According to family and friends, Harpo never never shut up, he loved to talk…..but not on stage. He had a nice, deep, New York Bronx accent. Good man, my favorite Marx Brother.
@@dennismiddlebrooks7027 - I never said he lived in the Bronx. I said he had “a deep New York Bronx accent”, which he did. The five boroughs have a slightly different New York accent. I’m from Brooklyn. Even though he was from Manhattan, his strong accent was more like that of the Bronx. That’s not just my opinion, his son, Bill said that on a talk show years ago.
@@mchapman132 I am from Brooklyn too. I never detected distinct accents among residents of the five boroughs. I have known people from the Bronx who did not sound like Harpo or even like each other! The reality is that different ethnic groups in NYC tend to have the same general "accent" no matter in which borough they reside. I have found that Italian-Americans, Jews, Irish-Americans, African-Americans, Puerto Ricans, Norwegian-Americans, Chinese-Americans, et al tend to have their own distinct ways of speaking English independent of what borough they were from, and of course many people moved from one borough to another. There is no "Brooklyn accent" despite repeated claims that there is one. At one time, a "Brooklyn Accent" referred to the ways that Jewish comedians and celebrities from Brooklyn spoke. This was at a time when Jews were the largest ethnic group in Brooklyn. For years now, it is identified with the way Italian-Americans speak, as they were until recent years the largest white ethnic group in Brooklyn and films like "Saturday Night Fever" stereotyped their manner of speaking nationwide. Of course, the "Brooklyn Accent" was never the way all Brooklyn residents spoke, let alone all Jews or Italian-Americans.
@@dennismiddlebrooks7027 -What part of Brooklyn are you from? If you research voice coaches, they train people to learn the various NYC accents. While there aren’t “specific” borough accents, there are significant variations in the sounds. Brooklyn is deeper in the throat, Bronx a bit harder, Queens higher in the vocal chords. Also, something I’ve defended for decades is the difference between an uneducated regional accent and just a regional accent. My family always spoke proper English, grammatically correct. We never said Dees, Dems and Doz, as many people assume all New Yorkers sound like.
Love it! Supposedly, the stage is the only place Harpo didn't speak! One of Chico's friends asked him "Can Harpo really talk?" and he said "Try to shut him up!"
@@chrisbacos the reason he never spoke is cos he got a bad review in a play n his delivery wasnt very funny so he did pantomime n got more laughs doing that
@@AceripXF I actually read something similar to what you said after I typed my reply. There is also a story that Harpo had a foul mouth and told off-color jokes and tried to work them into the act. When others frowned on him he said "fine, I won't say anything." Thanks for the reply. Have a good weekend too.
According to his son on a chat show in the '80s, he said that Harpo's main vocal trait was his SUPER New York pronunciation of words like turkey, hamburger and liverworts.
There is a clip of him speaking very briefly at the premier of a Marx Bros. film in 1936. He tells another man at the microphone "You gotta speak for me on the air" and afterwards yells "Honk, honk!" in the microphone.
Well - to be accurate, this certainly isn't the only time Harpo spoke for posterity. This was from a series of recordings he made while he was working with Rowland Barber on "Harpo Speaks." And I've heard a great many more from those sessions. He was also recorded at length by Howard Teichmann when THAT author was researching his book "George S. Kaufman: An Intimate Portrait." There are a great many short snippets of Harpo speaking; he made a few at home for friends and family. I even have a (private) family recording of him playing the piano while singing "Ach, how that woman could cook!" - a Vaudeville song much more familiar from Groucho's rendition via the Carnegie Hall/et al concerts preserved on "An Evening with Groucho." And of course, contrary to the legends, he spoke spontaneously from time to time on stage (usually under his breath) during the runs of their Broadway musicals in the 20s, as recounted to me many years ago by those who knew him.
Oh my gosh Harold, he does. Almost exactly like him. There were some mean remarks said to Harpo is all I am going to say. I am surprised he did not give up. I'm glad he did not.
I have reread this book several times and I listened to this clip before I read the book “Harpo Speaks”, the first time, I actually heard his voice as if was an audio book. I never experienced that in with any other book.
I never really thought about Harpo being mute. I just assumed he could talk like mime Marcel Marceau who spoke the only words in Mel Brook's "Silent Movie" and Teller of Penn & Teller. Harpo's mastery of sight gags was a hallmark of the Marx brothers routines.
