Local Three Stooges imitators soitenly love their jobs

Monday, April 24, 2000 | 8:54 a.m.

America's icons of maniacal mayhem will be the focus of a two-hour made-for-television movie tonight.

"The Three Stooges," which airs tonight at 8 on KTNV Channel 13, chronicles the rise of the team from vaudeville in the mid-1920s to Hollywood stardom in the 1950s.

Mel Gibson, one of the Stooges' biggest fans, produced the film, which was shot earlier this year near Sydney, Australia.

The story focuses on the relationship between Moe Howard, his two real-life brothers, Samuel (Shemp) and Jerome (Curly) and longtime friend Larry Fine (Larry).

Last October the members of a Las Vegas Stooges act were invited to audition for their respective characters' parts in Gibson's production.

They lost out to Michael Chiklis ("The Commish" and "Daddio") as Curly; Paul Ben-Victor ("True Romance" and "A Civil Action") as Moe; Evan Handler ("It's Like, You Know ...") as Larry; and John Kassir ("Casper" and "Spy Hard") as Shemp.

"I'm disappointed we didn't get the parts," said Charles DiPinto, founder and director of the local group, who plays Curly. "But at least I've had the opportunity to play Curly theatrically. And we have played the Palace -- Palace Station, but the Palace nevertheless."

The Las Vegas Stooges include DiPinto, Fred Mark Cole (Moe) and Erik Johnston (Larry).

The original Three Stooges began as an act on the vaudeville theater circuit called "Ted Healy and his Stooges."

They became famous for their eye-poking, forehead-slapping, pie-throwing, nose-pulling brand of physical comedy that seemed to appeal to some primal side of America's youth -- especially boys, who made up the largest share of Stooge fans.

Initially the act included Moe, Shemp, and Larry, under the guidance of Healy. Disputes between Healy and the Stooges over control of the group eventually resulted in a split, with Shemp leaving in 1932 and being replaced by Curly. Healy eventually left the group as well.

In 1935 Columbia Pictures began making two-reeler shorts of the trio that ran for 15 to 20 minutes before each movie at a theater.

In 1946 Curly suffered a stroke and had to retire. Shemp rejoined the team. Curly died from a stroke on Jan. 1, 1952 at the age of 48. Shemp died of a heart attack in 1955 and was replaced by Curly Joe DeRita.

Larry Fine suffered a minor stroke in 1970, forcing him to retire. He died on Jan. 25, 1975 from a massive stroke. Moe Howard died four months later, on May 4, 1975, from lung cancer.

Although the Las Vegas trio didn't get the Stooge movie roles, they have had plenty of good of times playing the characters live. The group will do any Stooge routine -- except poke someone in the eye.

"We'll chase broads, slap each other, but we don't do poking in the eye. That sent a bad message way back then and it sends a bad message now," DiPinto said.

Johnston noted that they have a scripted 50-minute routine, but they also do a lot of improvisation and audience-participation bits. "We set up routine to fit what they want," he said.

According to their website (www.home.earthlink.netvegasstooges) they do "pie fights, conventions, private parties, meet-and-greets, introduce your CEO., take pictures with the guys, grand openings and walk-arounds."

One of their first performances was at a local golf resort. "They asked us to perform for two hours and we ended up staying 4 1/2 hours," DiPinto said.

"We played at an anesthesiologist's convention once," Johnston said.

The meeting was pretty much of a sleeper until the Stooges showed up and placed 30 shaving cream pies in front of the doctors. "Before we could turn around the doctors were hitting us with pies," Johnston said. laughing. "They were like children. These stuffed shirts in ties were hitting us, they were hitting each other. They just cut loose."

"That was our first pie-type thing," DiPinto said. "I've been wanting to do it at one of the local hotels. We would like to stage some pie fights. It would be a blast, it would attract a lot of people. It would be great."

DiPinto was the original Curly for the MGM Stooge's production that lasted about 2 1/2 years, beginning in 1993. He was in 1,400 performances during his yearlong tenure at MGM, playing Curly five times a day, six days a week.

The Stooges played all over the hotel, on stage and off. Two years ago DiPinto reprised his role and looked for a couple of Stooges to work with him. "I wanted to put the Stooges back together. I thought there would be a lot of work out there and I thought it might be fun," DiPinto said.

His search led him to Johnston and Cole, both of whom have long credits in a variety of entertainment fields, as does DiPinto.

Johnston, 29, is a veteran of stage, screen and cruise ships. At age 10 he began his career singing with the opera company in Tulsa, Okla.

After a year of college Johnston was accepted by the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, Calif. While in Southern California studying he did a few commercials and then went to work for Disney as a special events dancer. He worked at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., and Tokyo Disneyland.

Since then he has worked on cruise ships and in theaters across the country.

Currently, in addition to his Stooge act, Johnston is co-producing a musical to be performed as a breakfast show in Las Vegas. He is negotiating with a number of hotels that have shown interest in the project.

Cole is a former chef and baker from Brooklyn who decided one day to try something else. He learned to count cards and supported himself by beating upstate New York casinos in blackjack.

"I was thrown out of a few places for counting cards, though they didn't call it that. According to the law, a casino can throw you out for any reason. I won too often," he said.

Now, in addition to being a Stooge, Cole is a blackjack dealer at Harrah's casino-hotel. He also does commercials, film, television and theater.

"To socialize after work I joined an acting class (Joe Behar's Community Drama Workshop). I did some monologues and things and then I took some more advanced classes and started getting jobs," Cole said.

He plays an IRS agent in an inventory reduction sale ad for Best Mattresses in Las Vegas. Also, "I'm the poster boy for the 'Free Coffee for Tired Drivers' campaign by the Nevada and California highway patrols," Cole said.

He is pictured on billboards in Southern Nevada, clad in pajamas and being held up by highway patrol troopers.

DiPinto has been in several films, including "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." He has done more than 200 radio and television commercials as well as several theater productions. His full-time job is as an instructor at the Clark County Driving School and the Henderson DUI School.

DiPinto said the best part about being a member of a Three Stooges troupe is the joy it brings to audiences. "My experience with The Three Stooges is that people just want to love you,"he said. "People light up when we walk into a room."

The worst part about being a Stooge is getting slapped, poked and jabbed by well-meaning fans who, for some reason, think the actors won't be injured if they get hit for real.

"When I first started working with the act Charlie (DiPinto) warned me that when we get in a crowd we need to watch it, to be careful because undoubtedly some guy in his mid-40s will come up and hit you or try to poke you in the eye," Johnston said.

Just as predicted, at one of their first engagements, it happened.

"A man walked up and POW! He hit Charlie in the forehead. It turned bright red. If that had been a poke in the eye, he would have gone to the hospital," Johnston said.

"It happens a lot," DiPinto added. "People have walked up behind me with a rubber hammer and hit me in the back of the head.

"It's one thing when you know its coming and in the routine, but when it's not expected, even though it's rubber, it can hurt."

archive