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Louis Feinberg (October 5, 1902 – January 24, 1975), known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act
the Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...
.


Early life

Fine was born to a
Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...
family at 3rd and South Street in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, on October 5, 1902. His father, Joseph Feinberg, and mother, Fanny Lieberman, owned a watch repair and jewelry shop. In his early childhood, Fine's arm was accidentally burned with
acid In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a se ...
that his father used to test jewelry for its gold content.Cox, Steve, and Jim Terry (2006). ''One Fine Stooge: Larry Fine's Frizzy Life in Pictures''. Nashville: Cumberland House. p. 7. . The young Fine picked up the bottle and accidentally spilled it on his forearm, causing extensive damage to it. Fine's parents later gave him
violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
lessons to help strengthen the damaged muscles in his forearm. He became so proficient in it that his parents wanted to send him to a European
music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...
, but the plan was thwarted by the outbreak of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. Fine later played the violin in the Stooge films. To further strengthen his damaged arm, Fine took up boxing in his teens, winning one professional bout.Cox, Steve, and Jim Terry (2006). ''One Fine Stooge: Larry Fine's Frizzy Life in Pictures''. Nashville: Cumberland House. p. 8. . His father, opposed to Larry's fighting in public, put an end to his brief boxing career.


Acting career


Vaudeville

At an early age, Fine started performing as a violinist in
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
. Between 1925 and 1928, while the master of ceremonies at Chicago's Rainbo Gardens, Fine met Shemp Howard and
Ted Healy Ted Healy (born Charles Ernest Lee Nash; October 1, 1896 – December 21, 1937) was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. Though he is chiefly remembered as the creator of The Three Stooges and the style of slapstick comedy ...
who were performing in the Shubert Brothers' '' A Night in Spain''. Since Howard was leaving the play for a few months, they asked him to be a replacement "stooge". Fine joined Ted's other stooges, Bobby Pinkus and Sam "Moody" Braun. Howard returned in September 1928 to finish ''Spain'' national tour. In early 1929, Healy signed a contract to perform in the Shuberts' new revue ''A Night in Venice''. Healy brought Fine, Shemp Howard, and Moe Howard together for the first time as a trio. "Moe, Larry, and Shemp", with Fred Sanborn, appeared in ''Venice'' from 1929 through March 1930. Fine, Shemp Howard and Moe Howard toured as "Ted Healy & His Racketeers" that spring and summer, then went to
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...
in the summer to film Fox Studio's '' Soup to Nuts'' (1930). Fine and the Howard brothers broke up with Healy after ''Soup to Nuts'' and toured as "Howard, Fine, and Howard: Three Lost Soles" from the fall of 1930 to the summer of 1932. In July 1932, Fine and Moe Howard teamed up with Healy again, adding
Curly Howard Jerome Lester Horwitz (; October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), known professionally as Curly Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of the American comedy team the Three Stooges, which also featured his elder ...
(real first name: Jerome) to the group. The new lineup premiered at Cleveland's RKO Palace Theatre on August 27, 1932. Shemp Howard split off to pursue a solo career.


Larry's hair

Fine was easily recognized in the Stooge features by his hairdo, bald on top with much thick, bushy, curly auburn hair around the sides and back; Moe called him "
Porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethiz ...
". His trademark auburn hair had its origin, according to rumor, from his first meeting with Healy. Fine had just wet his hair in a sink, and it dried oddly as they talked. Healy encouraged Fine to keep the hairstyle.


