Besides acting and being comedians, the Three Stooges werev businessmen.

[the ringo kid]

Moe died a millionaire where Larry, Shemp and Curly died pretty much broke.

Moe wasn't wealthy but did have a little money. He helped Larry with hospital bills and such. Larry died I think two months before he did.

 

[16thVACav]

'Curly' was first rate hard party man and a champion woman chaser. He was actually proud of his hair and mustache and didn't like having to shave for the Curly part. One time a woman asked if he was really Curly and when he said, 'Yes', she hit him in the stomach. He partied so hard his health started to fail and his blood pressure went up. The brothers tried to help him and get him to slow down a little but he was unstoppable while their schedule and his bad marriages wore him down. He spent time in several hospitals and homes, but not enough to reverse his deterioration and he suffered strokes.

Maybe it wasn't so much the partying that did him in, as it was nose lifts by claw hammer, head blows by mallet, and blowtorch to the rear end.

 

[rwsmith]

Moses was really astute.......

Moe died a millionaire where Larry, Shemp and Curly died pretty much broke.

Even though Moe suffered losses several times to situations beyond his control, he always bounced back fast. I wish I were that good with money and investments.

Larry would have done a lot better if he didn't have a gambling problem. He was often very generous and gave money to friends in need without ever asking for it back.

Most of Curly's wives took the money and ran. He was susceptible to people wanting to sell him something he didn't need. One time he bought a house and someone else approached him about a great house offer so he bought the other one and sold his.

Even though most of their work was straight salary and appearances, I think they did make a pile off of products using their name, everything from lunch boxes to Moe wigs.

BTW Moe's mother insisted on keeping his hair long so she could curl and style it like he was a girl's doll. He got enough of that and cut his own hair. He was afraid to show his face and hid. When he finally appeared his mother was so glad to see he was alright that she didn't mention his hair.

He appeared on Mike Douglas in a modern hairstyle and was an 'unknown guest' until he mentioned something about the Three Stooges. Douglas finally recognized him and he combed his hair into 'Moe' hair.

 

[Walter Rego]

Other businesses owned by the Three Stooges included a plumbing business, catering service, pest exterminator service, painting service and dog washing & grooming business. They were quite diversified.

 

[ACORN]

Other businesses owned by the Three Stooges included a plumbing business, catering service, pest exterminator service, painting service and dog washing & grooming business. They were quite diversified.

Don't forget their home ice delivery business, fish mongering, and pharmacy.

 

[meaneyedcatz]

Moe always made sure Curly had some money since he wasted a lot of it.
The episode HOLD THAT LION has all three brothers in it. Moe picks a hot off of a sleeping man and pulls a clothespin off his nose. Moe said its a Cocker Spaniel. That sleeping guy was Curly with a full head of hair.

Larry was a nice guy but his wife was a MEAN drunk. Always berated him in front of people. And he was always reluctant to do the real hard stuff, like getting hoisted up in the air via pulleys.

Moe was smart and a gentleman. One time a black gentleman was walking down the same sidewalk as Moe. The other individual saw Moe and crossed the street. Moe noticed and crossed the street also. When they finally crossed paths it turns out the black man thought it improper to walk on the same walk as a white man. Moe told him never to do that as he was the same as anybody. White nor black people are any better than the other.

Stories of them could fill volumes. I saw them at the old St Louis Arena during a circus.
There was a time at work that someone would say something and at least once a day I could relate that to a Stooges episode.

 

[e3mrk]

For all the Stoogaholics here is a link to their bios.

The Three Stooges - Biography's

 

[rwsmith]

Don't forget.....

Other businesses owned by the Three Stooges included a plumbing business, catering service, pest exterminator service, painting service and dog washing & grooming business. They were quite diversified.

Wall papering.

Oh, and riveting skyscrapers.

 

[model70hunter]

I read that Curly had a great singing voice. He was also very agile and was an accomplished dancer. Yes I said Curly.

When I was little and the stooges were young...
CBS Jefferson City, Mo ran 15 minutes of the Stooges and 15 Minutes of Laurel and Hardy. It started just about the time the bus dropped me off. Hustle and and get in on the laughs...

I loved both of them.

 

[the ringo kid]

Other businesses owned by the Three Stooges included a plumbing business, catering service, pest exterminator service, painting service and dog washing & grooming business. They were quite diversified.

