An Interview with Moe Howard of the Three Stooges in 1973

I made this recording, an interview with Moe Howard of the Three Stooges in April 1973, using my dad's cassette recorder, no VCR's then. It aired on WTAF 29 in Philadelphia. At that time Channel 29 aired the Three Stooges weekdays from 3:30 to 4:30. On my walk home from school I would stop at my Grandmother's house, watch the Stooges whilst eating Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets! Who could ask for anything more.

[@jerrybk1]

Funny thing is you can watch episodes thousands of times and never get sick of them. My childhood is full of great times watching them. When I'm down, I immediately watch them to feel better.

[@lpdog82]

So true, I still laugh and feel better watching the boys 50 years later, they are so funny and so timeless❤

[@mmv3345]

Moe is an absolute legend and so are Curly, Larry, and Shemp. They are hands down the funniest of all time. Thank you for all the laughs

[@erichwise9936]

what about Joe Besser?

[@user-wi6sh6vh8u]

Definitely.

[@user-wi6sh6vh8u]

Yeah?

[@sdgakatbk]

I like them all, and they seem very decent people IRL If I had a time machine, one thing I'd love to do is to go back and take a pie in the face from Moe. I think that would be awesome!!

[@dean-ph2ww]

Shemp is underrated. A lot of people don't like him because they would rather watchl Curly but I always thought Shemp was hilarious. Took me years to get that "Be-be-be-be-be" down.

[@jeffreyfridkis3298]

A preserved piece of comedic history.

[@mjp96]

Nothing to compare to

[@TeddGCM]

As a small child, I got to meet Moe. I was about 4 years old. He "Poked" me in the eyes.

[@SlickArmor]

You're so lucky. Not many people can say that.

[@kiajulian4619]

Oh how wonderful!😂

[@MichaelMike-ob2gb]

And now you wear glasses. 😄

[@gaspartiznado6418]

Not many people can say that and live…long.

[@SlickArmor]

@@MichaelMike-ob2gb nyuk, nyuk, nyuk

[@chrisb.1214]

I loved The Three Stooges as a kid and now at 53 I still love watching them. These guys are timeless.

[@seansupplee7116]

I’m 53 also I remember back in the 70s watching them every Sunday ! I remember my father laughing out loud! Great memories

[@RubberChickenFilms]

Hearing Moe laugh is quite a treat. The Stooges were the greatest.

[@billgilman6267]

The Three stooges will always be the best.i love Them all so much may God bless them Amen .

[@lpdog82]

the unmistakable voice of moe , timeless , , , , , , , , the three stooges comedy got us thru the decades , , thanks for the laughs boys

[@franksmall1313]

Gift.. They had the gift of making people who watch them forget their pain and receive healing deep into their Spirit. May Jesus Bless Them forever.

[@dean-ph2ww]

Great comment. As a kid in 60s and 70s I had a rough childhood and whenever I would get depressed I would think about The Three Stooges and their funniest shorts and within minutes I would be laughing.

[@moisesperez4605]

Oh my God, these guys are the tops in my book, they used to bring me down in tears with their stunts totally hilarious. RIP.

[@mikeholt1248]

Been a Stooges fan for over 60 years, I’ve seen every Stooges comedy hundreds and hundreds of times. Even though I know exactly what’s going to happen, when certain scenes happen I still bust out laughing, can’t help it, and glad I can’t!

[@GameTime-yj6qv]

I was always impressed with how sharp Moe was even in his later years. Hes 76 here and he was still performing. His memory recall for dates, numbers, and facts regarding the stooges was amazing. The Stooges are legendary and have made many generations laugh.

[@user-iy6rm6pm4j]

Priceless. What a world we live in, where treasures like this can still be found.

[@GMan407]

I have so much respect for the stooges. They are pioneers and legends. They will be immortalized as some of the funniest physical comedians of all time.

[@David-yy7lb]

I'm 49 and I still watch the 3 stooges....the 3 stooges will be watched for generations to come👍🏿👍🏿

[@andied9641]

70!! Still watching! 🤣

[@julieanne5373]

What a thrill indeed to listen to this interview. The Three Stooges were geniuses. ☮️💟

[@user-gw5xm4br1y]

People today don't know what they missed growing up watching these guys I love this show.

[@korybeckwith834]

My mother wouldn't let me watch the Three Stooges when I was growing up. So I watched them with my uncle. They still make me laugh.

[@bocconom]

My brother and I watched this interview in our living room when it was aired live. We never missed the Stooges on WTAF 29.

[@johnnytheyoungmaestro]

I'm glad we have this preserved interview. The Three Stooges were one of the greatest comedy groups ever, and we unfortunately don't have humor like that anymore. It's sad they're gone, but really, their legacy is alive and well. ❤️

[@workingshlub8861]

these guys have no idea how much joy they have brought countless people....they will still be great another hundred years from now....

