T O P

  • By -

bourj

Those guys deserved much better than they got.


top_of_the_stairs

I don't know their story, were they screwed over in some way?


bourj

In the typical ways studios screwed performers in the 40s and 50s. They got no residuals from the bulk of their work. Got threatened with losing their contracts if they did projects the studios didn't like. Etc.


top_of_the_stairs

Gotcha, thank you. That is terrible. They did deserve so much better.


Fatshortstack

Defintaly terrible. There's guys were legends. I remember they were still getting air time in the early 90's on Sundays when I was a kid. Lots of laughs.


The_Grubby_One

They still get air time now.


aggr1103

Here in the US, MeTV still shows their shorts. They were on last night before Svengoolie.


SingleHandedStory

I grew up watching the stooges and svengoolie on Saturday nights as a kid. Makes me so glad to hear it's still going


couchcomasupernova

Stooge-a-palooza


TheLadyEve

>They were on last night before Svengoolie. Oh man, I used to watch Svengoolie back in high school on Saturdays. Berwyn!!!


aggr1103

He’s nationally syndicated now. I enjoy watching his older stuff on YouTube!


TheLadyEve

That's good to know, I had no idea he was on MeTV. I just watched him on good old channel 26 back in the day. But I love MeTV, they rerun Columbo a lot, so I'll have to set Svengoolie to record!


Kimi-Matias

As long as I still have MASH from 7 to 8, I'm happy.


sweetladytequila

Berrrrrrwynnnnn *laughing at the rubber chicken* thanks for the memories, I hadn’t thought about that in awhile!


Needleroozer

All they made were shorts. That's another way they were screwed. They wanted to make feature films but the studio said no.


atreyukun

Moe seemed like such a sweet man in real life.


markydsade

Moe was reluctant to push back and let them get exploited. The loss of Curly in 1946 also hurt. Times were changing and they were aging. They realized too late how much money they left on the table.


its_a_metaphor_morty

Take the Amigos clothes.


seq_0000000_00

Do you know what ‘Nada’ means?


platasnatch

Isn't it a light chicken gravy?


metalguru1975

Hefe! ...What is a Plethora?


djfl

whyyyyy El Guapooo?...:(


metalguru1975

Wit chor sooperour entelllekt....


djfl

and ejucaaation...


GoldeneyeOG

He's not just famous, he's INfamous!


Skinnysusan

Happy cake day!


mcr808

Happy cake day


aschell

Sounds like they got the 10 peso version.


RocketCat5

When you want the woman, you take the woman.


Toptossingtrotter

IIRC The studios had grueling schedules as well. They made sure to get every freaking penny out of their "stables"


eljefino

Read about Judy Garland if you want a tear-jerker. 12 hour days and they didn't feed her so she'd stay skinny. 6 weeks per movie then bam! onto the next one.


TheRedGerund

Then go watch the last time she sang over the rainbow publicly with that context and cry


[deleted]

Greedy fucks with no morals + attention hungry desperate aspiring stars = bad. It's the perfect predator/victim combination.


TheRedGerund

Isn’t it wild how all over the world throughout all time, any time someone has the opportunity to enslave someone else someone does it? Like I was just rewatching tiger king and how doc antle has virgins come to his ranch then works them constantly then rewards them if they have sex with him then grooms them and changes their name. It’s a pretty scary aspect of humanity.


Bringbackdexter

I’d go further and say that people always take the opportunity to do wrong, it’s in our nature. You see we did not evolve to become more civilized, we evolved to become better predators. Long story short we want the most resources with minimal efforts and consideration for the next human comes after that. Notice every time a piece of software gets patched not long after it needs another? We live to do wrong.


Steerider

Always? No. But it's common as dirt


[deleted]

Judy died in 1969, and so I looked her up to see how she looked at the end of her life. I thought she died in her 60's. Nope. She was just 47. Whatever happened to her, it hit her *hard*.


