The Most Valuable Stooge (10/5/09)

Larry Fine looking stunned, undoubtedly by some unexpected turn of events People who work in comedy know the "Rule of Three." That is, when writing jokes or creating a comedic movie, TV show, play, or even a sketch, writers know how to establish a situation, confirm it, and then overturn it. If you look for it, you'll see it all the time: "A priest, a minister, and a rabbi walk into a bar ... "; "An Englishman, an Irishman, and a Scotsman were arguing ... "; "A genie grants a man three wishes ... " With that rule so well-known, it makes us wonder why there are so few three-man comedy teams. There's the Ritz Brothers (whom few remember nowadays), the Marx Brothers (who originally were a quartet), the Three Stooges - and that’s about it. We were reminded of this apparent paradox today in noting that October 5 marks the birthday of our favorite Stooge, Larry Fine. Every Stooge fan has his favorite. (We use the pronoun "his" deliberately here, since it's well known that women just don't get - or even like the Stooges.) Some prefer the outright lunacy of Curly; some think Shemp is the ne plus ultra of wackiness; there are undoubtedly those who think the antics of Joe or Curly Joe cannot be bettered; and we're sure Moe brings delight to many for his attempts to bring order out of chaos. But Larry is, for us, the essential Stooge. His "normalcy" (at least in terms of Stoogedom) provides the necessary grounding between Moe's masochism and Curly's flights of fancy. The Trinity of Stooges has been compared to Sigmund Freud's theory of the unconscious (no, honestly), what with Moe's controlling force representing the ego, Curly the uncontrollable id, and Larry, the super-ego that strives for organization and peace. Larry Fine himself was an unassuming man. He was born Louis Feinberg in Philadelphia in 1902, and after a childhood accident (he burned his arm with acid), he took up the violin, a choice that led to a career in vaudeville, where a chance meeting with comedian Ted Healy (who had originally hired the Howard Brothers - Moe, Shemp, and Curly - to accompany him on stage) led him to join Healy's act as the third Stooge, a role he would hold for the next four decades until a debilitating stroke forced him to retire. Larry's contribution to the act is invaluable. He provides an entry point for the viewer, allowing us to put Moe's harshness and Curly's craziness into context. Without him, Stooge fanatics would be left with only an authoritarian beating up on a lunatic. And every so often, Larry will say or do something so off the wall that it confirms his own existence as a Stooge. Director Peter Farrelly threatened for years to make a new "Three Stooges" movie While it may not have seemed a good idea at first blush (Benicio Del Toro as Moe? Sean Penn as Larry?), his views on Mr. Fine give Larry-philes reason for hope (while also providing a fine epitaph): "Growing up, first you watched Curly, then Moe, and then your eyes got to Larry. He's the reactor, the most vulnerable. Five to fourteen, Curly; fourteen to twenty-one, Moe. Anyone out of college, if you're not looking at Larry, you don’t have a good brain." Suggested Sites... Three Stooges Wiki: Larry Fine - dedicated the most important Stooge of them all. IMDb: Larry Fine - film credits, biography, and photos. Wikipedia: Larry Fine - good overview of his life and career. Neatorama: A Sincere Homage to Larry Fine - just what it says. Sean Hayes Talks About Larry Fine - recreating the legend.