St. Louis Jews have had along love-affair with the Three Stooges. First, of all not-counting Joe DeRita, they are all Jews, and Joe Besser is from St. Louis, and his family still lives here.Â
A month after its debut in 1959, KPLR TV, began running Three Stooges comedy shorts as part of an after-school cartoon show. Then in the 1980s, they became a staple on Saturday nights. There is now a generation of 45-year-old and plussers who wax nostalgic for the Stooges, and I m at the top of the list.Â
The Three Stooges have been making us laugh with their unique and sometimes painful brand of slapstick comedy since 1922. They made their mark in short subjects, television syndication, and full-length feature films, but like anything great, they faded due to changing times and technology.Â