manny, moe and jack

OK. So these guys’ last names were really Pep. That I’m cool with. But who were they? Did they start out repairing horse buggies and the like before moving onto cars? Are they still alive? Who knows the straight dope on these cads?

Not named Pep: http://www.pepboys.com/company/facts/history/

I believe on mutual fund statements including Pep Boys stock, the official name of the company includes “Pep Boys-Manny, Moe and Jack”; looks a little funny on an official statement.

My mother actually met the Pep Boys when she was in high school. Her father owned a printing company and did their advertising back then in Philadelphia. “They were dirty old men,” she says. “One of them kept pinching me.” Pep, indeed!