I always enjoy your content, Rick. Did you know if they continued to split it three ways with the later stooges Joe Besser or Curly Joe? I would think Moe and Larry would have kept a bigger piece of the pie at that point.
I do know their contract extended into the Joe Besser shorts. Joe came on board to fill in for Shemp, who died suddenly, who filled in for Curly. All the same contract. Joe essentially filled in for those shorts so that they wouldn’t default on their contract to finish those shorts. My “impression” Is that Joe got his fair 1/3 share. That’s my thought from what I’ve studied. But the Joe DeRita movies was a whole different ballgame and I believe the $ was different. Great question! I hope this cleared it up
I've read that because of his existing contract w/ Columbia, Besser made more than Moe & Larry combined, since Moe & Larry had to share the same salary.
I'm now 64 years old, but when i was very young, I saw the Stooges in person, in a parking lot, performing on the back of a large flat bed truck, for the opening of a shopping center. I'll never forget it.
Larry, Moe, and Curly Joe toured a lot around 1958 - 1961 ! They were great live !!! I feel that Curly Joe was superb in following the footsteps of Curly Joe and Shemp. They were all good in their own way and Curly Joe doesn' get enough credit. - fine video !
Three Stooges have got to be my favorite! It's amazing that there are so many so called celebrities out there that make way more money than they did and don't have a tenth of their talent!
@@ricknineg You do a great job. Taking the inflation rate into account when stating salaries is a nice touch. Normally, whenever I read some information about salaries or prices in past decades, I have to find some on-line inflation calculator and do the conversion myself. All your videos are very professional and entertaining.
@@ricknineg I agree with what everyone else is saying, watching your videos is very informative and professional. I feel even though they were under paid their contract also prevented them from collecting from reruns.
They made one episode per week, so they worked 7 or 8 weeks a year. The rest of the year they would go on tour and make a ton of money doing that also. They performed in clubs and theaters a lot.
I read that tours were not successful as they had hoped. They realized this as they learned alot of magic to the success and the laughter was manifested in the humorous sound effects on film.
I REALLY WANT TO CONTINUE TO WATCHING THE THREE STOOGES!! BECAUSE I LOVED THEM!! AND WISHING THEM THE BEST OF LUCK;; A ND TO LOVED THEM;; FOREVER!!❤❤😊😊
I love their reruns so I say they were really worth at least double... They still make me feel good even on a bad day... Stay safe... Have a great day...
To put this in perspective, every studio made short subjects to go along with their feature movies. Edgar Kennedy, Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, Robert Benchley, Pete Smith, Joe McDoakes and many others made series of shorts in the thirties and forties. None of them are remembered now and most are practically unwatchable, except for the Stooges. In those days shorts were a cheap throwaway used as filler in movie programs. No one knew they would find a new life on television and now on RU-vid. The Stooges films are a rare exception, the one series of short comedies that caught the public imagination for more than a very short time.
And Our Gang shorts which became The Little Rascals. They all got screwed out of money because they were never going to be put on tv like you said. The studio did, but refused to pay any more to them then what they were paid when they were originally done.
What is funny to me is that the Stooge shorts are more popular today than many of the movies they introduced. I occasionally will pass by the TV and an old comedy film of their competitors will be on and they are flat boring by comparison.
In the mid 70’s I lived a few blocks away from Moe’s daughter. She was selling some of Moe’s cancelled checks for 10.00 each. Still have two of them. Nice little piece of Stooges history.
She donated all of the proceeds to the City of Hope charity. Selling those checks was a big success. She ran an advertisement in Rolling Stone Magazine.
Not really. They averaged only working about 6 weeks a year filming their shorts, those figures in the video as far as what they got paid is very good money for not much work! And they weren't feature film stars, shorts were regarded about the same as B movies.
Rick, Thank You. I know this video took some work. I remember seeing a movie about the stooges. It seems that Curly blew through his money like water and Moe kept trying to warn him to save his money. Then, one day, Curly had a stroke and he only appeared a few times after that. Moe would slip him money when he could. Kind of sad as he made me laugh a lot.
I remember you mentioning Curly’s love for dogs in a previous video, think it might of been a livestream. Regardless, it bears repeating, as he was a generous man it seemed when it came to his passions. And why not? Btw, Good video and editing! Nicely done.
Moe Howard passed on with roughly 10 million in the bank. Same with Larry Fine. It'll be hard to find both Curly and Shemp's actual net worth since they both passed on in the 50's. For that I feel the the studio (Columbia Pictures) did Moe so wrong forcing him to return to work right away after each brother passed away. He kinda had it rough during those times. Least he was a millionaire when he did pass away.
An agent might have gotten them more money, only if another studio would have been willing to pay them more. They would have to pay the agent (10-20%) of gross but if they double your paycheck, they are worth the money. It was a different time back then, right after the Great Depression, and part of the problem was they didn't want to risk losing their job over a salary negotiation when they had families to feed.
