On this day in 1888, Adolph Marx (later known as Arthur, then as Harpo), is born in New York City. Harpo, his older brother, Chico, and his younger brothers, Groucho, Zeppo, and Gummo, began performing at the encouragement of their mother, Minna, who came from a family of vaudeville performers. Chico learned piano, Harpo learned the harp, and Groucho sang, creating a musical family act.

The brothers worked the vaudeville circuit, then moved to Broadway in the early 1920s, writing their own musical comedies. One of their Broadway comedies, Cocoanuts, became their first film, in 1929. Throughout a series of films, Harpo never spoke but simply smiled happily and honked his trademark horn to express himself. Chico interpreted his silent brother’s thoughts while Groucho got the group into trouble with his cynical scheming. Zeppo usually played the straight role while his brothers clowned around. The Marx brothers made their last film together in 1941. Harpo retired from film after 1943 and published a memoir in 1961. Chico died in 1961, and Harpo died in 1964.

Of the brothers, only Groucho continued his career in entertainment through the 1950s and 1960s. He hosted a popular radio quiz show called You Bet Your Life from 1947 to 1956, which became a TV show and ran until 1961. He was still performing into his 80s, giving a one-man show at Carnegie Hall at age 82. Groucho died in 1977, the same year as his brother Gummo and two years before Zeppo, the last surviving brother.