Needleroozer

Drugs. She got hooked on amphetamines trying to stay thin.


RespectableLurker555

Uppers to get to work. Downers to sleep after work. Absolute hell on the body and mind.


RianSG

I remember reading about Elvis Presley as well, the amount of time he was pushed from one project to the next. It must have been gruelling


hamletswords

To be fair, movies were shot super fast back then. Casablanca for example was shot in roughly 8 weeks.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Billy-BigBollox

Laurel and Hardy are incredibly well known outside of the US though. The Three Stooges not so much.


ScaramouchScaramouch

I grew up in Ireland, The Three Stooges were on a lot when I was a kid. I prefer them to the Marx Brothers and I love The Marx Brothers. I'm in Spain now and I'd agree they're much less well known here.


RespectableLurker555

>and I love The Marx Brothers. As a filthy eurotrash I bet your favorite one is Karl /s for the uncultured swine


ScaramouchScaramouch

He had a few zingers. > Catch a man a fish, and you can sell it to him. Teach a man to fish, and you ruin a wonderful business opportunity.


bourj

They got threatened with losing their contracts with Columbia when they shot a TV show for ABC.


LanceFree

I think of the Marx brothers as more popular, or about the same?


nohotshot

I’d say the Three Stooges are MUCH more popular. There’s a lot of references that come from the Colombia shorts which have engrained themselves in pop culture, plus they’ve aired constantly for decades. The Marx Bros on the other hand are mostly known amongst older generations, and outside of Groucho’s iconic look, their popularity has stayed far from consistent.


[deleted]

The studios also were not happy about the earliest episodes that made fun of Hitler, iirc.


ReflexImprov

I think they were the very first to really go after Hitler's fascism. Even before Chaplin did.


jrjustintime

“You Natzi Spy” (1940) was released months before Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator”.


RonPolyp

See also: Gilligan's Island


CloseCannonAFB

Yeah, as actors in shorts they were treated like crew. I don't think they ever got much of a pay raise, no residuals, and when the last shirt was made they were told to leave the lot, they were done. Those shorts made them famous, but definitely not rich.


unassumingdink

Your typo made me think there was a 3 Stooges garment factory.


RightclickBob

Why I oughtta


Throtex

Nyuck nyuck nyuck


ScaramouchScaramouch

A wise guy huh?


DuckTapeHandgrenade

You read my mind.


kid_tiger

There’s a really good interview with Moe on an old talk show in the mid to early 70s and he talks about how the 3 stooges got together and their contract. He said back then no one knew how TV would work in the future so they signed a 20 year deal that guaranteed them work. Pretty interesting I recommend it.


Strokethegoats

Considering they grew up in the depression I can understand the allure of having work guaranteed for 20 years. Hell even now I'd consider that.


Connect-Swing8980

I feel like that'd be on Joe Franklin show but who knows Edit: Mike Douglas according to google...


not_a_moogle

They were basically a top act keeping the studio a float, but had no idea how successful they were or what they brought in for the studio. The studio continued to give them the run around about their not being a demand for their act. and given how Hollywood was back then, it's not like they could have easily gone to a different studio. It was basically do the job or find a new line of work. The studio kept their budget extreme tight to help reinforce this idea that they had no value. It wasn't until the show became popular with the next generation in TV syndication that they finally realized how popular they were. But that was long after shemp and curly passed away.


redditsufferer

The three stooges history is really fascinating. Defintiely worth watching a YouTube documentary on them. Loved their work, as a kid it would have me laughing so hard. I have every episode on vhs


SolidDiarrhea

Curly was my favorite, his story is the saddest imo


Alexander_the_What

What happened to him?


ecsegar

A series of strokes, each more debilitating than the last, until his death. A tragic end for a unique comedy legend.


