3 stooge biography

American slapstick comedy trio

For other uses, see The Three Stooges (disambiguation).

The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from until , best remembered for their short-subject films by Columbia Pictures.

Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total Stooges appeared over the act's run (with only three active at any given time); Moe Howard (born Moses Horwitz) and Larry Fine (born Louis Feinberg) were mainstays throughout the ensemble's nearly year run, while the "third stooge" was played in turn by Shemp Howard (born Samuel Horwitz), Curly Howard (born Jerome Horwitz), Shemp Howard again, Joe Besser, and "Curly Joe" DeRita (born Joseph Wardell).

The act began in the early s as part of a vaudeville comedy act billed as "Ted Healy and His Stooges", consisting originally of Ted Healy and Moe Howard. Over time, they were joined by Moe's brother, Shemp Howard, and then Larry Fine.

The four appeared