Really, I cannot thank him enough. It seems every day I do something, just a little idiotic. And then, to myself, I say “Way to go, Moe,” as I slap my cheeks, or put my hand up sideways in between my eyes.
Yes, my Moe-isms. Some people are Zen. Some are intellectual, athletic, or adventurous. I am mostly Moe. Just yesterday, I was closing a drying rack after doing some laundry. I was having some real trouble folding the thing until I realized I had my shoe wedged in the bottom, keeping it from closing all the way. The shoe was on my foot. Oh, the absolute Moe in me.
Of course, I am talking about the comedian Moe Howard. His real name is Moses Harry Horwitz. He is best known as the go-to leader of The Three Stooges. What an entity they were — a ridiculous comedy team who got their start on the vaudeville stage. It didn’t take long before they were starring in motion pictures and television. Those Stooges performed together for more than forty years.
Funny. They were more than three. Moe Howard, along with Larry Fine were the two steadies through the whole thing. They were Moe, and Larry, respectively, as you might have guessed. The “third Stooge” was played by the actors Shemp Howard, Curly Howard, Joe Besser, and Curly Joe DeRita. Woot.
That Moe was born on June 19, 1897. But today marks the anniversary of his death, having passed away from lung cancer on May 4, 1975. He was 77 years old.
Of course, there is a lot we never knew about Larry, Curly, and Moe.
But first. I seem to run into my fair share of walls. I can’t explain it, but I knock into a wall more often than I’d like to admit. I always say out loud, “Well who put THAT there?” Right before I make my Three Stooges noise. I am more than Moe. I have a good dose of Larry and Curly in me too.
Back to the threesome.
They got their big break when a childhood friend named Ted Healy asked them to be in his vaudeville comedy act in 1922. He wanted those boys to go heavy, heavy, heavy on the slapstick. They toured with Healy for years. But, the Stooges grew tired of his mean spirit and nasty attitude. All of this was probably fueled by Healy’s excessive drinking. Well after 12 years, they parted ways in 1934.
As it turns out, Healy’s volatility caught up to him in 1937. He argued with the wrong guy — mobster Lucky Luciano. And then, he was murdered. No one was ever charged with the crime. But some say Shemp had information about the violent encounter.
Their ties to criminal connections didn’t end there. Although the Stooges seemed clean, the people around them were not. Another example of this was Columbia boss Harry Cohn, having ties to the underworld. Not only that, he was extremely stingy. Despite the Stooges’ incredible popularity, they worked for a total of 23 years for the Columbia Studio. Each and every year, without fail, they were forced to renegotiate their one-year contract. Their boss Cohn said the Stooges’ division of the company was not profitable. Larry, Curly, and Moe believed his nonsense. But more than that, they feared Cohn’s criminal connections. So those funny Stooges worked for a mere pittance most of their careers.
As if being involved with the gangster scene wasn’t enough, it seems that Adolph Hitler wanted them dead. They made a short film called “You Nazty Spy!” in 1940. They made some accidental history by doing so. It was the first American production to openly make a mockery of Adolf Hitler’s regime.
The Führer did not like this one little bit. He listed the Stooges way up top on his own personal death list. I’m not sure who else was on Hitler’s list of people to be killed, but I imagine it was lengthy.
On a lighter note. Their “eye poke” gag was based on a real-life incident. We saw them do it a hundred times at least. Those Stooges would form a “V” with their index and middle fingers. Then, as swift, as could be, they would jab those digits into someone’s eyes. This trademark maneuver was apparently based on a real incident. It happened when the three of them were playing cards. Shemp thought Larry Fine cheated and he go pretty upset by the old ace up the sleeve. So Shemp stood up and poked Larry in both eyes. Good old Moe watched the entire debacle and filed it away for future use onscreen.
And this, is a little bit of the Stooge for you, from the Stooge in me.
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“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”
― Albert Einstein
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“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.”
― Steve Martin
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“Begin at the beginning,” the King said, very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Three. Stooges. And then there is me.
