to hear him speak on stage, they preferred seeing his pantomimes. His uncle’s words were harsh, and though the criticism devastated Harpo, he eventually accepted it, though it took quite awhile for him to feel whole again. An actor uses everything they have onstage, especially their voice, yet Harpo’s audience wanted him to never again use his voice, and this broke him. But because he knew in his heart that his uncle was right, Harpo came to terms with his new silent reality, never again uttering another word onstage.

     Around this time, Harpo created the character that we all still love today, the silly goofball with the big curly red hair, top hat and horn, the silent mystery man who showed a real knack for the harp. Together with Chico, Groucho, and at times, Zeppo or Gummo, Harpo would fall into one wild adventure after the next, taking us all right along into his zany world. This was part of the wonder and magic

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