Three Stooges

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=169 style=" border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC;" BGCOLOR="#111111" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="017a0ad1dyxtip.jpg"> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="698" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 111 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="00d69690.jpg" border=0 width="105" height="105" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> Waxahachie Independant School District    <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#00FF00" FACE="Comic Sans MS" >               Waxahachie, Texas</FONT></div> <div> <B>Waxahachie High School Alumni 1962</B></div> <div> <B>WHS Seniors '62</B></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=268 BGCOLOR="#111111" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="01f9b9c3.jpg"> <div>                                                   </div> <div> <B><SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">  </SCRIPT> </B></div> <bR> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="5" CELLPADDING="12" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="560" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#00FF00" BORDERCOLORDARK="#00FF00" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#000000 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 1687 WIDTH="498"><div> <I><B> </B></I></div> <div> <I><B> <TABLE BORDER="3" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="357" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#BBBBBB" BORDERCOLORDARK="#777777" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 168 ><NOBR><div> <B><IMG SRC="0bc45a00.gif" border=0 width="325" height="160" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Three Stooges were an American comedy act in the 20th century. Commonly known by their first names, Larry, Moe, & Curly (sometimes spelled "Curley"); Larry, Moe & Shemp; and other lineups became famous for their work in movies and starred in many short features that consisted of masterful ways of showcasing their extremely physical and sometimes controversial brand of slapstick comedy.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ted Healy and His Stooges</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Three Stooges got their name and their start from a vaudeville act called Ted Healy and His Stooges (originally called "Ted Healy and His Southern Gentlemen"), which was founded in 1922. Brothers Harry Moses Howard (Moe) and Samuel Howard (Shemp) (original last name Horwitz) were later joined by violinist Larry Fine (born Louis Feinberg). Shemp acquired his name from his mother's attempts to pronounce his name, "Sam", in spite of her thick accent. By 1930, Ted Healy and His Stooges were appearing in Hollywood feature films, such as Soup to Nuts. Shemp left the act in 1931 for a career in feature films, notably as trainer Knobby Walsh in the Joe Palooka films, and in The Bank Dick with W.C. Fields.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>When Shemp left the act, Ted and the two remaining stooges (Moe and Larry) needed a third stooge, so Moe offered his baby brother, Jerome. Ted took one look at Jerome and with his long black locks and facial hair, stated he was not a character like Moe and Larry, so Jerome left the room and returned moments later with a shaved head and face; thus, Curly was born. According to Moe Howard in his autobiography, Moe Howard and the Three Stooges, the Stooges split with Ted Healy in 1934 once and for all because of his alcoholism and abrasiveness.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Curly suffered a stroke on May 6, 1946, during the filming of Half-Wits Holiday, curtailing his output at 97 shorts. Brother Shemp reluctantly rejoined the act to take Curly's place. Curly did make one brief cameo appearance (doing his dog barking routine) in the third film after Shemp returned to the trio, Hold That Lion!, in an effort to boost his morale. It was the only film that contained all three Howard brothers simultaneously (Curly's cameo appearance was recycled in the 1953 remake Booty and the Beast).</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Shemp Howard was hesitant to rejoin the Stooges, as he had a successful solo career going at the time of Curly's untimely illness. However, he realized that Moe 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 grew worse: he died in January 1952.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>With Shemp on board, the Stooges went on to appear in 77 more shorts and a mediocre feature entitled Gold Raiders (1951). During this period, Moe, Larry, and Shemp also made a pilot for a Three Stooges television show called Jerks of All Trades in 1949. The series was never picked up, although the pilot is today in the public domain and is available on home video, as is an early TV appearance from around the same time on a vaudeville-style comedy series starring Ed Wynn.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To add insult to injury, death paid the Stooges another visit just three years after Curly's demise. 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 finish the last four films on Shemp's contract.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Joe Besser replaced Shemp in 1956 and 1957, appearing in 16 shorts. Besser had a clause in his contract specifically prohibiting him from being hit too hard, though this restriction was lifted as Besser's tenure continued (ironically, Besser was the only "third" stooge that dared to hit Moe back, Larry Fine was also known to hit Moe on occasion, but always with serious repercussions). Unfortunately, the market for short subjects had all but dried up by the time Besser joined the trio. Television was the new popular medium, and the Stooges were practically dinosaurs. Columbia Pictures, the last studio still producing shorts, unceremoniously fired the trio in 1957 at the end of production of their final short, Flying Saucer Daffy. Because of a production backlog, the final Stooges short, Sappy Bullfighters, did not reach theatres until June 4, 1959.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Larry Fine suffered another stroke in December 1974. The following month, he suffered a more serious stroke, and slipped into a coma. Fine died on January 24, 1975, aged 72. Devastated by his comrade's passing, Moe decided that long-time Stooge supporting actor Emil Sitka would replace Larry, and be dubbed "The Middle Stooge".</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Several movie ideas were considered, including one called Blazing Stewardesses according to Leonard Maltin, who also uncovered a pre-production photo (the film was ultimately made with the last surviving Ritz Brothers). However, life-long smoker Moe had fallen ill with lung cancer, and died on May 4, 1975. With Moe gone, it was inconceivable that the Three Stooges continue without a Howard, although Curly-Joe did do some live performances with a new group of Stooges in the early 1970s. It is interesting to note that in 1975, the world not only lost both Larry and Moe, but also Moe's wife of 50 years, Helen.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Joe Besser died on March 1, 1988, followed by Curly-Joe on July 3, 1993, making him the last Stooge to die. Curly-Joe often stated that his time with the Three Stooges were the 'best years of his life.'</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="laughter_1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Laughter 1"><B>Back</B></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=42 style=" border-top: 1px solid #CCCCCC;" BGCOLOR="#111111" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="0182a2f1dyxtip.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="http://whs62.net" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://whs62.net">Home</A>     <A HREF="http://whs62.net/Roll" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://whs62.net/Roll">Roll Call</A>    <A HREF="http://whs62.net/In_Memory" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://whs62.net/In_Memory">In Memory</A>   <A HREF="http://whs62.net/Long_Ago" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://whs62.net/Long_Ago">Long Ago</A>    <A HREF="http://www.whs62.net/Our_50s/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.whs62.net/Our_50s/">Our 50's</A>   <A HREF="http://whs62.net/Reunions" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://whs62.net/Reunions">Reunions</A>   <A HREF="http://whs62.net/Today" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://whs62.net/Today">Today</A>    <A HREF="http://whs62.net/Contacts" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://whs62.net/Contacts">Contacts</A>    <A HREF="http://whs62.net/Links" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://whs62.net/Links">Links</A></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>