Together, the Stooges changed the face of American comedy, and their fingerprints can be found on some of the greatest comedy movies ever made. The need to keep earning money was partly influenced by the treacherous business practices of Columbia Pictures, who kept the performers on a fixed salary, keeping the massive profits from the shorts and never telling the Stooges just how popular they had become throughout their 24-year tenure at the studio.Īcross hundreds of shorts, the Stooges occupy a wide variety of jobs before their trademark bickering and incompetence causes them to descend into violent slapstick chaos. The trio existed, in one form or another, for nearly 50 years. The Three Stoogesare one of the most influential comedy groups in history, but their confusing membership calls for some clarification.