Though none of the stooges are alive today, they have left a lasting impact on present and future generations, reaching not only those in the comedy world, but also many other areas of the movie industry. Today, myriads of films, television shows, songs and books have paid homage to the comedic trio and their work. The influence of The Three Stooges even managed to influence the horror movie industry, as seen in the work of horror filmmaker Sam Raimi, who’s love of the Stooges lead him to integrate Stooge influence in his classic horror series, The Evil Dead.
Here, Raimi used a combination of gore, horror and comedy, a concept which he called “splatstick.” Described as “uncharacteristically funny” and ahead of its time, Raimi has the Stooges to thank for much of his success in the movie business. In addition to The Evil Dead, some of the more notable titles included movies like This is Spinal Tap, Pulp Fiction, Ice Age and Grease. Additionally, musical artists like Chris Brown, Frank Black and even Toby Keith have also paid homage to the late comedians in their songs and lyrics.
The Stooge Museum
Reflective of the Stooge craze of the 20th century, and their crucial artistic contributions to pop culture, in 2004, the “Stoogeum” museum was opened, finally giving the actors the recognition they deserved. Located in Ambler, PA, approximately 25 miles outside of Philadelphia, this museum is dedicated to all things Stooge. Opened only on Thursdays, it displays a large array of impressive Stooge artifacts. The museum’s founder, Gary Lassi, a huge Stooges fan, collected over 100,00 items pertaining to the Stooges longstanding career, and displays around 3,500 pieces in the museum at a time.
In addition to being a huge Stooges fan, interestingly enough, following his marriage to Larry Fine’s great niece in 1981, Lassi is also distantly related to one of the Stooges. Areas of the museum include a Hall of Shemp, a game area (complete with Whack-a-Moe: an interactive Stooge-themed arcade game, open for all visitors to play!), and a myriad of rooms filled with everything from Stooge artwork, rare Stooge photos, movie postures, costumes, novelties and props used by the Stooges during their performances.
Posthumous Recognition
Despite the Stooges’ fame and success, the three were not awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame until 1983. Unfortunately, none of the Three Stooges were alive to receive the honor. Today, anyone can visit the Stooges’ Hollywood star, located at 1560 Vine Street. This Hollywood Star unveiling drew the biggest crowd to a Hollywood star revealing to date.
In addition to being honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, after the three stooges passed, their careers certainly did not die with them. Since their deaths, the Three Stooges Films were transferred and released to home video, thus immortalizing the Stooges popularity forever.
A Band Of The Same Name
The Stooges’ legacy also remains today in the form of the iconic rock band, The Stooges. Formed in the ‘70s, though originally this popular Ann Arbor, Michigan-based band went by “The Psychedelic Stooges,” eventually, the rock group lead singer Iggy Pop, got the idea to name their band The Stooges after watching “The Three Stooges”: Moe, Larry, and Curly.
According to one interview published in Clash Magazine, Pop said the following about Ron Asheton, co-founder and guitarist of the band: “It was inevitable that anything creative that Ron did in his life was gonna come back to the Stooges, because he’d already spent probably seventeen thousand man hours watching The Three Stooges’ films when he was supposed to be doing something else since he was twelve.” Throughout the band’s career, this group of rock stars also went by “Iggy” and “The Stooges and Iggy Pop.”
No Female Fans?
Despite the comedy group’s historic popularity, which has seemed to always attract men to the show, it is a common notion that most women do not enjoy the work of “The Three Stooges.” Contrary to this popular belief, while there are plenty of female fans, some women still disregard the Stooges’ niche style of comedy as “silly”.
However, overall, the notion that women do not enjoy the comedy of the Stooges is a largely inaccurate generalization. The theory behind this idea is that most women tend not to favor physical or slapstick comedy. This phenomena is explained by one AMC writer: “Women respond to seeing someone they dislike suffering pain with empathy, and men with pleasure at another’s misfortune.”