Well, congratulations to your brother!

You could get a top hat (I found a great old beat up one on eBay a while back.) But the horn might be a little tougher. Harpo used a horn off of a taxi cab, but you might be able to fabricate one using a bit of tubing or something, to make it longer, and a clown horn from a costume shop or a toy store etc... Then wear a belt (underslung in the front)and use that to hold it in place. Don't forget the blond curly wig. Harpo's wig was red originally (in vaudeville), but then it was changed to blond so it would show up better in the black and white movies. Harpo's own hair was dark,like Chico's.

Here is an excerpt from "Harpo Speaks" where Harpo talks about how the famous trench coat came to be:

"As we hit San Francisco, so did the rain. My God, how it rained. I got soaked going to the theatre, so after the matinee I went out to buy a raincoat at the first place I could find. The first place I could find was a hockshop. I bought a dapper-looking, secondhand trench coat for three dollars. It may have looked dapper on the rack but on me, I found out after I bought it, it hung like a tent. What the hell, at that price I didn't care what it looked like so long as it kept the rain off. I ran back to the theatre and hung it in the backstage john to dry. When I put it on after the evening show, the coat fell apart at the seams. I was sore as hell. I sloshed over to the hock shop, in the tattered, flapping trench coat, to get my three bucks back. By the time I got there I wasn't sore any longer. I always have trouble staying angry for more than five minutes at anybody, over anything. So I left the hockshop not with my three bucks back, but with my unstitched trench coat, and a clarinet I had just bought for six-fifty. So that it wouldn't be a total loss, I wore the coat in the act the next day. It was a natural. I couldn't have come up with a better comedy coat if I'd had one custom-made. It was perfect with my battered plug hat, ratty wig, and underslung pants with the closeline belt. I lined the trench coat with huge panels and pockets--enough room to stash half a trunk's worth of props in. I was highly pleased with my purchase, and with the foresight I had shown by selecting it out of all the raincoats in San Francisco."

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Replying to:

Hi My brother is getting married in a month and a half.The lady he is marrying is now really into Harpo.I would love to find out what kind of hat and horn he had and dress up like him at the wedding reception.She says I do a good job of acting like him.Thanks for your help.

Heya,
i have kind of a technical question . . .
we're planning a halloween party (yeah i know very early) and i (of course) want to dress as harpo, whilst my roommate it experimenting with greasepaint . . . (sheesh those grouchomaniacs tzk tzk tzk)
we spent all day looking for things suitable as costumes. and of course the old hat and horn problem occured to me.
Well hat might be no problem at all, gimme some wire and satin and i'll create something, for it should look worn out there's no prob.
but the horn is more difficult, i read up this threatt and we came to discuss the thing. . .
How does a horn work in general? i never thought bout it.
if it's just a tube with a bulb i would have no problems to make it myself. What i don't know is, is there something inside to make a better sound? a sharp edge or something? i know it sounds poor but i think i never had a bulb horn in my hand.

so has anyone a hint for me?
i of course will find a way to post photos
take care,
sonja