Harpo Marx on Television

November 23 was the birthday of the great clown Harpo Marx (1888-1964).

Harpo’s gotten a lot of coverage here in the past, in my main post on him, on a movie he made without his brothers, on his wife and oldest son, and some comedians and characters who resembled him, and of course much much more on the famous act the Marx Brothers. Today’s new post marks the fact that it is now 60 years since Harpo’s passing, and ties in both with my most recent book The Marx Brothers Miscellany as well as my upcoming Electric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety. It concerns the decade 1952 to 1962, when Harpo was a frequent sight on television.

We hasten to make the distinction that we are speaking of Harpo as a solo performer. Certainly Harpo was on tv many a time when old Marx Brothers movies were screened on the late show or whatever. But Harpo was also a contemporary presence on television during the medium’s early years. It’s not as odd as it may sound. During those same years, there were countless mute characters on children’s shows (clowns, puppets, etc). The Banana Man made his mysterious return. Buster Keaton made a huge comeback. Harpo’s TV career was probably closest to resembling Buster’s, although Buster occasionally spoke in interviews and conversations, whereas Harpo never did. But like, Buster, Harpo did silent vignettes in commercial spots, for example, for products like LaBatt’s and Pepsi. And like Buster he was booked in a wide variety of program types, from variety shows, to live tv dramas, to sit-coms, to panel shows, to game shows, to news programs.

The advent of television was a boon to Harpo in a way that radio, for obvious reasons, had not been. When the Marx Brothers had their own radio show Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel, Harpo didn’t even need to show up. But on TV, he was nearly as bookable a star as Groucho (whose You Bet Your Life he crashed a couple of times), and certainly more in demand (as a solo act) than Chico, though the latter often tagged along when Harpo was booked.

My first experience of Harpo, came on an old re-run of I Love Lucy, the famous 1955 episode where the two famous clowns re-created the old mirror routine associated with Duck Soup (it’s actually much older than that though). Most frequently, he could be seen on variety programs like The Ezio Pinza Show, The Colgate Comedy Hour, The All Star Revue, The Milton Berle Show,The Martha Raye Show,The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Red Skelton Hour. Here he is with host Garry Moore on the game show I’ve Got a Secret:

There was often a stunt-like aspect to Harpo’s appearances. For example, he was on the proto-reality show Candid Camera (how could anyone not recognize him). He was one of the most outre guests ever on Edward R. Murrow’s Person to Person(with the assistance of wife Susan). He caused delightful mayhem when he appeared on The Today Show. And he famously appeared in another “look” on The Dupont Show with June Allyson in a 1961 episode called “A Silent Panic”:

In 1961 he hosted a special called The Wonderful World of Toys, narrated by Carol Burnett:

Isn’t that crazy? I mean Carol Burnett is a TV star NOW (Better Call Saul, Palm Royale).

Harpo’s last appearance, seemingly uncharacteristally, was on the sitcom version of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington starring Fess Parker, in 1962. He officially retired from show business in January, 1963 at the age of 74.

For more on Harpo Marx and the Marx Brothers,please readThe Marx Brothers Miscellany: A Subjective Appreciation of the World’s Greatest Comedy Team — and stay tuned forElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.