The Comedy of The Three Stooges Will Live Forever

In the early 1920s, comedian Ted Healy (Charles Nash) was struggling to put together a new comedy and acrobatic vaudeville act, following the departure of many of his prior stage partners. He contacted his old friend, with whom he had previously worked, Moe Howard (Harry Horwitz), and Moe joined his new act, as an audience member, called onstage as a "stooge". The were successful with this new comedy routine, and not long thereafter, Moe's brother Shemp (Samuel Horwitz) joined the act, and thereafter did their good friend Larry Fine (Louis Feinberg).

The act went through a series of names, including "A Night in Venice", "A Night in Spain", "New Yorker Nights", "Ted Healy and his Southern Gentlemen", but was finally was renamed "Ted Healy and His Stooges". They all worked together until the early 1930s, when contract and other disputes led the Howards and Fine to leave Healy, who hired a new group of "stooges", but it was Moe, Larry,and Shemp, who started their own act, and for always and thereafter, become known as "The Three Stooges", on stage, in movies, in movie shorts, and decades later to generations of new audiences, on television.

The make-up of the Stooges underwent several additional changes over the years. Moe, Larry,and Shemp actually only stayed together until 1933, when Shemp was replaced by third Howard brother Curly (Jerome Horwitz), and that trio became the best known incarnation of the Stooges.

Unfortunately, Curly suffered a serious stroke in 1946, but Shemp to the rescue, as he rejoined the group. That group continued the antics of the Stooges until Shemp's death in 1955, at which time he was replaced by well-known comedian and actor Joe Besser. Eventually he in turn was replaced by Curly-Joe DeRita (Joseph Wardell), who became the only goy to be a Stooge.

This group performed as the Stooges into the early 1970s, but the end came suddenly, first with Larry's declining health, and then with Moe's death. There were a few unsuccessful attempts to keep the act going with other performers. but with one exception, such efforts never came to fruition. Curly-Joe, however, hired a couple of performers to join him as "The New 3 Stooges", but it was not the same, and soon failed.

Distribution and merchandising battles have occurred repeatedly in the past couple of decades, at times preventing Stooges merchandise from being marketed, and also preventing Stooge shorts from being broadcast on local television. After a mid-90s court battle, merchandising has been primarily in the hands of Stooge grandchildren, and Stooge videos and memorabilia has been readily available in recent years. Stooge shorts have primarily been limited to cable tv broadcasts in recent years, following years of popularity through wide distribution on local tv stations.

Snow White and the Three Stooges
The first and only Three Stooges feature film originally produced in color.

Goofs on the Loose and Stooged & Confoosed 2-Pack)
Goofs On The Loose DVD includes Men In Black, The Sitter Downers, Punch Drunks, and Playing The Ponies. Stooged & Confoosed DVD includes Violent Is The Word For Curly, You Nazty Spy!, No Census, No Feeling, and An Ache In Every Stake.

TNutty But NiceIncludes A Ducking They Did Go, Hoi Polloi, Half-Wits Holiday, Higher Than A Kite, False Alarms, and Nutty But Nice.

75th Anniversary Collection
Pncludes Disorder in the Court, rideless Groom, Malice In The Palace, Sing A Song Of Six Pants, and their last movie (1970) Kook's Tour, plus Three Stooges Photo Album and Booklet.

All the World's a Stooge
Includes Grips, Grunts And Groans, All The Worlds A Stooge, 3 Dumb Clucks, Three Little Pirates, Uncivil Warbirds, Back To The Woods, and Violent Is The Word For Curly.

Cops and Robbers
Includes Calling All Curs, Disorder In The Court, Crime On Their Hands, Who Done It?, Dizzy Detectives, and Flat Foot Stooges.

Curly ClassicsIncludes A Plumbing We Will Go, Men In Black, Micro-Phonies, Punch Drunks, Three Little Pigskins, and Woman Haters.

Dizzy DoctorsIncludes Dizzy Doctors, Termites of 1938, Brideless Groom, Listen, Judge, The Tooth Will Out, and Bubble Trouble.

G.I. StoogeIncludes Boobs in Arm, Back From The Front, G.I. Wanna Go Home, Wee Wee Monsieur, No Dough Boys, and Dizzy Pilots.

The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze
The Three Stooges" version of Jules Verne's classic "Around the World in 80 Days".

Hapless Half-Wits
Includes Beer barrel Polecats, I'll Never Heil Again, Dopey Dick, and Brideless Groom.

Healthy Wealthy & Dumb
Includes, Gents Without Cents, Healthy, Wealthy & Dumb, If a Body Meets a Body, Rockin' Through The Rockies, Phony Express, and Whoops, I'm an Indian.