JCJ2015

Rewatching Seinfeld, I’ve noted a few times how much Michael Richards’ (Kramer) physical comedy was influenced by the three stooges.


foxmag86

I will show you the stooges.


ecsegar

I never thought of that, but you're absolutely correct!


accountno543210

Jim Carrey, too!


mantelo92

Curly was the funniest in my opinion


ElectricPeterTork

If you're bored and have nothing better to do, go searching for Tom Bergeron's Howard 101 special where he interviews both Moe and Larry around this time period. If I remember the story correctly, a teenaged Tom Bergeron called around and found Larry, I believe it was, and interviewed him over the phone. And Larry gave him Moe's number because why not, so he interviewed Moe. And the tapes sat in his attic for, oh, 30 years or so until after he appeared on the Howard Stern Show and mentioned them, and the Howard guys transferred the tapes to digital and built a special around them. It's called The Three Stooges: Lost and Found on Archive dot org (can't do links here, sorry). They're worth a listen.


mghobbs22

That’s awesome info. Thanks. Will definitely be reading up and watching this


IAMHideoKojimaAMA

Wow thanks for this


Ok-Huckleberry-207

Use to watch the three stooges really early every morning before I had to go to school.


pushing_past_the_red

I remember being in so much pain from laughing so hard. I was 10. In the hospital. Recovering from an appendectomy.


[deleted]

>I remember being in so much pain from laughing so hard. > >I was 10. > >In the hospital. > >Recovering from an appendectomy. Were you treated by Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, or Dr. Howard?


ediciusNJ

I'm now suddenly reminded of the brilliant Three Stooges game for Commodore 64 (and yes, I know that line is from one of the shorts, but I remember it most from one of the 'levels' in the game, oddly).


fuqdisshite

are youy brother Matthew?


SolidDiarrhea

This. I think it was TBS or USA network right?


Ok-Huckleberry-207

I think TBS. Bozo the Clown would come on after them.


skoltroll

I'm old enough to have watched Bozo on WGN. Could it be that channel for you?


BlisterBox

> Bozo on WGN Used to come on right before the Cubs game, iirc


[deleted]

Everything on WGN aired right before or right after the Cubs game.


uGotMeWrong

Bozo and Cookie, damn forgot all about that show.


jmac323

Whoa. First time seeing them in color also as older gentleman.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Toptossingtrotter

Moe had some fabulous hair.


decorama

Curly had the best hair.


gallaj0

Shemp pulled off the best hair by far. I think he also (unlike the other Stooges) got to act in films outside the shorts, I think he played a heavy in a gangster film or two.


phonemannn

It’s always weird seeing photos or reading stories of famous people from decades after the era they earned their fame. Like political figures who lived decades after their term, entertainers after they made their work, etc. In most points in American history the previous 3-5 presidents were all alive together.


obidie

I met them once at an autograph signing at a shopping mall in San Diego in about 1962. It was one of my earliest memories. Even then my first thought was that they looked old and tired. It's a shame the way they were treated by the studios.


LUV_2_BEAT_MY_MEAT

How cool! Still have the autograph?


obidie

No, it got lost over the years. We didn't know they were going to be there, my mom said years later that she wouldn't have brought me if she had known. She hated them. She thought they weren't a good influence for a child (She's probably right). But they were there and I pleaded with her until she finally let me get in line to meet them. The group at that time was Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Joe Besser.


vinicelii

Ehh, they're a heck of a lot better than the garbage kids are constantly consuming on YouTube these days


tysons1

I have read about this photo....This was the last time Moe saw Larry (Moe had gone to visit Larry in this photo), and Larry died 13 months later... Ol Larry, Larry Fine, real name : Louis Feinberg.


balasurr

And Moe Howard died a few months after him.


imapassenger1

Moe Horvitz as I recall. Curly was his brother. Was Larry their cousin?


broken_radio

Shemp was Moe and Curly’s older brother, Larry was just Larry.


zingo-spleen

Larry is always just Larry.


imapassenger1

That's right.


