<H4><U>Opuscula</U></H4> <DIV ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=HELVETICA ARIAL SIZE=+3><B>How many ?</B></FONT></DIV>

 

UNLESS YOU EITHER ARE (almost) a geezer(ette) or watch old movie re-runs, you can skip this entry.

Question 1: How many Marx Brothers were there? (If you answered "three," you are wrong.

Question 2: How many stooges were there? (If you answered "three," you are wrong.

The answer to the Marx Brothers query is six, albeit one dies in infancy.

1. Manfried, 1895-1896
2. Leonard Marx a/k/a Chico 1887-- 1961
3. Herbert Marx a/k/a Zeppo: 1901-1979
4. Milton Marx a/k/a Gummo: 1892 - 1977
5. Julius Henry Marx a/k/a Groucho: 1890 - 1977
6. Arthue Marx a/k/a Harpo: 1888 - 1964

Marx family, c. 1915. From left: Groucho, Gummo, Minnie (mother), Zeppo, Sam (father), Chico, and Harpo

The "How many were there" questions came to mind after watching a clip of Groucho with Gary Moore on I've Got a Secret. Harpo later had his own visit to I've Got a Secret.

Those were the days when cigarette companies sponsored programs and hosts, such as Gary Moore (January 31, 1915 – November 28, 1993) who died of emphysema at age 78 ere allowed, if not encouraged, to promote the product by smoking on the set. Groucho, of course, held on to his cigar.

The answer to the second question is - take your pick - 6 or 8.

The Stooges were

1. Moses Harry Horwitz a/k/a Moe, June 19, 1897 -May 4, 1975
2. Samuel Horwitz a/k/a Shemp Howard, March 4, 1895 - November 22, 1955
3. Louis Feinberg (Larry Fine) a/k/a Larry, October 5, 1902 - January 24, 1975
4. Jerome Lester Horwitz, a/k/a Curly Howard, October 22, 1903 - January 18, 1952
5. Joe Besser, August 12, 1907 - March 1, 1988
6. Joseph Wardell (Joe DeRita) a/k/a Curly Joe, July 12, 1909 - July 3, 1993
and maybe
7. Emil Sitka, December 22, 1914 - January 16, 1998
8. Joe Palma (Joseph Provenzano), a/k/a Fake Shemp, March 17, 1905 – August 14, 1994

The main Stooges were four brothers:

Moses Harry Horwitz (Moe), Samuel Horwitz (Shemp), and Jerome Lester Horwitz (Curly Howard). Louis Feinberg (Larry Fine) was an original with Moe and Shemp.

Provenzano, the "Fake Shemp" filled in for Shemp when Horowitz died during the filming of a Stooges film.

Sitka became at least an "honorary" Stooge aftere Larry had a heart attack, although when Moe died, the film in which Sitka would have played a part never was made.

 

Zeppo, Groucho, Chico, Gummo and Harpo

Marx Brothers' URLs

http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/marxes.htm
http://libertyandin-dependence.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx_Brothers
https://youtu.be/cieIsWwfQ04

Stooges' URLs

Videos
Six stooges video: https://youtu.be/5pSHcpN25uI
3 Stooges true story: https://youtu.be/FFON8EHz2xQ
Fake Stemp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm6kZmBeHBk

Articles
http://6thingstoconsider.com/2011/06/19/the-six-three-stooges/
http://discovery2020.hubpages.com/hub/The-Five-Stooges-Did-I-Get-Your-Attention