"Lost Anecdote" 6&7/8ths

[ali assa seen]

Hope you don't mind if I try to cobble a few of these together myself,
from some less-than-easily-available sources:

"Gizmos, gadgets and gimmicks often figured in the 200-plus comedies
made by the Three Stooges in their 40 years of filmmaking. Probably the
largest, most expensive prop ever in a Stooges production was an
unusual vehicle created for the 1962 feature film "The Three Stooges in
Orbit." The machine in question was powered by a Jeep which was fitted
into the bottom of a submarine hull. It moved on tank treads which were
connected to the rear wheels of the Jeep with a chain drive, and it was
capable of attaining a speed of 35mph. Helicopter blades attatched to
the top of the contraption rotated at 300mph and were driven by a
7&1/2hp golf cart motor. The total cost of the machine was over 15
*thousand* dollars. In 1934, approximately thirty years before, Moe
Howard had accepted a check for 15 *hundred* dollars for a one-picture
deal with Columbia Studios to make the Three Stooges' first short for
the company, the musical comedy "Woman Haters."
"To truly keep in perspective, however, just how low a budget the
Stooges worked under throughout their careers, one need only contrast
this with the fact that Stooge fan Michael Jackson, in a gesture of
respect towards the comedic trio, personally invited Moe Howard's
daughter Joan Howard Maurer in 1985 to attend the shooting of his own
debut short feature. The Disney-produced "Captain EO" ran fifteen
minutes (slightly shorter than a typical Stooges effort) and was filmed
in 3-D, using processes originally developed by Moe's son-in-law/Joan's
husband Norman Maurer in 1953. The total cost of production of
Jackson's short was an estimated 15 *million* dollars! "With that kind
of money," Joan Maurer later commented, "Harry Cohn could have made 600
Stooges comedies!"

(Paraphrased from the press kit to "The Three Stooges in Orbit" and
Howard-Maurer's book "The Three Stooges Book of Scripts Volume ii.")

[L.S. Coker]

Thanks for that info! I always had an interest in the good professor's
invention! I also wonder why Michael Jackson hasn't checked into this
newsgroup yet? :)

My Dad once re-built a vehicle in 1987. He cut a VW truck in 3 pieces.
Removed the centre. Rejoined the front & back and made treads for the wheels
by cutting the sidewalls out of large tractor tires. With just a rough
undercoat grey paint job we took it for a secret test drive after midnight
near Toronto, Ont. It was seen by a boy who reported it as a UFO to the
whole neighbourhood. We just put it back the garage and were locking up
when a group of people came to us very upset over a flying saucer invasion!
We laughed it off & said we didn't see anything strange, but the poor kid
that called it in got severely chastised for "crying wolf". I'm sure my old
man got his inspiration from that movie! Oh yes...the machine was painted
fire engine red, named "The Road Runner" with that cartoon character painted
on it and used at our cottage for many years.

Stephen