Three Stooges features

Beginning in 1934, the Three Stooges made 206 short films and several features, their most prolific period starring Fine, Moe Howard, and
Curly Howard Jerome Lester Horwitz (; October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), known professionally as Curly Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of the American comedy team the Three Stooges, which also featured his elder ...
. Their career with Healy was marked by disputes over pay, film contracts, and Healy's drinking and verbal abuse. Fine and the Howard brothers finally left Healy for good in 1934. In films from the Curly era, the Larry character did more reacting than acting, staying in the background and serving as the voice of reason in contrast to the zany antics of Moe and Curly. He was a surrealistic foil and the middle ground between Moe's gruffly "bossy" and Curly's childish personae. Like the other Stooges, Larry was often on the receiving end of Moe's abuse. His reasonableness was the perfect foil to Moe's brusque bluntness and Curly's or Shemp's boyish immaturity, but Larry sometimes proposed something impossible or illogical and was quickly put down verbally and physically by Moe, who often pulled a handful of hair out of Larry's head. Film critic
Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...
wrote, "Larry is the least distinctive character of the trio, but he adds a pleasing touch by siding with either Moe or Curly, depending on the situation, thereby enabling him to show moments of lucidity as well as lunacy." After Curly suffered a debilitating stroke in May 1946, Shemp replaced him in the act. The Shemp era marked a period of increased onscreen presence for Larry, who had been relegated to a background role during the Curly era. Upon Shemp's return, he was allotted equal onscreen time, even becoming the focus of several films, in particular, '' Fuelin' Around'' (1949) and ''
He Cooked His Goose ''He Cooked His Goose'' is a 1952 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). It is the 140th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring ...
'' (1952). On November 22, 1955, Shemp died of a heart attack. Joe Palma doubled for Shemp in the next four films; then
Joe Besser Joe Besser (August 12, 1907 – March 1, 1988) was an American actor, comedian and musician, known for his impish humor and wimpy characters. He is best known for his brief stint as a member of The Three Stooges in movie short subjects of 1957� ...
succeeded him as the third Stooge in 1956. After Columbia Pictures closed its comedy-shorts department at the end of 1957, Joe DeRita replaced Besser. In the earliest Stooge films, Larry frequently indulged in utterly nutty behavior. Fine livened scenes up with improvised remarks or ridiculous actions. In the hospital spoof ''
Men in Black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are purported men dressed in black suits who claim to be quasi- government agents, who harass, threaten, or sometimes even assassinate unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses ...
'' (1934), Larry, dressed as a surgeon and wielding a large kitchen knife, chortles: "Let's plug him... and see if he's ripe!" In '' Disorder in the Court'' (1936), a tense courtroom scene is interrupted by Larry breaking into a wild
Tarzan yell The Tarzan yell or Tarzan's jungle call is the distinctive, ululating yell of the character Tarzan as portrayed by actor Johnny Weissmuller in the films based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs starting with ''Tarzan the Ape Man'' ( ...
. Of course, after each of his outbursts, Moe would gruffly put him down. According to Fine's brother, Fine developed a callus on one side of his face from being slapped so often by Moe. Larry's goofiness has been described as an extension of Fine's own relaxed personality. Director Charles Lamont recalled: "Larry was a nut. He was the kind of guy who always said anything. He was a yapper." Writer-director Edward Bernds remembered that Fine's suggestions for the scripts were often "flaky", but occasionally contained good comic ideas. The Three Stooges became a big hit on television in 1959 when
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
released a batch of their films, whose popularity brought them to a new audience and revitalized their careers.


Personal life

Fine met his wife, Mabel Haney, in 1922, when both were working in vaudeville. They married in 1926. The couple had a busy social life, and every Christmas served lavish midnight meals. Fine was called a "yes man" since he was always so agreeable. His devil-may-care personality carried over to the world of finance. He was a terrible businessman and spent his money as soon as he earned it. He had a significant
gambling addiction Problem gambling or ludomania is repetitive gambling behavior despite harm and negative consequences. Problem gambling may be diagnosed as a mental disorder according to ''DSM-5'' if certain diagnostic criteria are met. Pathological gambling is ...
, leading him to gamble his money away at racetracks or high-stakes gin rummy games. In an interview, Fine admitted that he often gave money to actors who needed help and never asked to be repaid. As Joe Besser and director Edward Bernds recalled, because of his constant free-spending and gambling, Fine was almost forced into
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...
when Columbia stopped filming Three Stooges films in December 1957. Because of his profligate ways and Mabel's dislike for housekeeping, Larry and his family lived in hotels—first the President Hotel in
Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.
, where his daughter Phyllis was raised, then the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood. He did not own a house until the late 1940s, when he purchased one in the
Los Feliz LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...
area of Los Angeles, California. On May 30, 1967, Mabel died of a sudden
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
at age 63. Larry was on the road and about to take the stage for a live show at Rocky Point Amusement Park in
Warwick, Rhode Island Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, the third largest city in the state with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 census. It is located approximately south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, southwest of Boston, Massach ...
, when he heard the news. He immediately flew home to California, leaving the other two Stooges to improvise their remaining shows at the park. Mabel's death came nearly six years after the death of their only son, John, in a car crash on November 17, 1961, at age 24. Their daughter, Phyllis, died of cancer on April 3, 1989, aged 60. Phyllis's husband, Don Lamond, was a noted television personality in Los Angeles, best known for hosting the Stooges shorts on
KTTV KTTV (channel 11) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV ou ...
for many years; their son (Larry's grandson) Eric Lamond represents the family in the Stooges' holding company C3 Entertainment. Fine is sometimes erroneously reported to be the father of sportscaster Warner Wolf, who is, in fact, the son of Jack Wolf, one of several other "stooges" who played in
Ted Healy Ted Healy (born Charles Ernest Lee Nash; October 1, 1896 – December 21, 1937) was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. Though he is chiefly remembered as the creator of The Three Stooges and the style of slapstick comedy ...
's
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
act at one time or another.