Merry MavericksIncludes Merry Mavericks, Vagabond Loafers, Out West, Dopey Dicks, Cactus Makes Perfect, and Punchy Cowpunchers.

Stooges at WorkIncludes Booby Dupes, Crash Goes The Hash, Dutiful But Dumb, How High Is Up?, and Three Missing Links.

Stooges on the Run
Includes Dizzy Doctors, Calling All Curs, Disorder In The Court, and Pop Goes The Easel.

Stop! Look! and Laugh!
Features The Three Stooges plus the Marquis Chimps, Paul Winchell, Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smith, and bonus short, A Bird in the Head.

The Outlaws Is Coming
Features The Three Stooges plus Adam West, and bonus short, In Goofs and Saddles.

The Three Stooges in Orbit
Feature film.

Three Stooges in History
Includes Squareheads of the Round Table, I'm a Monkey's Uncle, Restless Knights, Matri-phony, and Fiddlers Three.

The Three Stooges Meet Hercules
Feature film.

The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 1: 1934-1936
The Curly Classics DVD includes A Plumbing We Will Go, Men In Black, Micro Phonies, Punch Drunks, Three Little Pigskins, and Woman Haters. Spook Louder DVD includes Spook Louder, Mummy's Dummies, Shivering Sherlocks, Ghost Talks, Hokus Pokus, and Fright Night. All The World's a Stooge DVD includes Grips, Grunts and Groans, All The World's A Stooge, 3 Dumb Clucks, Three Little Pirates, Uncivil Warbird, Back To the Woods, and Violent is The Word For Curly.

The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 2: 1937-1939
Includes Three Arabian Nuts, Three Little Bears, Three Smart Saps, Three Dark Horses, and Three Loan Wolves. Cops & Robbers DVD includes Calling All Curs, Disorder in the Court, Dizzy Detectives, Flat Foot Stooges, Crime on their Hands, and Who Done It? GI Stooge DVD includes Boobs in Arms, Back from the Front, G.I. Wanna Go Home, Wee Wee Monsieur, No Dough Boys, and Dizzy Pilots.

The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 3: 1940-1942
Includes You Nazty Spy!, Rockin' Thru the Rockies, A Plumbing We Will Go, Nutty But Nice, How High is Up?, From Nurse to Worse, No Census, No Feeling, Cookoo Cavaliers, Boobs in Arms, So Long Mr. Chumps, Dutiful But Dumb, All the World's a Stooge, I'll Never Heil Again, An Ache in Every Stake, In the Sweet Pie and Pie, Some More of Samoa, Loco Boy Makes Good, Cactus Makes Perfect, What's the Matador?, Matri-Phony, Three Smart Saps, Even as IOU, and Sock-a-Bye Baby

The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 4: 1943-1945
Includes They Stooge to Conga, Dizzy Detectives, Spook Louder, Back From The Front, Three Little Twerps, Higher Than A Kite, I Can Hardly Wait, Dizzy Pilots, Phony Express, A Gem Of A Jam, Crash Goes The Hash, Busy Buddies, The Yoke's on Me, Idle Roomers, Gents Without Cents, No Dough Boys, Three Pests In A Mess, Booby Dupes, Idiots Deluxe, If a Body Meets a Body, and
Micro-Phonies

The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 5: 1946-1948
Includes Beer Barrel Polecats, A Bird In The Head, Uncivil Warbirds, 3 Troubledoers, Monkey Businessmen, 3 Loan Wolves, G.I. Wanna Home, Rhythm & Weep, 3 Little Pirates, Half-Wits Holiday, Fright Night, Out West, Hold That Lion!, Brideless Groom, Sing a Song of 6 Pants, All Gummed, I'm A Monkey's Uncle, Shivering Sherlocks, Pardon My Clutch, Squareheads of the Round Table, Fiddler's Three, Hot Scots, Heavenly Daze, Mummy's Dummies, and A Crime on Their Hands

The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 6: 1949-1951
Includes The Ghost Talks, Who Done It?, Hokus Pokus, Fuelin' Around, Malice in the Palace, Vagabond Loafers, Dunked in the Deep, Punchy Cowpunchers, Hugs and Mugs, Do pey Ducks, Love at First Bite, Self-Made Maids, Three Hams on Rye, Studio Stoops, Slaphappy Sleuths, A Snitch in Time, Three Arabian Nuts, Baby Sitters Jitters, Don't Throw That Knife, Scrambled Brains, Merry Mavericks, The Tooth Will Out, Hula La La, and Pest Man Wins

When it came to the Stooges, there was no question: The boss Stooge was Moe.