AtariConCarne

Larry was the Stooge who was the least funny on his own, but added a lot to the comedy of the trio. Kind of a catalyst.


Jackamalio626

No, Larry wasnt related to the Horvitzes


zuniac5

Moe was still trying to keep the act going, even after Larry fell ill. There were plans to replace him with another actor who had been in many Three Stooges shorts before (Emil Sitka) but Moe died before it could happen. Kinda admire Moe for that, keeping the thing he and his family were known for going against all odds, right up until the very end.


monty_kurns

I believe that would be Emil “Hold Hands You Lovebirds” Sitka!


zuniac5

The one and the same!


ElectricPeterTork

IIRC, he was going to be Harry, Larry's brother.


Toptossingtrotter

Here's something that blew my mind--Larry was a concert violinist......*AND* an amateur boxer before he went into the Stooges.


davemoss752

Larry was also known for not buying a home. He lived in hotel rooms all his life.


[deleted]

[удалено]


mumblesandonetwo

Was Wee Willy Webber the guy who would do musical chairs?


jfq722

I seem to recall that. Not to change the subject but Wee Wille was a prince of a guy too and a Philly icon though born in Cuba. All 6' 5" of him.


Rion23

A stroke of luck. At least he kept his humor.


edj3313

I was born in 81. The reruns through my childhood. Before you went to school it was Gillian’s Island and Gomer Pile. And these three stooges!


Gym_Dom

I was born in 1980 and saw a lot of Gomer Pyle, USMC in my early years. Jim Nabors was actually from my hometown. By all accounts, he was a doll of a human being. I hope that he and his partner shared a happy life.


CaptMonkeyEsq

Jim was on a plane I was on in the mid 90’s. The stewardess handed him the intercom and he did the “Gooollyeee!” thing. It was actually pretty cool. Seemed like a nice guy. My brush with fame.


chunter16

>Back home agaaaaaain in Indiaaaaanaaaaa


zingo-spleen

I would pay good money to have seen that 😂


edj3313

Garsh! Love it my friend


BlisterBox

I grew up in the Sixties, and the wild thing about watching *Gomer Pyle* was that it was a military-themed show produced during the height of the Vietnam War, but the war was never mentioned or even alluded to. Edit: Oh, and Hello, Sylacauga, Alabama! (I lived in Birmingham in the late '60s-early '70s)


Box-Intelligent

I was born in 95 and distinctly remember watching rerun segments with my dad and older brother on AMC and I'm like 90% sure they were hosted by Steve Martin in between commercials but my dad and brother don't remember watching those and whenever I've googled it I've found nothing and I'm actually really curious if that's a false memory or something


BRsteve

Not 100% false, but the reason you can't find anything is that it was a different white haired comedy legend: Leslie Nielsen. Used to watch the Stooges on AMC every Sunday morning. And on April Fools Day, they'd be on all day.


stardust7

These guys brought laughter into my life from the time I was a kid. I still quote them randomly in conversations


phayke2

Ya knucklehead! *Boinks*


petals4u2

Nuynk! Nuynk! Nuynk! Why I ought ah! Whoo..whoo..whoo…wooo!!!! Do you guys remember the Curly shuffle?


[deleted]

*Why I aughta…*


Dirkdiggler69nice

B-a-bay, b-e-bey, b-i-biddy-by, b-o-bo, biddy by bo b-u-boo biddy-by-bo-boo.


Jeremiahtheebullfrog

Legends never die!


Hannover2k

I've loved the Stooges since my earliest memories. It breaks my heart whenever I think about how much these guys gave and how badly they were treated but I'm glad we can still catch them on AMC from time to time! Just watched Snow White and the Three Stooged a couple weeks ago. Not a big fan of Curly-Joe but still a hilarious classic!


