Three Stooges butchered on AMC

I see that Hulu has the Stooges in their programming but it's only a few shows.

 

I bought that same box a couple months ago and have been working my way through it.
So much content... I'm up to short #87 at the moment, so I'm not even halfway through the box yet!

 

Just in time for the "sick Curly" shorts. Somehow they got through them, though.

 

We got side tracked and watch from time to time and are currently up to the early Shemp episodes. The last one we watched was Curly and the other 3 in Hold That Lion.

 

Another fine character on the show was played by Dudley Dickerson:

Modern viewers will remember Dickerson for his portrayals of startled cooks, quizzical orderlies, frightened porters, and apprehensive watchmen in such Three Stooges films as They Stooge to Conga, A Gem of a Jam, and Hold That Lion! In Hold that Lion, he played a lovable train conductor who memorably bugged out his eyes and shrieked, "He'p, he'p, ah'm losin' mah mahnd!" when a lion attacked him and ripped the seat of his pants while he was shining a pair of shoes. The scene was so funny that the crew (and Dickerson himself) could hardly contain their laughter as one can hear in the final release.



Probably Dickerson's most memorable role was that of the hapless chef in the Stooges' A Plumbing We Will Go, in which he uttered in bewilderment, "This house has sho' gone crazy!" The footage would be recycled twice more in future Stooge comedies: 1949's Vagabond Loafers and 1956's Scheming Schemers.[1]

 

Boo on them for messin with my stooges[I love em]have to admit I didn't care for[Joe]he just wasn't funny,just give me the big four-Moe-Larry-Curly-Shemp.

 

The fake Shemp was the funniest stooge!


I kid!

 

Fake Shemp info:

Fake Shemp - Wikipedia

Notice in the clips he is shot from behind or wearing a disguise. Most of the dialouge is Larry and Moe together usually yelling off screen to Shemp or wondering where he is. They used actual Shemp audio for most of it and on occasion Palma would have a short line or two. They had to use Joe Palma until they could find a replacement which I believe was supposed to be Joe DeRita but he was unavailable at the time. Since DeRita wasn't available they picked Besser. The Besser episodes are not great but I do like them and enjoyed them when I was a kid.



Today, Palma is best known as Shemp Howard's posthumous double. In 1955, Three Stooges member Shemp Howard died of a sudden heart attack. At the time, the Stooges still had four short films left to deliver on their annual contract with Columbia Pictures. By 1955, budget cuts had forced them to utilize stock footage from previous shorts as a matter of survival. As a result, the Stooges managed to complete the four films without Shemp. To do this, Palma was made up to resemble the late Stooge, complete with wig, and would be filmed only from the back or side. On occasion, Palma was required to add a brief line of dialogue or sound (most notably in Hot Stuff). The few new shots Palma appeared in were then edited together with the recycled footage containing the real Shemp, and "new" films were born.[2] Palma would remain a supporting cast member in The Three Stooges shorts throughout Joe Besser's short run as the third stooge.

 

After reading the wiki page I find it funny that Crispin Glover's doulbe in BTTF2 was considered a Fake Shemp. I knew Jeffery Weissman played McFly in 2 but didn't know they called him a Fake Shemp. Jeffery Weissman has also said that some of the cast was cold to him for replacing Crispin. Interesting also that John Candy had a Fake Shemp after he passed away.

 

Over 5 months later and I'm only up to short #136.... this set is taking forever to get through!

 

He was just brilliant. And chances of this getting made today...

 

Same here, we have been going very slow and are up to the Shemp DVD's. Taking a long time to get thru them all. We have already seen the Besser collection so we might skip over that one this time as I used to own it as a single set on DVD before buying the box. Kind of looking foward to getting to the bonus DVD's which include a bunch of Shemp shorts. And I don't even think I am close to the "Hey Moe, Hey Dad!" collection yet although I did open it and it is chock full of fun memorabilia.

 

I read most of these letters last night. They're fascinating--the language is definitely that of a man born at the turn of the 20th century. Larry's letters are similar but a bit more casual in tone and sound just like him. Both Moe and Larry mention that the writer should come visit and give phone numbers, etc. I wonder if people even look at their fan mail today, never mind include a phone number in their reply?

Moe was apparently a busy guy. It sounds like he made good money visiting colleges in his last years. Larry even tells the writer "I must warn you, he gets a pretty good size fee" if he chooses to book Moe, but adds that "he might just do it very reasonable for you, that's the kind of guy he is."

Read them if you haven't already!

 

Yes, they are a great read! The guy did go visit Moe at his house. There are pictures of his visit here:

athome



In this day and age I just don't see people giving out their addresses and phone numbers. The Stooges (and their fellow actors on the show) seemed to be very gracious when it came to the fans. There was another guy that tracked down Christine McYntire (the blonde who was in many shorts) and started up a friendship with her as well and has many of her letters and Christmas cards posted on his site but I can't find it at the moment (and it might even be on this thread already somewhere).

 

Just found it, here is the link:

http://taillefer.tripod.com/ChristineMcIntyre/msfcm.html

 

More awesome reading for Stooge fans. Emil Sitka was a character actor that appeared in many episodes. His son has a website here:

Emil Sitka Three Stooges actor aka The Fourth Stooge

 

I think Emil definitely earned the title "The Fourth Stooge".

 

I remember seeing 'Yokes' very late on KPLR St Louis late Saturday/early Sunday. Growing up, they usually had a 2 to 3 hour block on the weekends.

 

Those Moe letters were great, highly recommended! Imagine getting not one but a dozen personal handwritten letters from a legendary star today. Wow. The sincerity is just staggering ("Dear Good Friend Bobby," "You're a nice pal and we love you"). Just shows you how much The Stooges truly appreciated their fans. I'm an even bigger fan after reading those.

 

I, too, have a deeper appreciate for Moe in particular after reading those letters. Even as an adult I thought he was "mean spirited". Nope, all just an act that he did so well as the tough Stooge.

 

Greta Thyssen...

 

One of the weirdest moments in the entire Stooge canon:

 

Finally finished all 190 shorts in the Ultimate Collection box.... that's 53 1/2 hours of Stooge-watching!