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.”
Pop Culture References & “Splatstick” Influences
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.
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.”
“The Man of a Thousand Voices”
In addition to his voice role in the film “Snow White,” Mel Blanc, the late legendary voice artist, famously known as “The Man of a Thousand Voices,” also lent his vocal talents to the work of the Three Stooges, giving life to a puppet named Quinto the Jester, the Stooges’ ventriloquist dummy in their 1961 movie, Snow White and the Three Stooges.
In addition to Blanc, during the filming of this movie, the Stooges were also accompanied by co-stars Edson Stroll, Patricia Medina, and Guy Rolfe.
Stooge Reboot
Though for years famed filmmakers Bobby and Peter Farrelly, most known for their work on the comedy “Dumb and Dumber”, first tried to replicate the Three Stooges’ in 2009—a reboot which would have involved actor Sean Penn, playing the role of Larry, Benicio del Toro as Moe, and Jim Carrey as Curly (a role which would lead Carrey to gain 40 pounds of extra weight for the part)—this attempt eventually fell apart.
Eventually, in 2012, the Farrelys were finally able to bring the Stooges back to life in “The Three Stooges: The Movie”, a film which was uniquely composed of three short, stand-along Stooge stories. The final movie starred Chris Diamantopolous as Moe, Sean Hayes as Larry, and Will Sasso as Curly. “It’s by far the riskiest project we’ve ever done, without question, but it is also the one closest to our hearts,” said Farelly brothers Peter and Bobby, in one statement released about their movie.