Final acting years and death

In 1965, Fine, Moe Howard, and Joe DeRita started a new TV comedy show, ''
The New 3 Stooges ''The New 3 Stooges'' is an American animated television series that ran during the 1965–66 television season starring the Three Stooges. The show follows the trio's antics both in live-action and animated segments. The cast consisted of Moe H ...
'', a mixture of live and animated segments. The show produced good ratings, but the men were too old to do
slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such ...
comedy well. Fine began showing signs of mental impairment, such as trouble delivering his lines. A few years later, the men started working on '' Kook's Tour'', a new TV series. On January 9, 1970, Fine suffered a debilitating
stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...
that paralyzed the left side of his body, which marked the end of his performing career. Producer Norman Maurer subsequently re-edited the footage into a feature-length film, with new footage of Moe Howard introducing the premise. Fine eventually moved to the Motion Picture Country House, an industry retirement community in Woodland Hills, where he spent his remaining years, and used a
wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), ce ...
during the last five. Even in his paralyzed state, Fine did what he could to entertain the other patients, and completed his "as told to" autobiography ''Stroke of Luck''.Larry Fine, as told to James Carone - ''Stroke of Luck'', Siena Publishing, Hollywood, 1973. He also received visits from Moe Howard. Fine remained accessible to Stooge fans, regularly hosting them despite his disability. When asked if spending his life as a Stooge was enjoyable, he answered, "it wasn't fun: it was work—but it paid off good, so I enjoyed it." Like Curly Howard, Fine suffered several additional strokes before his death on January 24, 1975, at the nursing home in Woodland Hills, at age 72. He was interred with his wife and son in a crypt at Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in the Freedom Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Liberation. Moe died three months later.Forever L.A.: A Field Guide To Los Angeles Area Cemeteries & Their Residents
Douglas Keister, 2010, pub. Gibbs Smith, via ''books.google.ca'']


Filmography


Legacy

* The Three Stooges have a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...
in honor of their contributions to the motion-pictures industry at 1560 Vine Street in Hollywood, dedicated on August 30, 1983, with ex-stooge Joe Besser in attendance. * The voice of Stimpy from '' The Ren and Stimpy Show'' was modeled after an "amped up" version of Fine, according to Stimpy's voice actor
Billy West William Richard Werstine (born April 16, 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'' and several subsequent projects, the title characters of ''Doug'' ...
. * In the 2000 made-for-TV movie, Larry Fine was played by Evan Handler. * In a 2004 '' New Yorker'' feature on the Farrelly Brothers' attempt to write a script for a new Three Stooges movie, Peter Farrelly offered his theory of Stooge appreciation: “Growing up, first you watched Curly, then Moe, and then your eyes got to Larry. He’s the reactor, the most vulnerable. Five to 14, Curly; 14 to 21, Moe. Anyone out of college, if you’re not looking at Larry, you don’t have a good brain.” * A large mural of Larry Fine appears on a wall at the busy intersection of 3rd and South Streets, near his birthplace in Philadelphia. The effort to create a mural on that site began when a local weekly newspaper suggested that the city should somehow honor him. Dedicated on October 26, 1999, with Fine's sister in attendance, that mural showed Larry with a peculiar look on his face. In May 2006, a similar mural showing Larry with a more animated expression and playing the violin was painted over the original mural. This mural stands over Jon's Bar and Grill with a sign reading "Birthplace of Larry Fine." * On October 15, 2009, the Associated Alumni of Central High School in Philadelphia inducted Fine into that school's Hall of Fame, though he never graduated. A member of the Central Alumni Hall of Fame Committee pointed out, "Many people are not even aware that Mr. Fine was a Philadelphian and that is a part of what we’re trying to do." * In the 2012 Farrelly brothers' film ''
The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...
'', Larry is portrayed by Sean Hayes of ''
Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman ( Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler ( Debra Messi ...
'' fame. Young Larry is portrayed by Lance Chantiles-Wertz.


References

Notes Further reading * ''Stroke of Luck''; by James Carone, as told by Larry Fine (Siena Publishing, Hollywood, 1973.) * ''Larry, the Stooge in the Middle''; by Morris Feinberg with G. P. Skratz (Last Gasp, San Francisco, 2001.)


External links

* * *
Larry Fine at The Three Stooges Official Website

Larry Fine Webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fine, Larry 1902 births 1975 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male musicians American autobiographers American male comedians American gin players Jewish American male comedians American male stage actors American people of Russian-Jewish descent American male television actors American male voice actors Jewish boxers Jewish American boxers Featherweight boxers American male boxers American male violinists Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Central High School (Philadelphia) alumni Columbia Pictures contract players Jewish American male actors Male actors from Philadelphia Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players The Three Stooges members Vaudeville performers American male comedy actors People from Los Feliz, Los Angeles