Three Stooges

Moe Howard was born on June 19, 1897, in Bensonhurst, New York, a small Jewish community on the outskirts of Brooklyn. Moe's real name was Moses Horwitz. Moe's mother's name was Jennie Horwitz, and his father was clothing cutter Solomon Horwitz. Moe was the fourth eldest of five Howard brothers. Two of Moe's brothers, Jerome (Curly), and Shemp performed with him as members of The Three Stooges. Moe's other two brothers, Jack and Irving, never entered show business.Moe graduated from P.S. 163 in Brooklyn. He attended Erasmus High School for only two months and never completed his high school education. To please his parents he took a class in electric shop at the Baron DeHirsch Trade School in New York. Moe's true love, however, was the theater. In 1909 at the Vitagraph Studios in Brooklyn he earned his entry into film making by running errands for the performers. His persistence paid off, and he soon appeared in films with such stars of the time as John Bunny, Flora Finch, Earle William, Herbert Rawlinson, and Walter Johnson.It was also in 1909 that Moe met Ted Healy. They became close friends, and in the summer of 1912 joined Annette Kellerman's aquatic act as diving "girls". This job only lasted through the summer. After a separation, Moe renewed his acquaintance with Ted Healy in 1922 and together with brother Shemp formed a partnership, which would last, with a few short brakes, for almost 10 years. On June 7, 1925, Moe married Helen Schonberger, who was a cousin of the late Harry Houdini.After a short stint outside of show business, Moe rejoined Ted Healy. Larry Fine joined the act in 1925. Healy with his Stooges appeared in a string of vaudeville shows including A Night in Venice. Ted Healy and his Stooges made their first screen appearance in the classic 1930's comedy feature "Soup to Nuts" for 20th Century Fox. This film was followed by a series of comedies for Metro Golden Mayer.In 1934, Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Jerome Curly Howard, signed on with Columbia Studios as The Three Stooges to make the comedy shorts that are still viewed on television today. In 1958, Moe and Larry joined Joe DeRita to continue The Three Stooges act until Larry suffered a stroke during the filming of "Kook's Tour" in 1970. As Larry was unable to perform, Moe and Curly Joe considered re-placing him with Emil Sitka, but The Three Stooges never performed together again. Moe has two children, Joan and Paul. Moe passed away on May 4, 1975 at the age of 77.
Larry Fine was born Louis Fienberg on October 5, 1902 on the south side of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, Joseph Fienberg, and mother Fanny Lieberman, owned a watch repair and jewelry shop. Larry had two brothers, Morris, a younger brother Phillip who died prematurely, and a sister, Lila, who became a school teacher.As a child, Larry's left arm was badly burned from acid used by his father in the jewelry business. Larry required immediate attention, and a skin graft was done on his arm. Larry's doctors recommended that he be given violin lessons as a form of therapy. Playing the violin was supposed to strengthen his damaged arm muscles. Larry's skill as a violinist became so impressive that eventually he began to play professionally. Larry played in local theater amateur nights usually taking top prize.Interestingly enough, along with being a violin player he also was a boxer. Larry earned money as a light weight fighter. Later on he would develop an act in which he would do a Russian dance while playing the violin. It was this act that caught the attention of Ted Healy. After Shemp decided to leave Ted Healy's act, Moe suggested that perhaps Larry could replace Shemp. The trio, Moe, Larry, and Shemp first appeared on Broadway in A Night in Venice. Larry also appeared in The Stooges first full length motion picture, "Soup to Nuts," in 1930 for 20th Century Fox. Of course, Larry went on with Moe and Curly to form The Three Stooges, who appeared in the Columbia shorts beginning in 1934.Larry and his wife, Mable, lived in hotels, first in the President Hotel in Atlantic City, where his daughter Phyllis was raised, then the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood. Later Larry bought an old Mediterranean style house in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles. Larry had two children. His son, Johnny died in a tragic automobile accident on November 17, 1961 at age 24. Larry also had a daughter, Phyllis. Larry's wife, Mabel, died on May 30, 1967. Larry has five grandchildren, Christy Lynn Clark, John Fine, Jr., Phyllis Miller, Kris Cutler, and Eric Lamond.After 1958, Larry, Moe, and Curly Joe performed before live audiences all across the country, appeared in six full length motion pictures, appeared on numerous television shows, and performed in other productions until Larry Fine suffered a stroke during the filming of "Kook's Tour" in 1970. After his stroke Larry never performed again. Larry Fine passed away on January 24, 1975.
