The Three Stooges

The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the mid–20th century, best known for their numerous Columbia short subject films that are still syndicated on television. Their hallmark was physical farce and slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names of "Moe, Larry, and Curly", or as "Moe, Larry, and Shemp" (among other lineups, depending on the particular film). There were six active stooges, five of whom performed in the shorts. Moe and Larry were always present, until the final years of the ensemble's run of more than forty years.

The act began as part of a mid-1920s vaudeville comedy act, billed as Ted Healy and his Stooges, consisting of Healy, Moe Howard, his brother Shemp Howard, and Larry Fine. The four made one feature film, Soup to Nuts, before Shemp left to pursue a solo career. He was replaced by his younger brother, Jerome (Curly Howard), in 1932. Two years later, the trio left Healy and signed on to appear in their own short subjects for Columbia, now billed as "The Three Stooges".

David's Mighty Warriors

David's Mighty Warriors (also known as David's Mighty Men or the Gibborim) are a group of men in the Bible who were singled out by an appendix of the Books of Samuel. The text (2 Samuel 23:8–39) divides them into the "Three", of which there are three, and "Thirty", of which there are more than thirty. The text explicitly states that there are 37 individuals in all, but it is unclear whether this refers to The Thirty, which may or may not contain The Three, or the combined total of both groups. The text refers to The Three and The Thirty as though they were both important entities, and not just an arbitrary list of three or 30-plus significant men.

Some textual scholars regard the passages referring to The Three and The Thirty as having come from either a source distinct to the main sources in the Books of Samuel, or being otherwise out of place. Since parts of the text have distinct stylistic differences from other portions—appearing as a list, as a series of character introductions, or as a flowing narrative—Some suspect that the passages may themselves be compiled from multiple source documents. Further, as 2 Samuel 23:23–24 reads "...David put him in command of his bodyguard. Asahel, brother of Joab. Among the thirty were...", the text is regarded as corrupted, and the middle of verse 23:24 (between the words Joab and Among) is generally presumed to have been lost (some translations move Among the thirty were to be before Asahel, which smooths over the issue).

The Stooges

The Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, are an American proto-punkband from Ann Arbor, Michigan, first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003. Although they sold few records in their original incarnation, and often performed for indifferent or hostile audiences, the Stooges are widely regarded as instrumental in the rise of punk rock, as well as influential to alternative rock, heavy metal and rock music at large. The Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them 78th on their list of the 100 greatest artists of all time.

History

Formation (1967–1968)

Iggy Pop (born James Newell Osterberg) played drums in several Ann Arbor-area bands as a teenager, including the Iguanas and, later, the Prime Movers. The Prime Movers nicknamed Osterberg "Iggy" in reference to his earlier band.

Osterberg was first inspired to form the Stooges after meeting blues drummer Sam Lay during a visit to Chicago. He returned to Detroit with the idea that simply copying established blues performers was not enough – he wanted to create a whole new form of blues music. Brothers Ron (guitar) and Scott Asheton (drums) and their friend Dave Alexander (bass guitar) rounded out the rest of the band, with Osterberg taking vocal duties. Osterberg was drawn to Ron Asheton after seeing him perform in a covers band, the Chosen Few, believing "I’ve never met a convincing musician that didn’t look kind of ill and kind of dirty, and Ron had those two things covered!" The three nicknamed Osterberg "Pop" after a local character whom Osterberg resembled. Shortly after witnessing an MC5 concert in Ann Arbor, Osterberg began using the stage name Iggy Pop, a name that he has used ever since.