[@ScottGrammer]

I've been a Stooges fan since I first saw them on TV in the late 1960's. Good on you for making the recording in the first place, and for keeping it for 50 years and then posting it here. Part of what I do for a living is to transfer old analog recordings to digital for people, and I am always amazed at what people have recorded and kept for decades.

[@Tracy81258]

Any time any of the Three Stooges were on the Tonight Show back in the day, my mother (of blessed memory) would let me sneak out to watch them. I suffered a concussion once as a small child and had to stay awake as the treatment back then proscribed, and watched the Three Stooges Go To Mars or something on the late, late show on the only station that stayed on the air past midnight back then. I fell asleep in the middle of it, but somehow survived in spite of that.

[@astheworldturns3855]

Such a nice guy! I could listen to Moe for hours.

[@Xayjohns]

Being a child of the 90s, I feel very fortunate that my parents introduced me to "The Three Stooges". Some may look and see the shorts in black and white and think they're nothing that you be into as a kid, but we loved these. "Disorder In the Court" was the first one I can remember seeing, and it is to this day one of the funniest things I've ever seen. There are jokes that I get now as an adult that I didn't get as a kid that make me laugh insanely hard.

[@cinemartini]

I too watched the Stooges with my kids in the 90s.

[@Martin-jk2ng]

Their timing was impeccable. And it was all natural and instinctual. They are absolute legends. 15 feature films and over 200 shorts. Just unbelievable.

[@kevinmiller6380]

One thing you can say about Moe is that he always personally answered all fan mail letters sent to him. He was wrong about the title of the short in which Curly suffered his stroke-it was Half Wits Holiday from 1946, not Hoi Polloi. Holiday was a remake of Hoi Polloi.

[@kiajulian4619]

Yeah I noticed that! In interviews Moe always said it was Hoi Polloi .. when it was indeed Half Wits Holiday! But I never heard him name his favorite shorts... Microphonies and Oh You Nasty Spy are two of my favorites... But I can't recall Slippery Silks by name. When I get home I'm going to see if I can find all three shorts ... It'll be fun to watch Moe working when you know he is enjoying making those particular episodes! And he said it was difficult making Woman Haters which is also one of my favorites! Yeah it *looked difficult to make and it was lovely to hear Moe say it turned out great! So much new information to digest!

[@kennybegeske8824]

Moe Howard Was My Hero And My Favorite And Kind Like A Father To Me And I'm Kind Like A Son To My Hero Moe Howard

[@catfish24]

Can watch them 100 times and still laugh like crazy. I wish I could think them personally for all the times they made me laugh and forget all the bad things in life. True legends.

[@abrahamjustice777]

So curious a thing....The unique ...very unique joy I get watching these 3 guys - Like no other comedians BY FAR

[@moonbeamskies3346]

The world will never hear Curly out of character like this. And that might be for the better. It keeps Curly a mystery.

[@thomaskaye4016]

MOE was a CLASS ACT . Along with the rest of the stooges . Larry , Shemp & the GREAT Curly. I still watch them today ! Long live the 3 Stooges !

[@TrumpDesantis-zm3kg]

Moe's mind is as sharp as they come, crazy he's 76 years old and doesn't miss a beat, a legit genius.

[@patriot4780]

I love The Three Stooges! I’ve gotten a few people with this one “I can’t see! I can’t see!” and sometimes someone would ask what was wrong, and I would say either “I’ve got my eyes shut!” or “I’ve got my eyes closed”.

[@Patrick-il4es]

Moses Harry Horwitz (June 19, 1897 - May 4, 1975), better known by his stage name Moe Howard, was an American comedian and actor. The anchor man of the 3 Stooges.

[@abelreytor7722]

a month later I was born…😂and I have been enjoying there comedy ever since…

[@larryburton9369]

To all the stooges thanks for all the laughter and joy that you have gave us 😊

[@pedroportalatin6751]

Three stooges was my All time favorite show when i was growing up. I remember getting out of school 🏫🎒 running home 🏡 got me some snacks 🥨🥨 sat my butt down 👇 and watched my favorite show.

[@ericmadsen7470]

The 3 Stooges: the greatest of the great B&W comedy groups of their day.

[@dean-ph2ww]

I've been a Three Stooges fan for more than 50 years. but when I was a little kid The Three Stooges made me cry. Moe scared me because he was so mean to the other guys, always slapping them around. I became a fan in the late 60s when they started airing them every afternoon on a local channel. Unfortunately, my mother thought The Three Stooges were the epitome of no class and forbid me from watching them when she was home. She'd say "You think poking somebody in the eyes with your fingers is funny and what do you mean nyuck nyuck nyuck??" and that would make me laugh at her.

