Harpo Marx York accent his entire life. According to those who personally knew him, Harpo's voice was much deeper than Groucho's, but it also sounded very similar to Chico's. His son, Bill, recalled that in private Harpo had a very deep and mature soft-spoken voice, but that he was "not verbose" like the other Marx brothers; Harpo preferred listening and learning from others. Harpo's final public appearance came on January 19, 1963 with singer/comedian Allan Sherman. Sherman burst into tears when Harpo announced his retirement from the entertainment business. Comedian Steve Allen, who was in the audience, remembered that Harpo spoke for
Groucho Marx way. As the Marx Brothers, he and his brothers starred in a series of popular stage shows and movies. Their first movie was a silent film made in 1921 that was never released, and is believed to have been destroyed at the time. A decade later, the team made two of their Broadway hits—"The Cocoanuts" and "Animal Crackers"—into movies. Other successful films were "Monkey Business", "Horse Feathers", "Duck Soup", and "A Night at the Opera". One quip from Marx concerned his response to Sam Wood, the director of "A Night at the Opera". Furious with the Marx Brothers' ad-libs and