Their own stunts?

[msj...@sprynet.com]

Forgive me for not knowing the name of the episode, but
once Curly was cutting a board, using a table upon which
Moe was standing. Of course, after he finished he'd cut
the entire table in half, and Moe took a spill, the scene
continued. It was obvious that Moe himself did the stunt,
which didn't look easy. Another episode (which I haven't
seen in a while), a porch room collapses, spilling the stooge(s?)
who were working on top of it.

What are some of their other stunts that they themselves
did? Did any of them get seriously hurt doing these stunts?
Were they able to do them during the movies, when Moe &
Larry were much older?

Mike

[msj...@sprynet.com]

> msj...@sprynet.com writes:
> Forgive me for not knowing the name of the episode, but
> once Curly was cutting a board, using a table upon which
> Moe was standing. Of course, after he finished he'd cut
> the entire table in half, and Moe took a spill, the scene
> continued. It was obvious that Moe himself did the stunt,
> which didn't look easy.
>

> What are some of their other stunts that they themselves
> did? Did any of them get seriously hurt doing these stunts?

Two people have responded to me personally. One said that
Moe broke some ribs, and the other said that Moe broke, or at
least twisted, his leg. From the look of the spill, (and the ability
to continue the scene) I'd vote for the rib injury.

Mike

[John Patrick Riley]

Did you ever use slo-mo or fame advance to watch the action very slowly
in scenes? I've done this a few times and it's funny to see the stunts
the stooges DIDN'T do themselves. Usually there's a blank fame, and then
a real cheesy looking dummy is used in place of the stooge in the scene.
Usually the dummies aren't even altered to look like the real person.
The Curly dummy in one scene I watched had black painted-on hair, and
looked considerably thinner than the real Curly! Oh well, that's low
budget cinema. -John

P.S. You will also notice with slo-mo that Moe's eye pokes were designed
to hit in the eyebrows so they look real, but cause no injury. Bet he
missed a few times in his life and really caused some pain.

[JimNeibaur]

Our friend Emil Sitka has told me that the Stooges almost never did their
own stunts

"I was surprised at the things they were afraid to do"

JimN

[Ron Bauerly]

msj...@sprynet.com wrote:
>
> > msj...@sprynet.com writes:
> > Forgive me for not knowing the name of the episode, but
> > once Curly was cutting a board, using a table upon which
> > Moe was standing. Of course, after he finished he'd cut
> > the entire table in half, and Moe took a spill, the scene
> > continued. It was obvious that Moe himself did the stunt,
> > which didn't look easy.
> >
> > What are some of their other stunts that they themselves
> > did? Did any of them get seriously hurt doing these stunts?
>
> Two people have responded to me personally. One said that
> Moe broke some ribs, and the other said that Moe broke, or at
> least twisted, his leg. From the look of the spill, (and the ability
> to continue the scene) I'd vote for the rib injury.
>
> Mike

In fact Moe did very seriously injure himself in that fall. He broke
several ribs and was out of action for a number of weeks. He in fact
did get up and speak his part but immediately after that cut production
stopped. It wasn't resumed for some time though I don't know the exact
dates offhand. Moe's finishing the scene was a demonstration of true
dedication - grit if you will.

Ron Bauerly

[Card53]

<<Forgive me for not knowing the name of the episode, but
once Curly was cutting a board, using a table upon which
Moe was standing. Of course, after he finished he'd cut
the entire table in half, and Moe took a spill, the scene
continued. It was obvious that Moe himself did the stunt,
which didn't look easy.>>

That's from PARDON MY SCOTCH; the same footage was also tacked on to the
beginning of DIZZY DETECTIVES. Moe did indeed do the stunt, and wound up
breaking two ribs in the process. He stood up, finished the take, and
promptly passed out. Production was halted for a few days while he recovered.

(Information from Moe's autobiography.)

John L

[Marcus Ner]

How about Moe's stuntman in "Blunder Boys" when he chops the table in two
attempting to remove the handcuffs? It looks harmless enough, but to a man
going on 58 I guess it was better safe than sorry!
Marcus

[Ron Maher]

I'd read in a few places (interviews, books) that Larry Fine was
slightly
injured during the making of THREE LITTLE PIGSKINS. The football
players
in the scenes were not accustomed to FAKE falls, tackles and "pile ons"
and played as though they were playing real football, because they were
real
football PLAYERS.
-
RON MAHER BQA...@prodigy.com

[JimNeibaur]

re/Three Little Pigskins

I read that the boys insisted on stunt men for one scene, and wisely too
-- the stunt men suffered broken bones!!

JimN

[Hal Erickson]

Watch for the very obvious Curly double in DISORDER IN THE COURT when
he falls off the witness stand, and in IF A BODY MEETS A BODY when the
Stooges knock down the maid in the closing scene.

Slightly less obvious is Frank Mitchell doubling for the "poisoned"
Shemp in WHO DONE IT?, mainly because of clever editing and directing.

I believe that Moe's double was usually Johnny Kascier (definitely so
in HOKUS POKUS). Kascier could be seen in bit parts in dozens of
Columbia shorts, usually as a waiter or hospital orderly knocked down
while carrying a tray of food.

While the Stooges did require stunt doubles (understandably, since
they were valuable properties), they never did so as extensively as
Hugh Herbert, another Columbia 2-reel star. Herbert barely appears in
some of his short-subject vehicles; virtually all the physical action
is handled by a younger, thinner stunt man.

Also: Who was the slight, smallish guy who doubled for Christine
McIntyre, Vera Vague, Una Merkel and other Columbia leading ladies?

--Hal E.