He was his own type of humor..he actually fit in well with the older Stooges,and can't really be compared to the other Stooges. I met him in person,and during Moe's Memorial, he even held my first Baby Daughter who was 1 years old!
My dad worked at the old Casino Theatre in Toronto, Canada and met many performers. Phil Silvers, Steve & Eydie Gorme and many more like The Three Stooges. There would be card games after and he became friends with Joe De Rita (Curly Joe). As kids, my brother and I saw them at a CNE Grandstand Show and went backstage to see them. We were told to meet them at the Royal York Hotel where we got autographed pictures of them. We were so excited we were beside ourselves. My late dad was a wonderful man and had an amazing sense of humor too. Curly "Joe" never forgot "Wally" and never failed to send our family a Christmas card each year until he died in 1993. They were great guys.
It must have been kind of tough for Joe , always being compared to the amazing Curly and Shemp...but I guess the nice paycheck for his time with Moe and Larry, was the most important thing back then...a guy has to eat!
He was his own type of humor..he actually fit in well with the older Stooges,and can't really be compared to the other Stooges. I met him in person,and during Moe's Memorial, he even held my first Baby Daughter who was 1 years old!
My dad worked at the old Casino Theatre in Toronto, Canada and met many performers. Phil Silvers, Steve & Eydie Gorme and many more like The Three Stooges. There would be card games after and he became friends with Joe De Rita (Curly Joe). As kids, my brother and I saw them at a CNE Grandstand Show and went backstage to see them. We were told to meet them at the Royal York Hotel where we got autographed pictures of them. We were so excited we were beside ourselves. My late dad was a wonderful man and had an amazing sense of humor too. Curly "Joe" never forgot "Wally" and never failed to send our family a Christmas card each year until he died in 1993. They were great guys.
It must have been kind of tough for Joe , always being compared to the amazing Curly and Shemp...but I guess the nice paycheck for his time with Moe and Larry, was the most important thing back then...a guy has to eat!
Both Joe De Rita and Joe Besser were excellent Stooges in their own way..I always enjoyed both and didn't compare to Curly,or Shemp..
Joe Derita would have been great in today's comedy. Of course, all the boys would have. My boy's!!
Why did he change his name?