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The Three Stooges were a long-running comedy team, active in various incarnations from 1922 to 1970. Their comedy style involved combinations of physical comedy, slapstick, and farce-like plots. They started out as a vaudeville act and then transitioned to appearances in both film and television.
The group started in 1922 as "Ted Healy and His Stooges." Vaudeville star Ted Healy was the lead actor and Moe Howard served as his noisy assistant. Moe's brother Shemp Howard joined the act months later, and the violinist Larry Fine joined the act c. 1925. All four men appeared together in the feature film "Soup to Nuts." The Fox Film Corporation then offered contracts to Moe, Shemp, and Fine, but not to Healy. Healy prevented the others from signing the contracts, claiming that he owned the legal rights to the act and its comedy routines.
The group suffered from in-fighting over the next several years, and at times split itself to rival teams. In 1932, Shemp quit in protest of Healy's abrasiveness and bad temper. Moe recruited his younger brother Jerry Howard as a replacement, under the stage name of Curly. In 1933, the group signed a movie Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), and they appeared in both feature films and short films for the company. Their contract expired in 1934. Healy was then kicked out of the group, because his alcoholism made him increasingly unreliable as a performer.
In 1934, the group officially renamed themselves to "The Three Stooges." They soon signed a contract with Columbia Pictures for a series of two-reel comedy short subjects. They reportedly each received 600 dollars per week on a one-year contract with a renewable option. They remained with the film studio for the next 23 years, but their contracts with the studio included an open option that had to be renewed yearly. The studio executive Harry Cohn repeatedly denied salary increases to the team, under threat that he would terminate their contracts.
Curly Howard was considered the most popular team member, but his health was in rapid decline throughout 1945. He continued performing, though he was considered a shell of his former self. Curly suffered a debilitating stroke in May 1946, effectively ending his career. Shemp rejoined the group as his replacement, though he was initially under the impression that he would be a short-term guest star in their act. The team made its television debut in 1948, and they frequently appeared as guest stars in television shows over the next several years.
In 1952, Columbia Pictures decided to downsize its short-subject division, firing some key personnel and reducing the available budget for the films. The Stooges were still under contract, but their films declined in both quality and popularity. In November 1955, Shemp died from a sudden heart attack during during a taxi ride. Moe suggested disbanding the group, but Columbia pressured him into making more films.
In 1956, Joe Besser joined the group as Shemp's replacement. He already had a contract with Columbia since 1949, and he was a relatively popular comedian as a solo act. In 1957, Columbia shut down its comedy-shorts unit. The Stooges were effectively fired from the studio in December 1957. Moe and Fine intended to continue the act elsewhere, but Besser decided to leave the group. His wife had recently survived a heart attack, and he intended to nurse her back to health.
In early 1958, Moe and Fine attempted to recruit the former vaudeville performer Paul "Mousie" Garner as Besser's replacement. Garner failed his audition, with Moe finding his performance to be "completely unacceptable." Fine instead suggested the recruitment of the burlesque performer Joe DeRita, who was also a veteran of Columbia's comedy shorts. The new member used the stage name "Curly Joe." The Stooges made several more appearances on television, with team enjoying its popularity in the medium.
In 1959, the Stooges signed a contract with Columbia for a new feature film. After co-starring in the fantasy film "Snow White and the Three Stooges" (1961) for Twentieth Century-Fox, the team appeared in a series of independently-produced children's films. Their new producer was Norman Maurer, Moe's son-in-law. Throughout the early 1960s, the Stooges were one of the most popular and highest-paid live acts in the United States. In 1965, the trio also filmed 41 short comedy skits for the television series "The New 3 Stooges," and they served as voice actors for their animated versions in other episodes of the series.
In late 1969, the Stooges started work on a pilot for their own syndicated television series. In 1970, Fine suffered a paralyzing stroke. This ended his acting career and the plans for a new series. Moe decided to leave the group at this point, spending the next few years as a regular guest in television talk shows. Joe DeRita hired the vaudeville veterans Frank Mitchell and Mousie Garner to appear with him as replacement Stooges. Their act fared poorly, with minimal bookings. Joe DeRita retired at this point, effectively disbanding the group.
