Dionisius (, variously transliterated as ''Dionisy'', ''Dionysiy'', etc., also Dionisius the Wise) (ca. 1440 – 1502) was acknowledged as a head of the Moscow school of icon painters at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. His style of painting is sometimes termed "the Muscovite mannerism".

Dionisy's first important commission was a series of icons for the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Moscow Kremlin, executed in 1481. The figures on his icons are famously elongated, the hands and feet are diminutive, and the faces serene and peaceful.

Among his many rich and notable patrons, Joseph of Volokolamsk alone commissioned him to paint more than eighty icons, primarily for the Joseph-Volokolamsk and Pavel-Obnorsk cloisters.

The most comprehensive and the best preserved work of Dionisy is the monumental fresco painting of the Virgin Nativity Cathedral of the Ferapontov Monastery (1495–96). The frescoes, depicting scenes from the life of the Virgin in singularly pure and gentle colours, are permeated with a solemn and festal mood.

The work at the Ferapontov was executed by Dionisy in collaboration with his sons and disciples, who continued a Dionisiesque tradition after the master's death. His son Feodosy painted the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin in 1508. As his father did not take part in this important commission, it is thought that he had died shortly before that date.

External links

Online museum of Dionisius art

Übersetzung:de

Category:Russian painters Category:Russian artists Category:Eastern Orthodox icons Category:1440s births Category:1502 deaths

es:Dionisio el Sabio fr:Dionisius hu:Gyionyiszij pl:Dionizy (ikonograf) pt:Dionisius ro:Dionisius ru:Дионисий (иконописец)

name	The Greek
media	The Wire
portrayer	Bill Raymond
creator	David Simon
gender	Male
first	"Ebb Tide" ''(episode 2.01)''
last	"–30–" ''(episode 5.10)''
occupation	International smuggling/Organized Crime Boss
footnotes	}}

The Greek is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Bill Raymond. The Greek is the head of an international criminal organization involved in narcotics and human trafficking. The Greek is a mysterious figure involved in numerous criminal activities. His given name is never mentioned on the show, and though he is known only as "The Greek", he has stated (in the episode Port in a Storm) that he is not actually Greek. A quiet and unassuming man, the Greek prefers to keep a low profile, operating all of his business through his lieutenant Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos. His smuggling organization operated from a small diner in Baltimore for years, and while Vondas would conduct business the Greek would listen in quietly at the counter. Nick Sobotka, upon seeing the Greek identify himself, was amazed that the shadowy figure had been in plain sight the entire time.

Despite his calm appearance, the Greek is cunning and ruthless, and only interested in facts that make him more money. Series creator David Simon has said that The Greek is an embodiment of raw unencumbered capitalism. Anyone interfering in this process is eliminated immediately, and he prefers to leave victims headless and handless to hinder identification.

The Greek's smuggling operation includes importing sex trade workers, illicit drugs, stolen goods and chemicals for drug processing. He bribes union stevedores to move containers through the Baltimore port for him and uses his muscle, Sergei "Serge" Malatov, to run containers back and forth from the port to his warehouse, a front managed by "Double G" Glekas. The Greek supplies the major drug dealers in East Baltimore with pure cocaine and heroin, using Eton Ben-Eleazer to move his drugs. His chief client is Proposition Joe, but he is also affiliated with smaller drug dealing organizations like those run by "White Mike" McArdle. His sex trade interests in Baltimore include a brothel run by a madam named Ilona Petrovitch, bringing in girls from eastern Europe. He manages to avoid prosecution for his crimes because an FBI counter-terrorism agent named Kristos Koutris tips him off if a criminal investigation gets too close. It is suggested he and Vondas may serve as federal informants.

Biography

Season 2

thumb|right|250px|The Greeks The Greek began to draw police attention in Baltimore when his contact at the docks, Frank Sobotka, became the target of an investigation. At the same time a container of thirteen dead young women intended for the sex trade was discovered at the docks, triggering a high-profile homicide investigation. The container belonged to the Greek and the girls were killed by a crewman onboard the vessel that had delivered them. The ship's crew had been paying the girls for sex and when one of the girls refused, she was killed. The crewman responsible dumped her overboard and collapsed the air pipe to kill the remaining women. The Greek had Sergei track the crewman down, interrogated him personally, and had Vondas kill him.

As the investigation continued the police were able to link Eton and Sergei to the drug smuggling operation. When police began tracking containers as they left the port, The Greek and Vondas began to close down the operation temporarily by dumping their cell phones and stealing "clean" containers. Persuading Sobotka to keep the smuggling operation going he bought further protection from Agent Koutris by betraying a load of Colombian cocaine, giving him time to destroy incriminating evidence in the warehouse and Glekas' store.

The Greek recognized that the investigation was too extensive to stop and made plans to leave, sending Vondas to assure Proposition Joe that supply of drugs would continue albeit with new faces. He attempted to buy Sobotka's silence with promised legal aid for his son, but when he learned from Koutris that Frank was planning to turn informant he had the union man killed. Although Frank's nephew Nick Sobotka was able to identify The Greek in a photo and Sergei was pressured to give up the location of his hotel suite, Vondas and the Greek had already boarded a flight to Chicago. Aware that the Greek and Vondas were gone, the police left the investigation behind and moved on to the drug dealers he supplied.

Seasons 4 & 5

The Greek continued to supply "Proposition Joe" Stewart, who formed an organization with other drug dealers called the New Day Co-Op to provide The Greek's product to them in exchange for reduced violence and sharing of territory. When Omar Little steals an entire shipment of heroin from the Greek's men as it is being delivered to Stewart's people, Marlo Stanfield demands a meeting with Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos in order to allay his fears that Stewart was responsible. Once Stanfield is satisfied, he waits for the Major Crimes Unit's investigation into his activities to cease and then moves to establish a direct relationship with Vondas and the Greek. After getting in communication with Vondas through former soldier Sergei, Marlo eventually sells himself as Joe's replacement by convincing the Greek that he requires an insurance policy in the form of a replacement for Proposition Joe, in the event that anything should happen to him. Realizing that Stanfield will move against Stewart regardless of his approval, the Greek accepts Marlo's proposal to act as an "insurance policy," knowing that it will mean Joe's death.

After Stewart's murder, Stanfield meets with Vondas to initiate their new business relationship. Stanfield's tenure proves short lived when he is forced into retirement by an investigation, and the other Co-Op members purchase the connection from Stanfield. In the closing scenes of the series finale, Slim Charles and Fat-Face Rick take over meeting with Vondas while the Greek listens quietly in the background.

References

Category:The Wire (TV series) characters Category:Fictional American people of Greek descent

title	BioShock 2
developer	2K Marin, 2K Australia, 2K China, Digital Extremes (multiplayer), Arkane Studios (level design assistance), Darkside Game Studios (additional work)
publisher	2K Games
composer	Garry Schyman
series	''BioShock''
engine	Modified Unreal Engine 2.5, Havok Physics
version	1.5
released	February 9, 2010
genre	Science fiction first-person shooter
modes	Single-player, multiplayer
ratings	|PEGI18}}

| platforms = Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | media = Blu-ray Disc, DVD, digital distribution | requirements = See Development section for requirements matrix }}

''BioShock 2'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Marin for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The sequel to the 2007 video game ''BioShock'', it was released worldwide on February 9, 2010.

The game is set in the fictional underwater dystopia of Rapture, in a biopunk/dieselpunk 1968, eight years after the events of ''BioShock''. The protagonist and player-controlled character is a Big Daddy, a being that has had its organs and skin grafted into an atmospheric diving suit. Among the first of its kind, the player-controlled Big Daddy, named ''Subject Delta'', reactivates with no recollection of the past decade's events, and scours the city in an attempt to relocate the Little Sister that he was paired with. Fearing this reunion will ruin her plans for the city, Sofia Lamb sends out her spliced up followers that she calls "The Rapture Family" and new Big Sisters in an attempt to deter Delta.

Gameplay

''BioShock 2'' is presented as a first person shooter, with the player taking on the role of ''Subject Delta'', a prototype for the Big Daddies approximately 8 years after the events of the first game. As with ''BioShock'', the player explores Rapture and fights off Splicers, the remaining psychotic human population of the city, using a combination of the environment, weapons, Plasmids and Tonics. Plasmids and Tonics are special genetic-reencoding liquids that grant the user active or passive abilities, respectively, and include both those introduced in ''BioShock'' and new ones for this game. For example, Plasmids can give the player the ability to use telekinesis or evoke fire, while Tonics can improve the player's movement speed, attack damage, or damage resistance. Several of the weapons in ''BioShock 2'' are those that were previously seen carried by Big Daddies from the first game, including a powerful drill and a rivet gun. The player can use each weapon in a close-range melee attack. Unlike the first game, the player is able to equip both one weapon and one Plasmid at the same time, which they can use in quick succession to destroy foes; for example, by first freezing a foe, they can be shattered into pieces using a spear gun. If the player is killed, they are revived in the nearest "Vita-Chamber".

As the player explores Rapture, they will collect ammo, health and EVE (a liquid used to power Plasmid use), recovery items, and money. Money can be used to purchase more items at vending machines across the city. The player will also encounter security systems which can be hacked through a mini-game. This requires the player to stop a quickly-moving needle one or more times in the correctly-colored marked area of a gauge. Stopping it within the green area progresses the sequence and or potentially ends it while stopping in the blue area may grant a bonus to the hacking attempt; landing in a white area shocks the player (dealing a small amount of damage) while landing in red-colored areas can lead to the start of a security alert. The player also gains access to a research video camera; in ''BioShock 2'', once the player begins recording an enemy, the player has a short time to damage that enemy in creative ways in order to score a number of points, which are then added towards the total research of that enemy type. At various levels of research, the player is then rewarded with new abilities in general or towards that specific type of foe. Certain areas of the game take place entirely underwater, limiting the actions the player can perform.

As a Big Daddy, the player can attempt to defeat other Big Daddies escorting Little Sisters. Should the player succeed, they can then either choose to Harvest or Adopt the Little Sister, gaining appreciable ADAM to be used for buying new Plasmids, gene tonics, slots or the option to Adopt them. While adopted, the Little Sister will lead the player to corpses where she can extract more ADAM. While she does this, the player must defend her from Splicer attacks. Once the Little Sister has collected enough ADAM, the player can then return her to an escape vent, again allowing the player to choose to Rescue the Little Sister, receiving a modest amount of ADAM but with the possibility of beneficial gifts later, or harvest her for a large ADAM boost. ADAM can then be spent at Gatherer's Garden machines throughout Rapture. Once the player has either Rescued or Harvested each of the Little Sisters on the level, the player will be attacked by a Big Sister. The Big Sister's agility and resourcefulness will task the players with a difficult fight before they can proceed with the game.