In addition, their comedy is far more funnier than most "comedians" nowadays. Their comedy was truly timeless, compared to the one hit celebrities today.
Great video rick loved the three stooges thanks for sharing about their salaries and money how much they made always learning new stuff and info man👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
No I didn't know tha curlys brother when I was in the three stooges originally and before curly didn't know that Marty I always that curly was there first didn't know that he was replaced by ill shemp cool thanks for sharing the info once again marty so shemp was reprising his role cool I see well there's a lot here I didn't know Marty always appreciate you sharing and telling me new info I didn't know about thanks man take care as well marty
Wow marty I don't know how you managed to remember all this you know a lot about the stooges I never knew all of this I learn a lot from you marty a lot if I want to know a lot I have you to tell me thanks man 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks very much marty it's appreciated buddy hahaha your very smart to know all this information you a very intelligent person with great information man lol that's funny that someone said that lol yes you should be jeopardy your very smart
Great video! Your calculator must have taken more finger pokes than all the Stooges eyeballs combined! 😁 I like the new graphics used for the dollar amounts as well! Much easier to view as opposed to previous videos on the same topic. Your work truly shines! 👍🏻
Moe was never willing to press Harry Cohn the Chairman of Columbia Pictures for more money, the Stooges were happy to be working at one studio doing what they loved to do and they never got greedy. They certainly got taken advantage of but Moe didn't care he was loyal to Cohn even though all the other studios wanted to sign the boys to contracts in the early 1930s. Cohn was the smart mogul he told them "you boys will be most successful doing short films 20 minutes long" and that was the key to their success.
Lots of arithmetic, but what it boils down to is that these guys were grossly underpaid. They needed a new agent. It is hard for me to believe that they didn't know about their popularity when they were making so many shorts each year. They were great actors. Better than a lot of actors today who don't have half the talent.
Making $134,000 annually when a normal home would cost around $5,000. I would say they all three could have afforded huge homes and a wonderful life style if they chose but saying that , all three I believe were grossly underpaid. They may have been funny short clips but today in 2021 watching them we still laugh. Times were different back then . They gave 110 percent of themselves and made us old cronies laugh so hard . RIP Gentleman. You were the greatest!
Fond memories of my childhood watching them ( those "shorts" were approximately 30 or so years old at that time!) Watched them over and over and if I had a dollar for every time I've mimicked them, well I would have a lot of money!! Certainly!! ( In that heavy east coast accent)🤣
According to the Three Stooges Fan Club they earned $20,000 each per year. The equivalent of $360,000 in 2020. It took approximately 7 weeks cumulatively each year to make the films. They never received residuals after the films were made and aired on television. That was a decision made by The Screen Actors Guild for all movies and TV shows made prior to 1960.
Joe Besser, future third Stooge, was paid $1,500 for only four days work in a Columbia short in 1951 called 'Fraidy Cat, which was a scene-by-scene remake of Dizzy Detectives.
This doesn't really have to do with the money part that the video centers around, but the comment in the video that they weren't aware of their popularity is a myth, mostly due to misinformation in the 2000 Three Stooges movie that Mel Gibson produced. They went on many successful personal appearance tours that drew big crowds, they knew how popular they were.
Hey Rick, I think that they made enough to live quite comfortably provided they were not too extravagant. Thanks for all your hard work with these facts & figures. 🙂
I’ve always enjoyed this sort of content you’ve made in the past as it’s quite interesting to see what people made making shows, shorts or whatever it is they do and compare it to the money of today. It’s cool that they always split the money three ways so everyone would get the same. I’m not sure if that would happen much these days.
One thing I heard was the working class attitude of them, especially Moe. They were paid basic money, where the studio made the money. Apparently there was no offer made for more, nor a demand for more by them; and the arrangement worked out well for the studio in any case.
Thanks for another excellent Stooge analysis. I've read that Columbia made millions off the Stooges but Harry Cohn kept them in the dark about that & kept them tethered to their salaries. Moe is said to have invested wisely in real estate, Curly kinda blew his money on several marriages & Larry liked to gamble.
No one forced the Stooges to stay at Columbia, since they had annual contracts, they were free to seek employment elsewhere. Columbia didn't make millions off their shorts department, in fact they often barely broke even - until much later when the shorts were aired on TV.
They deserved alot more...Studios took advantaged of them..They still making lots of money from them.there images.DVDS ect...What happen to there kids.Why wont anyone interview them.think only Moes kids are left..Not sure what happened to curlys daughters he had...i wish someone would them up find out whos left from them before there gone.Thks for this video and information
It doesn't sound like a lot of money even when adjusted to today's figures but the cost of living was SO MUCH LESS back then. And they were only making shorts, not full length movies, so it probably didn't make a lot of sense to pay them the salaries that weekly contracted stars were paid. I'm satisfied that they made a good living, and god knows they made films that people still watch today! That's saying a lot about their work! Great video, thanks for posting this!