Curly Howard's real name was Jerome Lester Horwitz. He was born to Jenny and Solomon Horwitz on October 22, 1903 in Bath Beach, a summer resort in a section of Brooklyn. He was the fifth and youngest of the five Horwitz brothers. Curly's interest in show business grew as he watched his brothers, Shemp and Moe perform as stooges in Ted Healy's act. After Shemp left the Healy act, Moe suggested to Healy that his kid brother Jerome was available and would make an excellent replacement for Shemp.Curly at the time was known as "Babe." When Babe showed up to talk to Healy to join the act he had long wavy brown hair and a mustache. In order to join the act Babe agreed to shave off his mustache and shave his head. Now referred to as Curly, he joined the team and played with the Stooges in vaudeville acts and comedy shorts for MGM. Later, in 1934, Curly along with Larry and Moe performed in many of the shorts that were produced for Columbia Pictures.After Curly's first marriage was annulled, he married three more times. On June 7, 1937 he married Elaine Ackerman. In 1938, Elaine gave birth to Curly's first child, a daughter, Marilyn. Elaine and Curly divorced on July 11, 1940 after only 3 years of marriage. On October 17, 1945, Curly married Marion Buxbaum. After a miserable three months of arguments and accusations, Marion and Curly separated on January 14, 1946, and Curly sued for divorce. This divorce was quite scandalous and notices were carried in all the local papers.It was after his separation from Marion that Curly's health started its rapid decline. On May 6, 1946, he suffered a stroke during the filming of his 97th Three Stooges comedy, "Half-Wits' Holiday" (1947). A year later Curly met Valerie Newman, whom he married on July 31, 1947. Valerie was Curly's fourth wife, and she nursed him through those last, awful years. Valerie gave birth to a daughter, Janie.Finally, in 1949, Curly's health took a severe turn for the worse when he suffered his second in a series of strokes and was rushed to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Hollywood. Curly died on January 18, 1952. He was 48 years old.
Despite financial success, Shemp had grown tired of Healy's attitude, and perceived miserliness, Shemp left the group after the filming of their first movie, "Soup to Nuts" (1930), and was replaced by his youngest brother, Jerome (Curly on screen, but "Babe" to family members). Shemp pursued a solo career in movies, and was the only member of the original Three Stooges to find success outside of the group. Shemp worked with many comedy legends, including Fatty Arbuckle, Jack Haley, Edgar Bergen, Bert Lahr, W. C. Fields (in the classic "The Bank Dick" ), Abbott and Costello ("Buck Privates", "In the Navy", "Hold That Ghost", "It Ain't Hay", "Africa Screams": ), Joe E. Lewis ("Private Buckaroo": ), and many others, making dozens of movies, including the recurring role of "Knobby Walsh" in the "Joe Palooka" movie series.Interestingly enough, although Shemp was a very funny man, he was introverted, except when performing -- either on stage or when entertaining friends, which he did quite often. He also had many phobias -- although he owned a dog, he was afraid of other dogs, and would carry a walking stick - although he was too kind-hearted to hit even an attacking dog with it. He had a phobia of many other animals, which caused many unintentional laughs when filming "Africa Screams" or "Hold That Lion", both of which had live lions on the set. He was also afraid of water, which led to a practical joke when filming "Africa Screams" - he was left 'stranded' on a raft, surrounded by water (only knee-deep) on the set, but was afraid to get off the raft. He was also afraid of driving or riding in a car, and when the Three Stooges travelled the country, they had to do so by train - Shemp was afraid of flying.
