The Three Stooges was an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared over the act's run : Moe Howard and Larry Fine were mainstays throughout the ensemble's nearly 50-year run; the pivotal "third stooge" was played by Shemp Howard, Curly Howard, Shemp Howard again, Joe Besser, and "Curly Joe" DeRita.
Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone was an American actor, producer, and director of stage, film and television. He was a leading man in the 1930s and early 1940s, and at the height of his career was known for his gentlemanly sophisticate roles, with supporting roles by the 1950s. His acting crossed many genres including pre-Code romantic leads to noir layered roles and World War I films. He appeared as a guest star in episodes of several golden age television series, including The Twilight Zone and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour while continuing to act and produce in the theater and movies throughout the 1960s.
Ted Healy was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. Though he is chiefly remembered as the creator of The Three Stooges and the style of slapstick comedy that they later made famous, he had a successful stage and film career of his own and was cited as a formative influence by several later comedy stars.
Moses Harry Horwitz, better known by his stage name Moe Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the leader of the Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television for four decades. That group initially started out as Ted Healy and His Stooges, an act that toured the vaudeville circuit. Moe's distinctive hairstyle came about when he was a boy and cut off his curls with a pair of scissors, producing an irregular shape approximating a bowl cut.
Louis Feinberg, better known by his stage name Larry Fine, was an American comedian, actor, and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges, and was often called "The Middle Stooge".
Samuel Horwitz, better known by his stage name Shemp Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He was called "Shemp" because "Sam" came out that way in his mother's thick Litvak accent.
Jerome Lester Horwitz, better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He was best known as a member of the American comedy team the Three Stooges, which also featured his elder brothers Moe and Shemp Howard and actor Larry Fine. In early shorts, he was billed as Curley. Curly Howard was generally considered the most popular and recognizable of the Stooges.
Joseph Wardell, known professionally as Joe DeRita, was an American actor and comedian, who is best known for his stint as a member of The Three Stooges in the persona of Curly Joe DeRita.
Soup to Nuts is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film written by cartoonist, sculptor, author, and inventor Rube Goldberg and directed by Benjamin Stoloff. It was the film debut of the original four members who would later, minus Ted Healy, go on to become known as The Three Stooges comic trio. Goldberg made a cameo appearance in the film as himself, opening letters in a restaurant. Several other comedians are also featured.
Have Rocket, Will Travel is a 1959 American science-fiction comedy film released by Columbia Pictures and starring the Three Stooges, consisting of Moe Howard, Larry Fine and new addition Joe DeRita. The film was produced to capitalize on the Three Stooges' late-1950s resurgence in popularity. The supporting cast features Anna-Lisa and Robert Colbert.
Nertsery Rhymes is a 1933 American Pre-Code musical comedy short film starring Ted Healy and His Stooges, released on July 6, 1933 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is the first of five short films the comedy team made for the studio.
Beer and Pretzels is the second of five short films starring Ted Healy and His Stooges released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on August 26, 1933. A musical-comedy film, the film also featured Bonnie Bonnell, Healy's girlfriend at the time.
Bonnie Bonnell was an actress who played "straight woman" in seven early short comedies, most of which featured the Three Stooges when they worked with Ted Healy, between 1933 and 1934.
Hello Pop! is the third of five short films starring Ted Healy and His Stooges released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on September 16, 1933. A musical-comedy film, the film also featured the Albertina Rasch Dancers and Bonnie Bonnell. The film was considered lost until a 35mm nitrate print was discovered in Australia in January 2013. Stooges Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard were billed as "Howard, Fine and Howard."
Time Out for Rhythm is a 1941 musical comedy film directed by Sidney Salkow and starring Rudy Vallée, Ann Miller and the Three Stooges. Six Hits and a Miss perform, as well as Glen Gray and His Casa Loma Orchestra, and Eduardo Durant's Rhumba Band, and with eight original songs by Saul Chaplin and Sammy Cahn.
Plane Nuts is the fourth of five short subjects starring Ted Healy and His Stooges released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on October 14, 1933. A musical-comedy film, the short also featured Bonnie Bonnell as Healy's love interest. The Stooges were billed as "Howard, Fine and Howard."
The Big Idea is the fifth and last of five short films starring Ted Healy and His Stooges released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on May 12, 1934.
Myrt and Marge is a 1933 American pre-Code Universal Studios feature film, starring Myrtle Vail and Donna Damerel. The film is noteworthy today because it co-stars Ted Healy and his Stooges, shortly before the trio split from him and became the Three Stooges. The team included Bonnie Bonnell, who was a short-lived female Stooge.
Roast-Beef and Movies is a short subject starring George Givot, Curly Howard, Bobby Callahan, and the Albertina Rasch Dancers, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) on February 10, 1934. The music is by Dimitri Tiomkin, who was married to Rasch at the time.
The Three Stooges is an American biographical television film about the slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges directed by James Frawley. This television film was entirely shot in Sydney, Australia. It was broadcast on ABC on April 24, 2000.