Multiplayer

''BioShock 2'' features a story driven multiplayer mode where the player takes on the role of a citizen of Rapture. Set in 1959, just before the events of ''BioShock'', the player chooses to take on the role of a splicer fighting in Rapture's civil war. The player is being sponsored by Plasmid manufacturer, Sinclair Solutions, to test out their weapons, Plasmids, and Tonics in a consumer reward program. As the player progresses through the multiplayer experience, new weapons, Tonics, and Plasmids will be unlocked (provided by Sinclair), in addition to the story of the Rapture civil war being told.

The player can choose among 6 characters to be their in-game avatar. The characters are: a welder named Jacob Norris, a housewife named Barbara Johnson, a football star named Danny Wilkins, a businessman named Buck Raleigh, a pilot named Naledi Atkins, and an Indian mystic named Suresh Sheti. Two additional characters were available as a pre-order bonus from 12game, GameStop, EB Games or Game, or through the purchase of a DLC pack: a fisherman named Zigo d'Acosta and an actress named Mlle Blanche de Glace. Another two characters were made available by downloading the Sinclair Solutions Tester pack: a criminal named Louie McGraff and a smooth-talking playboy named Oscar Calraca.

Multiplayer comes in 7 different modes, two of which have a single and team based mode. The modes are:

; Survival of the Fittest : A 'free-for-all' mode where each player gets points for killing each of the other players. Whichever player has the most kills or 20 kills at the end of the match wins. ; Civil War : Similar to 'Survival of the Fittest,' but in this mode players are divided into two teams and the team with the most collective kills at the end of the match wins. ; Last Splicer Standing : A variation of 'Civil War' in which players do not respawn after being killed. Each match consists of several rounds in which players attempt to outlive the players on the enemy team. ; Capture the Sister : A 'Capture the Flag' style mode where players are divided into two teams. One team has to protect a Little Sister while the other team tries to steal her and place her in a vent on the other side of the map. The team protecting the little sister will have a randomly chosen player be a Big Daddy. After a pre-determined amount of time, the teams switch roles. Whichever team has the most captures at the end of the match wins. ; ADAM Grab : In this mode there is one Little Sister on the map and the player must seek her out and maintain possession of her as long as possible. The first person to hold onto the Little Sister for 3 minutes wins. ; Team ADAM Grab : A variant of 'ADAM Grab' where players are divided into two teams. The objective is the same, but victory is determined by a collective score rather than individual scores, and the first team to hold the little sister for 3 minutes wins. ; Turf War : Players are split into two teams and each team must reach pre-determined points on the map to capture that point. The team with the most control points over the longest time wins.

In 'Survival of the Fittest', 'Civil War' and 'Turf War', a Big Daddy suit will spawn at a random location in the level. If a player can find the suit, the choice is given to become the Big Daddy, which will give the player greater strength and endurance, but prohibits the use of plasmids and hacking and expels any previously held damage bonuses against other players. The Big Daddy can stomp, shoot a rivet gun, melee attack and throw proximity mines. All damage dealt to the Big Daddy is permanent, and can't be replenished. Once the Big Daddy is defeated, the suit disappears, spawning in another location on the map two minutes later. In 'Capture the Sister' one member of the defending team is chosen at random to be the Big Daddy. After the player's death, the Big Daddy suit disappears for the rest of the round.

Plot

''BioShock 2'' takes place in Rapture in 1968, 8 years after the events of the first game. It is shown through flashbacks and audio recordings that the player character, Subject Delta (the fourth Big Daddy created), is forced to commit suicide in 1958 by Sofia Lamb, through the use of a mind-controlling plasmid. This was done in part because Delta's Little Sister, Eleanor, is actually Lamb's daughter. Lamb, originally brought to Rapture to help psychologically-stressed citizens of the underwater city cope with the lack of sunlight, used persuasion to entice her patients into a cult called "The Rapture Family", and attempted to spread her altruistic ideals throughout Rapture. Andrew Ryan discovered this through a mole, Stanley Poole, and had Lamb thrown in prison, leaving Eleanor in the care of Grace Holloway. Eleanor eventually confronted Poole about his betrayal of her mother, and Poole panicked, kidnapping Eleanor and leaving her in a Little Sister's Orphanage, eventually leading to her conversion into a Little Sister. Lamb later returned to the city, reclaimed her daughter from Delta, and gained control of Rapture after Ryan's death. Lamb guided the development of the aging Little Sisters into more dangerous Big Sisters, and sent them out to the Atlantic coastline to kidnap little girls for conversion into new Little Sisters in Rapture.

In 1968, Eleanor, now a teenager, has gained control over many of the Little Sisters, and uses them to revive Subject Delta at a Vita Chamber. Delta is drawn towards Eleanor by their past Daddy/Sister connection. Brigid Tenenbaum encounters Delta, and explains that unless Delta reunites with Eleanor, a Fail-safe device will trigger that will put him into a coma. With the help of the Little Sisters under Eleanor's control and Tenenbaum's ally, Augustus Sinclair, Delta makes his way towards Lamb's stronghold, encountering both Poole and Holloway en route. As Delta progresses, it becomes clear that Lamb is seeking to use ADAM to transform Eleanor into a perfect embodiment of her altruistic ideals. Lamb's ultimate goal is to have all the collected minds and memories of everyone in Rapture become a part of Eleanor, through the use of the genetic memory in ADAM, thus making her an "Embodiment of the Family", which Lamb believes will put an end to "The Self".

Delta arrives at a containment chamber where Eleanor is held, but Lamb captures him and severs his bond with Eleanor by temporarily stopping her heart. Though Eleanor survives, Delta is now slowly dying, as the bond cannot be re-established. Eleanor uses a Little Sister to bring Delta a plasmid which allows him to control the Sisters, thus enabling him to bring Eleanor a complete Big Sister suit, and allowing Eleanor to become a Big Sister. Eleanor escapes with it, rescues Delta, and together they head for an escape pod that Sinclair has arranged to leave Rapture. The two find that Lamb has converted Sinclair into a Big Daddy, and Delta is forced to finish him off. After a final climactic showdown with the remnants of The Rapture Family, Eleanor and Delta make it to the escape pod, but a final trap set by Lamb mortally wounds Delta and starts to send the entire building into the deep ocean rift. Eleanor teleports out of the explosion to the rising escape craft, but Delta is trapped on the outside. Using the last of his strength, he manages to grab onto the side of the escape pod and climb to its top as it rises. Trapped in the flooded escape pod with her mother, Eleanor makes the choice to either kill or save Sofia Lamb based on what she has learned from the player's actions.

There are several possible endings depending on how the player has performed during the game; these are based on whether the player has rescued all the Little Sisters or harvested them, and if they have spared the lives of certain non-player characters (like Holloway and Poole) within the game. If a certain number of these non-player characters have been spared, Eleanor will save Lamb. If the player killed all, or not saved enough, of these non-player characters, she will allow Lamb to drown. When the pod reaches the surface, Eleanor finds a dying Delta barely hanging onto the pod. Depending on how the player has chosen to deal with the little sisters, the ending will change. If the player has rescued all of the Little Sisters, Eleanor will absorb the ADAM from Delta, taking his mind and memories into herself, and leaving Rapture behind forever, accompanied by a group of rescued Little Sisters. If the player has chosen to harvest all of the Little Sisters, Eleanor will absorb Delta's power and use it to make herself even stronger to dominate the world alone. A mix of harvesting and rescuing of the Little Sisters will leave Eleanor to opt against absorbing Delta's ADAM and mourn Delta's passing.

Development

Initially, media reports suggested that the subtitle, "Sea Of Dreams", would accompany the second entry in the series. However, this subtitle was supposedly dropped, before 2K withdrew the statement, stating that the "Sea Of Dreams" subtitle would still be part of the full title. However, a later statement from 2K spokesman Charlie Sinhaseni clarified that the "Sea Of Dreams" title was for the trailer, and not for the game itself. The first appearance for ''BioShock 2'' came in the form of a teaser trailer that was available in the PlayStation 3 version of the game. The first major details on the gameplay and plot of the game were revealed in the April 2009 issue of ''Game Informer'' magazine, around the same time that the "viral" site "There's Something in the Sea" was revealed. This site documents a man named Mark Meltzer's investigation into the disappearances of girls from coastline areas around the Atlantic, along with a mysterious red light that accompanies each kidnapping. On April 9, 2009 on the Spike TV show ''GameTrailers TV with Geoff Keighley'' the first ''BioShock 2'' gameplay video was shown featuring the Big Sister. This demo showed many features including the ability to walk under water.

The story received major changes over the course of development, with two of the most important relating to the player's character and the Big Sister. Initially there was only going to be one Big Sister who would continually hunt the player down throughout the course of the game and then retreat once she was defeated. This Big Sister was written as a Little Sister who, as she grew up on the surface, could not leave the memory of Rapture behind and eventually returned. The reason for the change, as explained by Zak McClendon, Lead Designer for 2K Marin, "If you have a single character that the player knows they can't kill because they're so important to the story you're completely removing the triumph of overcoming that encounter with them." Jordan Thomas explains however, "The soul of the original Big Sister character still exists, but in the form of somebody you get to know over the course of the game." The other major change is that the player's character, Subject Delta, is no longer the first Big Daddy, but rather the fourth prototype. He is, however, the first to be successfully 'pair-bonded' to a single Little Sister.

Digital Extremes produced the multiplayer component of the game. In the multiplayer portion, players are put in a separate story where civil war has broken out in Rapture prior to the events of the first game. In the multiplayer mode the player acts as a plasmid test subject for a company called Sinclair Solutions. As the player progresses through the multiplayer maps like Mercury Suites and Kashmir Restaurant they will either have the ability to hack turrets and vending machines or search for the Big Daddy suit.

Music

The score to ''BioShock 2'' was composed by Garry Schyman, who recorded his score with a 60-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony at Capitol Studios. Additionally, the Special Edition of ''Bioshock 2'' included the orchestral score from the game on a CD, as well as the orchestral score from the original ''BioShock'' on a vinyl 180g LP.

Anyone who wishes to download the soundtrack without purchasing the hard copy can download it digitally.

Track listings

Disc length 47:58

Disc length 35:10 - Regular

Disc length 52:08 - Special Edition

Disc length 37:47

Retail versions

A Special Edition of the game was announced on November 19, 2009. This edition, which was limited to a single production run, contains the game along with three posters featuring fictional advertisements from Rapture (all of which, when looked under a black light, reveal hidden messages), the orchestral score from the game on CD, the orchestral score from the original ''BioShock'' on a vinyl 180g LP, and a hardbound, 164-page art book. It is packaged in a 13"×13" premium case with special art on both the slipcase and the box cover.

