EARLY DAYS PRODUCTIONS
The Three Stooges started in 1925 as part of a raucous vaudeville act called 'Ted Healy and His Stooges' (a.k.a. 'Ted Healy and His Southern Gentlemen', 'Ted Healy and His Three Lost Souls' and 'Ted Healy and His Racketeers'). In the act, lead comedian Healy would attempt to sing or tell jokes while his noisy assistants would keep "interrumping" him. Healy would respond by verbally and physically abusing his stooges. Brothers Moe and Shemp were joined later that year by violinist-comedian Larry Fine. In 1932, with Moe now acting as business manager, Healy reached a new agreement with his former Stooges, and they were booked in a production of J.J. Shubert's The Passing Show of 1932. During rehearsals, Healy received a more lucrative offer and found a loophole in his contract allowing him to leave the production. Shemp, fed up with Healy's abrasiveness, decided to quit the act and found work almost immediately, in Vitaphone movie comedies produced in Brooklyn, New York. With Shemp gone, Healy and the two remaining stooges (Moe and Larry) needed a replacement, so Moe suggested his younger brother Jerry Howard. Healy reportedly took one look at Jerry, who had long chestnut red locks and a handbar mustache, and remarked that he did not look like funny. Jerry left the room and returned a few moments later with his head shaved (though his mustache remained for a time), and then quipped "boy, do I look curly." Healy liked the name, and thus 'Curly' was born. In 1933, Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) signed Healy and his Stooges to a movie contract. They appeared in feature films and short subjects, either together, individually, or with various combinations of actors. The trio was featured in a series of musical comedy shorts, beginning with Nertsery Rhymes.
1925-1975
Stats:
Members:
Ted Healy
height: 5' 10"
Stooge Years: 1922–1931, 1932–1934
Moe Howard
height: 5' 4"
eye color: blue
hair color: brown
Stooge years: 1922–1927, 1928–1975
Larry Fine
height: 5' 4"
eye color: blue
hair color: brown
Stooge years: 1925–1927, 1928–1971
Curly Howard
height: 5' 5"
eye color: blue
hair color: bald
Stooge years: 1932–1946
Shemp Howard
height: 5' 6"
eye color: blue
hair color: brown
Stooge years: 1922–1927, 1928–1932, 1946–1955
Joe Besser
height: 5' 4"
Stooge years: 1956–1958
Curly Joe DeRita
height: 5' 4"
Stooge years: 1958–1975
Emil Sitka
height:
Stooge years: 1971–1975
Members:
Ted Healy
height: 5' 10"
Stooge Years: 1922–1931, 1932–1934
Moe Howard
height: 5' 4"
eye color: blue
hair color: brown
Stooge years: 1922–1927, 1928–1975
Larry Fine
height: 5' 4"
eye color: blue
hair color: brown
Stooge years: 1925–1927, 1928–1971
Curly Howard
height: 5' 5"
eye color: blue
hair color: bald
Stooge years: 1932–1946
Shemp Howard
height: 5' 6"
eye color: blue
hair color: brown
Stooge years: 1922–1927, 1928–1932, 1946–1955
Joe Besser
height: 5' 4"
Stooge years: 1956–1958
Curly Joe DeRita
height: 5' 4"
Stooge years: 1958–1975
Emil Sitka
height:
Stooge years: 1971–1975
In 1934, the team's contract with MGM expired, and the Stooges parted professional company with Healy. The same year, the trio (now christened The Three Stooges) signed on to appear in two-reel comedy short subjects for Columbia Pictures. The Stooges appeared in 190 film shorts and five features under the "original" contract with Columbia. Del Lord directed more than three dozen Three Stooges shorts. Curly was easily the most popular member of the team. His childlike mannerisms and natural comedic charm made him a hit with audiences.During the filming of Half-Wits Holiday on May 6, 1946, Curly suffered a debilitating stroke, and the film was finished without him. (He is absent from the last several minutes of the film.) Curly's health necessitated a temporary retirement from the act, and while the Stooges hoped for a full recovery, Curly never starred in a film again.
Moe Howard turned to his older brother Shemp Howard to take Curly's place. Shemp, however, was hesitant to rejoin the Stooges, as he had a successful solo career at the time of Curly's untimely illness. However, he realized that Moe's and Larry's careers would be finished without the Stooge act. Shemp wanted some kind of assurance that his rejoining was indeed temporary, and that he could leave the Stooges once Curly recovered. Unfortunately, Curly's condition declined until his death on January 18, 1952.Shemp appeared with the Stooges in 73 more shorts and a quickie Western comedy feature titled Gold Raiders. During this period, Moe, Larry and Shemp made a pilot for a Three Stooges television show called Jerks of All Trades in 1949. Death paid the Stooges another visit just three years after Curly's demise, when Shemp Howard died of a sudden heart attack at age 60 on November 22, 1955. Archived footage of Shemp, combined with new footage of his stand-in, Joe Palma (filmed from behind or with his face hidden), were used to complete the last four films of Shemp's contract: Rumpus in the Harem, Hot Stuff, Scheming Schemers and Commotion on the Ocean.
