{"id":11389,"date":"2015-09-08T11:45:19","date_gmt":"2015-09-08T15:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=11389"},"modified":"2015-09-08T11:45:19","modified_gmt":"2015-09-08T15:45:19","slug":"the-three-stooges-story-told-in-their-obituaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/the-three-stooges-story-told-in-their-obituaries.html","title":{"rendered":"The Three Stooges\u2019 Story Told in Their Obituaries"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: Duncan Kuehn is a professional genealogist with over nine years of client experience. She has worked on several well-known projects, such as \u201cWho Do You Think You Are?\u201d In this blog post, Duncan searches GenealogyBank\u2019s obituaries collection to learn more about the zany comedy act \u201cThe Three Stooges.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The Three Stooges, active from 1925 to 1970, were one of the most endearing and entertaining comedy acts that many of us grew up watching. The characters of Moe, Larry, and Curly made us laugh. They were prolific producers of short comedy films \u2013 at their peak, they produced eight shorts every year! I recently spent some time learning more about these beloved comedians by finding their obituaries in GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The dynamic trio originally got their start as stooges (Moe Howard, Shemp Howard, and Larry Fine) for Ted Healy. Shemp and Ted didn\u2019t work well together and Shemp moved on to other projects. Jerome a.k.a. \u201cCurly,\u201d Moe and Shemp\u2019s younger brother, then took Shemp\u2019s place and the trio eventually left Healy to form their own comedy act, \u201cThe Three Stooges.\u201d Curly remained one of the Stooges until his debilitating stroke in 1946. He was known for his high-pitched voice and childlike antics. He died in a care center on 18 January 1952.<\/p>\n

\"obituary<\/a>
Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), 20 January 1952, page 11<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shemp returned to the act after Jerome\u2019s stroke to fill in for his brother. What was supposed to be a temporary gig lasted for several years. Shemp filled in until his death of heart failure on 22 November 1955. Other stooges filled in for Shemp in the following years.<\/p>\n

\"obituary<\/a>
Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 23 November 1955, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Larry provided the voice of reason for the group, although his character wasn\u2019t very reasonable. He died on 24 January 1975 of a stroke.<\/p>\n

\"obituary<\/a>
San Diego Union (San Diego, California), 25 January 1975, page 15<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While most of the Stooges struggled with finances, Moe was a wise businessman and invested his earnings. His onscreen character was a bully, but that didn\u2019t reflect his true personality. He was 77 when he died of lung cancer on 4 May 1975.<\/p>\n

\"obituary<\/a>
San Diego Union (San Diego, California), 6 May 1975, page 10<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As people have indexed some of the Stooges\u2019 obituaries as part of the GenealogyBank and FamilySearch agreement, memories of happy childhood experiences have flooded back. While The Three Stooges have all died, they continue to bring joy to others through the lasting legacy of their comedy.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/em><\/strong> FamilySearch International (FamilySearch.org<\/a>) and GenealogyBank are partnering to make over a billion records from recent and historical obituaries searchable online. The tremendous undertaking will make a billion records from over 100 million U.S. newspaper obituaries readily searchable online. The newspapers are from all 50 states and cover the period 1730 to the present.\u00a0 Find out more at: https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/family-search\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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