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Looking Back - Reminiscing with Jack Lebo
‘Da Pen Don’t Work!’ The Night
Harpo Marx Had Something To Say
As a youngster during the late 1930s and early 40s, I was always a huge Marx Brothers fan. I believe I saw every Marx film that was released during that period, including Animal Crackers, Horsefeathers, A Night at the Opera, A Night at the Races, Monkey Business, The Cocoanuts, A Night in Casablanca, Duck Soup, Go West, and The Big Store.
I can recall sitting through several shows, watching the hilarious antics of Groucho, Chico and Harpo, at the Lindley Theatre at 5th & Rockland Streets in North Philadelphia. I could never get enough of that zany threesome. Following their many years of film making, the boys went on to pursue careers in other fields. As most followers know, Groucho (Julius Henry) gained fame as host of the popular quiz show, “You Bet Your Life,” first on radio, then on television.
Chico (Leonard) who played piano, formed a big band in 1940, featuring a young singer, just starting out in the business, named Mel Torme. When I learned that Chico Marx and his Orchestra was scheduled for a week’s run at the Earle Theatre, at 11th & Market Streets in Philadelphia, who would you suppose was one of the first in line?
I was a bit disappointed when they announced to the lineup at the theatre that Chico had fallen ill, and he would be replaced by brother Harpo. The disappointment soon turned to smiling faces. After all, Harpo WAS one of the famous brothers. Harpo was an absolute delight. The band, with Mel Torme, was just great, playing the popular tunes of the day, and the audience was also treated to some fancy harp-work by Harpo. True to form, not a word was spoken.
I stayed in the theatre until closing time, and being a true autograph hound, headed to the stage door where the entertainers would leave. Eventually, Harpo Marx, complete with his blonde, curly wig intact, exited, greeted by a few other fans, including yours truly. I approached Harpo, presented him with my autograph book and my fountain pen. There were no ball point pens in those years. Then, to my amazement, the funny man said, “Da pen don’t work!” At my age at the time, I took it for granted that he wasn’t able to speak, so it was quite a surprise to me. I quickly whipped out a pencil and added his signature to my collection, which I have kept to this day.
Arthur Marx was well known for his trademarks: he played the harp; he never talked during performances, although he often blew a squeak-horn, or whistled to communicate with people; and he frequently used props. He taught himself to play the harp because he could not sing, or dance, and did not talk very well, so he needed something to do. In 1955, Harpo made a memorable appearance on Lucille Ball’s popular sitcom, I Love Lucy, in which they re-enacted the famous mirror scene from the Marx Brothers film, Duck Soup.
Harpo Marx passed on in 1964, at age 75, after undergoing open heart surgery. His remains were reportedly sprinkled into the sand trap off the seventh fairway of his favorite golf course. In his will, he donated his trademark harp to the nation of Israel.
*
World War II veteran Erwin “Mickey” Green of Bryn Mawr, PA, sends along the burning question of the day regarding that evasive character, Kilroy.
Mickey asks: “That bald-headed cartoon guy, that myself and others have drawn peeking over a wall for years. What is the deal with him, who invented him, etc. I think he has something to do with the Second World War.”
I believe we have the answer here, Mickey....
Ah, Kilroy. The little cartoon bald head, peering over a fence that hid everything except his eyes and his long U-shaped nose...and sometimes his fingers, gripping the top of the fence. And his proclamation, “Kilroy was here!”
Graffiti itself goes back to ancient times. Graffiti is found in the ruins of Pompeii, on the walls of ancient Jerusalem, in ancient Egypt. Kilroy follows a long tradition, but was far more famous and all-present than any of them.
“Kilroy was here” emerged during World War II, appearing at truck stops, city restaurants, and in military boardrooms. However, the first appearances seem to have been on military docks and ships in late 1939.
According to author Charles Panati: “The mischievous face and the phrase became a national joke.” In theory, he was a soldier, probably American, who traveled all over the world scrawling his immortal phrase. Clearly, though, the graffiti was scrawled by thousands of different soldiers, not a single one named Kilroy.
During the 1940s, Kilroy was everywhere. Panati comments, “The outrageousness of the graffiti was not so much what it said, but where it turned u p.” He cites the torch of the Statue of Liberty, The Arc de Triomphe in Paris, The Marco Polo Bridge in China, huts in Polynesia, and a girder on the George Washington Bridge in New York. There were contests in the Air Force to beat Kilroy to isolated and uninhabited places around the globe.
