This article is about the comedy act. For the band, see 'The Stooges'. , Curly Howard and Larry Fine.]]The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid-20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. They were commonly known by their first names: 'Moe, Larry, & Curly', and 'Moe, Larry, & Shemp', among other lineups. The act originally featured Moe Howard (born Harry Moses Horwitz), brother Shemp Howard (born Samuel Horwitz), and longtime friend Larry Fine (born Louis Feinberg). Shemp was later replaced by brother Curly Howard (born Jerome Lester Horwitz) in 1932. When Curly suffered a debilitating stroke in 1946, Shemp rejoined the act. After Shemp's death in 1955, he was replaced by bald-headed comedian Joe Besser, and eventually by Joe "Curly-Joe" DeRita (born Joseph Wardell). After Larry's stroke, Emil Sitka, a longtime actor in Stooge comedies, was contracted to replace Larry, but no film was ever

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