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Sounds like a very good story teller, love your voice Harpo.
Oh! He's a GREAT storyteller! Get a hold of his autobiography "Harpo Speaks". It is brilliantly funny. Hilarious.
According to family and friends, Harpo never never shut up, he loved to talk…..but not on stage. He had a nice, deep, New York Bronx accent. Good man, my favorite Marx Brother.
He never lived in the Bronx. He was from the Yorkville section of Manhattan.
@@dennismiddlebrooks7027 - I never said he lived in the Bronx. I said he had “a deep New York Bronx accent”, which he did. The five boroughs have a slightly different New York accent. I’m from Brooklyn. Even though he was from Manhattan, his strong accent was more like that of the Bronx. That’s not just my opinion, his son, Bill said that on a talk show years ago.
@@mchapman132 I am from Brooklyn too. I never detected distinct accents among residents of the five boroughs. I have known people from the Bronx who did not sound like Harpo or even like each other! The reality is that different ethnic groups in NYC tend to have the same general "accent" no matter in which borough they reside. I have found that Italian-Americans, Jews, Irish-Americans, African-Americans, Puerto Ricans, Norwegian-Americans, Chinese-Americans, et al tend to have their own distinct ways of speaking English independent of what borough they were from, and of course many people moved from one borough to another. There is no "Brooklyn accent" despite repeated claims that there is one. At one time, a "Brooklyn Accent" referred to the ways that Jewish comedians and celebrities from Brooklyn spoke. This was at a time when Jews were the largest ethnic group in Brooklyn. For years now, it is identified with the way Italian-Americans speak, as they were until recent years the largest white ethnic group in Brooklyn and films like "Saturday Night Fever" stereotyped their manner of speaking nationwide. Of course, the "Brooklyn Accent" was never the way all Brooklyn residents spoke, let alone all Jews or Italian-Americans.
@@dennismiddlebrooks7027 -What part of Brooklyn are you from? If you research voice coaches, they train people to learn the various NYC accents. While there aren’t “specific” borough accents, there are significant variations in the sounds. Brooklyn is deeper in the throat, Bronx a bit harder, Queens higher in the vocal chords. Also, something I’ve defended for decades is the difference between an uneducated regional accent and just a regional accent. My family always spoke proper English, grammatically correct. We never said Dees, Dems and Doz, as many people assume all New Yorkers sound like.
@@mchapman132 I grew up in Park Slope, Carroll Gardens (pre-gentrifcation) and Bensonhurst.
Love it! Supposedly, the stage is the only place Harpo didn't speak! One of Chico's friends asked him "Can Harpo really talk?" and he said "Try to shut him up!"
lol!
Lmao typical siblings!!! XD
I saw on some TV special that if you followed Harpo around a golf course, you'd really hear him talk
Somehow that’s not the voice I would have expected from him, but it’s a great voice!
I have heard that' one reason he never spoke was because his baritone voice did not suit his on camera persona.
if u take off the wig the face matches better w the voice
@@chrisbacos the reason he never spoke is cos he got a bad review in a play n his delivery wasnt very funny so he did pantomime n got more laughs doing that
@@AceripXF I actually read something similar to what you said after I typed my reply. There is also a story that Harpo had a foul mouth and told off-color jokes and tried to work them into the act. When others frowned on him he said "fine, I won't say anything." Thanks for the reply. Have a good weekend too.
@@chrisbacos ty very much n hmm i never heard of anything of that
Harpo was one of the loveliest men who graced the screen or stage.
Harpo Speaks is the title of his autobiography. If you want to laugh, you ought to read it.
According to his son on a chat show in the '80s, he said that Harpo's main vocal trait was his SUPER New York pronunciation of words like turkey, hamburger and liverworts.
There is a clip of him speaking very briefly at the premier of a Marx Bros. film in 1936. He tells another man at the microphone "You gotta speak for me on the air" and afterwards yells "Honk, honk!" in the microphone.
Well - to be accurate, this certainly isn't the only time Harpo spoke for posterity. This was from a series of recordings he made while he was working with Rowland Barber on "Harpo Speaks." And I've heard a great many more from those sessions. He was also recorded at length by Howard Teichmann when THAT author was researching his book "George S. Kaufman: An Intimate Portrait." There are a great many short snippets of Harpo speaking; he made a few at home for friends and family. I even have a (private) family recording of him playing the piano while singing "Ach, how that woman could cook!" - a Vaudeville song much more familiar from Groucho's rendition via the Carnegie Hall/et al concerts preserved on "An Evening with Groucho." And of course, contrary to the legends, he spoke spontaneously from time to time on stage (usually under his breath) during the runs of their Broadway musicals in the 20s, as recounted to me many years ago by those who knew him.
