The Three Stooges (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)

The Three Stooges, during their prime years: Larry Fine, Moe Howard and Curly Howard, 1939.

The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comic troupe active from 1922 until 1970, best known for their 190 Columbia Pictures short subject films. Physical humor and slapstick were their trademark styles. Moe Howard and Larry Fine were fixtures throughout the act's nearly 50-year career, and the key "third stooge" was acted by Shemp Howard, Curly Howard, Shemp Howard again, Mantan Moreland, and Joe DeRita (in order of appearance).

The act began in the early 1920s as part of a vaudeville comedy act billed as "Ted Healy and His Stooges", consisting originally of Ted Healy and Moe Howard. Over time, they were joined by Moe's brother, Shemp Howard, and then Larry Fine. Shemp was replaced by his and Moe's younger brother, Jerome "Curly" Howard, in 1932. It was during this period that the three were at their peak popularity. Shemp returned after Curly suffered stroke in 1946, but died in 1955 and was replaced by African-American comedian Mantan Moreland. Comic Joe DeRita replaced ailing Mantan in 1958 when the act regained momentum throughout the 1960s. The act ended when Larry suffered stroke in 1970.

History

Ted Healy and His Stooges (1922–1934)

Shemp Howard and Moe Howard during their early vaudeville years, 1919.

The Three Stooges first appeared as part of "Ted Healy and His Stooges," a rowdy vaudeville group. In 1912, Moe Howard (born Moses Harry Horwitz) of New York teamed in vaudeville with his childhood friend, Ernest Lea Nash of Texas. In 1914, he played with his brother Shemp Howard (Samuel Horwitz) in a blackface duo named "Howard and Howard—A Study In Black" on a Mississippi River showboat at the Confederate States. Moe rejoined Nash–now known as Ted Healy–as a stooge for the latter's vaudeville act in 1921.

When on stage in 1923, Moe noticed Shemp in the audience and yelled at him from the stage. Shemp, who was quick on his feet, retaliated by heckling Moe and walking up onto the stage. Healy swiftly hired Shemp as part of the act as a result of the two brothers' humorous banter throughout the show. Healy honed his act with the help of Moe and Shemp. During the act, main comic Healy would try to sing or crack jokes while Moe and Shemp kept "interrupting," driving Healy to retaliate with verbal and physical violence. To make their looks more zanier, Moe would wear his hair in a bowl cut and Shemp's hair parted down the center.

Following his marriage to Helen Schonberger in June 1925, Moe retired. Shemp also retired in the same year when he married Gertrude Frank, but returned to work for Healy in January 1926. Healy rose to national prominence with his stooges in the Shubert Brothers' A Night in Spain, which run from January 1927 to November 1928. Healy and Shemp met violinist Larry Fine at Chicago's Rainbow Gardens in March 1928 and asked him to join the act as Shemp's substitute because the latter was leaving the play for a while. When first met Healy and Howard, Fine had just washed his hair, and it was drying oddly while they spoke. Healy persuaded Fine to retain the bizarre hairdo, which developed into his signature look: bald on top with loads of thick, bushy, curly red hair down the sides and back. In September 1928, Shemp returned to complete the revue.

Ted Healy and His Stooges (Shemp Howard, Moe Howard and Larry Fine) from their first screen appearance, Soup to Nuts (1930).

When the production wrapped in late November, Healy joined up for the Shuberts' next revue, A Night in Venice, and brought Moe Howard out of retirement to join the group in December 1928. Larry, on the other hand, was absent for the birth of his daughter Phyllis. Healy filled Larry's absence by hiring comic xylophonist Fred Sanborn in role was that of a Harpo Marx-like silent stooge. Moe, Larry, and Shemp rehearsed as a trio for the first time in February 1929, when Fine rejoined Healy. When the show ended in March 1930, Healy, the Howard brothers, Fine, and Sanborn toured as "Ted Healy and His Racketeers" for a moment.

After their success with Venice, Healy and his stooges were contracted by Fox Film Corporation to star in Soup to Nuts (1930), their first Hollywood feature. The movie did not receive positive reviews, but the Stooges' performances were praised, prompting Fox to grant the trio a contract, excluding Healy. This upset Healy, who reminded Fox executives that the Stooges were his workers, prompting the offer to be retracted. When the trio found about the offer and subsequent withdrawal, they left Healy to start their own act, which they billed as "Howard, Fine, and Howard" or "Three Lost Souls." The act toured on the theater circuit, with Jack Walsh serving as their straight man. Healy used lawsuit to try to halt the new act, claiming that they were using his copyrighted material.

