Prior to her accolades as a five-time Emmy award-winning comedian, actress Lucille Ball—considered one of the most iconic television stars of all time—landed one of her first roles in the 1934 Stooges’ film, “Three Little Pigskins”, in which she played the role of Daisy Simms.
This film is later credited as the actresses’ big break in the Hollywood acting scene. When asked what she learned from the infamous comedy trio, Ball replied, “How to duck.”
Married To Magic
Contrary to the old saying that opposites attract, in the case of Moe Howard, it would be stagecraft that attracted stagecraft. On June 7, 1925, Stooge Moe Howard would marry Helen Schonberger, cousin of the world-renowned magician Harry Houdini, a man infamous for daring stunts like the 'Milk Can Escape' and the 'Chinese water torture cell' stunt. Though it was never clear if Moe ever actually met the legendary magician in person, given that they both performed vaudeville acts during the height of the American theater movement, it is quite possible that the two may have crossed paths a time or two.
It may also be possible that the two met during Houdini’s later attempt to begin a career in film, a mission he began upon seeing other vaudeville acts turning to the new technology of film. The couple would go on to have two kids: Joan and Paul. To this day, Joan is still among the attendees at “Three Stooges” conventions all across the country.
The Stooge Burger Barons
After the decline of “The Three Stooges” films, unable to find acting work and in an attempt to save the franchise, Larry Fine impulsively blew his fortune on a number of money-making schemes, one of which was the restaurant chain “Stoogeburgers”, a business venture managed by both Larry and Moe. The idea? To co-run a restaurant, selling Stoogeburgers, a burger said to be three times larger than the classic hamburger made by competitors.
Though this series of themed restaurants intended to open across the U.S., and eventually all over the world, sadly the franchise was short-lived. Later on, in 2014, C3 Entertainment Inc.—owner of “The Three Stooges” brand—announced the opening of the first Three Stooges Burger House: an attempt to relaunch the burger line, with better advertising, and varying menu options.
Show Titles - ‘Moidering the King’s English’
Similar to many television shows of the present and past, several of the episode titles of “The Three Stooges” play on a number of commonly known phrases and expressions. Some of these episode titles include, Cactus Makes Perfect (Del Lord, 1942), and witty wordplay titles like G.I. Wanna Go Home (Jules White, 1946). Additionally, a number of other Stooge episode titles were based on movie titles from that era in cinema, such as “Jail Birds of Paradise,” “Disorder In The Court,” and “Yes, We Have No Bonanza.”
As verbal humor was one of the Stooges’ main comedic tools, like many of the clever Stooge episode titles, a majority of The Three Stooges shorts were also filled with endless puns and malapropisms. Parallel to their slapstick style of comedy, the Stooges’ trademark style of verbal humor was widely known to be extremely crude and edgy, and was hilariously accented with the trio’s noticeably strong Brooklyn accents.
Starting Salary - Splitting the Check
Though upon signing their first film contract at the beginning their career, the Stooges were overjoyed to hear they would earn a weekly salary of $1,000, this excitement quickly turned to dismay upon learning that this check would be split between the three actors.
Thankfully, as the Stooges gained popularity, they were eventually able to sign a 7-year contract, which guaranteed them $60,000 annually. However, after their Oscar nomination for “Men in Black” later on in their career, their salary would increase to $7,500 a week, which again had to be split between all of the Stooges.