Facts about The Stooges
The Three Stooges Biography
A hugely popular film comedy team of the mid-20th century, The Three Stooges were beloved pioneers of dum-dum slapstick comedy.
The original hit trio were Moe Howard (born Harry Horwitz, 1897-1975), his brother Curly (born Jerome Lester Horwitz, 1903-1952), and Larry Fine (born Louis Feinberg, 1902-1975). Moe was the irritable ringleader, Larry the mop-haired middleman, and Curly the nearly-bald dimwit — although none of the characters was a mental giant. Stooge comedy consisted of slapstick eye-gouging, shin-kicking, head-knocking, and the like, punctuated by Curly’s signature “nyuk-nyuk-nyuk” chuckle.
The group made nearly 200 comedy shorts between 1934 and 1958. The first 97 starred the original trio; after Curly suffered a stroke in 1946, he was replaced by his brother Shemp, then by Joe Besser, and finally by ‘Curly Joe’ De Rita.
Always extremely popular in their day, the Stooges gained a whole new following through TV reruns in the 1960s and ’70s.
Extra credit
Comedy directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly released a movie titled The Three Stooges in 2012. The slap-happy film brought the Stooges into the 21st century, with Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe, Sean Hayes as Larry, and Will Sasso as Curly.