The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 200 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.
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.
Paul Albert "Mousie" Garner was an American actor. Garner earned his nickname by assuming the role of a shy, simpering jokester. He was one of the last actors still doing shtick from vaudeville, and has been referred to as "The Grand Old Man Of Vaudeville."
Jerome Lester Horwitz, known professionally as 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.
Joe Besser was an American actor, comedian and musician, known for his impish humor and wimpy characters. He is best known for his brief stint as a member of The Three Stooges in movie short subjects of 1957–59. He is also remembered for his television roles: Stinky, the bratty man-child in The Abbott and Costello Show, and Jillson, the maintenance man in The Joey Bishop Show.
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.
This is a complete list of short subjects and feature films that featured The Three Stooges released between 1930 and 1970.
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.
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."
Gold Raiders is a 1951 comedy Western film starring George O'Brien and The Three Stooges. The picture was O'Brien's last starring role and the only feature film released during Shemp Howard's 1947–55 tenure with the trio.
Frank Mitchell was an American film actor. He appeared in over 70 films between 1920 and 1980.
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."
A Night in Spain is a musical revue with a book by Harold R. Atteridge, music by Jean Schwartz and lyrics by Al Bryan. Additional music and lyrics were contributed by Phil Baker, Sid Silvers and Ted Healy. The revue was presented on Broadway in 1927 for a total of 174 performances.
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.
