The Trunk
When I was but twelve years old, Dad ordained me as his permanent personal prop man for all his subsequent stage and television appearances. Now being Dad's prop man was by no stretch a low-brainer job. Aside from making sure his magical coat was properly loaded up for the performance, it also always required my diligent checking to see that I would have all of his props returned to the prop trunk after the show, in place and ready to go his next time out of the chute.
I carried this awesome responsibility with me for twelve wonderful years, and his props remain to this day exatly as I had packed them away after his final performance as Harpo Marx.
The following is a list of props that served as my inventory:
Telescope |
---|
Teeth |
Long black formal Jacket w/tails |
Yellow and maroon flannel shirt with sheriff badge that spins |
Two ladies black satin skirts |
Long horn |
Extendable box |
Bubble liquid |
Lots of fake money |
Several rubber bands |
Skirt-cutting scissors and powder bag |
Giant scissors |
Giant diamond ring |
Small diamond ring (with a jeweler's magnifying glass) |
Tuners |
Piano ticker (metronome Seth Thomas) |
Trunk that says name of the theater on top |
Knives that come out of coat (and coat) |
Two wigs and wig head in excellent shape |
Wardrobe trunk (empty) with Algonquin Hotel tags and Savoy Hotel stickers on it |
Long black box with more teeth |
Makeup |
Another bag of knives |
Rubber chicken |
More wigs |
Two mechanical monkeys |
Large telescope in box |
Hatchet and table (for cutting cards) |
Black top hat |
Wooden vase with flowers painted on and elastic attached to top |
Three shoes with skates on bottom |
Long metal tube with string that pulls out - weighted |
Rubber carrot |
Three belts |
Rubber mallet |
Two short horns |
Tape measure |
Large cow bell |
Huge cigar |
Long rope (for opening) |
Clarinet (with mechanical bubble machine and tube) |
Four harmonicas |
Harp string case with tuning keys |
Orchestra music for act |
Signs for sewing on singers' rear end |
Marshmallows |
Garter belt |
"Prop list written by Dad."
The HarposPlace.com website and its contents © 2010 Bill Marx. All rights reserved. You may not duplicate any information or content from this site without permission from the copyright holder.