Rare Recording of Harpo Marx Speaking Publicly Discovered After Decades in Archive
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A recording of Harpo Marx speaking publicly at a 1964 Riverside Symphony benefit concert in Los Angeles has been discovered and will be released this week on CD and vinyl, marking the first time most people will hear the famous silent comedian's voice. Harpo, the mute member of the Marx Brothers comedy team, had famously stopped speaking on stage and screen after a critic suggested his physical comedy was spoiled when he spoke. The discovery represents a significant find for Marx Brothers fans and historians, as the recording had been mislabeled and lost in an archive for over six decades.
On March 20, 1964, Harpo Marx made a rare public speaking appearance at a benefit concert hosted by the Riverside Symphony near Los Angeles, announcing to the audience, "Believe it or not … I'm gonna talk." This would be his final public musical performance before his death six months later at age 70 from complications following heart surgery. The recording of this concert, which had been mislabeled and preserved in an archive for more than 60 years, has now been discovered by Marx Brothers historian Robert Bader and will be released this week as "Harpo Speaks! The Riverside Symphony Concert" on CD and vinyl through Ramseur Records. Harpo had adopted his famous silent persona decades earlier after a critic suggested his verbal quips spoiled his physical comedy, leading him to stop speaking on stage or in front of cameras as a Marx Brother. The discovery represents a significant find for the vast majority of Marx Brothers fans who had never heard Harpo's voice, and Bader describes the unearthing process as "a detective story."
What different sources said
- Smithsonian MagazineCenter
A Rare Recording of Harpo Marx Speaking Publicly Was Mislabeled in an Archive for Decades. Now You Can Listen to the 'Silent' Comedian Yourself.
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