[@lesweizman388]

same here my mother hated the stooges she didnt understand the genius of the act

[@dean-ph2ww]

@@lesweizman388 My mother had no sense of humor at all. I remember watching "Batman" with her one night. She thought it was the dumbest thing she'd ever seen. She didn't understand that the show used a lot of campy humor as a way to attract adults.

[@lesweizman388]

@@dean-ph2ww my mom loved comedy....she didnt understand the stooges. thought they were too violent.

[@leftylou6070]

It makes you wanna cry.

[@kiajulian4619]

That was a riveting wonderful interview! I've been obsessed with the Stooges since I was about 7 years old! I loved how they synced up what Moe was saying with the photos being shown! The interviewer was fantastic and it was wonderful how he realized what a treasure he had sitting in front of him and told Moe that he was his idol and called him a genius and fawned over him as he SHOULD have! LOL! Moe is so sharp and down to earth ! I have many books on The Three Stooges... And I even have Moe's autobiography but in this interview he said so many things that I didn't know! In Los Angeles late last year I went to an autograph signing event in Hollywood and I actually got to meet Curley's grandson who has a wonderful KZbin channel! He signed a photo for me! Thanks for posting this great interview with one of the geniuses of our time!

[@bigbadlee1]

Loved and still them all, all 6 of them, especially Curly. May they all rest in peace.

[@mrmojorisin8752]

I think the interviewer was very skilled. He asked the right kinds of questions.

[@RobertMatteis-pe7vh]

Well, I have to say truthfully, the Three Stooges and Abbott and Costello will always be the best comedic acts in history. Abbott and Costello. They were the highest paid act in the 1940s that’s how popular they were..

[@germslover6662]

Not only were these men hilarious, they were also true gentleman in every way, RIP to all of them they are truly missed. Thank you for uploading this interview I loved listening to it.

[@happymotoring4674]

I watched the Stooges on 29 also. Some of my fondest memories were from that time period.

[@user-hw4cd6ks2q]

Wow l love it 2 watch The Three Stooges they made me laugh so much 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 From Breeley Colorado

[@towdjumper5]

Great stuff. My favorite comedians and shows’.

[@dentalnovember]

What a great interview. Thanks for sharing this.

[@Rockhound6165]

Wow, good old channel 29, home of the Flyers.

[@chuckcribbs3398]

What an amazing man! He gave me so many laughs when I got home from school and watched all the re-runs.

[@williamshepherd1531]

😮 My favorite LARRY He was very underrated. And it's funny his name comes first. William s

[@user-xy9sf7yv5t]

Master's of Comedy

[@batouttahell454]

The 3 Stooges were the BEST!

[@JohnSmith-pn4it]

Looking at all those photos of them, they must have been some really busy guys.

[@lovegun2112]

This was awesome

[@stephentaege6255]

Moe's there leader 😂😂😂😂rip MOE,🙏🕯️ thanks for sharing your talent to make us still laugh in 2024 😂😂😂😂 cheers Stephen 🤠⭐🦅🦅

[@mrmojorisin8752]

Homer?

[@SFbank721]

We met the Stooges at Steel Pier in AC I’m guessing early 1960s. Parents took myself and 2 older brothers.

[@PeterAgostiniJdcap26]

what a gentleman and well spoken a legend , i making a 3d printed statue of him now . the three stooges always made me laugh 😆 🙏

[@MichaelLasotaTW]

I had to watch it sometimes as a kiddo in the 1980s with my grandpa and other great-aged relatives. It was interesting. That wouldn't work these days but it fit the era.

[@yellowjacketf4i]

Thank you so much for sharing this!

[@freewheelburning8834]

This is a treasure

[@195511SM]

Moe was co-host on The Mike Douglas Show for 5 days straight.....which was aired from Philadelphia....sometime in the late 1960s as I remember. It could have been during the early 1970s.

[@redkellyre6568]

Pure Talent

[@jakehobbs]

I hope Curly knew how absolutely loved he was

[@sppspharmdude]

Great interview and pictures. Thanks for sharing

[@user-fp5jf5tb5i]

Loved the picture of the Stooges at Steel Pier singing with Sharkey the Seal

[@EmilyTienne]

Legends for almost a century. Who else can lay claim to that?

[@johnfox9169]

Their brilliance showed by their totally convincing acting portraying 3 goofy, numbskulls. I miss every one of these guys!!