Moe Howard, born Moses Harry Horwitz in Brooklyn, NY, was known for his "bowl cut" or "Buster Brown" haircut. As a child, he had long, curly shoulder-length locks, thanks to his mother's refusal to trim his hair. The story goes, that Moe, tired of the teasing from friends and classmates, took a mixing bowl, a pair of scissors, and an accomplice to the shed, and created his trademark doo himself.

As is the case for most performers who adopt an onstage moronic persona, Moe was extremely bright, possessing a prolific memory, and a voracious appetite for reading. In later years, his photographic memory served him well as a quick study memorizing lines. Despite his intellect, he caught the show biz bug early, and spent much time both attending theatrical events, and writing, directing, and acting in amateur productions, leading to problems in school, and eventually his dropping out of high school.

Moe's entry into professional show business actually occurred at the age of 12, in 1909, when he became an errand boy at Brooklyn's Vitagraph Studios, and where he obtained small parts in silent movies (unfortunately, a 1910 fire destroyed much of Moe's early film legacy), and where he eventually met Ted Healy. At age 15, Moe appeared onstage with Healy, in Annette Kellerman's aquatic show.

Over the next year, Moe began a singing career with brother Samuel (Shemp), appearing at local saloons, and they even became 1/2 of a popular quartet, with well-known performers Babe Tuttle and Willie O'Connor. When Moe's father learned of the endeavor, however, he put a stop to their late-night activities. Moe was able to escape from his father's hand over the next two summers, though, and joined a troupe performing melodramas on a Mississippi Showboat.

The next few years saw Moe appear in numerous movies, on stage in more melodramas, and tour with Shemp. Moe got married in 1925, to the former Helen Schonberger, who was not a fan of the show biz antics of Moe and his cohorts, and she influenced Moe to go legit, and he actually sold real estate and then opened a retail store, both resulting in failure. He was, though, able to get a foot back onto the stage, by directing plays at the local Jewish Community House.

But, Moe longed for the nuts and bolts of performing, and as described above, Moe reconnected with Ted Healy, leading him and Shemp, and eventually also young violinist Louis Feinberg (Larry Fine), to form the group that eventually was named Ted Healy and His Stooges, and ultimately, sans Healy, The Three Stooges.

The Three Stooges embarked on a successful career doing shorts and movies over the next couple of decades, even weathering Curly's horrible stroke in 1946, by bringing back Shemp. Meanwhile, Moe spent much of his off-camera time involved heavily in charity and philanthropic work, that included serving several terms as President of children's charity organizations, and personally delivering groceries to needy individuals. In addition, Moe was the businessman of the Stooges, in charge of their finances and making all of the group's business decisions.

He still had time, however, for total devotion to his family, lavishing them in all of the worldly goods his successful career was able to provide. Moe and Helen also traveled the world, and the fame of The Stooges resulted in royal-class treatment wherever they ventured. Moe's off-stage interests also included spectator sports, gardening, stamp and coin collecting, and maybe above all else, cooking.

Moe and Helen had two children, and they had been married just short of 50 years when Moe passed away in 1975.

You can purchase Moe memorabilia, such as the Moe Mask
shown at the top of this article, a The Bite ME I'm Moe And I Approve This Message T-Shirt
or a black polyester Moe Tie

3 Stooges 'Moe' Montage This is an AMAZING vintage theatre Montage. At first glance this looks like a picture of Moe but look closer. Its actually 100's of mini-pictures that are 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch with remarkable detail (click on "close up" image). The mini-pictures are of vintage theatre and movie posters from the golden age of theatre including rare pieces, classic shows, vaudeville acts and more. Only $17.99

3 Stooges Attorneys Adult T-Shirt Dewey, Cheatum & Howe classic on a 100% preshrunk cotton with design printed on the front, 5.6 oz with shoulder-to-shoulder tape with a seamless collar, and double needle construction throughout. Various sizes and colors available. $14.95 - $21.90 each.

Three Stooges (Opening Credits) Movie Poster Print - 24" X 36" Classic Stooges poster is perfect for framing or hanging on the wall -- and it makes a great gift. Poster measures approx. 24" x 36" and is perfect, unused, and rolled in a protective tube. Great bargain at only $4.99.

Three Stooges Graduates Life-size Standup Standee Cardboard Cutout Poster This standup of the Three Stooges Graduates is 5 foot 11 inches tall. and is great for media rooms. dens, home bars, parties, offices, stores & any gathering place! Features a photographic quality image that appears on front of heavy corrugated & constructed cardboard body. $29.99.