Larry aspired to be classical concert violinist, but could only find work in Vaudeville orchestra pits. To make extra money, he would be the "plant" in the audience for comedians, either as a heckler to trigger an insult comic, or as "the rube" who would be brought on stage to fall for the gags a "slicker" comic would play on him. (That's how he came to the attention of Ted Healy, who was a combination "insult" and "slicker" comic and wanted to have his own "stooge(s)" with comic skills he could depend on, rather than take his chances night after night with whoever the local promoter could come up with.) Great running gag: Larry plays the violin, and antics ensue, resulting in the instrument being smashed to matchsticks . . . and a stricken Larry despairs, "My Stradivarius!"
I used to race home from Elementary School to catch the Stooges at 3:30 everyday! My older brother would come in and beat me up and change the channel to "Sea Hunt." I'm now 63 and retired and I STILL love the Stooges.
I'm a girl, so a lot of times, my brother and I fought over what to watch on TV, but the Stooges was the one show we both agreed on! We got really into the Stooges when it came on AMC in the early 2000s. We'd rush to finish our homework so we could watch it every weeknight at 6 p.m., and would even make sure to get up early enough on Saturday to see the episodes they'd show at 9 a.m.
Had the pleasure of meeting Larry Fine while he was recovering from a stroke in the early 70's at the Motion Picture & Television Retirement Home in Calabasas, CA in the San Fernando Valley...He was kind and funny, and gave us all an autographed picture, which I still have!
This is such a classic. First the girls sing it straight, then they sing it in harmony, then they sing it in syncopation. And they throw in "Curley's a dope." Haw!
I get a kick out of the way they suddenly switch from a full classroom with a few strong voices to a tight set of seven Andrews-like sisters. There must be a term in music for the way that "Curly's a dope" contrasts but complements the main melody.
One of my fondest memories as a child was watching the Three Stooges with my Italian immigrant grandfather. We both used to laugh so hard. He passed in 1982 at the age of 81. I close my eyes and I can still see and hear him laughing. 😂🙏🇮🇹
Most endearing bit The Boys ever filmed. One wonders why they weren’t given more musical numbers to perform, for here they display their decided gifts of musicality! A welcome respite indeed from their predictable [slap~poke & boom) routines!
I still love the Three Stooges! I was so sad when Curly had to leave because of the stroke he had. Rest in Peace to all the Stooges! Thank you for all the amazing years of entertainment!
My dad introduced me to the Stooges when I was seven, I'm thirteen now and they're my favorite. "Curlys' a dope!" has always been my favorite line. Such a hysterical show... SITDOWN!!!!
Love the Three Stooges too. Curly has always been my favorite. So it's heartwarming to see Curly's grandson, Brad "Curly G" Server, making videos with some friends. He acts Curly-like but he makes it his own. He's in no way trying to replace his grandfather, but the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. lol 🙂
That happens with certain songs especially when they are used in education. I remember one time when my teacher used School House Rock to teach us, those songs were stuck in my head for ages.
The wonderful harmony displayed by the girls when they do the letter F sends chills up my spine. It's a shame that we will probably never hear that kind of singing again except in old movies and clips such as this.
Thank God for the Horwitz brothers and Larry Feinberg. Moses/Moe, Samuel/Shemp, Jerome/Curly And Lawrence/Larry Feinberg aka porcupine. Been lovin ever since the 1st grade. We all would run home from school and get home just in time for the last episode. And by the way I have honor of sharing June 19th as the birthday with one Mo Howard.
I think the point is that it's a deceptively simple looking pattern that is actually quite hard to get consistently right. It's a tongue twister with rhythm and melody. No idea why it's in a Three Stooges skit but I don't think it's easy per se.
a-i-u-e-o / ka-ki-ku-ke-ko / sa-shi-su-se-so... My Japanese is only sufficient to get me a bowl of noodles or a bathroom, but it's fun just to know a few of the "big concepts" behind a major language, and to explain the Japanese syllables (katakana and hiragana) to people in a fun way, I've played this video. By basing my language "lesson" on the Stooges, I also signal how seriously my Japanese proficiency should be taken.
10 years old after school eating a bowl of chips and a Faygo (root beer) sitting in front of our Magnavox cabinet color tv mesmerized by this song. 1974 was a good year.