It's just sad that they didn't get any money for royalties or syndication of the shorts to Television. Although they made more money on their live tours.
All I know is Moe and Curly made more than Larry. It was later figured out since Moe and Curly were brothers. Shemp Howard came into the act after Curly died. 1952. Shemp died on Nov 22 , 1955.
@@johnbockelie3899 Yes but Shemp was making more money as a solo actor before joining the Stooges and was brought in under the impression that as soon as Curly was better he would go back as a solo artist, but stayed on after finding out Curly would not be fit to come back as a favour to his Brothers Moe & Curry.
I'm surprised they didn't have an agent that took 10 % or 15 %, Elvis had a manger took 50%, I checked the census in 1940 my grandpa made $2000 all year, that's like forty bucks a week so $2500 a film ist too bad if you do 4 or 5 a year, the sad part is they got famous in the 60's for things that were 25 years old and never got anything for the reruns,
The fact of the matter was, except the 3 stooges, the Columbia comedy short lot employed has been comics from the silent era. Witness , buster keaton, Charlie chase, Andy clyde, et al. But I give them credit for keeping slap stick alive in the sound era. Movie audiences at the time consider these throw backs.
I have read in one of the Stooges books that they made $7500 per short, which they then split 3 ways. I don't know, I'm sure there is some archivist of the Columbia papers somewhere who has the contracts. Anyway, they made most of their money (on top of the Columbia money) on the road in vaudeville.
You can’t compare to today’s values because back then the audiences were a lot smaller. Also, if by shorts you mean those 10 minute episodes they could probably produce a years worth of shorts in one month. They then had the rest of the year to make revenue in other ways like stage acts and full length movies. I’m guessing that back then you could buy a house for 5,000.00 so overall I think they did pretty good.
They made a good living. But they were greatly undervalued. Just goes to show that todays stars are way overpaid. I value a teacher, doctor or production worker so much more than an actor. Those professions actually make a difference in peoples lives. Actors offer little more than a distraction. I would however say that a distraction in the times that the Stooges made the shorts was much more needed than today (though Covid is changing that).
The Reason I Looked This Up And Found Your Video Is I Was Wondering How Much Colombia Has Been Making From All Their Shorts Both In Theaters And World Wide On Television For All These Years... No I Was Not Surprised I Knew They Were Ripped Off... Plus Were Columbia's Highest Grossing's Stars When They Were First Run In Theaters, Not To Mention When The Shorts Hit TV...
Early on they played burlesque and a number of their routine were also done by Abbott and Costello. Where the Stooges IMHO didn't make as much as I think they were worth (especially when their shorts went on TV) Abbott and Costello were the most popular comedy team in the 1940's and early 1950's. They got a percentage of the movies, appeared on radio and live performances, and from I've read they both made around $25 million by the early 1950's. In today's money, it's around $250 million. Not bad, but they managed to lose all of it due to a crooked accountant, their constantly trying to out do one another with cars and yachts, poor investments, and they're accountant not paying their tax bills.
I would think at that time they thought they made plenty of money. If they realized that we are still talking about them and enjoying their shorts to day , I would think they would think they were extremely underpaid...... But keep in mind that their brand through royalties are still making millions each year...
They earned on average $20,000 each per year. The equivalent of over $300,000 in today's money. That amount was earned by working at Columbia Pictures for under 7 weeks cumulatively total each year. That was very good money.
Some questions I have. How did what they got compare to others doing similar shorts? & what about personal appearances? How much does what they made then compare, in today's dollars, to what someone working in a similar (if there is) situation today?
They ended up in a class of their own making shorts, no act made as many or for as long as the Stooges. Laurel and Hardy made shorts at first too, but I have no idea how their pay compared. They did well on their personal appearance tours, but how well I don't know either. There really is nothing today to compare to shorts. IMO the Stooges made really good money for not being actors making feature films. Shorts were in the same category as B movies (or even lower). They were 17-20 minute films used to fill the gap between two feature films, and after that, never be seen again. No one anticipated how TV would change all that.
Joan looks very similar to Moe. I met Moe, Larry and Curly Joe DeRita in 1960. They all were very nice. Moe specifically told me not to try the physical comedy and not to drag a saw across my sister's head. They did make some full feature films as well.
Does not surprise me at all. It is well known that they got ripped off! Where was their agents? You can tell this is of a different time and mind-set for sure!
Certainly enough to live comfortably. Too bad they didn’t get any royalties for reruns. But it seems in the later years, after Curly and Shemp, they made bigger money on movies, etc. Thanks for the breakdown. This is the best salary video, I’ve seen.
Hey Rick, As far as popularity is concerned they did not become popular until TV syndication in the 1950's. Unfortunately, there was no such thing as royalties or points share on a movie contract at the time. In Hollywood sense, they were broke. Moe was considered the business head of the stooges and was at first reluctant to run their shorts on TV not knowing that the next generation would be closest fans. Yes they were more popular in 1960's than the 30s-40s thanks to syndication.