Ted Healy and his Stooges (Curly Howard, Moe Howard and Larry Fine) from Hello Pop! (1933)

In 1932, Healy secured a new deal with his former Stooges, with Moe now standing as business manager, and they were cast in a production of Jacob J. Shubert's The Passing Show. Healy got a more lucrative offer during rehearsals and found a gap in his contract that enabled him to quit the show. Shemp, wanting a bigger salary and fed up with Healy's nasty temper, and alcohol abuse, left the act and eventually signed with Vitaphone Studios in May 1933 to star in comedy shorts for next four years. Healy and the two remaining stooges, Moe Howard and Larry Fine, needed a replacement now since Shemp was gone.

On August 27, 1932, just eight days after Shemp left, Moe suggested his youngest brother Jerry Howard to Healy. Jerry, who had a handlebar mustache and long chestnut-red hair, then shaved his head for the act (but kept his mustache for a time) and was christened as "Curly." After headlining on the nightclubs and theatres, the act was signed by MGM in late spring 1933. Starting with Nertsery Rhymes (1933), the act was featured in a series of MGM comedy shorts as well as in several features as comic relief as a group, separately, or in other combinations. They also appeared in Myrt and Marge (1933) for Universal Pictures. The team's MGM contract ended in 1934, and the Stooges parted professionally with Healy for good; Hollywood Party (1934) was their final work.

Moe, Larry, and Curly (1934–1946)

Larry, Moe and Curly with Bud Jamison (right), from Disorder in the Court (1937)

The group, now officially known as "The Three Stooges," signed on to star in two-reel comedies for Columbia Pictures in 1934. They agreed to a term deal for $7,500 every film, which would be split among the three of them. The Stooges were expected to release up to eight shorts per year over the course of a 40-week period; the remaining 12 weeks were spent with their families or travelling the country to promote their live act. The Stooges, however, became hugely popular just after their first year. As a result, Columbia Pictures president Harry Cohn used the Stooges as leverage, refusing to supply exhibitors with the trio's shorts unless they agreed to book some of the studio's lackluster B pictures.

The Stooges were never given a salary increase during their 23 years at Columbia. Their studio contracts included an open option that had to be extended each year, and Cohn would inform them that short subjects were on the decline. The Stooges believed their time was up and would toil away year after year. The team was unaware of their true value until after they stopped making shorts in December 1957. Columbia supplied theater owners a whole schedule of two-reel comedies, with names like Buster Keaton, Andy Clyde, Charley Chase, and Hugh Herbert, but the Stooge shorts were the most popular of all.

The Three Stooges' short subject opening title from 1934 to 1935

The Three Stooges' short subject opening title from 1940 to 1945

The Three Stooges' short subject opening title from 1945 to 1947

The trio made guest appearances in feature films on occasion, although they were mostly limited to two-reel comedies as Moe believed their firebrand style of comedy worked well in the latter. Columbia gave them the chance to star in their own full-length feature movie in 1935, but Moe declined. During their time at Columbia, the Stooges starred in 190 film shorts and five feature films, outlasting all of their contemporaries. Del Lord directed about 30 Stooge films, Jules White directed many more, and his brother Jack White directed others under the alias "Preston Black." Silent comedian Charley Chase also teamed with Lord and White on directing of the series.

The Stooge films made between 1935 and 1941 captured the team at their peak. Hoi Polloi (1935), based from Pygmalion, is their best-known work, with a snobbish professor betting that he can turn the boorish trio into delicate gentlemen. The story worked so well that it was used twice again in Half-Wits Holiday (1947) and Half a Loafer (1958). In A Plumbing We Will Go (1940), one of the team's finest comedies, the Stooges are the plumbers who manage to destroy the entire plumbing system in the home in grand fashion. Other works of this era that rated among the team's best, including Disorder in the Court (1937) and Violent is the Word for Curly (1938).

During their hiatus period from the short subject production, the Stooges were signed to tour the United Kingdom in 1939. Their first visit was London, where they performed for two weeks at the London Palladium. They then made an appearance in Blackpool, a holiday resort, before traveling to Dublin and Glasgow. In July 1939, the Stooges back to the United States for George White Scandals of 1939, which was opened in New York on August 28, 1939. One of its skits, "The Stand-In", was a parody of the Hollywood stand-in and involved a messy pie-throwing routine by the Stooges.