True, they were also Doctors, pharmisists, electricians, soldiers, police, detectives, tour guides, artists, musicians, ugh--politicians, dictators, merchantmen, explosives experts, army scouts, professors, but the best of all, they were Gentlemen.

 

[meaneyedcatz]

When we got home from school mom would make us watch a STL local show called Cookie And The Captain.

When that was over we could watch the Stooges. Scarred me for life, so now I own every Three Stooges episode made.

 

[TX-Dennis]

True, they were also Doctors, pharmisists, electricians, soldiers, police, detectives, tour guides, artists, musicians, ugh--politicians, dictators, merchantmen, explosives experts, army scouts, professors, but the best of all, they were Gentlemen.

Don't forget . . . they were also Roman gladiators who had to fight the dreaded Gluteus Maximus.

 

[the ringo kid]

I forgot they were also: Explorers, women-haters, liars, ghost-hunters and----hobos.

 

[Walter Rego]

True, they were also Doctors, pharmisists, electricians, soldiers, police, detectives, tour guides, artists, musicians, ugh--politicians, dictators, merchantmen, explosives experts, army scouts, professors, but the best of all, they were Gentlemen.

Not sure about the gentleman part. Whenever someone greeted them with the word "gentlemen", they always looked over their shoulders and replied "who came in ?"

 

[GaryS]

Moe died a millionaire where Larry, Shemp and Curly died pretty much broke.

Moe invested heavily in CA real estate during the 30's, 40's, and 50s.

As noted in the thread, Curly was a hard partying ladies man. Which took most of his money and eventually his health.
Larry died in a retired actor's home, penniless.
Shemp spent more time away from the Stooges and had a pretty solid career of his own. He only came back when Curly was too sick to continue the act.

They actually made more money doing live Vaudeville shows than they did making the shorts.

Joan Howard Maurer, Moe's daughter, wrote some books about the Stooges and also was a minor actor. The family retained some rights to the material, likenesses, and other assets.

The copyrighted shorts are owned by Sony, which got them when it bought what was left of Columbia.

There are four shorts which are in the public domain because their copyrights expired when no one was really paying attention.

Disorder in the Court
Brideless Grooms
Sing a Song of Six Pants
Malice in the Palace.

Those are all over the place now because anyone can do anything they want with them.

The other day my daughter asked me when we can start showing them to my grand daughter (her niece).

Yes, I've raised the perfect young woman. Smart, socialable, very pretty AND she loves the Stooges!

 

[the ringo kid]

I've seen that some of their movies are supposedly public domain, or that they were released on DVD as such. However, I've seen many movies and were released as PD, but aren't. Cases in point are The Rifleman and Andy Griffith.

 

[GaryS]

The four I listed are public domain and have been for some years. Considering how jealously the rights to the shorts and other merchandising are guarded, I'd be shocked if they really weren't in the public domain.

Sony owns the videos, but C3, which was started by Moe, with Larry and Joe DeRita as partners, controls a lot of the other merchandising of Stooges material.

Wikipedia has a long article about the Stooges. Keeping in mind that it's Wikipedia, it does have some interesting info.

Then there is "Hello Pop". Which is a 1933 Ted Healy and his Stooges film released by MGM. This was when the Stooges worked as second bananas to Healy. It was made after Shemp quit the act because Healy.

I've never seen it, but I see that it's now available.

I've seen that some of their movies are supposedly public domain, or that they were released on DVD as such. However, I've seen many movies sand sdure released asx PD, but aren't. Cases in point are The Rifleman and Andy Griffith.

 

[Bell Charter Oak Holsters]

Gee whiz, and I thought I wasted my youth watching those "violent" politically incorrect Stooges! Loved every second.

Cheers;
Lefty

 

[GaryS]

Raise your hand if your mother told you that watching them would ruin your brain.

Gee whiz, and I thought I wasted my youth watching those "violent" politically incorrect Stooges! Loved every second.

Cheers;
Lefty

 

[Bell Charter Oak Holsters]

Among many, and I mean very many of the short's I watched as a NYC kid after school in the afternoon and saw at the movie house on saturdays, the episode where they were cops and the one which they were stowaways on a ship were my favorites. Now 50 years or more later, I can still chuckle recalling them. Funny, funny stuff.

Cheers;
Lefty