This mute, blond-wigged naif Marx Brother evolved from a girl-chasing faun to a sweet innocent. The most fey and absurdist of the brothers, Harpo's art was closer to 19th century French mime than to American vaudeville. He worked as a bellboy while learning the harp which became his trademark. He and older brother Chico formed a comedy duo around the turn of the century, and by the early 1910s he was in vaudeville with Chico, Groucho and Gummo in acts like "Fun in Hi Skool" (1911) and "Welcome Home" (1914), both penned by their uncle Al Shean.

The brothers first gained national attention in the