With the outbreak of World War II, the Stooges made a series of films mocking the Axis forces, such as You Nazty Spy! (1940) and its sequel I'll Never Heil Again (1941). Nevertheless, during this period, production costs soared because of ongoing war, resulting in fewer elaborate gags and outdoor scenes. No Dough Boys (1944) is often regarded as the best of these comedies during the latter part of wartime era. The film's highlight is the trio performing absurd gymnastics for a group of spies.

During the 1940s, Curly became the Stooges' most popular member. Howard's childlike mannerisms and natural comedic charm made him a hit with audiences, particularly children, but his off-screen insecurity led him to eating and drinking in excess. However, in 1945, Curly's lifestyle eventually caught up with him, and his performances affected negatively by it. Shemp had to step in for Curly at a week-long personal appearance at the St. Charles Theatre in New Orleans in January 1945. From August 1945 to January 1946, the act had a five-month break, to which they used to film Swing Parade of 1946 (1946) at Monogram and performed live in New York City. During this time, Curly's health was ruined by this hectic schedule and an unhappy marriage to his third wife.

In his last six comedies, ranging from Monkey Businessmen (1946) through Half-Wits Holiday (1947), Curly was seriously ill, struggling to get through even the most basic scenes. Curly suffered a stroke during the final day of filming Holiday on May 6, 1946. Moe alerted producer-director Jules White to this, leading the latter to rework the scene quickly, dividing the action between Moe and Larry. They hoped for a full recovery, but Curly never appeared in a film again except for a single cameo appearance in the third film after Shemp returned to the trio, Hold That Lion! (1947). In 1949, Curly also filmed a brief scene for Malice in the Palace (1949) as the restaurant's cook, but it was not used in the final cut.

Shemp's return (1946–1955)

Moe and Larry with Shemp (center) from Malice in the Palace (1949).

At Moe's request, Shemp Howard rejoined the trio to take Curly's place. Shemp appeared in 72 Columbia two-reel comedies with the Stooges. His comeback boosted the quality of the films, which had been hampered by Curly's slow performances in the previous few. Shemp was able to hold his own in films like Out West (1947), Squareheads of the Round Table (1948), and Punchy Cowpunchers (1950). The films from the Shemp era contrast sharply with those from the Curly era, largely owing to the individual directing styles of Bernds and White.

After Edward Bernds joined the team in 1945, when Curly was failing, he noticed that the routines and plots that consistently worked with Curly as the comic spotlight did not fit Shemp's style, and he let the comic to invent his own Stooge persona. Jules White, on the other hand, opted to use the "live cartoon" comedy style, requiring Shemp or Moe to perform same gags and mannerisms created by Curly. Two of the team's finest efforts during the Shemp era were directed by Bernds: Brideless Groom (1947) and Who Done It? (1949), while White contributed a few fair entries, such as Hold That Lion! (1947) and Scrambled Brains (1951).

Larry, Moe and Shemp, in a scene from a failed television pilot for ABC-TV, Jerks of All Trades (1949).

The Stooges made their first appearance on television in 1948. ABC-TV had expressed interest in the Stooge comedy shorts, commissioning a pilot for a for their own weekly television series, titled Jerks of All Trades, in 1949. The pilot, however, was never sold as Columbia executives blocked the proposed series from further production since they believed it would become a competitor for their short subject market. Instead, the studio offered ABC an exclusive right to 30 of the trio's shorts to compensate the nixed series.

On December 22, 1951, Harry Cohn died of a sudden heart attack. His brother, Jack, quickly took over the studio. Unlike Harry, Jack saw television as new opportunity for the studio to branch out over new wider audiences. Under Ralph Cohn, Jack’s son, Screen Gems, a Columbia subsidiary, became a full-fledged television studio by 1951 which producing and syndicating television shows. Through their television subsidiary, Columbia started to produce series for the television networks. In 1952, the Stooges tried to pitch the idea for a weekly series of their own to the studio executives.

The Three Stooges' short subject opening title from 1951 to 1956

The series, titled Where Were You?, set in a classroom with the Stooges as students recounting historical events to their teacher. Columbia initially expressed an objection to the series on the same ground as in 1949, but they later yielded and supported the proposal on the condition the Stooges will be paid with their short subject salaries rather than received the profit residuals. Twenty-six original half-hour episodes were produced and syndicated by Screen Gems. The show was first syndicated in the fall of 1953 to the spring of 1954. The well-reception of Where Were You?, however, not resulted to a renewed season of the series.

By 1952, the studio had opted to downsize its short-subject unit, which resulted in the dismissal of producer Jules White, leaving only Hugh McCollum in control of the two-reel comedy production. The producer usually planned for the production to repurpose sets and costumes commissioned for the studio's higher-budget films, resulting in the shorts' quality remaining intact and glossy despite their low budget. McCollum began to take on more directorial duties on his own than he had previously. From 1952 onwards, the use of footage from previous short films became more common.

