Restless Knights - 3 Stooges Fan Club

 A Message from "The Stoogeboomer", Rich Sanner:

In my mind, the greatest comedy team of all time was the Three Stooges.  No one else even comes close!  I still have fond memories of coming home from school everyday to watch the Stooges on WTAE-TV 4 out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  The show, "Adventure Time" was hosted by the late Paul Shannon, a Pittsburgh television icon.  Shannon was among the station's first on-air personalities when it debuted in September, 1958.  WTAE was also the Pittsburgh market host of the newly released to television Three Stooges comedy shorts.  The shorts aired every day, Monday through Friday. 

In the photo above, The Three Stooges, with television host Paul Shannon, backstage at The Holiday House in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. 

The Three Stooges contract with Columbia Pictures expired with the close of 1957.  In early 1958, Joe Besser informed Moe and Larry that he would be unable to continue being a Stooge due to the illness of his wife.  Moe and Larry brought in Joe DeRita, who took on the nickname of "Curly-Joe" and debuted the new act in Bakersfield, California.  That booking was a dismal failure, and Moe seriously considered breaking up the act for good, when Columbia Pictures, through the television subsidiary Screen Gems, announced they were putting together the first package of Stooges shorts for release to television.  The Stooges were an over-night sensation as a whole new generation of kids, including yours truly, saw their antics for the very first time.  John Bertera, then owner of The Holiday House, a supper club, in nearby Monroeville, Pennsylvania was trying to relax reading his daily newspaper.  His kids, who were gathered around a nearby television set were laughing hysterically over a program they were watching.  Becoming annoyed by the constant disturbance, Bertera looked up and exclaimed, "Now kids, whatever you're watching can't be that funny!"  When told they were watching the Three Stooges he asked if they really liked those guys, to which they exclaimed "Dad, the whole school's crazy about them!"  Bertera contacted the Stooges' agent and a booking was agreed upon.

The Stooges arrived in Pittsburgh, and made several guest appearances on Paul Shannon's "Adventure Time" program.  The Stooges, were a huge hit at the Holiday House, with capacity crowds in attendance at every show.  Initially booked for one week, with an option for a second week, Bertera kept picking up the options until the Stooges had played six consecutive weeks!  Finally, they had to move on as they were in demand from other locations throughout the country.

The Three Stooges greet a group of youngsters from Greensburg, at a Holiday House performance in 1959.

The Three Stooges would continue to make appearances in Pittsburgh throughout the 1960's: return engagements at the Holiday House, and appearances at Kennywood Park.  Paul Shannon even wound up playing a bit part, as did several other Stooges comedy hosts throughout the U.S., in their 1965 feature "The Outlaws is Coming", as Wild Bill Hickock.

In the next two photos, first, the Stooges, with Paul Shannon meet with studio audience members on the set of "Adventure Time" at television station WTAE-TV 4, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  In the second photo, The Stooges are making one of their appearances at Kennywood Park in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh).

It was a wonderful time to be a kid, and provided a lifetime of memories that I shall never forget.  The icing on the cake for me would come a few years later when I would become personal friends with Moe Howard.  A friendship that would continue on through the mid-1970's.