The appearance wasn’t always of GI origin, although it was largely tied to the military services. More than once, newspapers reported on pregnant women wheeled into the delivery room with the hospital staff finding “Kilroy was here” written across their stomachs. Panati says “The most daring appearance occurred during the meeting of the Big Three in Potsdam, Germany, in July 1945. Truman, Attlee, and Stalin had exclusive use of an opulent marble bathroom, off limits to everyone else. On the second day of the summit, an excited Stalin emerged from the bathroom sputtering something in Russian to one of his aides. A translator overheard Stalin demand, “Who is Kilroy?”
Other explanations for “Kilroy” also abound. In December 1946, The New York Times credited James J. Kilroy, a welding inspector at the Bethlehem Steel shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, with starting the craze. Usually, inspectors used a small chalk mark, but welders were erasing those to get double-paid for their work. To prevent this, Mr. Kilroy marked his welding work with the long crayoned phrase (“Kilroy was here”) on the items he inspected. The graffiti became a common sight around the shipyard and was imitated by workers when they were drafted and sent around the world. As the war progressed, people began opening void spaces on ships to repair, and the mysterious Mr. Kilroy’s name would be found there, in sealed compartments “where no one had been before.”
There are still other origin stories, but they are less credible.
The cartoon part of the graffiti has a different origin. According to Dave Wilton, it is originally British, named Mr. Chad, and apparently predates Kilroy by a few years. It commonly appeared with the phrase, “Wot, no——-?” underneath, with the blank filed in by whatever was in short supply in Britain at the time—-cigarettes, Spam, etc. The Oxford English Dictionary lists Chad’s origin as “obscure” but it may have been created by British cartoonist George Edward Chatterton.
Sometime during the war, Chad and Kilroy met and merged, the American phrase appearing under the British drawing.
The combined logo acquired momentum, appearing wherever servicemen traveled, and quickly infected the civilian population. The mania peaked during the war, lingered into the 1950s, then pretty much died out, the joke over as memories of World War faded.
There have been recurrences and imitators. There was a Canadian version named Clem. In the late 60s, there was a version in Los Angeles called Overby. But none of these approached the popularity and ubiquitousness of the original.
Looking Back appears each month. Do you have a memory you’d like to share? Drop a line to: Jack Lebo, Looking Back, 37 Locust Lane, Levittown, PA 19054, or call (215) 943-8870, email: [email protected].
Harpo Marx Had Something To Say
As a youngster during the late 1930s and early 40s, I was always a huge Marx Brothers fan. I believe I saw every Marx film that was released during that period, including Animal Crackers, Horsefeathers, A Night at the Opera, A Night at the Races, Monkey Business, The Cocoanuts, A Night in Casablanca, Duck Soup, Go West, and The Big Store.
I can recall sitting through several shows, watching the hilarious antics of Groucho, Chico and Harpo, at the Lindley Theatre at 5th & Rockland Streets in North Philadelphia. I could never get enough of that zany threesome. Following their many years of film making, the boys went on to pursue careers in other fields. As most followers know, Groucho (Julius Henry) gained fame as host of the popular quiz show, “You Bet Your Life,” first on radio, then on television.
Chico (Leonard) who played piano, formed a big band in 1940, featuring a young singer, just starting out in the business, named Mel Torme. When I learned that Chico Marx and his Orchestra was scheduled for a week’s run at the Earle Theatre, at 11th & Market Streets in Philadelphia, who would you suppose was one of the first in line?
I was a bit disappointed when they announced to the lineup at the theatre that Chico had fallen ill, and he would be replaced by brother Harpo. The disappointment soon turned to smiling faces. After all, Harpo WAS one of the famous brothers. Harpo was an absolute delight. The band, with Mel Torme, was just great, playing the popular tunes of the day, and the audience was also treated to some fancy harp-work by Harpo. True to form, not a word was spoken.
I stayed in the theatre until closing time, and being a true autograph hound, headed to the stage door where the entertainers would leave. Eventually, Harpo Marx, complete with his blonde, curly wig intact, exited, greeted by a few other fans, including yours truly. I approached Harpo, presented him with my autograph book and my fountain pen. There were no ball point pens in those years. Then, to my amazement, the funny man said, “Da pen don’t work!” At my age at the time, I took it for granted that he wasn’t able to speak, so it was quite a surprise to me. I quickly whipped out a pencil and added his signature to my collection, which I have kept to this day.