Heck, you should try to get that digitized for the whole world to see.
PLEASE digitize these recordings if you still have access to them!
How did you hear then?
can u share some of those recordings???
After six years, all I'm seeing is a lotta talk.
Harpo was the winner. Would have been fun being a mime like Harpo at school. Good to make people laugh.
He had a good speaking voice.
He sounded just like his brother Groucho.
This is something special, Harpo Marx does talk indeed!
Harpo was a mensch. A schayner mensch.
Unlike his other brothers, Harpo did not lose his New York accent
umm groucho had a new york accent too
RUclips has a bridge show that features Chico in his last filmed appearance. His NY accent is SO THICK
when he said again he sounded like his brother groucho
oh yah a little bit
Heartbreaking story...
He sounds like Gene Simmons of Kiss fame. Both Jewish, both from New York.
Oh my gosh Harold, he does. Almost exactly like him. There were some mean remarks said to Harpo is all I am going to say. I am surprised he did not give up. I'm glad he did not.
Simmons is from Israel.
@professornuke7562 correct. Gene and his mother emigrated to NYC when Gene was 8 years old
Gene's voice with Paul's accent.
Holy cow! This man had such a wonderful voice! Why didn't he do interviews?
Happy birthday in heaven Harpo Marx.
Prove he's in Heaven. A wishful thinking fairy tale.
A great voice
I think these were from audio tapes Harpo dictated for his book Harpo Speaks.
Short but fascinating
I have reread this book several times and I listened to this clip before I read the book “Harpo Speaks”, the first time, I actually heard his voice as if was an audio book. I never experienced that in with any other book.
Ii was so happy to learn that he could talk
His autobiography announced the fact! God love him, and you!
The maniac does
It's really sad that (to my knowledge) the only recording of him speaking is of him recalling someone saying something so ugly and hateful.
i wish there were more audio of him
We meet again on a Marx site. Love seeing your name and comments.
@@texasmimi5566 LOL tnx i just fell into the fandom back in Jan bc of a friend i had to see wut the hype was n i was hooked lol
Even Marcel Marceau spoke once in a movie.
He was the only one to talk in Mel Brooks Silent Movie. Absolutely brilliant.
Harpo once spoke in a silent movie.
I think he said "Yes." He spoke in silent movies by he didn't speak in talkies.
It takes superior genius to pull the wool
He also talked on a 1926 radio broadcast but i think it's not available.
It’s because it’s lost
Has anyone ever noticed that Harpo looks a lot like Michael (Kramer) Richards? Also, that Groucho sounds a lot like Alan Alda!
I never really thought about Harpo being mute. I just assumed he could talk like mime Marcel Marceau who spoke the only words in Mel Brook's "Silent Movie" and Teller of Penn & Teller. Harpo's mastery of sight gags was a hallmark of the Marx brothers routines.
one of the best clear talking ---but, yes, its not for their acts
Interesting, he sounds more like a New Yorker than did Groucho (let alone Chico).
He does speak in another video on you tube when he asked another man to speak for him.
i can hear a bit of Groucho in his voice
wow. he sounds just like groucho.
Sounds kind of like a gangster.
It this real?
I believe it is. I saw an interview with his son. He said Harpo had a very soft spoken voice with a distinct New York accent.
sounds like brother Groucho!
He sounds "American posh".
Do You Know The Year This Voice Of Harpo Marx Was Recorded? I Await Your Answer.
This would be 1959, when Harp was 71.
You never told me that Harpo’s voice was this deep
@@jessicathethreestoogesfan2635 Sexy!
It was a pantomime that was ruined because of his voice. Therefore he never spoke.
I'm back in Brooklyn . but that's it just a few seconds after all these years? What about Chicks real voice?
Wow!
Some Management and Producers were Cruel Taskmasters!
This is why Harpo never spoke. He had a very thick New York accent that would not have made for epic comedy. That's why he was mute.
its so wierd that his face doesnt match his voice
That is NOT Harpo's voice
Whoever's voice it is, it's a great voice.
@@bernardbrenner9240 🙄
How do you know? Did you hear him speak?