Larry Fine facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Larry Fine
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Fine in "Disorder In the Court" in 1936
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| Born |
Louis Feinberg
October 5, 1902 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Died | January 24, 1975 (aged 72) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California, U.S. |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1923–1970 |
| Spouse(s) |
Mabel Haney
(m. 1926; died 1967) |
| Children | 2 |
Larry Fine (born Louis Feinberg, October 5, 1902 – January 24, 1975) was a famous American comedian, actor, and musician. He is best known as one of the hilarious members of the comedy group, the Three Stooges.
Contents
Larry Fine's Early Life
Larry Fine was born Louis Feinberg in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 5, 1902. His family was Russian Jewish, and his parents, Joseph and Fanny Feinberg, owned a jewelry shop.
Childhood and a Special Arm
When Larry was a young child, he accidentally spilled acid on his arm. This acid was used by his father to test jewelry. The accident caused a lot of damage to his forearm.
To help his arm get stronger, Larry's parents encouraged him to take violin lessons. He became very good at playing the violin. His parents even wanted him to study music in Europe. However, World War I started, and their plans changed. Larry later played the violin in some of the Three Stooges films.
As a teenager, Larry also tried boxing to make his arm even stronger. He even won one professional fight! But his father did not want him to fight in public, so Larry's boxing career ended quickly.
Becoming a Star
Starting in Vaudeville
Larry Fine began performing as a violinist in vaudeville shows when he was very young. Vaudeville was a popular type of entertainment with many different acts.
Between 1925 and 1928, Larry was working as a master of ceremonies in Chicago. There, he met Shemp Howard and Ted Healy. Healy was looking for a new "stooge" for his comedy act, and Larry joined them.
Joining the Three Stooges
In 1929, Ted Healy brought Larry, Shemp Howard, and Moe Howard together for the first time. They performed in a show called A Night in Venice. This was the beginning of the famous trio.
After a while, Larry and the Howard brothers left Ted Healy. They toured as "Howard, Fine, and Howard: Three Lost Soles." In 1932, Larry and Moe Howard teamed up with Healy again. This time, they added Curly Howard to the group. Shemp Howard decided to start his own career.
Larry's Famous Hair
Larry Fine was easy to spot in the Three Stooges films because of his unique hairstyle. He was bald on top, but had thick, curly auburn hair around the sides and back. Moe Howard often called him "Porcupine" because of it.
The story goes that Larry's hair looked this way when he first met Ted Healy. He had just wet his hair, and it dried in a funny way. Healy liked it and told Larry to keep the style.
The Three Stooges Films
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Starting in 1934, the Three Stooges made 206 short films and several longer movies. This was their busiest time, starring Larry Fine, Moe Howard, and Curly Howard.
In the films with Curly, Larry often played the role of the more sensible one. He would react to the crazy actions of Moe and Curly. Larry was often caught in the middle of Moe's bossy behavior and Curly's silly antics. Like the other Stooges, Larry often received funny slaps from Moe.
Film critic Leonard Maltin said that Larry was "the least distinctive character of the trio." But he added that Larry was good at siding with either Moe or Curly. This allowed him to show moments of both smart thinking and silliness.
After Curly became ill in 1946, Shemp Howard returned to the group. During this time, Larry had a bigger role in the films. He even became the main focus in some movies, like Fuelin' Around (1949).
Shemp passed away in 1955. Joe Besser then became the third Stooge in 1956. After Columbia Pictures stopped making comedy shorts in 1957, Joe DeRita took Joe Besser's place.
In the earliest Stooge films, Larry often did very funny and unexpected things. He would make up funny remarks or do ridiculous actions. For example, in Men in Black (1934), Larry, dressed as a surgeon, joked: "Let's plug him... and see if he's ripe!" In Disorder in the Court (1936), Larry suddenly let out a wild Tarzan yell in a serious courtroom scene. Of course, Moe would always react to his outbursts!
Larry's silly behavior was said to be like his own easygoing personality. Directors and writers remembered him as someone who always spoke his mind. He often had "flaky" ideas for scripts, but sometimes they were very funny.
The Three Stooges became very popular on television in 1959. This brought their films to a new audience and made them famous again.
Larry Fine's Personal Life
Larry Fine met his wife, Mabel Haney, in 1922. They were both working in vaudeville. They got married in 1926. The couple enjoyed a busy social life.
Larry was known for being very agreeable, often called a "yes man." He was not very good with money and spent it as soon as he earned it. He enjoyed gambling, sometimes losing money at racetracks. He also often gave money to other actors who needed help and never asked for it back. Because of his spending, Larry almost ran out of money when the Stooges films stopped being made in 1957.
Larry and his family lived in hotels for many years, because Mabel did not like housekeeping. They lived in the President Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and then the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood. He did not buy a house until the late 1940s.
On May 30, 1967, Mabel passed away suddenly from a heart attack at age 63. Larry was performing a live show when he heard the news. He immediately went home to California.
Mabel's death happened almost six years after their only son, John, died in a car crash in 1961 at age 24. Their daughter, Phyllis, passed away from cancer in 1989 at age 60. Phyllis's son, Eric Lamond, now represents the family in the Stooges' company, C3 Entertainment.
Final Acting Years and Passing
In 1965, Larry Fine, Moe Howard, and Joe DeRita started a new TV comedy show called The New 3 Stooges. It had both live and animated parts. The show was popular, but the men were getting older and found it harder to do slapstick comedy. Larry also began to have trouble remembering his lines.
A few years later, they started working on another TV series called Kook's Tour. On January 9, 1970, Larry suffered a stroke that paralyzed the left side of his body. This meant he could no longer perform. The film footage was later made into a movie.
Larry eventually moved to the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital, a retirement home for people in the entertainment industry. He spent his last five years there, using a wheelchair. Even with his disability, Larry tried to entertain the other patients. He also wrote his autobiography called Stroke of Luck. Moe Howard often visited him. Larry welcomed fans who came to see him. When asked if being a Stooge was fun, he said, "it wasn't fun: it was work—but it paid off good, so I enjoyed it."
Larry Fine had several more strokes before he passed away on January 24, 1975, at the age of 72. He was buried with his wife and son at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. Moe Howard passed away three months later.
Filmography
Larry Fine's Legacy
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- The Three Stooges have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It honors their work in movies and was placed on August 30, 1983.
- The voice of Stimpy from The Ren and Stimpy Show was based on Larry Fine's voice.
- In a 2000 TV movie, Larry Fine was played by Evan Handler.
- In a 2004 article, Peter Farrelly, a director, shared his thoughts on the Stooges. He said that when you're young, you might like Curly, then Moe. But as you get older, you start to appreciate Larry more. He called Larry "the reactor, the most vulnerable."
- A large mural of Larry Fine is painted on a wall in Philadelphia, near where he was born. This mural was created to honor him. The first mural was dedicated in 1999. In 2006, a new mural was painted over it, showing Larry with a more lively expression and playing the violin.
- On October 15, 2009, Larry Fine was added to the Hall of Fame at Central High School in Philadelphia. This happened even though he did not graduate from there.
- In the 2012 film The Three Stooges, Larry was played by Sean Hayes.
Images for kids
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Fine in "Disorder In the Court" in 1936
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Larry Fine in 1947's Sing A Song of Six Pants
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Larry Fine (right) in 1949's Malice in the Palace with Moe Howard and his brother Shemp Howard
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Fine in 1962
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Fine, Curly Howard, and Moe Howard in 1937
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Fine's gravesite at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
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Moe Howard, his brother Shemp Howard, and Fine in 1947's Sing a Song of Six Pants
See also
In Spanish: Larry Fine para niños
