FANS:

MEMORIES:

PHOTOS:

Cast:

Studio:

Release History:

Slapstick is an enduring comedic form that, when done right, inspires laughter the world over. Many performers engaged in slapstick, such as Charlie Chaplin and Jerry Lewis, using physical contortions and pretend fighting to win laughs. But no other outfit was as successful at the genre than The Three Stooges.

 

The Stooges started in vaudeville, alongside many other early film comedians. Brothers Moe Howard and Samuel "Shemp" Howard worked with Larry Fine and Fred Sanborn, calling themselves The Racketeers. They acted as the sidekicks to comedy star Ted Healy, getting kicked around by Healy in the act.

 

Their first film was released in 1930, called Soup To Nuts. Afterwards, Shemp and Fred left the group to go solo, and a third brother, Jerome “Curly” Howard joined up, along with straight woman Bonny Bonnell.

In 1933, Turn Back The Clock was the second film featuring Ted Healy and his Racketeers. It wasn’t until eight films later, the last in 1934, before Moe, Curly and Larry set off on their own.

 

The Racketeers were replaced with The Three Stooges and Columbia Pictures signed them to a contract for series of comedic shorts that would be shown with feature length films. The Stooges formulaic structure was an immediate hit with audiences. The group would find themselves in a new profession – doctors, lawyers, palace guards, prize fighters – and their crazy antics in these scenarios would leave the crowd in stitches. The shorts also featured “dames” that the boys fell in love with and would end up fighting either for their honor or for the favor of getting hitched to the dame. Sometimes, the shorts took place in other times in history for added comedic effect, such as medieval times (Restless Knights) and the Civil War (Uncivil Warriors).

Each of the characters developed his own personality. Aggressive Moe was the leader, quick to slap the others if they gave him any lip. Larry hated getting into trouble, complaining about the usual array of misfortunes that would befall them. Childish Curly was both innocent and rambunctious with a habit of showing off, and a style that would inspire Lou Costello in his partnership with Bud Abbott.

 

The cartoonish actions of the trio consisted of slapping, poking, and punching each other, often accompanied by Curly’s weird "nyuk-nyuk-nyuk” noises and odd choreography where he would rub his face, stamp his feet, and make barking sounds. The ability to make aggressive behavior non-violent by adding comedy is a theme that continues to be popular today.

 

Moe, Curly and Larry created 97 short films between 1934 and 1947, including popular favorites Hoi Polloi, Violent Is The Word For Curly, In The Sweet Pie and Pie and Micro-Phonies. Lucille Ball made one of her first appearances in Three Little Pigskins. Adolf Hitler was satirized in both You Nazty Spy and I'll Never Heil Again. The Stooges also made a few features, such as Time Out For Rhythm.

In 1946 Curly retired from the group after he suffered a stroke. Brother Shemp took his place, first appearing in 1947's Fright Night. The film had the Stooges working as managers of a prize fighter who gets in trouble with a band of mobsters. Shemp was less crazy than Curly, but his double-takes and classic facial reactions earned him a legion of fans. This new set of Stooges made an additional 80 shorts, including the 3-D films, Spooks and Pardon My Backfire.

 

Then, in 1955, Shemp died of a heart attack, and was replaced with Joe Besser. Their first film together was 1957's Hoofs and Goofs, followed by an additional 16 shorts. Besser wouldn’t allow extreme slapstick in these shorts and they ended up being significantly less violent. Besser would never let Moe hit him in any of these later shorts. After 1959’s Sappy Bullfighters, the group decided to call it quits.

 

But a funny thing happened on the way to the end of their career. Columbia sold their catalog of shorts to television, and they quickly became a hot commodity in children’s programming. The sudden rebirth of The Three Stooges’ popularity resulted in Moe and Larry recruiting an old vaudeville friend, Joe DeRita, to join the group as Curly Joe. Together they produced a feature film called Have Rocket, Will Travel, showing the comedians accidentally getting launched into space and becoming heroes. The film was a hit and the Stooges were back.

The group released a series of features such as Snow White and The Three Stooges and The Outlaws Are Coming, with their final release in 1970 with Kook's Tour. With their business hats firmly in place, the trio filmed wrap-arounds for an animated television series called The New Three Stooges, along with a hefty line of merchandise, and a schedule of personal appearances.

In 1970, the Three Stooges really did retire. But their timeless comedy is going nowhere. Saturday morning's The Three Robotic Stooges showed them as animated computerized crime-fighters. The film Stoogemania incorporated classic footage as it told the story about a man obsessed with The Three Stooges. And their original shorts continue to be staples of television broadcasts, earning them new generations of fans eager for their unique brand of slapstick.