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| Industry | Film television |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Founder | Moe Howard |
| Headquarters | Gardena Ave, Glendale, CA |
Key people | Earl Benjamin (CEO) |
| Products | Motion pictures Television shows |
C3 Entertainment, Inc., formerly Comedy III Productions, [1] is an American entertainment and licensing company founded in 1959 by American comedy act The Three Stooges.
Throughout the Three Stooges' career, Moe Howard acted as both their main creative force and business manager. Comedy III was formed by Moe, Larry Fine and Joe DeRita to manage all business and merchandise transactions for the team, with each stooge holding an equal stake. C3 Entertainment was basically in the background, with Moe's son-in-law, Norman Maurer managing the comedy teams' film interests under Normandy Productions, and merchandising affairs under Norman Maurer Productions. Norman Maurer died of cancer in 1986.
In 1993, Joe (who died while the suit was pending) and Larry's granddaughter filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Moe's daughter Joan Howard Maurer and her son Jeffrey, who had inherited the NMP/Normandy business. The lawsuit alleged that the Maurers had cheated the DeRita and Fine families out of their share of royalties. Maurer was ordered to pay $2.6 million in damages: $1.6 million was for compensatory damages to Jean DeRita, while the remaining $1 million went to Fine's granddaughter. The Fine and DeRita families were represented by California attorney Bela Lugosi Jr. [2]
The resulting 1994 lawsuit led to the reestablishment of C3 as a three-way interest of Fine, Howard, and DeRita. The DeRita heirs received the proxy to the Howard share, giving them majority control on the company's management. Joe DeRita's stepsons, Robert and Earl Benjamin, became the senior management of C3, with Lugosi Jr. serving as an executive board member for several years. The Benjamins later incorporated the company, and C3 is currently the owner of all Three Stooges trademarks and merchandising. Larry's great-grandson Eric Lamond is the representative of the Fines' one-third interest in the company.
C3 also represents other personalities and brands, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, the last of which is authorized through representation by granddaughter Ashlyn Adams, her husband Kevin Ray Adams, and her mother Patty Richardson (widow of son Jay Richardson). [3] Through its stewardship of the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens brands, C3 Entertainment promotes a "Winter Dance Party" tribute band for live concerts, emulating the ultimately fatal concert tour featuring Valens, the Big Bopper and Buddy Holly.
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.
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 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".
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."
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.
The New 3 Stooges is an American animated television series that ran during the 1965–66 television season starring the Three Stooges. The show follows the trio's antics both in live-action and animated segments. The cast consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Joe DeRita, with actor and close friend Emil Sitka co-starring, as well as Margaret Kerry. The stories took place in varied settings, including Newport Beach and sailing as buccaneers on the Spanish Main.
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 on The Abbott and Costello Show, and Jillson, the maintenance man on The Joey Bishop Show.
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.
Kook's Tour is an American comedy television film produced in 1969. It was the final film to star the Three Stooges and was originally intended as the pilot for a television series. However, on January 9, 1970, before filming was completed, Larry Fine suffered a severe stroke, paralyzing the left side of his body. When it became clear that Fine was not expected to recover fully from the stroke, production of the series was cancelled and the Kook's Tour pilot film was shelved.
Norman Albert Maurer was a comic book artist and writer, and a director and producer of films and television shows.
The Three Stooges In Orbit is a 1962 American comedy science fiction film directed by Edward Bernds. It is the fourth feature film to star the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita. Released by Columbia Pictures and produced by Normandy Productions, The Three Stooges in Orbit was directed by long-time Stooge director Edward Bernds, whom Moe later cited as the team's finest director.
The Three Stooges Meet Hercules is a 1962 American comedy fantasy film directed by Edward Bernds. It is the third feature film to star the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita. Released by Columbia Pictures, The Three Stooges Meet Hercules was directed by long-time Stooges director Edward Bernds. It was the most financially successful of the Stooges' feature films.
The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze is the fifth feature film made by The Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita. Directed by Howard's son-in-law Norman Maurer, the film was loosely based on the Jules Verne classic Around the World in Eighty Days.
The Outlaws Is Coming is the sixth and final theatrical comedy starring The Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita. Like its predecessor, The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze, the film was co-written, produced and directed by Moe's son-in-law, Norman Maurer. The supporting cast features Adam West, Nancy Kovack, and Emil Sitka, the latter in three roles.
The Robonic Stooges is a Saturday morning animated series featuring the characters of The Three Stooges in new roles as clumsy crime-fighting cyborg superheroes. It was developed by Norman Maurer and produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions from September 10, 1977, to March 18, 1978, on CBS and contained two segments: The Robonic Stooges and Woofer & Wimper, Dog Detectives.
Stone Age Romeos is a 1955 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 163rd entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Three Little Pirates is a 1946 short subject directed by Edward Bernds starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 96th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Star Spangled Salesman is a 1968 short film produced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to promote the sale of Savings Bonds.
Three Stooges Scrapbook is an unaired 1960 television pilot starring The Three Stooges. In the opening title and Hollywood trade ads, the show's title is spelled without "The," including a promotional photograph of the Stooges holding an oversized scrapbook. The pilot featured the slapstick trio getting evicted from a rooming house for cooking in their apartment, looking for a new place to live, finding refuge in the home of a mad inventor, and presenting an animated short called The Spain Mutiny that imagines the funnymen as part of Christopher Columbus’ crew.
Yogi Bear and the Three Stooges Meet the Mad, Mad, Mad Dr. No-No is a 1966 comedy album produced and released by Hanna-Barbera Records. The album presents the Three Stooges as inept park rangers who are called upon to rescue Yogi Bear after he is kidnapped by Dr. No-No, a nefarious scientist who invented a machine that turns people into animals. This was the final album recorded by the Three Stooges.
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