A smaller limited edition, titled ''BioShock 2 Rapture Edition'', was officially announced on December 2, 2009. Its contents are the game and a smaller, 96-page art book, which are packaged together in a special slipcover. As with the Special Edition, the Rapture Edition was limited to a single production run. The ''BioShock 2'' Rapture Edition is available in Europe, New Zealand and Australia, in addition to the ''BioShock 2'' Special Edition.

Expansion packs

Sinclair Solutions Test Pack

"Sinclair Solutions Test Pack" is the first installment of downloadable content (DLC) for ''BioShock 2''. The pack focuses on the multiplayer element of the game, increasing the leveling rank to 50 as well as unlocking 2 new playable characters, 20 new trials, 5 new masks, the 2 new players' special melee weapons and a third upgrade for each weapon. The DLC was released on March 11, 2010 for 400 Microsoft points, and was also available for purchase on the PS3 entertainment system for $4.99.

Shortly after the release of the DLC it was discovered that the "downloadable" content was already stored on the retail disc, and players were actually paying for a small file that unlocked content they already owned. This was later confirmed to be the case by 2K Games, who also claimed that this was so that all players would have the same files on the disc and so that the DLC would not split the playerbase.

Rapture Metro Map Pack

The Rapture Metro Map Pack launched on May 11, 2010, for $9.99 (800 Microsoft Points) and on May 25, 2010 for PC. The DLC includes 6 new maps, an increased level cap (up to level 50 for those who did not purchase the Sinclair Solutions DLC), 2 new masks, a new "rebirth" gene tonic, and a new "Kill 'Em Kindly" game mode. This DLC also adds 3 more achievements for the Xbox 360 and PC versions and 3 more trophies for the PlayStation 3 version.

Since its release, many players of the new DLC have complained to 2K, saying that the odds of playing the new maps from the Metro Pack are extremely low, with many players commenting that since purchasing the pack, they haven't played a single new map. 2K responded and said the design decision was made in order to stop "base-splitting"; where the player lobbies are split up, so that all players can still play together, regardless of whether they have purchased the DLC or not. However, players still voiced further complaints, citing that the odds of 10 people in one match all having the DLC, and then still having a 10 in 16 chance of striking an old map, means that overall, one is unlikely to be able play the new maps in a non-private match (which is required for 2 out of 3 of the new achievements/trophies). Some players suggested adding a "playlist" to feature only the new maps, so that players with the DLC could play together, rather than having to set up private matches. However, 2K Games later stated that they had no plans to add playlist functionality to the multiplayer.

Another complaint surfaced shortly after, regarding the DLC new ''"Rebirth!"'' feature. Players reported that once activating the feature at Rank 50, all leaderboard stats and ADAM scores are reset too, effectively sending the player to the bottom of the rank globally. 2K Community Manager, Elizabeth Tobey responded with the following statement:

''"I don't have much to tell you currently, but whenever I do, I'll update here. For now, I want you to know that the dev team is looking in to solutions for both the DLC map playlist request and the leaderboard reset issue. I hope to have more information for you early next week, but that depends on the devs and when they can provide us some good info. For now, please know that the team is aware and they are looking in to what they can do to make you happy - and all your requests have been forwarded to them." ''

Kill 'Em Kindly

Kill 'Em Kindly is a new game mode for ''BioShock 2'' multiplayer, free for download for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. In this game mode, players can only use golf clubs to melee attack enemies, a reference back to the first game where Andrew Ryan forces the player-character Jack to kill him with a golf club. This pack is also included in the "Rapture Metro Pack".

Character pack

The character pack adds two characters that were exclusive to the pre-order version of ''BioShock 2'', Zigo d'Acosta and Mlle Blanche de Glace. This pack is also available alongside the "Rapture Metro Pack" on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for 160 MS Points ($1.99).

The Protector Trials Pack

Released on August 3, the Protector Trials pack is a single-player downloadable content which has the player defend Little Sisters against swarms of enemies in a variety of challenge rooms. The content contains six maps based on locations from the main game, alongside three difficulty levels, seven Achievements/Trophies, and new concept art and videos to unlock. The pack is available on Xbox 360 for 400 Microsoft Points (£3.40) and PlayStation 3 for $4.99 (£3.19). This downloadable content was released for free on the PC on March 14, 2011. As of March 15, the DLC is playable after a patch to the main game.

Minerva's Den

Minerva's Den is a downloadable single-player campaign with a plot completely separate from that of the main campaign. The player assumes the role of Subject Sigma, another Alpha Series Big Daddy, as he travels through Minerva's Den, home to Rapture's Central Computing. The campaign adds three new levels (with around four hours of gameplay) and provides deeper insight into Rapture's inner workings.

The story introduces the characters of Charles Milton Porter, who guides the player (with Brigid Tenenbaum), and Reed Wahl, who acts as the antagonist. Porter and Wahl were once partners working on a computer with advanced artificial intelligence dubbed "The Thinker", but Wahl framed Porter for treason and stole the machine. Porter, realizing that he would be taken away and that Rapture was crumbling, left instructions for the machine on how to get to the surface, in order to ensure that his creation would benefit mankind.

The add-on also features new weapons, a new plasmid as well as a new Big Daddy type. It was released August 31 for PS3 and Xbox360. It costs $10/ 800 Microsoft Points. Work on the PC version of this downloadable content was resumed on 28 October 2010. The DLC was released on PC on 31 May 2011.

Windows version DLC

Though the Windows version of ''BioShock 2'' had received some patches and downloadable content shortly after release, 2K Games announced in October 2010 that they would not provide a final patch to fix remaining issues with the game. Furthermore, 2K Games announced they would not offer the "Protector Trials" or "Minerva's Den" content on the platform, citing "Timing and technical issues" that they had encountered but could not work around. 2K apologized to the players, as they had promised that this content would be forthcoming to the Windows platform, and that if the situation changed, they would offer it in the future. 2K later explained that in trying to prepare additional patches with support for the additional content, they encountered bugs under specific circumstances that they felt would not be acceptable to the Microsoft certification process, and while they had tried to correct those bugs, they were unable to do so in a timely manner, leading to their decision to abandon the attempt. The announcement was met with heavy criticism from some players, having felt that 2K Games took advantage of their "goodwill" in the promised game and DLC updates. In late October, 2K Games reversed their decision based on the players' responses, and have recommitted resources to complete the game patch and support for both content packs on the Windows version; the patch and "Protector Trials" would likely be available in Spring 2011, while more work is necessary to complete the "Minerva's Den" content. ''Protector Trials'' DLC for the PC version of BioShock 2 was made available pre-maturely via Games for Windows Live on February 20, 2011. Users find that the download pack, which was yet to officially arrive on PC, was available for the price of 400 MS Points. But when users paid for and downloaded the 964mb update, they were completely unable to access it. On March 12, 2011 it was announced that ''Protector Trials'' would be released for PC on March 14, 2011. The patch to the main game which enabled the DLC to run was released after the DLC itself, though the new content was playable by March 15, 2011. Though 2K was originally reluctant to confirm a release date for the Minerva's Den DLC, eventually they confirmed that it would be released at the end of May 2011.

Reception

''BioShock 2'' received positive reviews. Currently, it holds an 88 on Metacritic for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC versions. ''PSM3'' awarded it 93%, saying that it "tops the original in terms of storytelling and combat". ''PC Gamer'' was also positive, awarding the game 90%, and commenting that "it's still better written than pretty much anything else out there". ''Xbox World 360'' rated it 90%, stating that the return to the underwater dystopia of Rapture is "every bit as engrossingly mysterious [as the original] ... if not more so", and that the two titles are "as inseparable as Daddy and Sister". ''PlayStation: The Official Magazine'' awarded ''BioShock 2'' a perfect score of 5/5. ''Official Xbox Magazine'' awarded the game a 9.5/10, stating that the game is "Dripping with atmosphere and quality; good story with a terrific ending; good gameplay tweaks".

IGN scored the game a 9.1/10 and said that "anyone looking for a first-person shooter that offers more than flat, stereotypical characters and copy-and-paste supersoldier plots, one that attempts to establish a sense of right and wrong and loops you into the decision making process, and one that's set in one of the most vividly realized settings around should pick up BioShock 2. It's a game in which story, setting, and gameplay are expertly blended to create an experience that's as thought-provoking as it is entertaining." IGN's review also stated that the game does not look as visually impressive as its predecessor, but it is still one of the best-looking games around because of its unique art style. In a round-table style video chat, IGN editors said that Rapture was less mysterious because players have seen it before, and that was a major strike against the game. Since the original had such an eerie mysterious feel to it, the twists and turns seen in the sequel seemed less surprising.

Gaming Evolution scored the game a 9.4/10 and said that "BioShock 2 is not a departure from the original game as it takes a lot of the gameplay mechanics, tweaks them, and improves on what was already there. The new storyline is a lot less complex compared to the original game, giving you more playing time and less time trying to understand what’s going on."

Sales

Prior to the game's release, the chairman of Take-Two, Strauss Zelnick stated that he expected the game to sell 5 million copies across all platforms.

In its first week of release, ''BioShock 2'' was the best-selling Xbox 360 game in the UK and North America. In the U.S., NPD recorded it as the top selling game of February with 562,900 units sold on the Xbox 360, and 190,500 on the PS3. Gamasutra state a possible reason for the Xbox 360's greater sales was the original ''Bioshock's'' 14 month exclusivity on the platform. It also managed to hold both the first and second positions on the Steam release charts.

In its first month of release, ''BioShock 2'' was number 1 in sales for the Xbox 360 and number 12 for the PlayStation 3. PC sales are not tracked by NPD for top 20 results, and is therefore unknown.

References

External links

Teaser site: There's Something in the Sea

The Cult of Rapture official community website

Category:2010 video games Category:Alternate history video games Category:Art Deco games Category:Biopunk Category:First-person shooters Category:Games for Windows certified games Category:Horror video games Category:Unreal Engine games Category:PlayStation 3 games Category:Video game sequels Category:Video games developed in Australia Category:Video games developed in Canada Category:Video games developed in France Category:Video games developed in the People's Republic of China Category:Video games developed in the United States Category:Video games with expansion packs Category:Video games set in the 1960s Category:Windows games Category:Xbox 360 games

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The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe, Larry, and Shemp," among other lineups. They first started as "Ted Healy and his Stooges" which contained Moe, Larry and Shemp. "The Three Stooges" film trio was originally composed of Moe Howard, brother Curly Howard and Larry Fine. Shemp Howard replaced brother Curly, when Curly suffered a debilitating stroke in May 1946.

