# The Three Stooges Meet Hercules **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 21, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348 "2011-06-21T22:37:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![longPath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@longPath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longPath)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/1 "2011-06-21T22:37:53Z")
appears to have become available on Netflix. I’m not sure I ever saw any of their shorts with Curly Joe DeRita. On the upside, Emil Sitka is featured. (“hold hands, you lovebirds!”) and it’s filmed in glorious black and white. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/2 "2011-06-21T23:37:17Z")
Is there a 3D version available? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/3 "2011-06-21T23:46:04Z")
Joe DeRita never appeared in the shorts. Joe Bessar (the worst Stooge) was in a few shorts. Emil Sitka was made an official Stooge, but never appeared in any film. He was an extra in some shorts, and he was the original Fake Shemp. I’ll never understand why Three Stooges Meet Hercules wasn’t at least nominated for an Oscar, much less winning one. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/4 "2011-06-22T01:49:18Z")
You mean Hoy-cue-leez? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/5 "2011-06-22T02:25:38Z")
I believe Emil Sitka was invited to be the third stooge after Larry Fine had his stroke, but Moe apparently didn’t like his attitude after Emil was “promoted” into stooge-hood. Emil wasn’t as laid back as Larry. The Three Stooges was the act that just kept going and going… ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/6 "2011-06-22T04:04:23Z")
Was this the one that featured a character named Schuyler? ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/7 "2011-06-22T06:35:10Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Joe DeRita never appeared in the shorts. Joe Bessar (the worst Stooge) was in a few shorts. Emil Sitka was made an official Stooge, but never appeared in any film. He was an extra in some shorts, and he was the original Fake Shemp. Incorrect. The original “Fake Shemp” was a actor/stand-in named Joe Palma (I’m too lazy to link it, just Google the name and read it on IMDB or whatever.) He never could quite fool Stooge fan over the age of the four. He was, however, the inspiration for the “fake Shemps” made famous in the original _Evil Dead._ ---
**Author:** ![longPath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@longPath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longPath)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/8 "2011-06-22T11:13:11Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Was this the one that featured a character named Schuyler? Yes. Schuyler Davis was played by Quinn K. Redeker who was a co writer on The Deer Hunter. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/9 "2011-06-22T11:47:11Z")
I love that movie. I think it’s more epic than _Lord Of The Rings_. But I’d never buy a used chariott from them. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/10 "2011-06-22T11:52:44Z")
Man. I had this comic book when I was a kid, and I loved it. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/11 "2011-06-22T14:16:12Z")
I actually liked DeRita as Curly Joe. The cartoon shorts they did in the 60’s as “The New Three Stooges” always tickled me when I was a kid. The problem is, the Stooges’ trademark physicality had been severely toned down by then. DeRita was already 50 when he became a Stooge; Moe was 62 at the time and Larry 57. Despite a certain charm, watching the Curly Joe-era films is always a little sad, seeing a shadow of what the act once was. ---
**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:** [June 22, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/12 "2011-06-22T14:48:02Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I believe Emil Sitka was invited to be the third stooge after Larry Fine had his stroke, but Moe apparently didn’t like his attitude after Emil was “promoted” into stooge-hood. Emil wasn’t as laid back as Larry. > > The Three Stooges was the act that just kept going and going… Even after Moe finally retired. “Curly Joe” de Rita started up a “New Three Stooges” act with himself and two other guys in the _1970s_. It didn’t last very long, though. But it shows you the incredible staying power of the Stooges brand. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/13 "2011-06-22T15:27:28Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Incorrect. The original “Fake Shemp” was a actor/stand-in named Joe Palma (I’m too lazy to link it, just Google the name and read it on IMDB or whatever.) He never could quite fool Stooge fan over the age of the four. He was, however, the inspiration for the “fake Shemps” made famous in the original _Evil Dead._ You’re right. I was confused by Sitka’s role in _Commotion on the Ocean_, where Palma appeared as a Fake Shemp. ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/14 "2011-06-22T16:03:52Z")
I always liked _Snow White and the Three Stooges_, the only mix of broad comedy, figure skating, fairy tale, swordplay, and ventriloquism I’ve seen to date (as a musical?) ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/15 "2011-06-22T17:55:42Z")
Lest we forget. the sweep and granduer of _The Three Stooges Go Around The World In A Daze_ stiil brings tears to mt eyes every I hear “Pop goes the weasel”. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/16 "2011-06-22T18:02:14Z")
Their last film, [The Outlaws Is Coming,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outlaws_Is_Coming) a Western, co-starred a handsome young actor named Adam West, who later went on to everlasting fame as TV’s Caped Crusader, Batman. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/17 "2011-06-22T18:10:48Z")
Almost forgot my favorite Stooge factoid. Rep. Barney Frank is related to Shemp by marriage. \. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-stooges-meet-hercules/586348/18 "2011-06-22T21:40:39Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Almost forgot my favorite Stooge factoid. Rep. Barney Frank is related to Shemp by marriage. \. So THAT’S where Barney got his voice from!