The Stooges' life after death

TODAY IS Larry Fine's 105th birthday. Who cares if he's been dead for 32 years?

His life marches on in reruns of the classic Three Stooges shorts. Cast as the lovable patsy, the frizzy-haired Philadelphian, born on Oct. 5, 1902, was the "everyman" of the Stooges, a victim of "soicumstance."

He also served as the glue between the various Howard brothers: Moe, the tough boss; Shemp, the numbskull, and Curly, the innocent ad-libber who endeared himself to the public with his crazy antics and inimitable laugh.

"Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!"

The Stooges were pioneers who wisecracked their way into the hearts of millions to become one of the most famous and beloved comedy teams in the world.

And Philadelphia is celebrating Fine's birthday. Today, a Best of Larry Film Festival will be hosted by Moore College of Art on the Parkway at 8 p.m. Tomorrow, Gary Lassin, curator of the Stoogeum in Gwynedd Valley, a museum dedicated to the Stooges, has an open house from 10-4.

From 1925 to 1970, the Stooges made more than 200 movies, mostly for Columbia. Their slapstick comedy was highlighted by eye pokes, pie-throwing and head-conking, usually arranged around plots dealing with the mundane issues of daily life.

But the trio occasionally went beyond physical comedy to offer some social and political insights. They were frequently cast as under- or unemployed bumblers who always seemed to get their revenge on upper-crusters during the Depression. More daring were their performances in two Nazi spoofs produced when the U.S. was still neutral in WW II and such parodies were verboten in Hollywood.

"You Nazty Spy" (1940) and "I'll Never Heil Again" (1941) were the first films to mock Hitler and Mussolini, being released nine months before the more famous Chaplin film, "The Great Dictator." Since the Howard brothers and Fine were Jewish, they were exceptionally proud of these films.

Being a Stooge was "soitenly" no barrel of laughs, though. In film after film, they'd "murderize" each other, so the team often worked hurt, enduring weekly bumps and bruises. Never did they complain. Nor ask for a raise, constantly worried if they'd have a job since short-subject films were an ever-declining market.

Lacking a savvy manager to protect their financial interests, the Stooges were exploited by the studio and their own unscrupulous agents, who sold them out every chance they got.

Ironically, the exploitation insured their longevity. When Columbia declined to renew their contract in 1954, it was TV that revived their careers. In 1959, Columbia syndicated the entire Stooges film library to television. Without copyrights, the short films were so inexpensive that any station could afford them.

Stations began running the shorts in their weekday afternoon schedules for kids after school and on Saturday mornings. As a result, the Stooges were rediscovered by the baby boomers, becoming one of the most-popular and highest-paid live acts through the 1960s.

Over the years, the "third Stooge" role shifted between Shemp and Curly Howard, Joe Besser and, finally, Curly Joe DeRita. But when Larry and Moe died in the mid-1970s, it was curtains for the team and the Stooges "whoop-whoop-whoop-whooped" into comedic history.

Today, the Stooges have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a fan club with more than 2,000 members nationwide. They inspired many contemporary comedians, including Jim Carrey, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin and Mel Brooks.

But it's cable that's been most important to their legacy, allowing the Stooges to live on in the hearts and imaginations of the current generation as icons of American pop culture. *

William Kashatus is a frequent contributor. For more information on the weekend's events honoring Larry Fine, visit www.stoogeum.com.