After Shemp's death from a heart attack in November 1955, he was replaced by comedian Joe Besser, after the use of film actor Joe Palma to film four Shemp-era shorts. Ultimately, Joe DeRita (nicknamed "Curly Joe") replaced Joe Besser by 1958. The act regained momentum throughout the 1960s as popular kiddie fare until Larry Fine's paralyzing stroke in January 1970 effectively marked the end of the act proper. Moe tried unsuccessfully one final time to revive the Stooges with longtime supporting actor Emil Sitka filling in for Larry. Larry ultimately succumbed to a series of additional strokes in January 1975, followed by Moe, who died of lung cancer in May 1975.

History

Ted Healy and his stooges

The Three Stooges started in 1925 as part of a raucous vaudeville act called 'Ted Healy and His Stooges' (a.k.a. 'Ted Healy and His Southern Gentlemen', 'Ted Healy and His Three Lost Souls' and 'Ted Healy and His Racketeers'—the moniker 'Three Stooges' was never used during their tenure with Healy). In the act, lead comedian Healy would attempt to sing or tell jokes while his noisy assistants would keep "interrupting" him. Healy would respond by verbally and physically abusing his stooges. Brothers Moe and Shemp were joined later that year by violinist-comedian Larry Fine, and Fred Sanborn joined the group as well.

In 1930, Ted Healy and His Stooges (including Sanborn) appeared in their first Hollywood feature film, ''Soup to Nuts'', released by Fox Film Corporation. The film was not a critical success, but the Stooges' performances were singled out as memorable, leading Fox to offer the trio a contract minus Healy. This enraged the prickly Healy, who told studio executives that the Stooges were his employees. The offer was withdrawn, and after Howard, Fine and Howard learned of the reason, they left Healy to form their own act, which quickly took off with a tour of the theatre circuit. Healy attempted to stop the new act with legal action, claiming they were using his copyrighted material. There are accounts of Healy threatening to bomb theaters if Howard, Fine and Howard ever performed there, which worried Shemp so much that he almost left the act; reportedly, only a pay raise kept him on board. Healy tried to save his act by hiring replacement stooges, but they were inexperienced and not as well-received as their predecessors. In 1932, with Moe now acting as business manager, Healy reached a new agreement with his former Stooges, and they were booked in a production of Jacob J. Shubert's ''The Passing Show of 1932''. During rehearsals, Healy received a more lucrative offer and found a loophole in his contract allowing him to leave the production. Shemp, fed up with Healy's abrasiveness, decided to quit the act and found work almost immediately, in Vitaphone movie comedies produced in Brooklyn, New York.

With Shemp gone, Healy and the two remaining stooges (Moe and Larry) needed a replacement, so Moe suggested his younger brother Jerry Howard. Healy reportedly took one look at Jerry, who had long chestnut red locks and a handlebar mustache, and remarked that he did not look like he was funny. Jerry left the room and returned a few moments later with his head shaved (though his mustache remained for a time), and then quipped "Boy, do I look girly." Healy heard "Curly," and the name stuck. (There are varying accounts as to how the Curly character actually came about.)

In 1933, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) signed Healy and his Stooges to a movie contract. They appeared in feature films and short subjects, either together, individually, or with various combinations of actors. The trio was featured in a series of musical comedy shorts, beginning with ''Nertsery Rhymes''. The short was one of a few shorts to be made with an early two-strip Technicolor process, including one featuring Curly without Healy or the other Stooges, ''Roast Beef and Movies'' (1934). The shorts themselves were built around recycled film footage of production numbers cut from MGM musicals, such as ''Children of Pleasure'', ''Lord Byron of Broadway'', and the unfinished ''March of Time'' (all 1930), which had been filmed in early Technicolor. Soon, additional shorts followed (sans the experimental Technicolor), including ''Beer and Pretzels'' (1933), ''Plane Nuts'' (1933), and ''The Big Idea'' (1934).

Healy and company also appeared in several MGM feature films as comic relief, such as ''Turn Back the Clock'' (1933), ''Meet the Baron'' (1933), ''Dancing Lady'' (1933), ''Fugitive Lovers'' (1934), and ''Hollywood Party'' (1934). Healy and the Stooges also appeared together in ''Myrt and Marge'' for Universal Pictures.

In 1934, the team's contract with MGM expired, and the Stooges parted professional company with Healy. According to Moe Howard's autobiography, the Stooges split with Ted Healy in 1934 once and for all because of Healy's alcoholism and abrasiveness. Their final film with Healy was MGM’s 1934 film, ''Hollywood Party''. Both Healy and the Stooges went on to separate successes, with Healy dying under mysterious circumstances in 1937.

The Columbia years: Moe, Larry and Curly

In 1934, the trio – now officially christened "The Three Stooges" – signed on to appear in two-reel comedy short subjects for Columbia Pictures. In Moe's autobiography, he said they each got $600 per week on a one-year contract with a renewable option; in the Ted Okuda–Edward Watz book ''The Columbia Comedy Shorts'', the Stooges are said to have received $1,000 between them for their first Columbia effort, ''Woman Haters'', and then signed a term contract for $7,500 per film, to be divided among the trio.

Within their first year at Columbia, the Stooges became wildly popular. Realizing this, Columbia Pictures president Harry Cohn used the Stooges as leverage, as the demand for their films was so great that Columbia eventually refused to supply exhibitors with the trio's shorts unless they also agreed to book some of the studio's mediocre B movies. Cohn also saw to it that the Stooges remain ignorant of their popularity. During their 23 years spent at Columbia, the Stooges were never completely aware of their amazing drawing power at the box office. As their contracts with the studio included an open option that had to be renewed every year, Cohn would tell the boys that the short subjects were in decline, which was not a complete fabrication (Cohn's yearly mantra was "the market for comedy shorts is dying out, fellahs.") Thinking their days were numbered, the Stooges would sweat it out each and every year, with Cohn signing the trio up for another year at the last minute. This cruel deception kept the insecure Stooges unaware of their true value, resulting in them having second thoughts about asking for a better contract without a yearly option. Cohn's scare tactics worked for all 23 years the Stooges were at Columbia; the team never once asked for—nor were they ever given—a salary increase. It was not until after they stopped making the shorts in December 1957 did Moe learn of the game Cohn was playing, what a valuable commodity the Stooges had been for the ailing studio, and how many millions more the act could have earned.

The Stooges were required to churn out up to eight short films per year within a 40-week period; for the remaining 12 or so weeks, they were free to pursue other employment. Usually, the Stooges would either spend this time with their families or tour the country promoting their live act. The Stooges appeared in 190 film shorts and five features while at Columbia. Del Lord directed more than three dozen Stooge films; Jules White directed dozens more, and his brother Jack White directed several under the pseudonym "Preston Black".

According to a published report, Moe, Larry, and director Jules White considered their best film to be ''You Nazty Spy!''. This 18-minute short subject starred Moe as "Moe Hailstone", an Adolf Hitler-like character, and satirized the Nazis in a period when America was still neutral and resolutely isolationist. Curly played a Hermann Goering character, replete with medals, and Larry a Ribbentrop-type ambassador. ''You Nazty Spy!'' was the first Hollywood film to spoof Hitler, as it was released in January, 1940, nine months before Charlie Chaplin's ''The Great Dictator''. Reportedly this film caused the Stooges to be placed on Hitler's so-called "death list" because of its anti-Nazi stance. Chaplin, along with Jack Benny, would also be on this list due to their later anti-Nazi films. The Stooges made occasional guest appearances in feature films, though generally they stuck to short subjects. Columbia offered theater owners an entire program of two-reel comedies (15 to 25 titles annually) featuring such stars as Buster Keaton, Andy Clyde, Charley Chase, and Hugh Herbert, but the Three Stooges shorts were the most popular of all.

Curly was easily the most popular member of the team. His childlike mannerisms and natural comedic charm (he had no previous acting experience) made him a hit with audiences. The fact that Curly had to shave his head for the act led him to feel unappealing to women. To mask his insecurities, Curly ate and drank excessively and caroused whenever the Stooges made personal appearances, which was approximately seven months out of the year. His weight ballooned in the 1940s, and his blood pressure was dangerously high. His wild lifestyle and constant drinking eventually caught up with him in 1945, and his performances suffered. In his last dozen shorts (ranging from 1945's ''If a Body Meets a Body'' through 1947's ''Half-Wits Holiday''), he was seriously ill, struggling to get through even the most basic scenes.

It was during the final day of filming ''Half-Wits Holiday'' on May 6, 1946 that Curly suffered a debilitating stroke on the set, ending his 14-year career. Curly's health necessitated a temporary retirement from the act, and while the Stooges hoped for a full recovery, Curly never starred in a film again, except for one brief cameo appearance in the third film after Shemp returned to the trio, ''Hold That Lion!'' It was the only film that contained all ''four'' of the original Stooges (the three Howard brothers and Larry) on screen simultaneously; Jules White recalled Curly visiting the set one day, and White had him do this bit for fun. (Curly's cameo appearance was recycled in the 1953 remake ''Booty and the Beast''.) In 1949, Curly was supposed to play a cameo role in the Stooge comedy ''Malice in the Palace'', but he was physically unable to perform. His chef role was played by Larry.

Shemp returns

Moe Howard turned to his older brother Shemp Howard to take Curly's place. Shemp, however, was hesitant to rejoin the Stooges, as he had a successful solo career at the time of Curly's untimely illness. However, he realized that Moe and Larry's careers would be finished without the Stooge act. Shemp wanted some kind of assurance that his rejoining was indeed temporary, and that he could leave the Stooges once Curly recovered. Unfortunately, Curly remained gravely ill after 1950, dying of a cerebral hemorrhage caused by additional strokes on January 18, 1952.

Shemp appeared with the Stooges in 76 more shorts and a quickie Western comedy feature titled ''Gold Raiders''. Upon Shemp's return, the quality of the films picked up; the last few Curly efforts had been marred by his sluggish performances. Entries like ''Out West'', ''Squareheads of the Round Table'', and ''Punchy Cowpunchers'' proved that there was life after Curly, and that Shemp could easily hold his own. Though some say he lacked his younger brother's childlike charisma, Shemp was a gifted, professional comedian. More often than not, his astute gift of comedic timing buoys weak material. In fact, one the finest entries in the series, ''Brideless Groom'', was made during this period.

Another interesting plus from the Shemp era was that Larry was given more time on screen. Throughout most of the Curly era, Larry was relegated to a background role, only being called upon to break up a potential scuffle between Moe and Curly. By the time Shemp rejoined the Stooges, Larry was allotted equal footage, even becoming the focus of several films (''Fuelin' Around'', ''He Cooked His Goose'').

