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[Ian Elliot]

From the Marin Independent Journal:

http://www.marinij.com/lifestyles/ci_14242557


A Marx son recalls his comic family
Paul Liberatore
Posted: 01/21/2010 06:56:39 PM PST


You could say that Bill Marx is a Marx brother.

But he's more of a Marx son. He and his two brothers, Alexander and James, were adopted by Harpo Marx and his wife, Susan.

A 73-year-old pianist, composer and arranger who lives in Rancho Mirage near Palm Springs, Marx will be in Marin for the 80th anniversary screening of the Marx Brothers 1930 classic movie comedy "Animal Crackers" on Jan. 24 at the Rafael Film Center.

He will be interviewed by Dick Cavett, who hosted several celebrated interview programs with Groucho in the final years of the comedian's life.

In his autobiography, "Son of Harpo Speaks!," Marx writes about his personal and professional relationship with his famous father, the curly-haired Marx brother who played the harp and never spoke, communicating by blowing a horn or whistling when he was in character.

"He validated me as a musician," Marx recalled. "I was his composer-arranger by the time I was 16 years old. We had a very close relationship."

Marx actually began working with his dad before that, as a prop boy, when he was 12. One of his duties was loading his father's coat with 400 knives for one of Harpo's well-known comic bits.

"Harpo is accused of stealing silverware from a hotel," Marx explained, chuckling at the memory. "Chico assures the hotel detective that Harpo didn't do it. So the detective apologizes and shakes dad's hand, and when he does that, all these knives start to fall out of the sleeve of his coat. It's a wonderfully funny routine."

One of the questions about his father that he's asked most often is if he ever spoke, and if he did, what did he sound like?

"He was a soft-spoken fellow," he said. "In the audio version of my book, I do an intimation of him. Not an exact imitation, but a very good intimation. I'm almost perfect. I've got his cadence down and everything.

"He had a New York accent, and his voice was about an octave lower than Groucho's. He spoke very carefully and very slowly. He would take a word like 'turkey' and he'd pronounce it 'tehykey.' Like, 'I'll have a tehykey sandwich.' He was very literate, well read and at peace with himself."

Universally well-liked, Harpo "died without an enemy," his son said, after open heart surgery at the age of 75. Miriam Marx, Groucho's daughter, said her uncle Harpo "was almost not of this world. He was saintly, ethereal. He was my favorite person." Groucho's son, Arthur, said the only time he saw his father cry was at Harpo's funeral.

Of all the brothers' movie, Marx believes the best was "Night at the Opera." He thinks the funniest were "Monkey Business" and "Duck Soup." His favorite is "Go West," because, he said, "I think Dad was superb in that movie. He did such great stuff."

In "Animal Crackers," Marx loves the entrance his father makes in his first scene, when a butler takes his cape and his tuxedo tears away, leaving him standing there in knee-length underwear.

The Marx Brothers also performed "Animal Crackers" on Broadway, and Marx likes to tell the story of the night his father arrived at the theater late and forgot to put the underwear on under his tux.

"They introduced him, the music starts to play, the cape comes off and he's standing there stark naked," Marx recalled, laughing. "They had to bring the curtain down. Dad said the most difficult thing he had to do in his life was go back for the second act."

Marx claims the distinction of being the only living person to have worked with all the Marx Brothers - Chico (pronounced Chicko), Groucho, Gummo, Zeppo and, of course, Harpo.

"They would all meet at the Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles almost every day for lunch," he recalled. "They were brothers who were very tight and very concerned about each other."

IF YOU GO

What: "Animal Crackers" 80th anniversary with guest Bill Marx, Harpo's son

When: 2 p.m. Jan. 24

Where: Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, 1118 Fourth St., San Rafael

Tickets: $12 to $15

Information: www.cafilm.org or 454-1222

BILL MARX'S MEMORIES

- Groucho: "He was dead man walking if he wasn't working. He really didn't enjoy life. He didn't know what to do with himself when he wasn't performing. His whole life was getting in front of people. He was a trained seal. He wanted to entertain people. He wasn't a real happy fellow. He had demons. And that's what made him Groucho."

- Gummo: "He was really laid back. He never wanted to be in show business and Zeppo took over for him eventually. Gummo was in the schmatta (clothing) business, got out and became the brothers' personal manager. He was slow talking, very much like Dad. He was a nice man."

- Zeppo: "Zeppo was a dynamite keg. A brilliant raconteur, he was the only man who could make Grouch fall over with laughter. I mean serious laughter. But he was a crazy man. He was a gambler, a wild guy."

- Chico: "Chico was a gambler and womanizer. But everybody loved him. He was the salt of the earth. Except for the fact he was probably the most irresponsible person of all the brothers put together."

- Harpo: "All the people who knew him said he was the prince."