![]() ![]() Healy, however, was unimpressed, stating that Jerome's handsome mane of auburn hair and bushy mustache made his appearance decidedly unfunny. In need of a third Stooge, Moe quickly suggested his younger brother, Jerome. In 1929, Healy and the boys made their Broadway debut in the popular musical revue, "A Night in Venice," followed by their first film appearance as a team in the Rube Goldberg comedy, "Soup to Nuts" (1930), in which the elder Shemp was clearly the Stooge in charge, as Moe had yet to assume his authoritative role in the act.Almost immediately after completing "Soup to Nuts," Shemp - tired of Healy's drinking and often abusive behavior and his own yearning for a solo career - left the group. Having recently married, Moe made a brief, half-hearted attempt at living a normal life, but soon returned to the Stooges and a successful run on the vaudeville circuit throughout the remainder of the 1920s. ![]() Upon seeing talented violinist-comedian Larry Fine perform his vaudeville act one night, Healy invited the frizzy redhead with the balding pate to become his third Stooge. The crowd loved it and the brothers soon joined their associate in an act initially known as Ted Healy and his Racketeers, but later altered to Ted Healy and his Stooges. ![]() In need of a replacement for his act, Healy enticed Moe and his brother to join him on stage in a largely improvised routine that found Shemp heckling Moe from the audience. An unheard of feat at the time, Moe and his brother managed it by employing a blackface minstrel show for their work at the RKO venues.Late in 1922, Moe reconnected with his old pal Healy, who by then was a well-established vaudevillian. For several years Moe and Shemp toured the country, even managing to pull double duty, simultaneously working on the competing Leow's and RKO vaudeville circuits. For a time, they sang as part of a quartet at nearby Sullivan's Saloon - until their father put a stop to the late-night performances - and later joined a theatrical troupe aboard the river showboat Sunflower. During the same period, Moe and Shemp had been performing their evolving act anywhere they could. Always on the lookout for opportunities, Moe joined his friend Ted Healy on a summer job performing as one of famed aquatic star Annette Kellerman's "diving girls" in 1912. Rewarded for his hard work - for which he accepted no tips - the 12-year-old was given small roles in such silent shorts as "We Must Do Our Best" (1909) and "Fish Hookey" (1910). Much to his parents' dismay, Moe quit high school after just two months in order to pursue a career in entertainment.In 1909, Moe - who went by the name of Harry in his early years as a performer - began running errands for employees at Vitagraph Studios, located nearby in Brooklyn. Before long, he was playing hooky from school in order to visit the local live theaters and entertaining Coney Island crowds with impromptu acts performed alongside older brother Samuel "Shemp" Howard. Gradually, though, the lure of the theater and performing began to supplant his interest in a formal education. Blessed with a keen intellect and sharp memory, Moe was a solid student in his youth and enjoyed reading his brother Jack's Horatio Alger books. The result was the iconic "bowl cut," which Moe would maintain throughout the rest of his years. ![]() Weary of the constant taunts from his classmates and unable to change his mother's opinion, the boy took matters - and a pair of shears - into his own hands. As a young boy, Howard sported a long, wavy flock of thick hair, in a style favored by his mother, who by most accounts had always wanted at least one daughter. Born Moses Horwitz in the Brooklyn, NY neighborhood of Bensonhurst, "Moe" was one of five sons born to Jennie and Solomon Horwitz. ![]()
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