During this period, Moe, Larry, and Shemp made a pilot for a ''Three Stooges'' television show called ''Jerks of All Trades'' in 1949. The series was never picked up, although the pilot is currently in the public domain and is available on home video, as is an early television appearance from around the same time on a vaudeville-style comedy series, ''Camel Comedy Caravan'', originally broadcast live on CBS-TV on March 11, 1950 and starring Ed Wynn. Also available commercially is a kinescope of Moe, Larry, and Shemp's appearance on ''The Frank Sinatra Show'', broadcast live over CBS-TV on January 1, 1952. Frank Sinatra was reportedly a big fan of the Stooges and slapstick comedy in general. On this broadcast, the Stooges are joined by one of their longtime stock-company members, Vernon Dent, who plays "Mr. Mortimer", a party-goer who requests a drink. The Stooges oblige with disastrous results.

Columbia's short-subject division downsized in 1952. Producer Hugh McCollum was discharged and director Edward Bernds resigned out of loyalty to McCollum, leaving only Jules White to both produce and direct the Stooges' remaining Columbia comedies. Production was significantly faster, with the former four-day filming schedules now tightened to two or three days. In another cost-cutting measure, White would create a "new" Stooge short by borrowing footage from old ones, setting it in a slightly different storyline, and filming a few new scenes often with the same actors in the same costumes. White was initially very subtle when recycling older footage: he would reuse only a single sequence of old film, re-edited so cleverly that it was not easy to detect. The later shorts were cheaper and the recycling more obvious, with as much as 75% of the running time consisting of old footage. White came to rely so much on older material that he could film the "new" shorts in a single day.

Three years after Curly's death, Shemp Howard died of a sudden heart attack at age 60 on November 22, 1955. Archived footage of Shemp, combined with new footage of Joe Palma, were used to complete the last four films originally planned with Shemp: ''Rumpus in the Harem'', ''Hot Stuff'', ''Scheming Schemers'', and ''Commotion on the Ocean''.

Joe Besser replaces Shemp

Joe Besser replaced Shemp in 1956, appearing in 16 shorts. Besser, noting how one side of Larry Fine's face seemed "calloused", had a clause in his contract specifically prohibiting him from being hit too hard (though this restriction was later lifted). Besser was the only "third" Stooge that dared to hit Moe back in retaliation and get away with it; Larry Fine was also known to hit Moe on occasion, but always with serious repercussions. "I usually played the kind of character who would hit others back," Besser recalled.

With Besser on board, the Stooge films began to resemble sitcoms. Sitcoms, though, were now available for free. Television was the new popular medium, and by the time Besser joined the act, the Stooges were generally considered throwbacks to an obsolete era. In addition, Moe and Larry were growing older, and could not perform pratfalls and physical comedy as they once had. The inevitable occurred soon enough. Columbia was the last studio still producing shorts, and the market for such films had all but dried up. As a result, the studio opted not to renew the Stooges' contract when it expired in late December 1957. The final comedy produced was ''Flying Saucer Daffy'', filmed on December 19–20, 1957. Several days later, the Stooges were unceremoniously fired from Columbia Pictures after 24 years of making low-budget shorts. Joan Howard Maurer, daughter of Moe, wrote the following in 1982:

{{bquote|The boys' careers had suddenly come to an end. They were at Columbia one day and gone the next—no 'Thank yous,' no farewell party for their 24 years of dedication and service and the dollars their comedies had reaped for the studio.

Moe Howard recalled that a few weeks after their exit from Columbia, he drove to the studio to say goodbye to several studio executives when he was stopped by a guard at the gate (obviously, not a Stooges fan) and, since he did not have the current year's studio pass, was refused entry. For the moment, it was a crushing blow.}} Although the Stooges were no longer working for Columbia, the studio had enough completed films on the shelf to keep releasing new comedies for another 18 months, and not in the order they were produced. The final Stooge release, ''Sappy Bull Fighters'', did not reach theaters until June 4, 1959. With no active contract in place, Moe and Larry discussed plans for a personal appearance tour; meanwhile, Besser's wife had a minor heart attack, and he preferred to stay local, leading him to withdraw from the act. For the first time in nearly 30 years, the Stooges hit a dead end.

The comeback: Larry, Moe and Curly Joe

Seeing the success of how television, in its early years, allowed movie studios to unload a backlog of short films thought unmarketable, the Stooge films seemed perfect for the burgeoning genre. ABC television had even expressed interest as far back as 1949, purchasing exclusive rights to 30 of the trio's shorts. However, the success of television revivals for such names as Laurel and Hardy, Woody Woodpecker, Tom and Jerry and the ''Our Gang'' series in the late 1950s led Columbia to cash in again on the Stooges. In January 1958, Columbia's television subsidiary Screen Gems offered a package consisting of 78 Stooge shorts (mainly from the Curly era), which were well received. Almost immediately, an additional 40 shorts hit the market, and by 1959, all 190 Stooge shorts were airing regularly. Due to the massive quantity of Stooge product available for broadcast, the films were broadcast Monday through Friday, leading to heavy exposure aimed squarely at children. This led parents to watch alongside of their offspring, and before long, Howard and Fine found themselves in high demand. Moe quickly signed movie and burlesque comic Joe DeRita for the "third Stooge" role; DeRita adopted first a crew cut and then a completely shaven hairstyle and became "Curly Joe" because of his resemblance to the original Curly Howard (also to make it easier to distinguish him from Joe Besser, the earlier Stooge called Joe).

This Three Stooges lineup went on to make a series of popular full-length films from 1959 to 1965, most notably ''Have Rocket, Will Travel'', ''The Three Stooges Meet Hercules'' and ''The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze''. The films were aimed at the kiddie-matinee market, and most were Farce outings in the Stooge tradition, with the exception of ''Snow White and the Three Stooges'', a children's fantasy in Technicolor. They also appeared as firemen (the role that helped make them famous in ''Soup to Nuts'') in the film ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World''. Throughout the 1960s, The Three Stooges were one of the most popular and highest-paid live acts in America. The trio also filmed 41 short comedy skits for ''The New Three Stooges'', which features a series of 156 animated cartoons produced for television. The Stooges appeared in live-action color footage, which preceded and followed each animated adventure in which they voiced their respective characters.

Final years

In 1969, the Three Stooges filmed a pilot episode for a new TV series entitled ''Kook's Tour'', a combination travelogue-sitcom that had the "retired" Stooges traveling around the world, with the episodes filmed on location.

On January 9, 1970, during production of the pilot, Larry suffered a paralyzing stroke, ending his acting career, as well as plans for the television series. thumb|150px|lefgt|A proposed incarnation of the Three Stooges. A promotional picture taken after Larry Fine's death in 1975 features a very ill Moe Howard (who died shortly thereafter) flanked by Curly Joe DeRita to the left and Emil Sitka to the right.Plans were in the works for longtime foil Emil Sitka to replace Larry as the "Middle Stooge" in 1971, but nothing ever came of that idea other than the proposed publicity still reproduced here. Three years later, just before Christmas of 1974, Larry Fine suffered yet another stroke at the age of 72 and four weeks later, suffered a more massive one. Slipping into a coma, he died a week later of a stroke-induced cerebral hemorrhage on January 24, 1975.

Devastated by his friend's death, Moe nevertheless decided that the Three Stooges should continue. Several movie ideas were considered, one of which according to critic and movie historian Leonard Maltin, (who also uncovered a pre-production photo) was entitled ''Blazing Stewardesses''. Unfortunately, before pre-production could begin, after a lifetime of smoking, Moe fell ill from lung cancer, and died three months later on May 4, 1975, finally putting to rest the last original surviving member of one of the most famous comedy troupes of the 20th Century.

However, ''Blazing Stewardesses'', the last film idea that the Three Stooges had ever seriously considered, was eventually made, starring the last of the surviving Ritz Brothers comedy troupe and released to moderate acclaim later that year.

Curly Joe continued to perform live into the mid-1970s with Mousie Garner and Frank Mitchell as "The New 3 Stooges" enjoying recognition well into old age, before retiring by 1979.

Of the remaining “original-replacement” Stooges, Joe Besser died of heart failure on March 1, 1988, followed by Curly Joe DeRita of pneumonia on July 3, 1993.

Legacy and perspective

Some 50 years after their last short film was released, the Three Stooges remain wildly popular with audiences. Their films have never left the television airwaves since first appearing in 1958, and they continue to delight old fans while attracting a new legion of fervent admirers. A hard-working group of working-class comedians who were never the critic's darlings, the team endured several personnel changes in their careers that would have permanently sidelined a less persistent act. Despite watching two of his brothers die in a brief span of time, the Stooges would not have lasted as long as they did as a unit without Moe Howard's guiding hand. However, despite their massive popularity, they never received a raise during their entire employment at Columbia nor were they ever allowed to make a full-length feature film during the height of their popularity. Columbia Studios chief Harry Cohn preferred to use the popular Stooges shorts in packages with his weaker features so that exhibitors would have to accept the movies in order to show the shorts, which would bring in the public.

The Ted Okuda/Edward Watz-penned book ''The Columbia Comedy Shorts'' puts the Stooges legacy in critical perspective:

Beginning in the 1980s, the Stooges finally began to receive long-overdue critical recognition. More often than not, the praise was directed at Curly, usually at the expense of his castmates, most especially Shemp. With the advent of cable television and the burgeoning home video market, the praise was eventually spread more evenly throughout the team. Critics began to realize that Moe and Larry were gifted performers; though less flamboyant than Curly, they were by no means less talented. Curly was indeed brilliant and a one-of-a-kind, but taken for long periods of time, he could also be irritating and exhausting without Moe and Larry present to provide a counterbalance. This balance would be handled better after Shemp returned to the act, with Larry in particular receiving more screen time. The release of nearly all their films on DVD by 2010 has allowed critics of Joe Besser and Joe DeRita—often the recipients of significant fan backlash—to appreciate the unique style of comedy both comedians brought to the Stooges. In addition, the DVD market in particular has allowed fans to view the entire Stooge film corpus as distinct periods in their long, distinguished career instead of comparing one Stooge to the other (the Curly vs. Shemp debate continues to this day).

The team appeared in 220 films. In the end, it is the durability of the 190 timeless short films the Stooges made at Columbia Pictures that acts as an enduring tribute to the comedy team. Their continued popularity worldwide has proven to even the most skeptical critics that their films—quite simply—are funny. American television personality Steve Allen went on record in the mid-1980s saying "though they never achieved widespread critical acclaim, they achieved exactly what they had always intended to do: they made people laugh."