[@Spearhead-lz1oq]

I was 11 at the time. I think I remember this! Did watch the stooges every day after school. Tastykake's ruled! I also remember seeing commercials with Moe selling his book. Of the Philly channels I loved 29 the best because of the stooges. Remember the others? 3,6,10, 12, 17, 29, & 48. (23 and 52 when there were no leaves on the trees!)

[@jimnething1264]

so great!! thank you!!!

[@frogneckmen857]

Pennsylvania saved the stooges. Pittsburgh especially according to moe.

[@sdgakatbk]

Cool getting Moe's favorite episodes. You Nazty Spies was very good and Moe played Hitler well. I read that the most violent one was Hoi Polloi, which is probably also my favorite though I like a lot of the shorts.

[@user-ft6og5vl6n]

It wasn't when making Hoi Palloi, when Curley had a stroke, it was in the 1946 remake of Hoi Palloi. Hoi Palloi was made in 1935.

[@dorothycastaneda8760]

So interesting. Moe has such a good sharp memory ❤

[@damageincorporated8558]

Excellent, thank you too

[@69goodfella]

Learning to listen is a valuable skill.

[@WifeWantsAWizard]

(2:26) For those of you who are curious, that marquee is from 1936. You can tell because the "flicker" is Bette Davis in ""Satan Met a Lady" (1936).

[@user-zy2yv5ce9x]

Moe Seems Like a good guy.

[@user-lr8qr1or8d]

NICE JOB, FIND MORE OF THESE!!!M.O'B

[@tron3entertainment]

Moe always tried to keep the act together. Otherwise, it would have died with Curly.

[@lesweizman388]

moe lobbied for them to get in features for years it's sad that didnt happen till after both curly and shemp had passed away

[@jamesdavidson676]

They made comedy real classic in those days.

[@johnhickman106]

Gold

[@DavidLimUX]

my first memories of the three stooges was also thanks to WTAF 29 in philly.

[@garypavlick5825]

Ya just gotta love the Internet when it comes to these iconic types of things. Lucille Ball. How about that. And, she was beautiful

[@mattfarahsmillionmilelexus]

This is a very clean recording from a cassette recorder off of a radio in 1973. Your Dad must have had a nice recorder. Thanks for the upload.

[@cinemartini]

It was just an average recorder, I used some software to clean it up.

[@NoName-zm1ks]

They were exploited by Columbia which signed them for 20 years and Columbia massively underpaid them. They were a big theater draw during the 1930s and beyond, bringing in millions to Columbia’s coffers but their salary didn’t reflect how important they were to the studio. Moe unfortunately was the one who did the “negotiating” for the three.

[@mrmojorisin8752]

What they were paid during the Great Depression was good money. But I agree, all things considered, they were exploited.

[@420Horseman]

Very cool

[@marshaevelyn1]

Moe sounds very much like Groucho in this interview.

[@user-wi6sh6vh8u]

Not quite. Moe’s accent is from Brooklyn. Groucho Marx was from either Queens or The Bronx.

[@AlanSmitheeman]

@@user-wi6sh6vh8u Not in accent but in cadence or rhythm of speech.

[@blakespower]

I love them and the original little rascals, why arent the on TV anymore? thats free

[@863rafael]

Happy Days!!

[@stacystoltz8722]

📺👋😎

[@Slane583]

I loved watching The Three Stooges as a kid during the 90's. When I was allowed to stay up later on the weekend I'd watch them either on TV Land or Nick At Night. My father didn't care if I watched them, but my mother wasn't a fan of their comedy style. I also watched a lot of the other old classic black and white shows as well when there wasn't anything else to watch. Sadly modern day tv shows are just total garbage compared to these classics.

[@sleazyfellow]

Definitely picked up the baton from buster and took physical comedy to the next level. All of them knew their stuff.

[@francishubertovasquez2139]

That over emphasized Beatles mop top bangs hair copied by a comedian, in our country I can remember the Coconut fruit trimmed to be used in cleaning the floor with floor wax, the bunot, similar with that, he he!

[@stevefleming1421]

MOE U THE BOSS

[@pl5624]

Ironic....he quit smoking years back but died of lung cancer 2 years later after this..

[@WinkDaMan07]

Second hand smoke probably contributed

[@roberthunerberg1509]

The damage was done! From smoking 🚬

[@pl5624]

@@roberthunerberg1509 you'd think there would have been signs ahead of time...like coughs..rough voice..but I guess it can sneak up on you.

[@user-wi6sh6vh8u]

Sometimes it’s a delayed effect after quitting, even if a good number of years go by.

[@user-wi6sh6vh8u]

Tell it like it is.

[@robandrews4815]

The Three Stoogers did more than entertain people. They brought vaudeville into the electronic age. First movies, then TV, now the web. Seriously this is entertainment history.

[@harrypeters8306]

Jack Albertson was in several shorts!