"Which one is Bobby?" is the first thing I remember Moe Howard saying as my friend Bill Janin and I entered his home. His wife, Helen, was closing the door behind us when it suddenly occurred to me that after five years of corresponding by mail, Moe had no idea what I looked like. My scrapbooks were filled with his pictures, but I had never thought to send him mine. "I’m Bobby," I announced while reaching to shake his hand. Just over five feet tall, Moe appeared to be sizing up my six-foot frame. "Who put you way the hell up there?" he asked. With that, Moe directed us into his living room. The day I had dreamed about for so long had finally arrived.
Introduction
Backstory
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Though Columbia boss Harry Cohn ruled the studio with an iron hand and was not known for a friendly bedside manner, he loved the Stooges. Unfortunately, his love for them never translated into more money even though the Stooges were consistent top money-makers and award-winners for Columbia. Their salary never changed in those twenty-five years. Cohn told Moe many times that the Stooges had a job as long as he (Cohn) was alive. On February 27, 1958, Harry Cohn died suddenly at the age of 66 from a heart attack while visiting Phoenix, Arizona.
Moe recalled that he received a call from the studio the next day and was told that the Stooges would not be renewed effective immediately. He was told that with competition from television and fewer people attending movie theaters, Columbia was shutting down the shorts department. The Stooges were at Columbia Pictures from 1934 until 1958. A few months after Cohn's death in February, executives decided to offer the archived Stooge shorts to WGN-TV in Chicago and KTVT Channel 11 in Fort Worth, which also included the Dallas market. The shorts were a tremendous success in both markets and were soon being aired all over the country.
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A new generation was introduced to the Three Stooges for the first time. They were also able to reach millions more people through television than they had seen them in the theaters. The Stooges were suddenly in demand for personal appearances, television guest spots, and a return to films. With their enormous popularity, they now had more leverage and could negotiate working on their own terms.
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Re-introducing the Stooges through television resulted in a very short retirement and one of the most memorable entertainment comebacks in Hollywood history.
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For details about these remarkable men, Moe Howard, Jerry "Curly" Howard, Shemp Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser, and Joe DeRita, some great books are available by them and about them. I will do my best to reference as many of them as possible.
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In 1958, Columbia Pictures began distributing their archived Three Stooges shorts to television through Screen Gems, Columbia's television subsidiary. Chicago and Fort Worth-Dallas markets were the first to receive the shorts which were limited to the episodes with Curly. The shorts were so popular with viewers, it was not long before all of the shorts were eventually included. According to Moe Howard, The Three Stooges were the longest running comedy team to be under contract continuously at one studio.
Table of Contents
Introducion:
Backstory
Chapter One:
The Letter
Chapter Two:
Go West, Young Man
Chapter Three:
Los Angeles
Chapter Four:
The Telephone Call
Chapter Five:
Come Up and See Me
Chapter Six:
You Ought To Be In Pictures
Chapter Seven:
Transition
Chapter Eight:
Saying Good-bye
More
Chapter One
The Letter
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​On film, Moe Howard did not appear to be the type of person who would open his heart or his home to fans. But the more I have learned about Moe over the years, especially through his book, Moe Howard & The Three Stooges, other books by his late daughter, Joan Howard Maurer, and stories from others close to him, the more I have come to realize that the Moe I met was the true Moe Howard. In person, he was serious and businesslike, but underneath, he was a giving and caring man who took his fans seriously and truly enjoyed entertaining others. I also learned that he was also very giving of his time and he could be generous with his money.
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This is a revision of the website originally created in 1995 when the Internet was relatively new. I don't know if it is any better or worse than the original. I have have included more information that I have collected over the years and included newer experiences as they came along. I was able to meet and visit with Moe's children, Joan Howard Maurer and Paul Howard, over the years. They have always been gracious and personable. We lost Joan a few years ago, but Paul is still living in New York City. I found this to be a great opportunity to share my story with other Three Stooges fans. Since the original website, I have heard from thousands of others who enjoyed the Stooges as much as I did. I have even gotten to know others who knew them and corresponded with Moe as well. I enjoy visiting with or reading about others who knew them.