Arthur Marx was well known for his trademarks: he played the harp; he never talked during performances, although he often blew a squeak-horn, or whistled to communicate with people; and he frequently used props. He taught himself to play the harp because he could not sing, or dance, and did not talk very well, so he needed something to do. In 1955, Harpo made a memorable appearance on Lucille Ball’s popular sitcom, I Love Lucy, in which they re-enacted the famous mirror scene from the Marx Brothers film, Duck Soup.
Harpo Marx passed on in 1964, at age 75, after undergoing open heart surgery. His remains were reportedly sprinkled into the sand trap off the seventh fairway of his favorite golf course. In his will, he donated his trademark harp to the nation of Israel.
*
World War II veteran Erwin “Mickey” Green of Bryn Mawr, PA, sends along the burning question of the day regarding that evasive character, Kilroy.
Mickey asks: “That bald-headed cartoon guy, that myself and others have drawn peeking over a wall for years. What is the deal with him, who invented him, etc. I think he has something to do with the Second World War.”
I believe we have the answer here, Mickey....
Ah, Kilroy. The little cartoon bald head, peering over a fence that hid everything except his eyes and his long U-shaped nose...and sometimes his fingers, gripping the top of the fence. And his proclamation, “Kilroy was here!”
Graffiti itself goes back to ancient times. Graffiti is found in the ruins of Pompeii, on the walls of ancient Jerusalem, in ancient Egypt. Kilroy follows a long tradition, but was far more famous and all-present than any of them.
“Kilroy was here” emerged during World War II, appearing at truck stops, city restaurants, and in military boardrooms. However, the first appearances seem to have been on military docks and ships in late 1939.
According to author Charles Panati: “The mischievous face and the phrase became a national joke.” In theory, he was a soldier, probably American, who traveled all over the world scrawling his immortal phrase. Clearly, though, the graffiti was scrawled by thousands of different soldiers, not a single one named Kilroy.
During the 1940s, Kilroy was everywhere. Panati comments, “The outrageousness of the graffiti was not so much what it said, but where it turned u p.” He cites the torch of the Statue of Liberty, The Arc de Triomphe in Paris, The Marco Polo Bridge in China, huts in Polynesia, and a girder on the George Washington Bridge in New York. There were contests in the Air Force to beat Kilroy to isolated and uninhabited places around the globe.
The appearance wasn’t always of GI origin, although it was largely tied to the military services. More than once, newspapers reported on pregnant women wheeled into the delivery room with the hospital staff finding “Kilroy was here” written across their stomachs. Panati says “The most daring appearance occurred during the meeting of the Big Three in Potsdam, Germany, in July 1945. Truman, Attlee, and Stalin had exclusive use of an opulent marble bathroom, off limits to everyone else. On the second day of the summit, an excited Stalin emerged from the bathroom sputtering something in Russian to one of his aides. A translator overheard Stalin demand, “Who is Kilroy?”
Other explanations for “Kilroy” also abound. In December 1946, The New York Times credited James J. Kilroy, a welding inspector at the Bethlehem Steel shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, with starting the craze. Usually, inspectors used a small chalk mark, but welders were erasing those to get double-paid for their work. To prevent this, Mr. Kilroy marked his welding work with the long crayoned phrase (“Kilroy was here”) on the items he inspected. The graffiti became a common sight around the shipyard and was imitated by workers when they were drafted and sent around the world. As the war progressed, people began opening void spaces on ships to repair, and the mysterious Mr. Kilroy’s name would be found there, in sealed compartments “where no one had been before.”
There are still other origin stories, but they are less credible.
The cartoon part of the graffiti has a different origin. According to Dave Wilton, it is originally British, named Mr. Chad, and apparently predates Kilroy by a few years. It commonly appeared with the phrase, “Wot, no——-?” underneath, with the blank filed in by whatever was in short supply in Britain at the time—-cigarettes, Spam, etc. The Oxford English Dictionary lists Chad’s origin as “obscure” but it may have been created by British cartoonist George Edward Chatterton.
Sometime during the war, Chad and Kilroy met and merged, the American phrase appearing under the British drawing.
The combined logo acquired momentum, appearing wherever servicemen traveled, and quickly infected the civilian population. The mania peaked during the war, lingered into the 1950s, then pretty much died out, the joke over as memories of World War faded.
There have been recurrences and imitators. There was a Canadian version named Clem. In the late 60s, there was a version in Los Angeles called Overby. But none of these approached the popularity and ubiquitousness of the original.
Looking Back appears each month. Do you have a memory you’d like to share? Drop a line to: Jack Lebo, Looking Back, 37 Locust Lane, Levittown, PA 19054, or call (215) 943-8870, email: [email protected].