Hello, all!
I have decided to keep it light and airy this week, and short and sweet, because I know I shall be discussing some heavy-hitting topics this fall. Oh I don’t know, like the current CARTEL/CABAL U.S. ADMINISTRATION! To name a few! 🤣😂
So, today I am choosing to discuss my love of The Three Stooges and other things that I seemed to have returned to either from childhood, my teen years or young adulthood. And why.
So, without further ado, introducing all of the Stooges: Moe Howard, Curly Howard, Shemp Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser and Curly Joe.
I was first introduced to The Three Stooges when I was a child, of course. I immediately fell in love with them. The first three appearing in the original shorts were Moe, Larry and Curly. Then it was Moe, Larry and Shemp. Later it became Moe, Larry and Joe Besser. And finally, Moe, Larry and Curly Joe for the movies and the cartoons.
They were simply HIGH-LARIOUS! Curly and his crazy antics and woo woo woo’s brought many laughs, and Moe slapping him and slapping Larry, too.
The zaniness continued when Shemp came along. Shemp’s nuttiness and vocal tics – hebehebehebe’s along with Moe’s perpetual bossiness and Larry just standing there either observing or falling victim to the arguments between Moe and/or Curly and Shemp. All of the insanity kept me LOLing! 🤣🤣🤣
It’s hard to explain the appeal, because at first glance people could say that Moe is a bully and has anger issues. But it just works, because to me it is simply absurd for him to just get mad and pop off like that. A slap here, an eye poke there. And sometimes Moe used hard, blunt and even dangerous objects to get his point across. However, Moe also got his in return either from one of the other Stooges or the silly circumstances the boys were involved in.
To give a little background, Moe Howard, Jerome “Curly” Howard, and Samuel “Shemp” Howard were brothers in real life, all born with the surname of Horwitz, which they later changed for the act. Shemp was the elder of the other two, then Moe, and Curly was the baby. There was another brother, who was not a part of the act. Larry Fine was of no relation.
And what a lot of people don’t know is that Shemp was actually one of the original stooges along with Moe and Larry. Not only that, but Ted Healey headed the trio as Ted Healey and HIS Stooges. Then Shemp wanted to go solo, and then in stepped his younger brother Curly. Moe, Larry and Curly got out from under Ted Healey, who later died. And that is the trio we were introduced to as kids – Moe, Larry and Curly.
And what a lot of people may not know is that Curly actually had a full head of beautiful CURLY hair, hence the name. However, Moe and Larry convinced him to shave his head to give him a unique look versus Moe’s bowl haircut and Larry’s frizzy, afro-like hair.
Speaking of Larry’s afro – 🤣🤣😂, that really wasn’t the way his hair was normally styled. After taking a shower, the group noticed how frizzy and unkempt his hair was, and they convinced him to keep it that way for the act.
Anyway, after more than a decade of performing together, unfortunately, Curly suffered a series of strokes and was, therefore, unable to perform, and Shemp stepped back in. You can even notice Curly’s decline in the last several shorts he appeared. His speech was slower. His voice had dropped into a lower octave. And he was even thinner. It was very sad.
I think my favorite Stooge from childhood was Curly. And I really liked Moe. But now my fave Stooge is Larry. And I am not the only one who feels that way. There are PLENTY of fans who now watch Larry and his facial expressions and reactions to the other two. Not to mention the fact that Larry has a LOT of funny moments of his very own.
Okay, so let’s just discuss the elephant in the room with regard to any Stooge fan. And that is Joe Besser.
So, a LOT of Stooge fans cannot stand Joe Besser. Joe Besser actually had a solo career before he became a stooge. And you can find his shorts (along with Shemp’s) on YouTube. Apparently, he was adamant when he became a Stooge, that he did NOT want to get hit. Well, if you become a Stooge, that is a HUGE part of it. Moe is gonna hit you. And sometimes Larry, too. As a matter of fact, Larry offered to step in and take the brunt of the blows. And for me, that is one of the reasons I am not a Joe Besser fan. I mean, he’s “okay.” But definitely not my favorite stooge. Over time, he did take some of the hits, and he did have some funny moments. But I think maybe Moe or Columbia, I am not sure, wanted to recapture some of the original Curly magic. And went in the direction of someone who was heavyset like Curly. But it just didn’t work.
