Jeff Lenburg

This is a fantastic overview of the Three Stooges, from inception as part of Ted Healey's Stooges, through the various members' deaths, retirements and ultimately to the last surviving member mentioned, Joe De Rita (Curly-Joe). The book was first printed in 1982 and I'm not quite sure if it's been revised as of the most recent publisher's publication (1999 by Carol Publishing) - without checking, I believe Joe De Rita is now deceased. In any case there are separate sections relating the show more brief histories of each of the 6 stooges and Ted Healey. There's also separate chapters relating materials in print, collectables and filmography. This turned out to be a great book to have on the table to read during off-moments. I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to know more about the guys and history, and think it's a great reference for the Stooge aficianado.. show less

The Three Stooges Scrapbook is both a biography of the Three Stooges and a summary of the Three Stooges phenomenon. It is provided in three parts, the first provides a history of each of the stooges, Healy, their manager, and a summary. The second part talks about the marketing, all the gadgets, comics, cartoons, and spin off/copycat acts. The last part is a summary of the films, both short and feature length. Each of the three sections is roughly 100 pages.

Having been a fan since I can show more remember, I really wanted to enjoy the book more, and I expected more out of it. I can summarize my issues into two areas.

First, the writing was poor. I felt at times I was reading a bulleted list of events through the lives of the various individuals than a biography. The writing had very little emotional content, and felt like a lecture given by someone just working to get through it.

Second was the repeated information. The biography section of the book follows each individual in his own chapter. These chapters, eight in all (Healy, six stooges, and a summary) had a lot of overlap. Each time, the same information was provided again.

Because of the duplicated information, each of the biographies does stand well on its own. The biographies are very complete (at least beyond my own knowledge) and provide a wealth of information on the individuals.

I found the second section very interesting, as I have always been interested in gadgets and collectables. I was disappointed that almost half of this section was devoted to comic books, and felt that there must be more variety in the toys and knick-knacks.

The last section provides a complete list of their videos, including release dates and synopses. This section includes films including non-stooge roles and cameos. I did enjoy the poster and film shots included.

Overall, I found the book difficult to read, but containing good information. It will be a good reference book for my library.
Overall, show less

Comprehensive and very well organized, like having IMDB for the comedy team in a book. Family insights from Joan Howard Maurer create an almost rational basis for understanding the dynamics of this zany group. Their mildly dysfunctional off stage persona seems a small price to pay for their really funny stage presence. A "must-have" for all Three Stooges fans.

Written by Moe's daughter, Joan Howard Maurer, The Three Stooges ScrapBook is a personal and very loving memoir of the iconic comedy team. While there is nothing new in the bio and filmography sections-- done quite a bit and found in many places, actually, because The Three Stooges Scapbook is written by Moe's daughter (and Shemp and Curley's niece) it is filled with personal photos and family memories and stories not available elsewhere. It is full of stories and personal remembrances that show more read like what they are-- old timers reminiscing about the old days. On the face of it, the work is nothing special, but to stooge fans and old timers and folks who like this sort of thing--(that would be folks like me)--the Scrapbook is an enjoyable trip down memory lane. It is the only Early Reviewer's book I ever recieved from LT where EVERYONE who saw it at my house said "Three Stooges" and opened it up to look. I enjoyed it. show less