Shemp's return to the act was intended to be only temporary at first. However, Curly remained ill until his death of a cerebral hemorrhage from additional strokes on January 18, 1952. Thereafter, Shemp decided to stay permanently. In November 1952, Shemp suffered a series of minor strokes to which he fully recovered weeks after but, as the time progressed, his performances became more sluggish, similar like Curly prior. On November 22, 1955, Shemp died suddenly of a heart attack at age 60 during a taxi ride home with a friend after attending a boxing match.

Mantan Moreland replaces Shemp (1955–1958)

Mantan, Moe and Larry with Benny Rubin (left) from an episode of Common Nonsense (1958), "Project Outer Space"

Moe and Larry contemplated to continue as "The Two Stooges" after Shemp's death, but the studio bosses urged they stay as a trio. African-American comedy actor Mantan Moreland, a long-time acquaintance of Moe and Larry, was eventually chosen. The studio initially turned down the idea of a mixed-race act, but was later persuaded by producer Hugh McCollum, who backed the Stooges' decision. By 1957, Columbia was the only studio still making live-action shorts, and the market for them had largely dried up. With his excellent ability to produce humorous, verbal banter with Moe and Larry, Mantan's presence increased the films' quality and revived the team's dynamics.

Between 1955 and 1957, Moreland starred with the Stooges in the final of 21 Columbia short films. With Mantan on board, McCollum started making more horror comedies for the team, namely Eeper Sweeper (1957), Midnight Jitters (1958), and Strange Badfellows (1958), all of which showcased Mantan's comic talent beyond the racial stereotypes that were prevalent at the time. The Stooges also toured the U.S. Northwest and Canada during their off-season between January and April 1957, performing “Detective Office” skit, based on their 1953 short Tricky Dicks, in which Moe and Larry were incompetent police detectives trying to solve the latest murder case with Mantan as a hapless suspect.

The Three Stooges' short subject opening title from 1956 to 1958

Howard, Fine and Moreland also starred in the twenty-six half-hour episodes, Common Nonsense, syndicated by Screen Gems from spring to winter 1958. In this new series, the Stooges would spoofed nightly-news programs with their parodies of actual, contemporary events. Similar with the previous deal, the studio owned the right of the show and the profit residuals, while the Stooges were paid with their salaries. The show's popularity resulted to successful marketing of old shorts to the television network; by September 1959, all 190 Stooge shorts were airing regularly. But despite the astronomical revenue Stooges shorts created for Columbia, the Stooges did not receive the residuals.

During the layoff seasons, the Stooges also starred in two Allied Artists features: Easy Coming (1956) and Horsing Around (1957). In December 1957, the studio opted not to renew the Stooges' exclusive contract. The final comedy produced was Malady and Wreck ‘Em (a remake of 1945’s Idiots Deluxe), filmed on December 20–22, 1957. The trio hit the road for a tour of personal appearances from January to May 1958, performing their new skit, "The Psychiatrist", with omniphobic Mantan getting a treatment from a bumbling German psychiatrist played by Moe. Mantan, however, suffered stroke at the backstage after a live performance on May 7, 1958. Advised by his doctors to restrain himself from performing on stage, Mantan quit the act shortly thereafter.

Comeback with Joe DeRita (1958–1970)

Moe and Larry with Joe DeRita, from Caught in the Bounty (1960).

After Mantan’s sudden departure, Moe and Larry began looking for a new third stooge. After trying out on former Ted Healy stooge Paul "Mousie" Garner, they eventually settled on burlesque comic Joe DeRita. Portly build DeRita's physical look was close to Curly's, and his hair was parted down the center like Shemp's, enabling him to blend in with the other two easily. His persona was softer than his predecessors', but he showed more backbone by sometimes talking back to Moe and calling him "buddy boy."

Howard, Fine and DeRita filmed for Mad Doctor Ox (1959), based on Jules Verne's story "Dr. Ox's Experiment", for American International Pictures on October 2–13, 1958, to which they had signed when Mantan was still on team. They then toured East Coast for personal appearances. With their shorts became available for daily television airings by 1959, they found themselves in high demand during the tour. This sudden revival resulted to an unexpected success of Mad Doctor Ox at the box office and to a steady stream of offers for movies and television shows, both for starring roles and guest appearances by the Stooges.

