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Disclaimer: If you are easily offended by sheer honesty, or you think me having my own opinions is "being negative", then this is not the place for you, and I suggest you leave and head elsewhere. I call a spade a spade, and I don't sugarcoat anything.

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Happy Birthday Harpo!


Well, I have to say, there hasn't been a single positive post about Michael all month. I guess I've said everything about Michael that I can say! I've said more than enough about him on this blog. If he is reading this blog from the Heavens, I am sure he knows exactly how much I love him, and will always love him. But anyways, this isn't about Michael. This post is about probably the first celebrity I ever officially fell in love with. I say that because I was just beginning to realize what love was at the time.


Well, today I am celebrating the life of Harpo Marx. Not meaning to take anything away from Michael Hutchence, but Harpo was actually my first official crush. LOL! I know! I know! He was dead before I was born, but you know what? That has never stopped me before. I read his book "Harpo Speaks" from cover to cover, it is fascinating reading! I found out he and I have a lot in common, right down to favorite vacation spots! He used to spend vacations in Ocean Shores, WA. I used to live there, and it has been my most favorite place to live so far! I don't even like this town quite as much. I just love this apartment.

Harpo never spoke in any of the movies he did with the Marx Brothers, I read in his book it was because someone put down his voice after a vaudeville show he did with his family. Someone said they loved his character, until he spoke. So, from that moment on, he no longer spoke in any of his acts. Harpo, much like the men of INXS, was multi-talented. He could do anything he put his mind to. He even taught himself how to play the harp. He did it in such a way that has never, to this day, been equaled or surpassed. In fact, one of his many music teachers said the way he tuned and played the harp, the strings should have snapped on him, but they didn't. I guess it's an indication of how talented he was.


Another good thing about him, he was also a dog-lover, and had several of his own. He even had a german shepherd dog that ran away once and he put an ad in the local newspaper trying to find the dog. Well, one person called the ad and said he had his dog, and Harpo went to get it. But when he got there, the guy had a little black and tan terrier-type dog that was definitely not his shepherd! But Harpo took the dog anyways. When he presented it to his wife, Susan, who expected to see him come home with their german shepherd dog, Harpo stood in front of her and said "He kinda shrunk, didn't he!" They kept the little terrier dog from that moment on.

Then there was his famous Gookie. He put one of these in every one of his movie and television appearances:


He started doing that face when he was 10 years old. He said it all began when he used to go to the local cigar store, and he and some friends would stand at the window and watch this guy, who everyone called "Gookie", roll cigars. Harpo said that this "Gookie" guy would get so engrossed in his work that he would begin to fix his face into this expression after a while. One day, 10-year old Harpo tried to mimic the expression on the guy's face. When "Gookie" saw what Harpo was doing, he ran out of the store and chased Harpo down the block. But this became Harpo's trademark expression, besides the curly hair and googly eyes.


Harpo was actually quite a handsome man without his make up. As seen in this picture above. He was the second oldest of the Marx Brothers, with Chico being the oldest. Harpo was born in 1888. He was actually the third child of Minnie and Samuel Marx. But their first child died when it was 2 years old. A year after the loss of their first child, they had Chico (Leonard), whom they were very protective of. Then 2 years after Chico was born, came Harpo. Harpo was born with the name Adolph, which was a popular German/Jewish name back then. But during World War 2, he had his name changed from Adolph to Arthur, because of the bad publicity Adolph Hitler was causing.

I'm so glad to have gotten to know the Marx Brothers the way I did through their movies, TV shows and documentaries as well. I first saw Harpo back when I used to watch You Bet Your Life, which was hosted by Groucho Marx, in the early 80s. It was 1983, and my mom was combing my hair as we were watching the show. In this one episode, I saw Harpo come out with one of the contestants, and I thought he was so CUTE!!!!!! I could not help but scream how cute he was! Up until that night, I had never seen him before. Not that I remember anyways. Except in cartoons, but I always thought he was just a simple cartoon character, like Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse. I didn't have any idea he was a real person! I learned different that night! Like INXS has done for me now, the Marx Brothers, and my devotion to them, has inspired a few stories and pictures from some of my friends like this one from a 1984 story:


That's Caroline, the lemur, looking up at the 3 most popular Marx Brothers.

2 comments:

katrina said...

hah-hah-hah! these guys are funny! I remember you telling me how you were in love with harpo as a child. that's cute.

Dee TimmyHutchFan said...

He was my first official crush. LOL!