Following his brother Jerome's (aka. Curly) stroke in 1946, Shemp returned to the Three Stooges, to fill in until Curly recovered enough to return to the screen. Sadly, he never did, and Shemp remained with the Three Stooges until his death. Interestingly, there is one Three Stooges short film ("Hold That Lion": ) where all four appeared - Curly has a cameo appearance as a passenger on board the train that the short is taking place on. In all, Shemp appeared in seventy-seven Three Stooges shorts
Shemp suffered a minor stroke in 1952, and in on November 22, 1955, he died of a massive stroke while riding in a car returning from a boxing match. It was ironic in that Shemp had a lifelong love of spectator sports, especially boxing, and that his favorite Three Stooges short was "Fright Night," his first film with the Three Stooges, which was about boxing. Shemp Howard is interred at Home of Peace Memorial Park, Los Angeles, California, USA.At the time of his death, several Three Stooges short films were in production, but uncompleted. To finish them, stand-ins were used, filmed from behind -- this has become known as "shemping."
Joe Besser (August 12, 1907 – March 1, 1988) was an American comedian, known for his impish humor, and is now best remembered for his brief stint as a member of The Three Stooges in movie short subjects of 1956-57. He is also remembered for his television roles: Stinky, the spoiled mamma's boy in The Abbott and Costello Show, and Jillson, the spastic maintenance man in The Joey Bishop Show.Besser was born in St. Louis, making him the only Stooge member not born on the East Coast. He was the ninth child of Morris and Fanny Besser (Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe). He had seven older sisters, and an older brother Manny who was in show business. From a young age, Joe was also fascinated with show business, especially the magic act of Howard Thurston that visited his town annually. When Joe was 12, Thurston allowed him to play an audience plant (as in "stooge"). Besser was so excited by this, he sneaked into Thurston's train after the St. Louis run of the show was over, and was discovered the next day sleeping on top of the lion's cage in Detroit.Thurston gave in, informed Besser's parents of the situation, and trained him as an assistant. The first act involved pulling a rabbit out of a hat. The trick involved two rabbits, one hidden in a pocket of Thurston's cape. But young Besser was so nervous that he botched badly, pulling out the rabbit from the cape at the same time as the other rabbit was on display, before the trick had been performed. The audience roared with laughter, and Besser from then on was assigned comic-mishap roles only.Besser stayed in show business and developed a unique comic character: a whiny sissy who flew into temper tantrums with little provocation. Besser, with his frequent outbursts of "You crazy, youuuuu!" and "Not so faaaaaast!," was so original and so outrageously silly that he became a vaudeville headliner, and movie and radio appearances soon followed.In 1932, Besser married dancer Erna Kay (born Ernestine Dora Kretschmer), known as "Ernie". They were neighbors and friends of Lou Costello, of Abbott and Costello fame. Besser appeared in one of Abbott and Costello's movies, Africa Screams, which also featured Shemp Howard of The Three Stooges. Joe and Shemp were old friends, having met in 1932.The zany comedy team of Olsen and Johnson, whose Broadway revues were fast-paced collections of songs and blackouts, hired Joe Besser to join their company. Besser's noisy intrusions were perfect for the anything-can-happen O & J format. Besser's work caught the attention of the Shubert brothers, who signed Besser to a theatrical contract. Columbia Pictures hired Besser away from the Shuberts, and Besser relocated to Hollywood in 1944, where he brought his unique comic character to feature-length musical comedies like Hey, Rookie! and Eadie Was a Lady. Besser also starred in short-subject comedies for Columbia from 1949 to 1956.Besser had substituted for Lou Costello on radio, opposite Bud Abbott, and by the 1950s he was firmly established as one of the A & C regulars. When Bud and Lou filmed The Abbott and Costello Show for television, they hired Joe Besser to play "Stinky," a bratty, loudmouthed child dressed in an oversized Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit, shorts, and a flat top hat with overhanging brim. He appeared during the first season of The Abbott and Costello Show.After Shemp Howard died of a sudden heart attack on November 22, 1955, his