Though I will give Joe Besser his props. He played his part as more effeminate and prissy, I suppose, to really be different from the other Stooges, past and present. Some of his schtick was actually pretty funny, such as his trademark “not so loud!” Or “I oughta give you the hot face!” whenever he was smoking a cigar or cigarette.
And Curly Joe I flat out do not like! He said some things about the Stooges I just didn’t appreciate, saying they weren’t that funny. So, he can piss off.
The Curly Joe era ushered in a plethora of Stooge movies. So, that I am definitely okay with, just not with him. As a matter of fact, there were a lot of Stooge cartoons during that time. And the Stooges ended up with a whole new generation of fans!
They had become so popular, that they were even going to star in their own television series! Unfortunately, they filmed just the pilot, and it didn’t go anywhere. I believe there were two attempts at this, once when Shemp was a part of the group. And then later with Curly Joe.
But anyhoo, I rediscovered The Stooges during the pandemic. I’m pretty sure it was first through YouTube, and then I realized that MeTV does a Stooge marathon on Saturdays from 6-8 p.m. And now I just can’t get enough of them, to the point of actually purchasing the entire DVD set of the shorts – not the movies with Curly Joe as most of them are already on YouTube. But so are the Stooge shorts, but someone would put them up and then take them back down. And I just got sick of that and decided to buy my own.
And to cinch the deal, I even purchased a brand-new Blu-ray player! 🤣😂
The Stooges give me so much pleasure and laughs!! I HAVE to watch them EVERY DAY!! Whether I am working from home or not, the Stooges are going to be on at some point during the day AND night for me!
And believe you me, there are a legion of Stooge fans out there. As a matter of fact, I am subscribed to a couple of Stooge fan pages on Facebook. Also, some of the Stooges’ own relatives, particularly the Stooge grandsons, sons and great-grandsons have a Stooge channel on YouTube where they perform as their predecessors and post and show Stooge clips. They even post the shorts in order, as well as the cartoons! The Stooges are simply going to live FOREVER! And that is just fine by me.
Now, I have to mention some other returns from yesteryear, some of which also got restarted during the height of the pandemic and shutdown and some most recently.
I have mentioned my return to reading Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys, treasured books I enjoyed as a child. I even started purchasing them again, picking up where I left off as a kid. I mean, the writing is dated. BUT I still enjoy going along with Nancy and the Hardys trying to figure out who did what and who is behind the mysteries!
I am currently reading The Hardy Boys’, The Swamp Monster, no. 83 in the series.
And on Friday nights, I will watch Friday the 13th, The Series, as well as Friday Night Videos from my high school days during the 80s!
And now even on Saturdays it is a return to The Adventures of Superman and also Wonder Woman – the REAL Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter!!!!!!! Also, I like to put on Soul Train, Justice League, Sid & Marty Krofft and American Bandstand!!
Sundays sometimes it is Mama’s Family, Solid Gold, or Casey Kasem’s American Top 40, all of which I watched (or listened to) religiously when I was in high school on the weekends.
All of this is just as I remembered from those exact days when they all originally aired.
I am just a nostalgia junkie!
Now, I know why my Aunt Eva always used to love to watch westerns when I was growing up, because that is what SHE watched when SHE was growing up!
And definitely I must thank the heavens for the Roku Channel, which has Charlie’s Angels, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, Dennis the Menace, Hart to Hart, et al!!
And it has done wonders for my mental health!! I just immediately go into my happy place when rewatching any and all of these great shows.
And now that I am subscribed to Philo TV, I can also catch The Facts of Life, The Rockford Files, The STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO, CHEYENNE, and of course The Golden Girls, just to mention a few!
Please tell me what are your nostalgic go tos and returns. And if you are also a Stooge fan, by all means, PLEASE let me know!
Oh and don’t forget to catch the Stooges on MeTV every Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m., EST!!!!!!! 😯😛
Thank you so much for stopping by. Before you leave, please check out what I have in store for you at the Derek Store.
Please come back next week when I shall discuss my favorite Generation — GEN X!!! I might have to get a little down and dirty with this one. So, you won’t wanna miss. Until then, please be safe and, as always, mentally well!
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