It takes a lot of practice to actually get this song down. All jokes aside, it's a great little piece of vocal harmony, and all three of them (Moe, Larry & Curly) are actually singing!! It's not dubbed in with professional singers as is normally done these days. On a different 'note', (pun intended!! Lol) Larry IS really playing his violin during this song. For those that may not know it, Larry was an "accomplished" violinist. He frequently played with the orchestra in his off air life. He was a very talented guy, but then again, all of them were, and that fact almost always goes unnoticed and unacknowledged. All of them could not only act, they could also all sing and dance and were musicians, as was typical in those days with Hollywood actors. They had to be multi-talented to even think about "breaking in to show-biz". Quite a contrast to today "actors", usually getting into the business through a parent, or other relative who's already in the business and been there long time. That said, there are a small minirity of multi-talented actors working in film now, bit back in those days, you had a lot of talent in different areas, or you didn't think about having a chance in Hollywood. Times have really changed. Another piece of trivia along the same idea, whenever the stooges are acting out one of their skits which involve music, you will see that Larry always has his violin in the act, AND he is also actually playing it and accompanying the music in the skit. In other words, whenever you see him with his violin, he's actually playing it for real. Even when he purposefully makes mistakes on it as part of the act. As I mentioned, Larry loved to play the violin and was an excellent violinist.
@@davereiber1well they all started as vaudeville so they all could sing but I was surprised to learn that that’s moe singing cause it doesn’t sound like how he talks
Absolutely cracks me up. Each stooge is so funny but together they are just legendary!! Still hilarious today so so long after all passed. A genuine blue mood lifter!!
"Ladies and gentlemen I'm gonna.. sit down I'm going to test your metal coordination.. Sit down! I'm going to test your mental coordination with a little.. SIT DOWN!"
I've been watching the Three Stooges for well over 60 years and they, along with Laurel and Hardy have given me more laughs than the rest of the world combined.
The first time I saw this I was about ten and at that time I distinctly remember being smitten by the young ladies , but at that time a ten year old admitting he liked girls was something you kept to yourself.
As a child I had a crush on Moe. I used to watch their movie shorts after school, during 1960s. During 1965, they had a color cartoon on TV for about a year, but it was also shown during following years. It can be seen on you tube.
This just brings a huge smile to my face hearing those 3 sing. I think Moe has a really underrated singing voice. 5 bucks says he sang this to his son and daughter later on. 😊
Love the three stooges and this song. I sing thus song at work and everyone scratches there heads. Gonna play it at my wedding just to see my fiances reaction. 😂
He played it in several shorts most notably, Punch Drunks, in which his playing of "Pop Goes The Weasel" causes Curley to freak out and knock out anyone in the vicinity.
Len Hummel they sure are. a lot of women are to trashy to even look at. All these ladies are gorgeous with little or no make on. as opposed to today's women pounds of the stuff on
Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful! I'm 64...because of the internet the entire world can see the farcical genius of the 3 Stooges and their comic physical humor. Underrated during my lifetime, at last Larry, Moe and Curly have the love and affection of whole new generations of stooges.
We used to watch these on tv as kids. They still bring a big smile on my face, and memories of good times. They just don't make good tv anymore. Sigh. (Thanks for posting it. I enjoyed it).
I use to sing this song to my self all the time. My wife thought I made it up until she heard Joey on friends singing it one time. Life's great sometimes isn't it? Blessed
I haven't seen this since I was 3 years old, but I remember every word of that silly song! I didn't even realize I was watching reruns then. The Three Stooges were the BEST!!!! :)
ladies and gentleman, I'm gonna....sit down..I'm gonna test your mental cord...sit down...I'm gonna test your mental coordination with a little...SIT DOWN!!!! Lmao
I stumbled on this while researching a podcast about the song's composer Septimus Winner, who is buried at Laurel Hill West Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, PA. Winner also wrote "Listen to the Mockingbird," "Oh Where, oh Where Ish Mine Little Dog Gone," and "Ten Little Indians." His brother Joseph Eastburn Winner wrote "The Little Brown Jug."
When this 1938 classic episode, “Violent is the Word for Curly” is now broadcast on television, “The Alphabet Song,” arguably their most endearing bit ever, is edited out! This is true of many of their shorts; many are chopped up so badly they run only five minutes! Blasphemy!!
I am 72 years young, and remember the Stooges as a young lad. This short video of the "Swingin' the Alphabet" is truly a classic. I still am able to view the Stooges on the weekend where I live. When I go home however to Canada, I am not able to see them, too bad.