brother Moe Howard suggested that he and teammate Larry Fine could continue working as "The Two Stooges." Studio chief Harry Cohn rejected the proposal. Although Moe legally had approval over any new members joining the act, Columbia Pictures executives had final say about any actor who would appear in the studio's films, and insisted on a performer already under contract to Columbia. At that time (early 1956) Joe Besser was one of the few comedians still making comedy short subjects at Columbia. He successfully renegotiated his contract, and was paid his former feature-film salary (more than the other Stooges earned).Joe Besser refrained from imitating Curly or Shemp. He continued to play the same whiny character he had developed over his long career. He had a clause in his contract prohibiting being hit excessively, insisting that his humor was more about comedic revenge for being bullied, usually reacting to a clock by Moe by wimpily hitting his shoulder and complaining "Not so HAAAARD!". "I usually played the kind of character who would hit others back." In a 2002 "E Entertainment" episode which used file footage of Besser, the comic stated that the left side of Larry Fine's face was noticeably coarser than the other side, which he attributed to Moe's less-than-staged slaps. (Larry Fine's daughter attributes this, plus scars to the comic's left hand, from a chemical spill that occurred when Larry was a child). During those years, Besser had claimed that Larry opted to take the brunt of Moe's abuse.Besser was a Stooge from the spring of 1956 to the end of 1957. His Stooge tenure ended when Columbia shut down the two-reel-comedy department on December 20, 1957. Producer-director Jules White had shot enough film for 16 comedies, which were released a few months apart until June 1959, with Sappy Bull Fighters being the final release.Moe Howard and Larry Fine discussed plans to tour with a live act, but Besser declined. His wife suffered a heart attack in November 1957, and he was unwilling to leave without her. Some fans have theorized that Besser actually preferred to work solo, and left the trio to pursue other acting jobs. The theory may be true, because that was indeed the next step Besser took. In later life, Besser honorably called his Stooges shorts "The Two Stooges featuring Joe Besser."Many fans have stated their disapproval towards Besser as a stooge, with their complaints usually garnered around the lack of physical comedy on his behalf, as well as his whiny persona. These are usually from fans who had grown up on and thoroughly enjoyed the physical antics of Curly and Shemp, so the lack of slapstick on Besser's behalf was derided and, at times, hated. Even "Stooge-a-polooza" host Rich Koz would at times apologize on-air before showing a Besser short, and had even aired an episode featuring only Joe shorts, much to his fans' disappointment.Besser returned to films and television, most notably as the superintendent "Jillson" for four seasons (1961–1965) of The Joey Bishop Show, and the voice of Babu the genie in the animated I Dream of Jeannie series. He also made occasional appearances on the ABC late-night series, also called The Joey Bishop Show between 1967 and 1969.Later in life, Joe Besser expressed dismay that fans only recognized him for his brief tenure with the Stooges. His autobiography title, Not Just a Stooge, bears this out. The book would later be retitled and remarketed to emphasize the Stooge connection.Besser recalled his friendship with the Stooges in an emotional speech referring to "the four boys" (Moe, Larry, Curly, and Shemp) up in heaven looking down at the dedication of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in August 1983. He was the only official Stooge to speak at the event, as Joe DeRita was ill at the time, although he outlived Besser by five years. Stooge supporting player Emil Sitka (who was signed as a stooge in 1974 but appeared at no public functions) officially replaced the late Larry Fine. In early 1975, Moe appeared on "The Mike Douglas Show," but while Joe DeRita was mentioned, Sitka was not)Joe Besser died of heart failure on March 1, 1988 at age 80. His wife Ernie died on July 1, 1989 from a heart attack at age 89. Both spouses are buried in the same plot at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California.In the early 1990s, the heirs of several Stooges filed a lawsuit against Moe Howard's family, who had amassed control over the team's finances. The result gave the other heirs more profits, and placed Joe DeRita's stepson in charge of the Stooge images/sales.
