The Stooges' careers seemed to be over, but in 1959 The Three Stooges shorts were syndicated by Columbia to be shown on television. The Stooges had found a new audience, amd were soon back in demand. Moe and Larry prepared for a personal appearance tour, but Joe's wife suffered a heart attack, and he withdrew from the Stooges. Moe then signed Joe DeRita as a replacement. To differenciate himself from the previous Joe, DeRita shaved his head and, because of his resemblance to Curly, was dubbed Curly-Joe.
The Stooges' went on to make feature length films from 1959 to 1965, and became one of the most popular and highest paid live act in the 60s. The stooges also appeared in 41 short comedy skits and provided voices for the animated show The New Three Stooges; the live action skits were shown before and after the short animated episodes. In 1969 the Stooges shot a pilot for a show called Kook's Tour, a "travelogue-sitcom" that had the Stooges traveling around the world. Unfortunatly, Larry suffered a stroke that ended his career and the t.v. show.
On December 1974, Larry suffered another stroke and after a month in a coma, died on January 24, 1975. Although devastated by Larry's death, Moe decided to continue on with the Stooges. Longtime regular in the Stooges' shorts Emil Sitka was asked to replace Larry and, before Larry's death asked for his permission to replace him. After Larry gave his consent, Emil joined on as the next Stooge. Several movie roles were considered, but Moe died of lung cancer on May 4, 1975. With Moe gone, the idea of having the Stooges without a Howard seemed wrong, and the Three Stooges were no more.
Even though the Three Stooges are no more, their popularity continues to live on today. Their effects on entertainment can been seen everywhere.
1 comment:
After such a long career it just seems a bit odd that we don't hear more about thier reruns. I can't think of another slapstick group other than Carol Burnett that has been around as long.
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