Line-ups

!	! Ted	! Moe	! Shemp	! Larry	! Curly	! Joe	! Curly Joe	! Emil Sitka
1.									1922–1924
2.									1925–1932
3.									1932–1934
4.									1934–1946
5.									1946–1955
6.									1956–1958
7.									1958–1971
8.									1971–1975

Ted Healy Real Name: Clarence Ernst Lee Nash Born: October 01, 1896 Died: December 21, 1937 Stooge Years: 1922–1931, 1932–1934

Moe Howard Real Name: Moses Harry Horwitz Born: June 19, 1897 Died: May 04, 1975 Stooge years: 1922–1927, 1928–1975

Larry Fine Real Name: Louis Feinberg Born: October 05, 1902 Died: January 24, 1975 Stooge years: 1925–1927, 1928–1971

Curly Howard Real Name: Jerome Lester Horwitz Born: October 22, 1903 Died: January 18, 1952 Stooge years: 1932–1946

Shemp Howard Real Name: Samuel Horwitz Born: March 04, 1895 Died: November 22, 1955 Stooge years: 1922–1927, 1928–1932, 1946–1955

Joe Besser Born: August 12, 1907 Died: March 01, 1988 Stooge years: 1956–1958

Joe DeRita Real Name: Joseph Wardell Born: July 12, 1909 Died: July 03, 1993 Stooge years: 1958–1975

Emil Sitka Born: December 22, 1915 Died: January 16, 1998 Stooge years: n/a

Shorts

The Three Stooges appeared in 220 films throughout their career. Of those 220, 190 short films were made for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959, for which the trio are best known. Their contract was extended each year from 1934 until the final one expired on December 31, 1957. The last 8 of the 16 shorts with Joe Besser were released soon afterward.

C3 Entertainment, Inc.

Throughout their career, Moe acted as both their main creative force and business manager. Comedy III was formed by Moe, Larry and Curly-Joe in 1959 to manage all business and merchandise transactions for the team. Comedy III was basically in the background, with Moe's son-in-law Norman Maurer managing the comedy teams' film interests under Normandy Productions, and merchandising affairs under Norman Maurer Productions (NMP). Norman Maurer died in 1986.

In 1994 the heirs of Larry Fine and Joe DeRita filed a lawsuit against Moe's family, particularly Joan Howard Maurer and her son Jeffrey, who had inherited the NMP/Normandy business. The result reestablished Comedy III as a three-way interest of Fine/[Moe]Howard/DeRita. The DeRita heirs received the proxy to the Howard share, giving them majority control on the company's management. Curly-Joe's stepsons, Robert and Earl Benjamin, became the senior management of Comedy III. The Benjamins later incorporated the company, and C3 Entertainment, Inc. is currently the owner of all Three Stooges trademarks and merchandising. Larry's grandson Eric Lamond is the representative of the Fines' one-third interest in the company.

C3 has also, since 1995, authorized and provided the services of veteran actors Jim Skousen, Alan Semok, and Dave Knight (as Moe, Larry, and Curly respectively) for numerous "personal appearances" by the Stooge characters for a variety of merchandising and promotional events. This latter day trio has also provided voices for the characters in a variety of radio spots, merchandising tie-ins, and most recently for the first new Three Stooges short in fifty years. A CGI animation by Famous Frames Mobile Interactive, a first-wave "new media" company, entitled ''The Grate Debate'', has Moe, Larry and Curly running for President.

Television broadcasts and rights issues

A handful of Three Stooges shorts first aired on television in 1949, on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) network. It was not until 1958 that Screen Gems packaged 78 shorts for national syndication; the package was gradually enlarged to encompass the entire library of 190 shorts. In 1959, KTTV in Los Angeles purchased the Three Stooges films for air, but by the early 1970s, rival station KTLA began airing the Stooges films, keeping them in the schedule until early 1994. The Family Channel (now ABC Family) ran the shorts as part of their ''Stooge TV'' block from February 19, 1996 to January 2, 1998. In the late 1990s, AMC had held the rights to the Three Stooges shorts, originally airing them under the ''Stooges Playhouse'' block, but replacing it in 1999 with ''N.Y.U.K.'' (New Yuk University of Knuckleheads). Featuring host Leslie Nielsen in the form of a college instructor, the block aired several shorts often grouped by a theme, such as similar schtick used in different films. Although the block was discontinued after AMC revamped their format in 2002, the network still ran Stooges shorts occasionally. The AMC run ended when Spike TV picked them up in 2004, airing them in their ''Stooges Slap-Happy Hour''. By 2007, the network had discontinued the block. Although Spike did air Stooges shorts for a brief period of time after the block was canceled, as of late April 2008, Three Stooges has disappeared from the network's schedule entirely. The Three Stooges returned on December 31, 2009 on AMC, starting with the "Countdown with the Stooges" New Year's Eve marathon. AMC planned to put several episodes on their website in 2010.

Since the 1990s Columbia and its television division's successor, Sony Pictures Television, has preferred to license the Stooges shorts to cable networks, precluding the films from being shown on local broadcast TV. Two stations in Chicago and Boston, however, signed long-term syndication contracts with Columbia years ago and have declined to terminate them. Thus, WMEU-CA in Chicago currently airs all 190 Three Stooges shorts on ''Stooge-a-Palooza'', hosted by Rich Koz, and WSBK-TV in Boston airs Stooge shorts and feature films. KTLA in Los Angeles dropped the shorts in 1994, but brought them back in 2007 as part of a special retro-marathon commemorating the station's 60th anniversary. Since that time, the station's original 16mm Stooges film prints have aired occasionally as part of mini-marathons on holidays. Antenna TV, a network broadcasting on the digital subchannels of local broadcast stations (owned by Tribune Broadcasting, who also owns KTLA), began airing the Stooges shorts upon the network's January 1, 2011 launch, which run in multi-hour blocks on weekends; most of the Three Stooges feature films are also broadcast on the network, through Antenna TV's distribution agreement with Sony Pictures Entertainment (whose Columbia Pictures subsidiary released most of the films).

Some of the Stooge films have been colorized by two separate companies. The first colorized DVD releases, distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, were prepared by West Wing Studios in 2004. The following year, Legend Films colorized the public domain shorts ''Malice in the Palace'', ''Sing a Song of Six Pants'', ''Disorder in the Court'' and ''Brideless Groom''. ''Disorder in the Court'' and ''Brideless Groom'' also appear on two of West Wing's colorized releases. In any event, the Columbia-produced shorts (aside from the public domain films) are handled by Sony Pictures Entertainment, while the MGM Stooges shorts are owned by Warner Bros. via their Turner Entertainment division. Sony offers 21 of the shorts on their web platform Crackle, along with eleven Minisodes. Meanwhile, the rights to the Stooges' feature films rests with the studios that originally produced them (Columbia/Sony for the Columbia films, and 20th Century Fox for the Fox films).

Home video release and public reception

Between 1984 and 1985, RCA Columbia Pictures Home Video released a total of thirteen Three Stooges volumes on VHS, Beta and Laserdisc, each containing three shorts. These titles were later reissued on VHS by its successor, Sony Pictures Entertainment, between 1995 and 1997, with a DVD reissue between 2000 and 2004.

On October 30, 2007, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released a two-disc DVD set entitled The Three Stooges Collection, Volume One: 1934–1936. The set contains shorts from the first three years the Stooges worked at Columbia Pictures, marking the first time ever that all 19 shorts were released in their original theatrical order to DVD. Additionally, every short was remastered in high definition, a first for the Stooge films. Previous DVD releases were based on themes (wartime, history, work, etc.), and sold poorly. Fans and critics alike praised Sony for finally giving the Stooges the proper DVD treatment. One critic states "the Three Stooges on DVD has been a real mix'n match hodgepodge of un-restored titles and illogical entries. This new...boxset...seems to be the first concerted effort to categorize their huge body of work chronologically with many shorts seeing the digital light for the first time." Videolibrarian.com critic added "finally, the studio knuckleheads got it right! The way that the Three Stooges have been presented on home video has been a real slap in the face and poke in the eye to fans. They’ve been anthologized, colorized, and public domain-ed, as their shorts have been released and re-released in varying degrees of quality. Highly recommended." Critic James Plath of DVDtown.com added, "Thank you, Sony, for finally giving these Columbia Pictures icons the kind of DVD retrospective that they deserve. Remastered in High Definition and presented in chronological order, these short films now give fans the chance to appreciate the development of one of the most successful comedy teams in history."

The chronological series proved very successful and wildly popular, and Sony wasted little time preparing the next set for release. Volume Two: 1937–1939 was released on May 27, 2008, followed by Volume Three: 1940–1942 three months later on August 26, 2008. Demand exceeded supply, proving to Sony that they had a hit on their hands. In response, Volume Four: 1943–1945 was released on October 7, 2008, a mere two months after its predecessor. The global economic crisis slowed down the release schedule after Volume Four, and Volume Five: 1946–1948 was belatedly released on March 17, 2009. Volume Five is the first in the series to feature Shemp Howard with the Stooges. Volume Six: 1949–1951 was released June 16, 2009. and Volume Seven: 1952–1954 was released on November 10, 2009.

The eighth and final volume was released on June 1, 2010, bringing the series to a close. For the first time in history, all 190 ''Three Stooges'' short subjects became available to the public.

Music

Several instrumental tunes were played over the opening credits at different times in the production of the short features. The most commonly used themes were:

* The verse portion of the Civil War era song "Listen to the Mockingbird", played in a comical way, complete with sounds of birds and such. This was first used in ''Pardon My Scotch'', their ninth short film, in 1935. (Prior to that comedic short, the opening theme varied and was typically connected to the storyline in some fashion.)

* "Three Blind Mice", beginning in 1939 as a slow but straightforward presentation (dubbed the "sliding strings" version), often breaking into a "jazzy" style before ending. In mid-1942, another more driving version, complete with accordion was played fast all the way through.

The Columbia short subject ''Woman Haters'' was done completely in rhyme, mostly recited (not sung), in rhythm with a Jazz-Age underscore running throughout the film, but with some key lines sung. It was sixth in a ''Musical Novelties'' short subject series, and appropriated its musical score from the first five films. The memorable “My Life, My Love, My All,” was originally “At Last!” from the film ''Um-Pa''.

"Swinging the Alphabet" (a.k.a. B-A-bay, B-E-be, B-I-bicky-bi…) from ''Violent Is the Word for Curly'' is perhaps the best-known song performed by the Stooges on film.

