THE THREE STOOGES
2017 fine art print / edition of 30 / $185.00
In vaudeville, a "stooge" was a performer planted in the audience to be picked, seemingly at random, to come onstage and serve as a foil to the headliner. Three of the most successful in the 1920s were the Howard brothers, Moe and Samuel ("Shemp"), and their buddy Larry Fine, who worked for a popular but abusive comedian named Ted Healy. Onstage the antic Healy would smack his sidemen around—a style of comedy called "slapstick," though the alcoholic Healy could be brutal beyond the call of theatrical amusement, onstage and off.
After the troupe achieved Hollywood success on-screen in the early 1930s, Shemp decided he'd been roughed up enough by Healy and left to pursue a solo acting career. To replace Shemp, Moe recruited his youngest brother, Jerome, who shaved his wavy locks and was dubbed "Curly." The reconstituted trio continued to perform with Healy in shorts and feature films with growing popularity. In 1934 they broke from Ted and signed with Columbia Pictures to star in their own shorts. No longer beholden to Healy as hired stooges, they nonetheless embraced their identities, billing themselves as "The Three Stooges."
At Columbia their shorts were a commercial success, one reason being that the Stooges' comedic violence was heightened by Columbia's sound effects editors, who developed comic noises to accent face-slaps, eye-gouges, nose-bites, belly-punches and ripping scalps. This "living cartoon" approach to filmmaking—imitated by kids but abhorred by parents and teachers—became very influential. The stocky Curly evolved into the pivotal swing player of the team—a dancing, spinning, sputtering, barking, squealing man-child. His exaggerated physical gestures had a huge influence on
After the troupe achieved Hollywood success on-screen in the early 1930s, Shemp decided he'd been roughed up enough by Healy and left to pursue a solo acting career. To replace Shemp, Moe recruited his youngest brother, Jerome, who shaved his wavy locks and was dubbed "Curly." The reconstituted trio continued to perform with Healy in shorts and feature films with growing popularity. In 1934 they broke from Ted and signed with Columbia Pictures to star in their own shorts. No longer beholden to Healy as hired stooges, they nonetheless embraced their identities, billing themselves as "The Three Stooges."
At Columbia their shorts were a commercial success, one reason being that the Stooges' comedic violence was heightened by Columbia's sound effects editors, who developed comic noises to accent face-slaps, eye-gouges, nose-bites, belly-punches and ripping scalps. This "living cartoon" approach to filmmaking—imitated by kids but abhorred by parents and teachers—became very influential. The stocky Curly evolved into the pivotal swing player of the team—a dancing, spinning, sputtering, barking, squealing man-child. His exaggerated physical gestures had a huge influence on
such entertainers as Lou Costello, Jerry Lewis, Jim Carrey—even Michael Jackson. The act probably dispatched to the ER an unknown number of kids who innocently tried to be real-life Stooges.
Curly remained a Stooge until 1946, when a series of debilitating strokes forced him off-screen. His final short was Half-Wits Holiday, which he was unable to complete. In 1947, Shemp—a successful solo actor—reluctantly agreed to replace Curly temporarily, but when it became apparent Curly would not recover (he died in 1952), Shemp stayed on with Moe and Larry for 76 shorts. The quality of the films actually improved as Shemp's persona, which differed from Curly's, was allowed to develop. In 1948 the trio made their debut on live TV, where they had brief (if uneven) success. The aging Stooges continued to star for Columbia until 1958, with Joe Besser replacing Shemp, who died suddenly in 1955.
By 1959, the Stooges were all but forgotten, until their old shorts began running on TV. This earned the act a new generation of fans and an unexpected revival of their reputations, as well as the ire of PTAs across the nation. They made onstage appearances, feature films, record albums—even cartoons (for which they provided voiceovers)—with yet a fourth swing Stooge, "Curly Joe" DeRita. In all, the six Stooges made 220 films as a team. Critics may have sneered at their perceived lack of elevated wit, but millions of fans loved and still love these Lords of the Lowbrow.
A 2009 Drew Friedman portrait of the Three Stooges (with Shemp and nemesis Vernon Dent) sold out. This new portrait, featuring Curly, was commissioned and offered as a limited edition print in 2017.
Curly remained a Stooge until 1946, when a series of debilitating strokes forced him off-screen. His final short was Half-Wits Holiday, which he was unable to complete. In 1947, Shemp—a successful solo actor—reluctantly agreed to replace Curly temporarily, but when it became apparent Curly would not recover (he died in 1952), Shemp stayed on with Moe and Larry for 76 shorts. The quality of the films actually improved as Shemp's persona, which differed from Curly's, was allowed to develop. In 1948 the trio made their debut on live TV, where they had brief (if uneven) success. The aging Stooges continued to star for Columbia until 1958, with Joe Besser replacing Shemp, who died suddenly in 1955.
By 1959, the Stooges were all but forgotten, until their old shorts began running on TV. This earned the act a new generation of fans and an unexpected revival of their reputations, as well as the ire of PTAs across the nation. They made onstage appearances, feature films, record albums—even cartoons (for which they provided voiceovers)—with yet a fourth swing Stooge, "Curly Joe" DeRita. In all, the six Stooges made 220 films as a team. Critics may have sneered at their perceived lack of elevated wit, but millions of fans loved and still love these Lords of the Lowbrow.
A 2009 Drew Friedman portrait of the Three Stooges (with Shemp and nemesis Vernon Dent) sold out. This new portrait, featuring Curly, was commissioned and offered as a limited edition print in 2017.
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- HAWAII & ALASKA via USPS Priority mail: $30
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Only thirty (30) prints of THE THREE STOOGES were produced for this edition. Each print is signed in the lower right, hand-titled in the center, and numbered in the lower left (all beneath the image). We have sold print numbers 1/30 thru 13/30, and are now offering print numbers 14/30 and 15/30, unframed, for $185.00 each (plus shipping and handling). Prices will increase for subsequent prints as the edition depletes.
The image area is 16-1/2" high x 14-3/4" wide on an untrimmed 22" x 17" sheet. Paper, ink, and production specifications, as well as shipping details, are available on our PRINT SPECS page.
The image area is 16-1/2" high x 14-3/4" wide on an untrimmed 22" x 17" sheet. Paper, ink, and production specifications, as well as shipping details, are available on our PRINT SPECS page.