Marx Brothers change the name of their town, because "it's hurting our picture." After expiration of the Paramount contract Zeppo left the act to become an agent. He and brother Gummo went on to build one of the biggest talent agencies in Hollywood, helping the likes of Jack Benny and Lana Turner get their starts. Groucho and Chico did radio, and there was talk of returning to Broadway. At a bridge game with Chico, Irving Thalberg began discussing the possibility of the Marxes joining Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. They signed, now billed as "Groucho, Chico, Harpo, Marx Bros." Unlike the free-for-all scripts at Paramount, Thalberg
Harpo Marx was occasionally referred to by the other Marx Brothers, who were careful to imply that his character's not speaking was a choice rather than a disability. They would make joking reference to this part of his act. For example, in "Animal Crackers" his character was ironically dubbed "The Professor". In "The Cocoanuts", this exchange occurred: In later films, Harpo was put into situations where he would repeatedly attempt to convey a vital message to another person, but only did so through nonverbal means, usually by whistling or pantomime. These scenes reinforced the idea that the character was unable to speak.