Product Description

To fans of comedy and cinema, Harpo Marx is immortal. This is his autobiography, a tale from the golden age of Variety, Broadway and the big screen. Harpo met everyone, from organized crime bosses to Edward VII, he modelled for Dali and appeared as a solo act for a Moscow audience.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #321713 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-09
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 482 pages

New Statesman
'A wealth of good stories and practical jokes'

Spike Milligan
'...when I began to write comedy, it was their influence that moulded my style. Sanith was out, logic was out, creative lunacy was in'

The Times
'Whenever Mr Marx touches the keys of his typewriter or reminicses verbally, he stops becoming an actor and becomes an enviably competent, racy and descriptive reporter'

Customer Reviews

move over Groucho and Me, this is the true masterpiece!!
After having read Groucho and Me and enjoying it immensely, I approached Harpo's autobiography with somewhat lesser expectations. After all, he spent most of his life as a mute who loved to chase women. HOW FOOLISH I WAS! Not only does this autobigraphy detail of his fantastic life, but one gets the distinct impression that this man was the backbone of the Marx Bros, playing an irreplacable role in the genius trio. From reading this wonderful tale, it seems as though Harpo sought to lead a life full of fun and laughter. He accomplished this for the most part, and what's more he managed to bring laughter into many other peoples lives as well. For a man as compassionate and caring as Harpo, I think he would have seen this as his real achievement. This book is a tribute to a true legend of comedy; one of whom we shall never see the likes of again.

Harpo is truly an earth-angel.
I picked this book up a few years ago because I had been watching some of the classic Marx Bros films and wanted to know more about them. Little did I know what a love affair I was embarking on. This book is telling, funny, honest...I literally couldn't put it down. It made me cry and (more often) it made me laugh out loud - what more can you ask for? Harpo's vivid, wise and at the same time naive eye reveals the tale of his life in such a way that at the end I felt like I had just read the autobiography of an impish angel who had come to earth just to give it a whirl and maybe stir a few things up. Absolutely inspiring to the last, Harpo was not only incredibly funny, but also incredibly beautiful. Words really can't describe how I felt about this book. Read it and you'll know what I mean.

Not just wlid on screen !!
Harpo Speaks is an excellently written,easily read biography, which keeps you enthralled and eager to not put this book down. Each chapter is a short story in its own right giving a vivid look into the past, not just of harpo's life, but of family and friends and the social climate of that era. Reading this book gives you the awareness of actually how famous the Marx's had become through determination of there Mother Minnie who put her five sons on the stage sometimes with resentment. Unlike Groucho's book 'Groucho and me' this isn't afraid to name drop, listing some of the most famous names of the time, throughout the world who Harpo had met and had become close friends with. It give you an insight into the turn of the twentieth century in the poorer areas of New York and how you could survive earning very little, especially with Harpo's choice of lack of education. Wonderful stories of his childhood and his many jobs, that today you would be embarrassed to admit. Hope i haven't given anything away as this is a book you must read if you are a Marxist,(in the movie sense).