Joseph Wardell (July 12, 1909 â€" July 3, 1993), known professionally
as Joe DeRita, was an American actor and comedian, who is best known
for his stint as a member of The Three Stooges in the persona of
"Curly-Joe."DeRita was born into a show-business family in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Florenz (DeRita) and Frank
Wardell, and of French-Canadian and English ancestry. He was the
youngest of 5 brothers. Wardell's father was a stage technician, his
mother a professional stage dancer, and the three often acted on stage
together from his early childhood. Taking his mother's maiden name,
DeRita, the actor joined the burlesque circuit during the 1920s,
gaining fame as a comedian. During World War II, DeRita joined the
USO, performing throughout Britain and France with such celebrities as
Bing Crosby and Randolph Scott. In the 1944 comedy film The
Doughgirls, about the housing shortage in wartime Washington, D.C., he
had an uncredited role as "the Stranger", a bewildered man who
repeatedly showed up in scenes looking for a place to sleep.In 1946,
DeRita was hired by Columbia Pictures Short Subjects Division
head/director Jules White to star in his own series of comedies. The
first effort, Slappily Married, was released under the studio's
All-Star Comedy series. The three remaining entries â€"The Good Bad
Egg, Wedlock Deadlock (both 1947) and Jitter Bughouse (1948)â€" billed
DeRita as the headliner. Regarding his Columbia shorts series, DeRita
said, "My comedy in those scripts was limited to getting hit on the
head with something, then going over to my screen wife to say, 'Honey,
don't leave me!' For this kind of comedy material, you could have
gotten a busboy to do it and it would have been just as funny." After
his contract with Columbia ended, DeRita returned to burlesque and
recorded a risque LP in 1950 called Burlesque Uncensored.When Shemp
Howard died suddenly of a heart attack on November 22, 1955 at age 60,
the Three Stooges had been making short comedies for Columbia Pictures
since 1934. Shemp was succeeded by Joe Besser in 1956. Columbia
eventually shut down the short-subjects department at the end of 1957,
and Besser quit the act in 1958 to take care of his ailing wife. The
two remaining Stooges seriously considered retirement. Then Columbia's
television subsidiary, Screen Gems, syndicated the Stooges' old
comedies to television, and the Three Stooges were suddenly television
superstars. Moe and Larry now had many job offers, but they were in
need of a new "third Stooge." Larry had seen DeRita in a Las Vegas
stage engagement and told Moe that DeRita would be "perfect for the
third Stooge." Howard and Fine invited DeRita to join the act, and he
readily accepted.
as Joe DeRita, was an American actor and comedian, who is best known
for his stint as a member of The Three Stooges in the persona of
"Curly-Joe."DeRita was born into a show-business family in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Florenz (DeRita) and Frank
Wardell, and of French-Canadian and English ancestry. He was the
youngest of 5 brothers. Wardell's father was a stage technician, his
mother a professional stage dancer, and the three often acted on stage
together from his early childhood. Taking his mother's maiden name,
DeRita, the actor joined the burlesque circuit during the 1920s,
gaining fame as a comedian. During World War II, DeRita joined the
USO, performing throughout Britain and France with such celebrities as
Bing Crosby and Randolph Scott. In the 1944 comedy film The
Doughgirls, about the housing shortage in wartime Washington, D.C., he
had an uncredited role as "the Stranger", a bewildered man who
repeatedly showed up in scenes looking for a place to sleep.In 1946,
DeRita was hired by Columbia Pictures Short Subjects Division
head/director Jules White to star in his own series of comedies. The
first effort, Slappily Married, was released under the studio's
All-Star Comedy series. The three remaining entries â€"The Good Bad
Egg, Wedlock Deadlock (both 1947) and Jitter Bughouse (1948)â€" billed
DeRita as the headliner. Regarding his Columbia shorts series, DeRita
said, "My comedy in those scripts was limited to getting hit on the
head with something, then going over to my screen wife to say, 'Honey,
don't leave me!' For this kind of comedy material, you could have
gotten a busboy to do it and it would have been just as funny." After
his contract with Columbia ended, DeRita returned to burlesque and
recorded a risque LP in 1950 called Burlesque Uncensored.When Shemp
Howard died suddenly of a heart attack on November 22, 1955 at age 60,
the Three Stooges had been making short comedies for Columbia Pictures
since 1934. Shemp was succeeded by Joe Besser in 1956. Columbia
eventually shut down the short-subjects department at the end of 1957,
and Besser quit the act in 1958 to take care of his ailing wife. The
two remaining Stooges seriously considered retirement. Then Columbia's
television subsidiary, Screen Gems, syndicated the Stooges' old
comedies to television, and the Three Stooges were suddenly television
superstars. Moe and Larry now had many job offers, but they were in
need of a new "third Stooge." Larry had seen DeRita in a Las Vegas
stage engagement and told Moe that DeRita would be "perfect for the
third Stooge." Howard and Fine invited DeRita to join the act, and he
readily accepted.
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