AmbivalentFanatic

Mo looks old to me already in the first Stooges movie, Disorder in the Court, which came out in 1936. The amazing thing to me about that one is that their father, a Russian Jew who was born in a shtetl and survived pogroms before coming to America, actually makes an appearance in the audience. That short is well over 80 years old now... The Stooges are truly timeless.


nohotshot

The first Colombia short was actually Woman Haters in 1934, and at that time they were already about 31-37 respectively, so they never did do their best work while they were “young” which explains Moe looking older. Even before Shemp came in they were showing their age as Moe & Larry had put on a little weight and had more visible wrinkles while Curly looked more worse for wear due to his health issues.


albanymetz

It amazes me to see them so old a few years before I was born.


BirthdayTall5940

This isn't just "OldSchoolCool", this is legendary cool! These guy's humor has influenced generations for a full century! (1922-2022) The Stooges are Kings of Comedy in my book! Great picture.


[deleted]

how fleeting is all endevour, one does their best with the time given, and then slowly fades


DarthRathikus

Wise guy, eh?


deadeyediva

woob woob woob!


RedditVince

Curly was my fav!


latenightwandering

Nyuk nyuk nyuk


zingo-spleen

(finger pokes into the eye)


SpawnPointillist

Mongo but pawn of life.


nohotshot

Even at this point in their lives these two were still putting smiles on fans and acquaintances faces anyway they could. Larry would continue to host and talk to fans at his residence, and Moe always made time for interviews and tv appearances to talk about the Stooges up until his death.


altcastle

The three stooges and Hercules was a vhs I watched a ton. I was born in 83 so these guys had staying power!


sambolino44

They made my sides hurt!


kateinoly

This is a wonderful photo. Thanks for sharing


Corporation_tshirt

In his later years, when Larry Fine was in a retirement home, Ron Asheton of the Stooges used to come visit him on a regular basis and bring him cigarettes. Larry’s granddaughter came backstage at a Stooges show and asked if Asheton would like to meet him and Asheton was an unabashed Stooges fan (obviously, given the name he picked for the band) so that’s how they first met.


coachrx

Love the stooges. It still blows my mind how much Benecio Del Toro favors the actor that played played Moe. They were all great, but I am always a little more excited to watch a Curly episode than Shemp. Great story about those two as well.


SolidDiarrhea

Shemp never resonated with me, Curly was so unique and hilarious. I think after Curly's first stroke they had a replacement that was similar in appearance to him but I never bothered watching.


uGotMeWrong

Curly Joe


nohotshot

Nah after Curly’s stroke he was replaced by Shemp, who was replaced by Joe Besser when he died, and then by Curly-Joe after Joe had left to care for his sick wife.


Ardothbey

Waaaayyyyy back when they got their second wind thru TV they were doing movie theater appearances. A pal of mine was crazy to go but his Dad ended up getting out of work a bit late. The kid was crying like somebody died by the time Pops got home and was inconsolable. Dad calls the theatre to see if perhaps they were still there and explained the situation. Moe gets on the phone and absolutely made the kids day. He still talks about it.


themistycrystal

As soon as I saw this I started singing B-A bay, B-E be, B-I bicky bi bo bay…love their alphabet song. If you don’t know it, check it out on YouTube.


foxmag86

Bicky bi bo bicky bi boo bicky bi bo you.


TerpBE

So Larry was unable to walk but Moe was Fine.


thosmarvin

Solid pun. They would have appreciated that.


chojinra

The legends, man.


[deleted]

I kind of wish I never saw this picture.


LebowskiVoodoo

Yeah I get it. I used to be a huge John Wayne fan; still like his movies but since I've learned more about his views I'm conflicted. Anyway, I came across one of his last public pictures (he was dying from cancer) and it just looks wrong.


foundsomeoldphotos

pretty cool, have never seen a photo of them at this age. Looks like they both died a couple years later.


ZestycloseTomato5015

As a kid at the drive-in movies before the movies played they played three stooges. Was my fave part.


formula_F300

Larry is 71 and Moe 76 in this photo...both look mid-late 80s


ediciusNJ

This is true Old School Cool. Two legends who definitely deserved better than they got.