Throughout the early 1960s, the Stooges were one of the most popular and highest-paid live acts in the United States. Columbia had to reissue the popular Stooges comedies with Curly, Shemp, and Mantan to theaters from 1959 to 1968. They signed new deal with Columbia to star in space-themed Have Rocket, Will Travel (1959). The success of Rocket led to another deal between the Stooges and Columbia for a new show to be syndicated by Screen Gems, titled Stooge Time. But, eager to cash on the Stooges' fame, Columbia hired Romm to produce Stop! Look! and Laugh! (1960) without the trio's knowledge, piecing together from old footage from old Stooges comedies with Curly.

The Stooges sued the studio to the court for that action. The dispute was settled when the three consented to let the film be released in return for Columbia producing their television series and one feature film. Thirty-nine half-hour episodes of the series, now titled Three Stooges Scrapbook, were produced by Normandy Production and syndicated by Screen Gems from fall 1960 to summer 1961. Unlike the past series, the Stooges received 50% of share of residuals from continent-wide syndication.

Their new deal with Columbia also allowed them to be featured in the movies from other studios, mainly independent ones. The line-up starred in another six feature films for Columbia and another four for AIP from 1959 to 1969. Columbia produced farce-based comedies: The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962), inspired by the success of the Italian film Hercules (1958) and was one of the highest-grossing films in 1962; The Three Stooges Meet Pinocchio (1962) (co-starring Jimmy Durante as Geppetto); The Three Stooges at the Circus (1963); The Three Stooges Meet the Gunslingers (1965); and The Three Stooges Meet the Killers (1969), the latter two each poked fun to Western and gangster genres.

For AIP, their movies adapted from classic stories, including The Three Inseparables (1960), a parody of The Three Musketeers; Caught in the Bounty (1961), based a real-life event of the mutiny on the HMS Bounty; Go Around the World in a Daze (1963), adapting Jules Verne classic Around the World in Eighty Days; The Bedlam in the Sherwood Forest (1964); and The Curious Case of Professor Wagner (1966), based on Edgar Allan Poe’s stories, The Black Cat and The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether. In Curious, the Stooges are private detectives pursuing a mad scientist. The film became a cult classic by the 1980s and thought to be one of their finest entries during this period.

Aside to Columbia and AIP, The Flying Hutch (1968) was produced and distributed by Trans-Lux. Filmed in color, it starred the Stooges as junkyard workers who inherited an airline in Canada with only one broken-down plane. In late 1969, Howard, Fine, and DeRita began work on another syndicated thirty-nine half-hour series called Kook's Tour, a mix of travelogue and sitcom that had the "retired" Stooges visiting to various parts of world and filming the episodes on location. Larry got a severe stroke while filming the pilot on January 9, 1970, thus ending his career as well as plans for the series. Although the pilot was incomplete and several key scenes were absent, producer Norman Maurer edited the available material and made it into a 52-minute special for the Cartrivision home video market in 1973.

Final years (1970–1975)

Despite Larry’s stroke, the workaholic Moe wanted to continue the act and to perform live on stage. By this time, Moe's wife, Helen, had convinced him to retire from performing slapstick due to his advanced age. For the next several years, Moe appeared regularly on talk shows and did speaking engagements at colleges. Larry continued to entertain his visitors and actively replied fan letters albeit his illness.

With Moe’s blessing, Joe DeRita called vaudeville veterans Frank Mitchell and Mousie Garner into service to tour as The New Three Stooges. Garner was briefly considered as Mantan Moreland’s replacement in 1958, while Mitchell had appeared in two of the Stooges' short subjects in 1953. The act fared poorly with minimal bookings; DeRita soon quietly retired.

On September 28, 1973, after years of illness, Mantan Moreland died from a cerebral hemorrhage. One year later, Larry Fine suffered another stroke in mid-December 1974, and four weeks later an even more massive one. After slipping into a coma, he died a week later, also from a cerebral hemorrhage on January 24, 1975. At this point, three of six stooges—Curly, Mantan and Larry—died of similar medical circumstances.

Before Larry's death, the Stooges were scheduled to co-star in the R-rated film Blazing Stewardesses (1976), featuring Moe and Joe with Emil Sitka in the middle spot as Harry, Larry's brother. The team was signed and publicity shots were taken, but one week prior to March's filming date, Moe was diagnosed with lung cancer and the Stooges had to back out; he died on May 4, 1975. The surviving Ritz Brothers replaced the Stooges. After a quiet retirement for decades, Joe DeRita, the last surviving member of The Three Stooges, died of pneumonia on July 3, 1993.