Curly or Shemp?

[red dog 1]

I like them both.

[Hayduke Bomgarte]

1. Curly

Shemps OK though.

[Retired George]

2. MOE!

[CBGLuthier]

3. Both for me too. Took a while to warm up to Shemp

But Besser and Derita are just plain awful.

[red dog 1]

4. I agree

[Generic Brad]

5. Thank you for not making Joe a choice

But Curly or Shemp? That's like asking someone if they prefer apples to oranges. Each was great in their own way.

[red dog 1]

12. I asked "Curly or Shemp ?" because 3 Stooges fans are often split between the two

There are Curly fans who can't stand Shemp.

There are Shemp fans who can't stand Curly.

IMO, it's not really "like asking someone if they prefer apples to oranges."

Moe Howard and Larry Fine were always present in the Columbia short subject comedies, which are still syndicated on television.

From 1934 to 1946, Moe, Larry & Curly produced over 90 short films for Columbia.
It was during this period that they were at their peak popularity.
In May 1946, Curly Howard suffered a debilitating stroke, and his brother, Shemp Howard replaced him, until his death of a heart attack in November 1955.

(The Stooges were originally part of a mid-1920s Vaudeville act billed as
"Ted Healy & His Stooges"..consisting of Healy, Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard, who made one feature film, "Soup to Nuts," before Shemp left to pursue a solo career.
He was replaced by his younger brother Jerome "Curly" Howard in 1932.
Two years later, the trio left Healy, and signed on to appear in their own short subject comedies for Columbia Pictures.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Stooges

[Brother Buzz]

6. Definitely both

Curly was easy for me to understand as a child, but I didn't really appreciate Shemp's sophisticated humor until I was an adult. Shemp had something unique that a lot of people simply missed.

[red dog 1]

11. + 1

[pressbox69]

27. Shemp was outstanding

as Henry Higgins opposite Lucy.

[Brother Buzz]

30. Convention Girl?

It's always fun to see his mug in a lot of films through the thirties and forties. Hell, he was lucky to even get credit for some of his roles.

[baldguy]

7. Groucho

[NightWatcher]

8. I felt sorry for Shemp. You could tell that he never wanted to be there.

You know Moe pressured him into taking the gig and Shemp was all "yeah now but when you started I wasn't go enough for your Four Stooges".

But Curly was the best.

[Brother Buzz]

9. Shemp was a Stooge before Curly, back in the Ted Healy days

Shemp bailed because Healy was an unstable sadistic asshole.

[edbermac]

10. Larry!

[Wolf Frankula]

13. Alabama Skakes Hit, "I Don't Wanna Fight No Moe"

will be followed up with "I Don't Wanna Fight No Shemp."

Wolf

[red dog 1]

14. "Curly Headed Baby"....Woodie Guthrie song

Better than "Shemp Headed Baby"

[BlueStateLib]

15. Curly at 20 years old

[red dog 1]

17. Thanks for that

[Bucky]

20. Oohhh, a wise guy, ey?

[red dog 1]

21. "Why, I oughtha.."

[BlueStateLib]

16. Curly at 45 years old

[red dog 1]

18. That photo must be of Curly with his wife, Valerie & daughter Janie, who was born in 1948..

....two years after his 1946 stroke that caused him to leave the Stooges.

Later that year, 1948, he suffered a second massive stroke, which left him partially paralyzed.

If that photo is Curly at 45, it must have been taken after October 22, 1948, which is when he turned 45.

Of his wife, Valerie, a friend, Irma Leveton, said:
"Valerie was the only decent thing that happened to Curly and the only one who really cared about him."

[rurallib]

19. I find it best not to discuss religion

[lame54]

22. Nobody - but nobody...

Picks Shemp

Shemp is like Oliver on the brady bunch

[red dog 1]

24. I disagree

Last edited Sat Oct 22, 2016, 04:29 PM - Edit history (2)

Besser & DeRtra could be compared to that kid Oliver on the Brady Bunch

Look at the other replies here....several have admitted liking Shemp, even though they might have chosen Curly, but NO ONE liked Curly Joe or DeRtra.

[A HERETIC I AM]

25. DeRita

His name was Joe DeRita and he was a fine comedic talent

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_DeRita

[red dog 1]

31. Thanks for that

[Gidney N Cloyd]

23. Overall, Curly. Shemp was OK the first few years.

After 1950 the whole act began running out of gas. They looked old and tired. They recycled scripts written for their younger selves. The sets looked visually bleak. By the time Shemp died and they brought in Joe Besser the mojo was gone.

[First Speaker]

26. Shemp was a fine comic actor. Curly was a force of nature.

[pressbox69]

28. Curly

The superstooge.

[femmocrat]

29. Today is Curly's birthday:

http://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/curly-howard.html

[pressbox69]

32. A little late but...