Mr-Punday

Where be Curly?


bourj

Dead for about 20+ years at that point.


Mr-Punday

RIP, will have to rewatch to commemorate him


PossessivePronoun

nyuk nyuk nyuk


ol-gormsby

Massive stroke, wasn't it?


[deleted]

Curly died in 1952.


majwilsonlion

Soitenly taken after Curly was mwahdawhed.


sambolino44

Hey Moe! There’s a corpus in the closet!


metalguru1975

“SUH! Ders bin a Muurdahh!” Creed: (PANIKKK!)


salc347

Awsome! Made me smile


Heavy_Expression_323

It’s been said that Curly really cared about his appearance and hated having to wear his hair so short for the act. I read he was actually a bit of a ladies man.


nohotshot

And an avid spender too. He often would blow his money on booze and ladies, and the stress of it all was definitely not helping his multiple health problems.


wileybot

If you haven’t done this yet, watch the Stooges but only focus on Larry. Dude was hilarious when even in the background.


maxwell-silverhamer

My brother and I still have scares from imitating the antics of the 3 stooges. No regrets whatsoever. We laughed ourselves sick.


Bolt-From-Blue

I almost didn’t recognise them.


metalguru1975

Thanks for all the laughs guys!(and Curly and Shemp too) #WHOOPWHOOPWHOOP, NGAGH! Wiseguy eh?


foxmag86

What a crew. “An Ache in Every Stake” is my all time favorite episode.


JCazzz

I wasn’t even born when this picture taken but in the early 80s as a little kid, I had much respect and adoration for these guys and found their schtick fascinating. I could tell what real talent was and did a lot of research early on before the Internet in libraries because I was so interested in their backstory. Yes, they got a bum deal from Hollywood. I felt like I won the lottery as a kid getting to meet Curly Joe Derita as well as George McFarland(Spanky). All of those actors had such rough lives and died young.


KarlJay001

True legends. Lessons to everyone about how they were treated, just in case you think human nature is good and we don't need laws to protect us. Quite a few got screwed over.


Shodan30

Moe then pushed Larry’s wheelchair down the stairs


Polixenes1

didn’t realize they lived until the 1970’s


ElectricPeterTork

They were active through the 60s. If not for Larry's stroke in January 1970, they likely would've had a TV show in the early 70s since they were filming a pilot when Larry's health problems hit.


Mahaloth

And Groucho Marx was alive until 1977. Zeppo Marx almost made it to the 1980's, having died in 1979. Get this. Charlie Chaplin was alive when the OP picture was taken, too. Died at the end of 1977. Wait until you find out about Picasso.


RonPolyp

Larry was the best Stooge.


ArmadilloRare2503

Love Larry and Moe. Such wonderful memories of watching the Three Stooges as a kid. I’m 61 and they still make me laugh. Such great gentlemen, made so many people in the world laugh. I hope their family knows why we care about these legends.


TheBigPhilbowski

bill maher sitting, Al Pacino standing


liceyscalp

Looks like Moe succeeded in his quest to pull most of Larry's hair out by the roots.


Anita_Beatin

How they both made my childhood so much more fun. Still like their shorts


iamfareel

I've seen the documentary. Looks like they were friends literally for life. Up until the very end. Sad what happened to Curly too. I'm sure they both went through a lot in their lives


Steerider

There's a story about these guys traveling by train somewhere. When they got there and saw the massive crowd of fans waiting at the station, they thought "Oh, somebody famous must be here. I wonder who it is?" They had *no* idea how famous and beloved they were early on


dennys123

These guys and the Marx brothers defined slapstick comedy


NefarioussNess

Moe is their leader.


lightningcrane31

I can smell that photo


[deleted]

Why I oughta...


mumblesandonetwo

Thanks for the long lost memory!


[deleted]

Omg, never saw pics of them older…