The “Lucia Sextet” (''Chi mi frena in tal memento?''), from the opera ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' by Gaetano Donizetti (announced by Larry as “the Sextet from Lucy”), is played on a record player and lip-synched by the Stooges in ''Micro-Phonies''. The same melody re-appears in ''Squareheads of the Round Table'' as the tune of “Oh, Elaine, can you come out tonight?”. ''Micro-Phonies'' also includes the Johann Strauss II waltz “Voices of Spring” ("Frühlingsstimmen") Op. 410. Another Strauss waltz, "The Blue Danube", is featured in ''Ants in the Pantry'' and ''Punch Drunks''.

The song “Fredric March” (named after the actor) was a favorite of director Jules White; it appeared in at least six different Columbia shorts:

* ''Termites of 1938'' - the Stooges "play" this song on a violin, flute, and string bass at a dinner party in an attempt to attract mice.

* ''Dutiful But Dumb'' - Curly is hidden inside a floor-standing radio, and plays the song on a modified harmonica.

* ''Three Little Twirps'' - heard as background music at the circus while Moe and Curly sell tickets.

* ''Idle Roomers'' - Curly plays the song on a trombone to calm a wolf man.

* ''Gents Without Cents'' - three girls perform acrobatics on stage while this song is playing

* ''Gents in a Jam'' - Shemp and Moe have a problem with a radio that will not stop playing this song

* ''Pardon My Backfire'' - the song plays on a car radio

The Moe–Larry–Curly Joe lineup of the Stooges recorded several musical record albums in the early 1960s. Most of their songs were adaptations of nursery rhymes. Among their more popular recordings were "Making a Record" (a surreal trip to a recording studio built around the song "Go Tell Aunt Mary"), "Three Little Fishes", "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth", "Wreck the Halls with Boughs of Holly", "Mairzy Doats" and "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas".

In 1983, a group called the Jump 'N the Saddle Band recorded a track called "The Curly Shuffle", which featured the narrator singing about his love of the Stooges mixed with a chorus of many of Curly's catchphrases and sound effects. In the mid-1980s, the song became a popular mid-game hit for New York Mets fans in the Shea Stadium bleachers, who would dance in small groups to the tune whenever the song was played between innings. The music video, which featured clips of the classic Stooges shorts, was also included as a bonus feature on one of the 1984 VHS releases.

Feature motion pictures

The Three Stooges also made appearances in many feature length movies in the course of their careers:

{|class="wikitable" |- ! Film || Year || Moe || Larry || Curly || Shemp || Joe || Curly Joe |- |''Soup to Nuts'' || 1930 || Moe || Larry || || Shemp || || |- |''Turn Back the Clock'' || 1933 || Moe || Larry || Curly || || || |- |''Meet the Baron'' || 1933 || Moe || Larry || Curly || || || |- |''Dancing Lady'' || 1933 || Moe || Larry || Curly || || || |- |''Broadway to Hollywood'' || 1933 || Moe || Larry || Curly || || || |- |''Myrt and Marge'' || 1933 || Moe || Larry || Curly || || || |- |''Fugitive Lovers'' || 1934 || Moe || Larry ||Curly || || || |- |''Hollywood Party'' (cameos) || 1934 || Moe || Larry || Curly || || || |- |''The Captain Hates the Sea'' (cameos)|| 1934 || Moe || Larry || Curly || || || |- |''Start Cheering'' || 1938 || Moe || Larry || Curly || || || |- |''Time Out for Rhythm'' || 1941 || Moe || Larry || Curly || || || |- |''My Sister Eileen'' (cameos) || 1942 || Moe || Larry || Curly || || || |- |''Rockin' in the Rockies'' || 1945 || Moe || Larry || Curly || || || |- |''Swing Parade of 1946'' || 1946 || Moe || Larry || Curly || || || |- |''Gold Raiders'' || 1951 || Moe || Larry || || Shemp || || |- |''Have Rocket, Will Travel'' || 1959 || Moe || Larry || || || || Curly Joe |- |''Stop! Look! and Laugh!'' (compilation)|| 1960 || Moe || Larry || Curly || || || |- |''Snow White and the Three Stooges'' || 1961 || Moe || Larry || || || || Curly Joe |- |''The Three Stooges Meet Hercules'' || 1962 || Moe || Larry || || || || Curly Joe |- |''The Three Stooges in Orbit'' || 1962 || Moe || Larry || || || || Curly Joe |- |''The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze'' || 1963 || Moe || Larry || || || || Curly Joe |- |''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' (cameos)|| 1963 || Moe || Larry || || || || Curly Joe |- |''4 for Texas'' || 1963 || Moe || Larry || || || || Curly Joe |- |''The Outlaws Is Coming'' || 1965 || Moe || Larry || || || || Curly Joe |- |''Kook's Tour'' (TV pilot) || 1970 || Moe || Larry || || || || Curly Joe |} Joe Besser never appeared with the Stooges in a feature film.

Three feature-length Columbia releases were actually packages of older Columbia shorts. ''Columbia Laff Hour'' (introduced in 1956) was a random assortment that included the Stooges among other Columbia comedians like Andy Clyde, Hugh Herbert, and Vera Vague; the content and length varied from one theater to the next. ''Three Stooges Fun-o-Rama'' (introduced in 1959) was an all-Stooges show capitalizing on their TV fame, again with shorts chosen at random for individual theaters. ''The Three Stooges Follies'' (1974) was similar to ''Laff Hour'', with a trio of Stooge comedies augmented by Buster Keaton and Vera Vague shorts, a Batman serial chapter, and a Kate Smith musical.

Museum

Gary Lassin opened the Stoogeum in 2004 in a renovated architect's office in Spring House, Pennsylvania, 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Philadelphia. The museum-quality exhibits fill three stories (10,000 square feet or 929 square meters), including an 85-seat theater. Peter Seely, editor of the book ''Stoogeology: Essays on the Three Stooges'' said that the Stoogeum has "''more stuff than I even imagined existed''." 2,500 people visit it yearly, many during the annual Three Stooges Fan Club gathering in April.

In other media

Comic books

Over the years, several Three Stooges comics were produced.

St. John Publications published the first Three Stooges comics in 1949 with 2 issues, then again in 1953–54 with 7 issues.

Dell Comics published a Three Stooges series first as one-shots in their ''Four Color Comics'' line for five issues, then gave them a numbered series for four more issues (#6–9). With #10, the title would be published by Gold Key Comics. Under Gold Key, the series lasted through issue #55 in 1972.

Gold Key Comics then published the ''Little Stooges'' series (7 issues, 1972–74) with story and art by Norman Maurer, Moe's son-in-law. This series featured the adventures of three fictional sons of the Three Stooges, as sort of modern-day teen-age versions of the characters.

Eclipse Comics published the ''Three-D Three Stooges'' series (3 issues, 1986–1987) which reprinted stories from the St. John Publications series.

Malibu Comics did a couple of one-shot comics, reprinting stories from the Gold Key Comics in 1989 and 1991.

Music

Beginning in 1959, the Three Stooges began to appear in a series of novelty records. Their first recording was a 45 rpm single of the title song from ''Have Rocket, Will Travel.'' The trio released additional singles and LPs on the Golden and Coral labels, mixing comedy adventure albums and off-beat renditions of children's songs. Their final recording was the 1966 ''Yogi Bear and the Three Stooges Meet the Mad, Mad, Mad Dr. No-No'', which incorporated the Three Stooges into the cast of the Yogi Bear cartoons.

The Stooges are referenced in the video for Weird Al Yankovic's Like a Surgeon with a hospital PA system asked for "Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard."

Radio

Sirius XM Radio aired a special about the Stooges hosted by Tom Bergeron on Friday, July 31, 2009, at 2:00PM on the Sirius Howard 101 channel. Bergeron had conducted the interviews at the age of 17 back when he was still in high school in 1971. The television host had the tapes in storage for many years and was convinced on air during a Howard Stern Radio interview to bring them in and turn it into a special show by Howard Stern himself, upon learning how much of a fan Bergeron was of the Three Stooges, as is he. Bergeron agreed.

After finding "the lost tapes," Bergeron brought them into Howard Stern's production studio. He stated that the tapes were so old that the tapes with the Larry Fine interviews began to shred as Howard Stern's radio engineers ran them through their cart players. They only really had the one shot, and fortunately for Three Stooges fans, the tapes were saved.

"The Lost Stooges Tapes" were hosted by Tom Bergeron with modern commentary on the almost 40 year old interviews that he had conducted with Larry Fine and Moe Howard. At the times of these interviews, Moe was still living at home and Larry had suffered a stroke and was living in a Senior Citizen's home.

Television

In addition to the unsuccessful television series pilot ''Jerks of All Trades'' (see "History", above) and the incomplete ''Kook's Tour'', the Stooges appeared in a show called ''The New Three Stooges'' which ran from 1965 to 1966. This series featured a mix of thirty-nine live-action segments which were used as wraparounds to 156 animated Stooges shorts. That cartoon program became the only regularly scheduled television show in history for the Stooges. Unlike other films shorts that aired on TV like the ''Looney Tunes'', ''Tom and Jerry'', and ''Popeye'', the film shorts of the Stooges never had a regularly scheduled national television program to air in, neither on network nor syndicated. When Columbia/Screen Gems licensed the film library to television, the shorts aired in any fashion the local stations chose (examples: late-night "filler" material between the end of the late movie and the channel's sign-off time; in "marathon" sessions running shorts back-to-back for one, one-and-a-half, or two hours; etc.)

Two episodes of Hanna-Barbera's ''The New Scooby-Doo Movies'' aired on CBS featuring animated Stooges as guest stars: the premiere, "Ghastly Ghost Town" (September 9, 1972) and "The Ghost of the Red Baron" (November 18, 1972). There also was a short-lived animated series, also produced by Hanna-Barbera, titled ''The Robonic Stooges'', originally seen as a featured segment on ''The Skatebirds'' (CBS, 1977–1978), featuring Moe, Larry, and Curly (voiced by Paul Winchell, Joe Baker and Frank Welker, respectively) as bionic cartoon superheroes with extendable limbs, similar to the later ''Inspector Gadget''. ''The Robonic Stooges'' later aired as a separate half-hour series, retitled ''The Three Robonic Stooges'' (each half-hour featured two segments of ''The Three Robonic Stooges'' and one segment of ''Woofer And Whimper, Dog Detectives'', the latter re-edited from episodes of ''Clue Club'', an earlier Hanna-Barbera cartoon series). There are also many ''Stooges'' references in the sitcom ''ALF''.

In the episode "Beware The Creeper" of ''The New Batman Adventures''. the Joker retreats to his hide-out after a quick fight with Batman. He yells out for his three henchmen "Moe? Larr? Cur?" only to find that they are not there. Shortly after that, Batman comes across these three goons in a pool hall; they have distinctive accents and hair styles similar to those of Moe, Larry, and Curly. These henchmen are briefly seen throughout the rest of the season.