Joe Besser replaced Shemp in 1956, appearing in 16 shorts. Besser, noting how one side of Larry Fine's face seemed "calloused", had a clause in his contract specifically prohibiting him from being hit too hard (though this restriction was later lifted). Ironically, Besser was the only "third" Stooge that dared to hit Moe back in retaliation and get away with it; Larry Fine was also known to hit Moe on occasion, but always with serious repercussions. "I usually played the kind of character who would hit others back," Besser recalled. Actually, Besser simply continued using the same "whiny sissy" act he had used throughout most of his career (with such catchphrases as "Not so louuuuuuud!" and "You craaaaaaaazy, youuuuuu!") and played that character alongside Larry's and Moe's.The inevitable occured soon enough. Columbia was the last studio still producing shorts, and the market for such films had all but dried up. As a result, the studio opted not to renew the Stooges' contract when it expired in late December 1957.
In 1958, Columbia syndicated the entire Stooges film library to television (through its TV subsidiary, Screen Gems), and the Stooges were rediscovered by the baby boomers. A "Stooge fandom" quickly developed, and Howard and Fine found themselves back in demand with the public. Moe and Larry discussed plans for a personal appearance tour; meanwhile, Besser's wife had a heart attack, and he preferred to stay local, leading him to withdraw from the act. Moe quickly signed movie and burlesque comic Joe DeRita as his replacement; DeRita shaved his head and became "Curly-Joe" because of his resemblance to the original Curly Howard. ("Curly-Joe" was easy to distinguish from Joe Besser, the previous Stooge called "Joe"). This Three Stooges lineup went on to make a series of popular full-length films from 1959 to 1965. The films were aimed at the kiddie-matinee market, and most were slapstick outings in the Stooge tradition, with the exception of Snow White and the Three Stooges, a children's fantasy in Technicolor. Throughout the 1960s, The Three Stooges were one of the most popular and highest-paid live acts in America. The trio also filmed 41 short comedy skits for The New Three Stooges, 156 animated cartoons produced for television. The Stooges appeared in live-action color footage, which preceded and followed each animated adventure in which they voiced their respective characters.
In 1969, the Three Stooges filmed a pilot episode for a new TV series titled Kook's Tour, a combination travelogue-sitcom that had the "retired" Stooges traveling around the world, with the episodes filmed on location. On January 9, 1970, during production of the pilot, Larry suffered a paralyzing stroke, ending his acting career, as well as plans for the television series. A 50-minute version of Kook's Tour was edited together from usable material and initially only made available for the home movie market (years before the popularity of home video); it has subsequently been released to DVD, in an unrestored version.
Larry Fine suffered another stroke in December 1974. The following month, he suffered a more serious one, and slipped into a coma. He died on January 24, 1975, at the age of 72. Devastated by his friend's passing, Moe nevertheless decided that the Three Stooges would continue, and longtime Stooge supporting actor Emil Sitka would replace Larry, and be dubbed "The Middle Stooge". Sitka later said he accepted the offer after receiving Larry's blessings. However, lifelong smoker Moe fell ill from lung cancer, and died on May 4, 1975.
Larry Fine suffered another stroke in December 1974. The following month, he suffered a more serious one, and slipped into a coma. He died on January 24, 1975, at the age of 72. Devastated by his friend's passing, Moe nevertheless decided that the Three Stooges would continue, and longtime Stooge supporting actor Emil Sitka would replace Larry, and be dubbed "The Middle Stooge". Sitka later said he accepted the offer after receiving Larry's blessings. However, lifelong smoker Moe fell ill from lung cancer, and died on May 4, 1975.
For more information about The Three Stooges please visit: Wikipedia
The Three Stooges' Filmography
Soup to Nuts (1930)
Turn Back the Clock (1933)
Meet the Baron (1933)
Dancing Lady (1933)
Broadway to Hollywood (1933)
Myrt and Marge (1933)
Fugitive Lovers (1934)
Hollywood Party (1934)
The Captain Hates the Sea (1934)
Start Cheering (1938)
Time Out for Rhythm (1941)
My Sister Eileen (1942) (Cameo)
Rockin' in the Rockies (1945)
Swing Parade of 1946 (1946)
Gold Raiders (1951)
Columbia Laff Hour (1956)
Have Rocket, Will Travel (1959)
Stop, Look and Laugh (1960)
Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961)
The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962)
The Three Stooges in Orbit (1962)
The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze (1963)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) (Cameo)
4 for Texas (1963) (Cameo)
The Outlaws Is Coming (1965)
Turn Back the Clock (1933)
Meet the Baron (1933)
Dancing Lady (1933)
Broadway to Hollywood (1933)
Myrt and Marge (1933)
Fugitive Lovers (1934)
Hollywood Party (1934)
The Captain Hates the Sea (1934)
Start Cheering (1938)
Time Out for Rhythm (1941)
My Sister Eileen (1942) (Cameo)
Rockin' in the Rockies (1945)
Swing Parade of 1946 (1946)
Gold Raiders (1951)
Columbia Laff Hour (1956)
Have Rocket, Will Travel (1959)
Stop, Look and Laugh (1960)
Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961)
The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962)
The Three Stooges in Orbit (1962)
The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze (1963)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) (Cameo)
4 for Texas (1963) (Cameo)
The Outlaws Is Coming (1965)
Early Days Productions: The Three Stooges 09/03/2011
Full Movie: Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961)
An ice-skating Snow White finds refuge from the Wicked Queen with the Three Stooges. - From the IMDB