Harpo Speaks!
by Harpo Marx, Rowland Barber
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Book Summary Information
Author: Harpo Marx, Rowland BarberBrand: Limelight Editions
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-07-01
ISBN: 0879100362
Number of pages: 482
Publisher: Limelight Editions
Product features:
- Published by Limelight Editions 482 Pages
- by Harpo Marx with Rowland Barber
- Author: Harpo Marx
Book Reviews of Harpo Speaks!
Book Review: Let's have bowls of Duck Soup all around!....
Summary: 5 Stars
This autobiography by one of the all time great comedians from probably the greatest comedy family ever...the Marx Brothers...is one of the sweetest "little" reads you'll ever do..Though hundreds of pages long your eyes will fly over the pages...Harpo via the help of Roland Barber etches out a life that was truly wonderful, humanitarian, and noteworthy of praise whether you're a fan of the Marx Brothers and comedy or not...The chapters go by with the ease and chuckles of one of the Marx Brother's routines...
It is unfortunate that the NY Times revue so blatantly insulted and disrespected the family's true legendary comic writer, Groucho, by calling Harpo's autobiography the best of the Marx Brothers literary offerings...Shame on them...Though this work is definitely one of the most carefree and enjoyable reads you're likely to find in a good long time if you want to really bone up on the written comedic antics, tales, and musings of the Marx Brothers it should be an automatic must for the so inclined reader to head to all of Julius Marx, a.k.a. Groucho's staggering work...His "Letters", and his work done over the years for many national publications like The Saturday Evening Post, Harper's, The New Yorker, and many other submissions and books ( Humoresque comes to mind ) eclipses many an established comedy writer...Groucho's work in my opinion stands shoulder to shoulder with Thurber, Wodehouse, Woody Allen, or you pick 'em.
To get back here to Harpo...Part of the facination in this tome
is that the man behind the clown..."Arthur" Marx...his real name...was never known to have spoken publicly during any of his performances in the movies or on stage...He did speak early in his career with his brothers in the prehistoric vaudeville days but his part of the act soon became the silent clown and joy filled imp that the world all came to know him as...
All the more interesting that we get to see his family life with his brothers and the family he later made with his wife, Susan, up close and in richly described detail...
If you are serious about your comedy this outstanding autobiography will prompt the uninitiated to review the wonderful examples of early twentieth century comedy in any and all of the Marx Brother's existing films...I envy the person who stumbles upon "A Night At The Opera" for the first time...
The Marx Brothers films deserve to be played repeatedly, every week, and everywhere they show old film treasures...The Marx Brothers were instrumental in helping to shape the attacking,ascerbic,wise cracking( and too often over the top and foul mouthed) modern comics that we have today...
A soul could do a lot worse than while away the hours with this stupendous account of a man who was truly a mensch...
Summary of 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." -New York Times Book ReviewTo Marx Brothers fans who have yet to read this book: Put it off as long as you can, because once you are finished, you will wish you could read it again for the first time. Harpo's life was interesting in itself, but it also frequently intersected with the lives of other fascinating people, most notably his own brothers and drama critic Alexander Woolcott. Marx also was part of the legendary Algonquin Round Table; he's got plenty to say about that. Wait'll you hear about what it means to "throw a Gookie." You'll never be able to watch a Marx Brothers movie again without looking for the Gookie!
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