# The Three Stooges- any radio? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 10, 2013, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-any-radio/655272 "2013-04-10T00:09:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-any-radio/655272/1 "2013-04-10T00:09:57Z")
I was reading the thread on The Three Stooges and The Marx Brothers, and I got to wondering- radio was the major medium during the Stooges heyday. Did they ever try to do any work on radio? It’s not as ridiculous as it sounds. The Marx Brothers (Chico and Groucho) did Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel, and Harpo even made a guest appearance on Burns and Allen. Laurel and Hardy even did a little radio. The Stooges did enough verbal material in their act that it could have worked. The cartoony sound effects would even have allowed some of their slapstick to work. I have not run across anything before, but that doesn’t mean anything, really. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-any-radio/655272/2 "2013-04-10T00:30:39Z")
Yes, but only as guests, not a regular show. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-any-radio/655272/3 "2013-04-10T00:52:10Z")
I had never even ran across any guest appearances, and I have read a decent amount of stuff about old time radio. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-any-radio/655272/4 "2013-04-10T09:20:28Z")
> [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](#): > > I had never even ran across any guest appearances, and I have read a decent amount of stuff about old time radio. My reference source is _Moe Howard & The Three Stooges_ by Moe Howard. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-any-radio/655272/5 "2013-04-10T09:26:37Z")
Certainly. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-any-radio/655272/6 "2013-04-11T15:38:55Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Certainly. Oh, a wise guy, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-any-radio/655272/7 "2013-04-11T16:43:55Z")
The one that amazes me is that Edgar Bergen had a popular radio show. Ventriloquism seems like the worst act for radio up to Howard Stern’s idea of having women strip on the radio. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-any-radio/655272/8 "2013-04-11T16:52:01Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The one that amazes me is that Edgar Bergen had a popular radio show. > > Ventriloquism seems like the worst act for radio up to Howard Stern’s idea of having women strip on the radio. wel;l, he was reportedly not really a great ventriloquist (you could see his lips move). It’s really a matter of voice and personalities. He also did records, like this one: [http://bizarrerecords.com/wordpress/2010/edgar-bergen-with-charlie-mccarthy/](http://bizarrerecords.com/wordpress/2010/edgar-bergen-with-charlie-mccarthy/) In fact, I learned ventriloquism from a Jimmy Nelson Danny O’Day record like that: > **[Jimmy Nelson Danny O Day Ventriloquist Dummy W Record for sale | eBay](https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Jimmy%20Nelson%20Danny%20O%20Day%20Ventriloquist%20Dummy%20w%20Record%20)** > > Get the best deals for Jimmy Nelson Danny O Day Ventriloquist Dummy W Record at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items! Heck, Jeff Dinham’s done radio/albums: > **[Jeff Dunham music, videos, stats, and photos | Last.fm](https://www.last.fm/music/Jeff+Dunham)** > > Listen to music from Jeff Dunham like Coming to America, Walter's Wife, Amsterdam & more. Find the latest tracks, albums, and images from Jeff Dunham. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-any-radio/655272/9 "2013-04-12T16:35:57Z")
Edgar Bergen’s strength was not that he could speak without moving his lips (he was awful at that, in fact Charlie made fun of him for it), but his ability to switch back and forth between himself and his character, and have it seem like it really was two people talking to each other. Heck, I’ve listened to Bergen and McCarthy and thought, “Edgar Bergen isn’t very good…Charlie needs a funnier partner!” before realizing how stupid that was. He was an immensely talented voice actor. Jeff Dunham (whatever you think of his material) is very good at the same thing- he can have a conversation between himself and two different characters, in any combination he wants. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-any-radio/655272/10 "2013-04-12T18:20:19Z")
One advantage of radio for Bergen was that he could “leave the room” and have Charlie say things that Bergen wasn’t supposed to hear. You could even have Charlie and Mortimer discussing Bergen as though he wasn’t in the room. Primarily, though, Bergen was funny. His technical ability didn’t matter since he made you laugh.