2000 television film

In spring of 2000, longtime Stooge fan Mel Gibson executive-produced a TV movie (''The Three Stooges'') about the lives and careers of the comedians. Playing Moe was Paul Ben-Victor; Evan Handler was Larry; John Kassir was Shemp; and Michael Chiklis was Curly. It was filmed in Sydney, Australia and was produced for and broadcast on ABC. It was based on Michael Fleming's authorized biography of the Stooges, ''The Three Stooges: From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons''. Its unflattering portrayal of Ted Healy led Healy's son to give media interviews calling the film inaccurate. Additional errors of fact included the hints that Moe Howard was down on his luck later in life, and worked as a gofer at the studio where he and his brothers had formerly worked as actors, and that he never owned his own house. In reality, Moe was the most careful with his money, which he invested well. He and his wife Helen owned the comfortable house in Toluca Lake in which they raised their children.

The film regularly runs on the American Movie Classics (AMC) channel.

Feature film revival

A film about the Three Stooges, simply titled ''The Three Stooges'', is currently in development with 20th Century Fox and will be directed by the Farrelly Brothers. The film has been in what one critic has dubbed "development hell". The Farrellys, who have wanted to make this film since 1996, have said that they were not going to do a biopic or remake, but instead new Three Stooges episodes set in the present day. The plot of the episodes is said to be an adventure that revolves around the Stooges characters.

The studio has had a difficult time putting together a cast to play the Three Stooges. Originally slated were Sean Penn to play Larry, Benicio del Toro to play Moe and Jim Carrey to play Curly. Both Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro left the project but returned while no official confirmation has been made about Jim Carrey. When del Toro was interviewed on MTV News for ''The Wolfman'', he spoke about playing Moe. He was later asked who was going to play Larry and Curly in the film and commented that he still thought that Sean Penn and Jim Carrey were going to play them, though he added "Nothing is for sure yet." A story in the Hollywood Reporter stated that Will Sasso will play Curly in the upcoming comedy and that Hank Azaria is the front runner to play Moe. Sean Hayes of ''Will & Grace'' fame has officially been cast as Larry Fine, while Chris Diamantopoulos was cast as Moe. On April 27, Jane Lynch joined the cast; she will be playing a nun.

Video games

In 1984 Gottlieb released an arcade game featuring the Stooges trying to find three kidnapped brides. Later in 1987, game developers Cinemaware released a successful Three Stooges computer game, available for Apple IIGS, Amiga, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, and Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Based on the Stooges earning money by doing odd jobs to prevent the foreclosure of an orphanage, it incorporated audio from the original films and was popular enough to be reissued for the Game Boy Advance in 2002, as well as for PlayStation in 2004.

In foreign languages

In most other languages, the Three Stooges are known by their English name. However, in Chinese, the trio is known as ''Sānge Chòu Píjiàng'' (三個臭皮匠) or ''Huóbǎo Sānrénzǔ'' (活寶三人組). ''Sānge Chòu Píjiàng'', literally "Three Smelly Shoemakers", derives from a saying in the ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'': ''Sāngè chòu píjiàng shèngguò yīgè Zhūgě Liàng'' (三個臭皮匠，勝過一個諸葛亮) or "Three smelly shoemakers (are enough to) overcome one Zhuge Liang [a hero of the story]", i.e. three inferior people can overpower a superior person when they combine their strength. ''Huóbǎo Sānrénzǔ'' translates as "Trio of Buffoons".

In Japanese they are known as ''San Baka Taishō'' (三馬鹿大将) meaning "Three Idiot Generals" or "Three ''Baka'' Generals". The Japanese term ''baka'' (馬鹿, "fool" or "idiot", lit. "horse deer") is associated with the Chinese idiom ''zhǐlù wéimǎ'' (指鹿為馬; lit. "point at a deer and call it a horse", in Japanese ''shika o sashite uma to nasu'' [鹿を指して馬と為す]) meaning "deliberate misrepresentation for ulterior purposes". In Spanish they are known as ''Los tres chiflados'' or, roughly, "The Three Crackpots". In French and German usage, the name of the trio is partially translated as ''Les Trois Stooges'' and ''Die drei Stooges'' respectively. In Thai, the trio is known as 3 สมุนจอมป่วน (''3 Samunčhǭmpūan''; ) or 3 พี่น้องจอมยุ่ง (''Phīnǭngčhǭmyung''; ). In Portuguese, they are known as ''Os Três Patetas'' in Brazil, and ''Os Três Estarolas'' in Portugal, being "estarola" a direct translation to "stooge", while "pateta" being more related to "goofy".

See also

The Three Stooges in popular culture

References

;Notes

;Bibliography

Besser, Joe (with Lenburg, Jeff, and Lenburg, Greg), ''Not Just a Stooge'' (1984) Excelsior Books, Inc. (reissued 1987 as ''Once a Stooge, Always a Stooge'') Roundtable Publications (Autobiography of Joe Besser, including anecdotes about Abbott and Costello and Olsen and Johnson)

Bruskin, David N., ''Behind the Three Stooges: The White Brothers: Conversations with David N. Bruskin'' (1993) Directors Guild of America (In-depth interviews with producer-directors Jules White, Jack White, and Sam White)

Comedy III Productions, Inc., ''Pop, You’re "Poifect!": A Three Stooges Salute to Dad'' (2002) Andrews McMeel

Cox, Steve and Terry, Jim, ''One Fine Stooge: Larry Fine's Frizzy Life in Pictures'' (2005) Cumberland House Publishing

Davis, Lon and Davis, Debra (eds.), ''Stooges Among Us'' (2008) BearManor Media ISBN 1-59393-300-2

Feinberg, Morris, ''Larry: The Stooge in the Middle'' (1984) Last Gasp of San Francisco (Biography of Larry Fine, attributed to his brother but actually ghostwritten by Bob Davis)

Fericano, Paul, ''Stoogism Anthology'' (1977) Poor Souls Printing

Fine, Larry (with Carone, James), ''Stroke of Luck'' (1973) Siena Publishing Co. (Larry Fine's autobiography, transcribed from interviews toward the end of his life)

Flanagan, Bill, ''Last of the Moe Haircuts'' (1986) McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books, Inc.

Fleming, Michael, ''The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, from Amalgamated Morons to American Icons'' (2002) Broadway Publishing

Forrester, Jeffrey, ''The Stoogephile Trivia Book'' (1982) Contemporary Books, Inc.

Forrester, Jeffrey, ''The Stooges Chronicles'' (1981) Contemporary Books, Inc. (Comprehensive overview of the team's career; also discusses the various Ted Healy stooges)

Forrester, Jeffrey, and Forrester, Tom, ''The Stooges' Lost Episodes'' (1988) Contemporary Books, Inc. (Discussion of obscure Stooges appearances, including solo films by individual Stooges)

Forrester, Jeff, with Forrester, Tom, and Wallison, Joe, ''The Three Stooges: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Most Popular Comedy Team of All Time'' (2004) Donaldson Books (Revised, updated edition of ''The Stooges Chronicles'')

Garner, Paul, ''Mousie Garner: Autobiography of a Vaudeville Stooge'' (1999) McFarland & Co.

Hansen, Tom and Forrester, Jeffrey, ''Stoogemania: An Extravaganza of Stooge Photos, Puzzles, Trivia, Collectibles and More'' (1984) Contemporary Books, Inc. (Overview of Three Stooges memorabilia)

Howard, Moe, ''Moe Howard and the Three Stooges'' (1977) Citadel Press (Moe Howard's autobiography, completed and released posthumously by his daughter)

Koceimba, Bill, with Kaufman, Eric A., and Sack, Steve, ''The Three Stooges Golf Spoof and Trivia Book'' (1999) Gazelle, Inc.

Kurson, Robert, ''The Official Three Stooges Encyclopedia: The Ultimate Knucklehead's Guide to Stoogedom, from Amalgamated Association of Morons to Ziller, Zeller, and Zoller'' (1999) McGraw-Hill

Kurson, Robert, ''The Official Three Stooges Cookbook'' (1998) Contemporary Books, Inc.

Lenburg, Jeff, with Maurer, Joan Howard, and Lenburg, Greg, ''The Three Stooges Scrapbook'' (1982, revised 1994, 2000) Citadel Press

Longley, Maximillian, ''The Conservative In Spite of Himself: A Reluctant Right-Winger's Thoughts on Life, Law and the Three Stooges'' (2007) Monograph Publishers

Maltin, Leonard, ''The Great Movie Comedians'' (1978) Crown Books

Maltin, Leonard, ''Movie Comedy Teams'' (1970, revised 1985) New American Library

Maltin, Leonard, ''Selected Short Subjects'' (first published as ''The Great Movie Shorts'', 1972) Crown Books, (revised 1983) Da Capo Press

McGarry, Annie, ''The Wacky World of the Three Stooges'' (1992) Crescent Books

Maurer, Joan Howard, ''Curly: An Illustrated Biography of the Superstooge'' (1985, revised 1988) Citadel Press

Maurer, Joan Howard (ed.), ''The Three Stooges Book of Scripts'' (1984) Citadel Press

Maurer, Joan Howard and Maurer, Norman (eds.), ''The Three Stooges Book of Scripts, Volume II'' (1987) Citadel Press

Okuda, Ted and Watz, Edward, ''The Columbia Comedy Shorts'' (1998) McFarland & Co. (Comprehensive history of the Columbia short subject department; Stooge colleagues Edward Bernds and Emil Sitka are quoted extensively)

Seely, Peter and Pieper, Gail W., ''Stoogeology: Essays on the Three Stooges'' (2007) McFarland & Co.

Smith, Ronald L., ''The Stooge Fans' I.Q. Test'' (1988) Contemporary Books, Inc.

Solomon, Jon, ''The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion'’ (2000) Comedy III Productions

External links

Three Stooges Online Filmography at threestooges.net

The Three Stooges Official Website (sanctioned by C3 Entertainment, Inc. - threestooges.com)

The Stoogeum (Three Stooges Museum) – stoogeum.com

Portrait (2009) of The Three Stooges (with Shemp) by noted illustrator Drew Friedman

Interview with Moe Howard on new success with the younger generation from the Ocala Star-Banner – Feb 22, 1959 accessed via Google News

Category:Television series by Sony Pictures Television Category:1925 introductions Category:Jewish comedy and humor Category:The Three Stooges films Category:Pie throwing Category:Slapstick comedians Category:Gold Key Comics titles Category:Dell Comics titles Category:Jewish comedians

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