--- title: Photos: The Three Stooges in the 1950s description: On the anniversary of the Three Stooges' big movie debut, a look back at the trio through the LIFE archives. canonical: https://time.com/3834986/three-stooges/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-05T14:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:24.537Z og:title: When the Three Stooges Got Their Big Silver Screen Break og:description: On the anniversary of the Three Stooges' big movie debut, a look back at the trio through the LIFE archives. og:url: https://time.com/3834986/three-stooges/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa3d8b23048b3aec/6987eccdcd1bbafeec6f9218/150424-three-stooges-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: The Three Stooges 1959 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: When the Three Stooges Got Their Big Silver Screen Break twitter:description: On the anniversary of the Three Stooges' big movie debut, a look back at the trio through the LIFE archives. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa3d8b23048b3aec/6987eccdcd1bbafeec6f9218/150424-three-stooges-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # When the Three Stooges Got Their Big Silver Screen Break  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. May 5, 2015 2:00 PM UTC  Portrait of the Three Stooges in May 1959. Portrait of the Three Stooges in May 1959.Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. May 5, 2015 2:00 PM UTC On May 5, 1934, the world met Moe, Larry and Curly for the first time on the silver screen. Although the Three Stooges had been performing in various configurations since the late 1920s, it wasn’t until the mid-1930s that they released their first film under that name. Titled _Woman Haters_, the 19-minute-long, rhyming, musical short had a comedic premise that likely wouldn’t fly in 2015 — it centers on a group of men united by their membership in the “Woman Haters Club” —but was enough to launch the Stooges’ prolific film career, the first of more than 200 movies they would make as a comedy trio. By the time LIFE photographed the Stooges in 1959, they had been through still more reconfigurations — Curly suffered a stroke in 1946 and needed to be replaced — but their TV career was still ahead of them. The syndication of their dozens of comedy shorts for television helped the act regain popularity and grow its following, appealing to, among other demographics, young children. Accordingly, LIFE’s shoot included images of the men recording their first album, which featured kiddie tunes such as “Old McDonald” and “Three Little Fishes.” And all these years later, the sight of the three knuckleheads still elicits a hearty “Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!” from the fans who loved their outrageous antics. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at_ [_@LizabethRonk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Portrait of the Three Stooges in May 1959. Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Three Stooges acting out a skit in May 1959. Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Three Stooges acting out a skit in May 1959. Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Three Stooges acting out a skit in May 1959. Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Three Stooges holding balloons in May 1959. Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Three Stooges acting out a skit in May 1959. Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Three Stooges acting out a skit in May 1959. Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Three Stooges acting out a skit in May 1959. Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Three Stooges posing with some of their products in May 1959. 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