - and in non-fiction format.
He also wrote about touring the vaudeville circuit for 14 years. I oft...more
A great insight into both Harpo and his family. Their on-screen (and on-stage) nuttiness was just a replay of their real life.
I love that he avoids ripping anyone apart. If he has something really bad to say about someone, he doesn't name them by name. A great mixture of anecdotes, and insight into the people who influenced his life. It helps you realize the true genius of both Hapro and his brothers, without any bluster.
A book that caused me to learn, reflect, and laugh - a wonderful mixture.
I love that he avoids ripping anyone apart. If he has something really bad to say about someone, he doesn't name them by name. A great mixture of anecdotes, and insight into the people who influenced his life. It helps you realize the true genius of both Hapro and his brothers, without any bluster.
A book that caused me to learn, reflect, and laugh - a wonderful mixture.
Overlong and often tedious collection of road stories / anecdotes by and about Harpo Marx. Interesting first half covers early career of the Marx Brothers; triumphs, tragedies, struggles, etc. Falls apart in the second half when he becomes the “darling” (lap dog) of the east and west coast bourgeois. Obscure references to old school Hollywood and Broadway power players are often awkward and an excruciating chapter on his love of croquet could have been edited down significantly.
Much of this wor...more
Much of this wor...more
Aug 04, 2011
Joyce Hansen
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
20th-century,
algonquin,
actors,
funny,
humor,
memoir,
biography,
autobiography,
cinema,
comedy,
family,
film,
harpo-marx,
groucho-marx,
hollywood,
movies,
nyc,
theater,
non-fiction,
show-business,
usa,
vaudeville,
comedians,
700s,
correspondence,
1961
As a long-time Marx Bros. fan, I’ve always been partial to Groucho, the most outspoken of the brothers. After reading this, I developed a crush on Harpo, who never spoke on stage. Loved this book for many reasons: his unpretentious style, how he developed his talent, the inside scoop on NYC and Hollywood shenanigans, and the fact that he was generous and kind--he and his wife adopted four children. He was part of the Algonquin Round Table and spent time with many stars, writers and artists, incl...more
I really loved this book. As a long time fan, this book offered a fascinating glimpse into the life of the silent Marx brother. From being literally thrown out of school in the second grade to being a part of the Algonquin Roundtable, Harpo experienced many interesting things and met many interesting people. This biography is a touching look at Harpo's life. I recommend it for fans and those who are new to the Marx brothers.
Feb 03, 2009
Ryk
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Humor fans, people in need of life affirmation
An awesome book by a wondrous human being who- despite being rich and poor, famous and forgotten, etc, etc- never let life dictate to him whether or not he was happy. From his youth when he and his brothers (under their mother's direction) toured the vaudeville circuits and small towns of America, through the Marx Brothers star years, and into his later years, the book is full of great stories, annecdotes and characters.
The mute Marx brother speaks in this autobiography! He had such an fascinating life and was such a loved and loveable person. What I took from this was to enjoy life and take myself a little less seriously. I also loved how he was a really good friend. His actions have taught me how to be a better friend. I find myself asking, "What would Harpo do?" Harpo would call, or take time to chat or do something silly and fun.
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4 de Ene 07:30
23 de Nov 14:02