29 Amusing Vintage Photographs Featuring The Three Stooges From the 1930s to the 1960s

The Three Stooges was an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared over the act's run (with only three active at any given time): Moe Howard and Larry Fine were mainstays throughout the ensemble's nearly 50-year run and the pivotal “third stooge” was played by Shemp Howard, Curly Howard, Shemp Howard again, Joe Besser, and “Curly Joe” DeRita.

The act began in the early 1920s as part of a vaudeville comedy act billed as “Ted Healy and His Stooges”, consisting originally of Ted Healy and Moe Howard. Over time, they were joined by Moe's brother, Shemp Howard, and then Larry Fine. Shemp was later replaced by his and Moe's younger brother, Jerome “Curly” Howard, in 1932.

Two years later, after appearing in several movies, the trio left Healy and signed on to appear in their own short-subject comedies for Columbia Pictures, now billed as “The Three Stooges”. From 1934 to 1946, Moe, Larry and Curly produced over 90 short films for Columbia, bringing them their peak popularity.