Much of the memorabilia I've collected over the years has been included such as a primitive sixty-second home movie that I shot with Moe in his backyard on Saturday, July 28, 1973. Many of the autographed photos and other items that Moe sent me over the years are also a part of the website. There are also radio interviews with Moe and Larry from 1974 recorded only months before they passed away.
For the true Stoogephile, I have included complete copies of two original Three Stooges scripts, "Booby Dupes" (1943) and "Micro-phonies" (1945). By the way, I found those scripts on ebay.com in the 1990s. Someone is probably still selling them.
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As the years go by, that July afternoon with Moe in 1973 often feels like a lifetime ago. But time has its rewards. For instance, certain truths about the Stooges have become clearer to me. First of all, the Three Stooges are timeless. Second, their style is unique. No individual or group has ever successfully imitated the Stooges’ brand of farcical humor. Their timing was impeccable and no one has even come close the natural comic talent of Jerry "Curly" Howard or Shemp's unique comic style. Third, to the chagrin of many a Hollywood critic, the Stooges’ appeal is universal. Responding to a critical review of one of their more successful features, Moe Howard explained, "Nobody likes The Three Stooges but the public." He must have been right. No comedy team in film history has remained as consistently popular as they have.
I hope you enjoy the following presentation as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Now, spread out!
- Bob Bernet​​​​
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The Stooges visit "The Joey Bishop Show"
in the late 1960s.
​My story begins in the spring of 1968. Comedian and actor Joey Bishop had a late-night talk show on ABC that competed with NBC's "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson." I was only twelve years old and was usually in bed by the time the late-night talk shows came on. But one night, I remember being awakened shortly after 11 P.M. by my mother who told me that the Three Stooges were on The Joey Bishop Show. She knew how much I enjoyed the Stooges on television and how much I would want to see them. The show was also in color and we had a new color television. Besides, I had never seen the Three Stooges in color!
​The last time I saw them was in "The Outlaws IS Coming!" in 1965 at the neighborhood movie theater. For a twelve-year-old, three years is a lifetime. ​It was a surprise to see them on a late-night talk show. That was usually reserved for celebrities who were promoting a new movie, TV show, or book. I recall being excited to see them and glad to know they were still working. It was Moe, Larry, and Curly-Joe.
​If you grew up in the early 1960s, you grew up in a unique time in the United States. Born in 1955, my friends and I were Baby Boomers, the children born in the aftermath of World War II (1946-1964). Cars had fins, television was still relatively new, movies were competing with television with widescreen formats like Cinemascope, Panavision, and Cinerama. Kids as young as seven and eight could still be dropped off at the neighborhood movie theaters on Saturdays without parents worrying about their safety for a few hours.
I began corresponding with Moe Howard when I was twelve years old. Since we wrote back and forth from 1968 until 1975, I suppose we were pen pals. During that seven year period, I received twenty-seven hand-written letters and collected a scrapbook full of memorabilia such as photos and other items that he would sometimes include with a letter.
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After five years of corresponding by mail, I eventually had the good fortune of meeting Moe at his home in Los Angeles in July of 1973. I have chronicled the experience on this website for other Stooge fans to enjoy. As I get older, I have come to realize what a special time that had been.
A still from "The Outlaws IS Coming!" The original title was "The 3 Stooges Meet the Gunslinger."
Moe Howard and The 3 Stooges is the original title of Moe's autobiography which was published posthumously. The book has been republished under the title, I Stooged To Conguer. which is below.
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Both are available through Amazon.com.
Curly: An Illustrated Biography of the Superstooge by Joan Howard Maurer. Originally published in 1985.
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Both are available through Amazon.com.
Chapter One
The Letter
​My story begins in the spring of 1968. Comedian and actor Joey Bishop had a late-night talk show on ABC that competed with NBC's "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson."
