Harpo Marx never spoke on screen, yet generations of Americans laughed at, cried with, and enthusiastically applauded him for his comedic genius and musical brilliance. But even amidst the fame and glory of a lengthy career on stage and screen, the Jewish Marx had to contend always with the dark specter of anti-Semitism, leading him to fight for equal rights for all persecuted individuals and for the re-creation of the state of Israel.
The “Marx Brothers” are legendary in American entertainment history, comprising altogether in their vaudeville and movie careers five brothers, nicknamed Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Zeppo, and Gummo, though the first three were the most successful over decades of movies and TV and radio appearances. They are most remembered for their wild comedy, though they were all musically gifted, Harpo was a prolific painter, and Zeppo was an engineering pioneer and inventor. Adolph Marx, who Americanized his name to Arthur even before the stigma attached to his first name thanks to Adolf Hitler, received his iconic moniker “Harpo” from his masterly —and self-taught — performances on the harp. Today, Nov. 23, is the…
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