The Three Stooges were 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 comedy. Six total Stooges appeared over the act's run ; Moe Howard and Larry Fine were mainstays throughout the ensemble's nearly 50-year run, while the "third stooge" was played in turn 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 and straight man 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 actor, comedian and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges and was often called "The Middle Stooge".
Shemp Howard was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the third Stooge in The Three Stooges, a role he played when the act began in the early 1920s (1923–1932), while it was still associated with Ted Healy and known as "Ted Healy and his Stooges"; and again from 1946 until his death in 1955. During the fourteen years between his times with the Stooges, he had a successful solo career as a film comedian, including a series of shorts by himself and with partners. He reluctantly returned to the Stooges as a favor to his brother Moe and friend Larry Fine to replace his brother Curly as the third Stooge after Curly's illness.
Jerome Lester Horwitz, better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He was a member of the comedy team The Three Stooges, which also featured his elder brothers Moe and Shemp Howard, as well as 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.
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 1957–1959. He is also remembered for his television roles: Stinky, the bratty man-child on The Abbott and Costello Show, and Jillson, the maintenance man on 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.
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.
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."
Hoi Polloi is a 1935 slapstick comedy short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the tenth entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
An Ache in Every Stake is a 1941 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 57th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Up in Daisy's Penthouse is a 1953 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 144th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Who Done It? is a 1949 short subject directed by Edward Bernds starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 114th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Idiots Deluxe is a 1945 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 85th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Income Tax Sappy is a 1954 short subject directed by Jules White starring the American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 153rd entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
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.
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 comedy television film about the slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges directed by James Frawley. The film was entirely shot in Sydney, Australia. It was broadcast on ABC on April 24, 2000.The film was released on DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in 2012 as part of the Sony Pictures Choice Collection, while it was released on Blu-ray as part of The Three Stooges Collection on August 13, 2024.