THE YOUNGEST MEMBER of the Three Stooges, Joseph DeRita-whose real name was Joseph Wardell-was born July 12, 1909, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Of French-Canadian and English ancestry, he is the only one of the Stooges who came from a show business family. His mother, Florenz DeRita, was a dancer and his father, Frank Wardell, was a stage technician.From age seven, Joe accompanied his parents on tour, going with them from theatre to theatre across the country. He made his stage debut with his sister Phillis at a Topeka Kansas, Red Cross benefit during World War I. Joe remembers this act: "We did an esthetic dance. I had a wreath around my head and a toga and gave her a rose...that kind of stuff. I was quite small in those days. Of course, they called me Junior."We had a small-time act, we never played any major circuits. In those days there were the Western Vaudeville Circuit, the Bert Levy Circuit, and the Junior Orpheum Circuit which smaller acts played." Then, for seven seasons, Joe played the title role in a stage version of Peck's Bad Boy with his mother and father. By age eighteen, with his mother retired and his sister married, Joe decided to do a comedy single in which he sang and danced. As DeRita recalls: "I originally started out as a dancer because my mother was a dancer. Then I went into burlesque in 1921 because vaudeville was just about gone. At least my type of vaudeville was gone. I never worked too risque."Joe continued to play the New Columbia Burlesque Circuit until 1942, after which he went to California to headline in a show at the Music Box Theatre in Hollywood. His notices were so good that MGM signed him to a contract. His actual film debut, however, was in The Doughgirls (1944) with Ann Sheridan for Warner Brothers. During this same period of his career he made two other feature films, The Sailor Takes a Wife (MGM, 1945) and People Are Funny (Paramount, 1946). He performed in shows for the USO and in 1946 starred in a series of two-reel comedies for Columbia; he made four shorts in all.In speaking of his Columbia shorts, DeRita has said, "My comedy in those scripts was limited to getting hit on the head with something, then going over to my screen wife to say, 'Honey, don't leave me!' For this kind of comedy material you could have gotten a bus boy to do it and it would have been just as funny."During World War II, Joe started working for the USO and toured the South Pacific with his good friend Randolph Scott as his straight man. He made several tours, going overseas with Bing Crosby to entertain servicemen in England and France, this time with Crosby as his straight man. After returning to the States, Joe played the Hollywood Casino in Los Angeles and made guest appearances on two radio shows with Crosby, Philco Hall of Fame and Cavalcade of America. He also appeared on radio with Burns and Allen, Andy Russell, Ginny Simms and appeared for 13 weeks on The Fred Brady Show, a summer replacement for Bob Burns. Before joining the Stooges in 1958, he had a major role as the hangman in The Bravados for 20th Century-Fox, which starred Gregory Peck. DeRita ran the gamut in films, as well as making guest appearances on such television shows as The Desilu Playhouse, This Is Alice, and Bachelor Father.Up to this point, Joe DeRita's name was far from a household word. It was his 12-year association with the Three Stooges that catapulted him to stardom. As director Norman Maurer explains, "He was the best Curly replacement the Stooges ever had. Joe was great on adlibs. He was like Curly in several respects, with his weight and his ballet-like grace despite his weight. Joe could do a little shuffle-not quite like Curly-but just as graceful, and it was hard to believe a guy that big was doing it."On the set, however, there were times Curly-Joe had his share of bad days. "Every now and then Joe would become tempermental, but it was a passing thing." Maurer recalls. "In most cases, Joe was a good sport and got the job done."After his career as a Stooge, Curly-Joe led a rather quiet life. Even during his years as a Stooge, Joe recalled that he seldom saw Moe and Larry off the set. "We never socialized much, unless it was a film promotion, a premiere or a business meeting. Moe knew judges, doctors, wealthy people-he had his circle of friends. Larry had his friends. And DeRita recalls: "I knew some people out of Hollywood-friends of mine that I was fond of, and I enjoyed their company. But I didn't go out of my way to meet people."Joe lived in North Hollywood the last part of his life, with his wife, Jean Sullivan, whom he married on December 28, 1966. He spent most of his time reading and watching television, but his favorite pastime was listening to classical music. As to Joe's likes and dislikes: He conisdered Hollywood's three worst actors to be George Raft, Buster Crabbe and Johnny Weismuller. His favorite Stooge's film was The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze (Columbia, 1963). Joe passed away July 3, 1993.