Topic: Stooges stuff, everywhere!

[Shemoeley Fine]

I spent 8 days in Las Vegas on a business matter before returning home yesterday. I noticed that in several souvenirs shops in Old Downtown Vegas there were little statuettes of the Stooges, pirated versions as the images were very poor likeness of the boys. Should the Maurers or whomever is in control of the Stooges images be made aware of this obvious rip offs?

S F

[kinderscenen]

Whew! Better late than never, I guess!

I'm thinking that if it's a small enough shop, the Maurers/C3, etc. wouldn't be bothered.  I'm showing my age here, but I remember that there had to be thousands upon thousands of fake Michael Jackson products being sold around '83. Around the same time, I recall seeing plenty of bootleg Cabbage Patch Kids, usually called Cotton Patch Kids or something like that.  I suppose you could just ASK them (with a little force, of course) to stop selling the products, but they may not even want to be bothered.

[BeAStooge]

the Maurers/C3

Clarifying...

The management of C3 is controlled by the DeRita heirs.

C3, legally, is a 3-way partnership of [Moe] Howard/Fine/DeRita formed in 1959. However, since its 1994 reinstatement as the legal owner of the Stooges' trademark, C3 has been 2/3 controlled by the DeRita family. None of Moe's heirs have an active voice or control in C3's activities and numerous litigations.

[locoboymakesgood]

I find it quite odd that of all the Stooges, the DeRita's control most of their intellectual property. You'd figure with Moe, Larry, and Shemp starting the whole thing that the Howard and Fine families would have almost all control. How did the DeRita's end up with that much of a stake in C3? Weren't there clauses in contracts barring something like that? I think it's quite sad that an empire that Moe and Larry built up is now being controlled by a family that didn't have much to do with the Stooges until their later years. I bet the Howards/Maurers/Fines are pissed.

[BeAStooge]

How did the DeRita's end up with that much of a stake in C3?

The DeRitas and Fines filed suit against the Howards in 1993, over the distribution of licensing profits. Plaintiffs received a judgment against Moe's family, and subsequent settlement agreements (and related consequences) resulted in Joe DeRita's stepsons gaining management control of Comedy 3.

If you have access to back issues of The Three Stooges Journal # 73, it contains an unbiased, detailed summary of the lawsuit: http://threestooges.net/journal.php?action=view&id=73
 Google searches will turn up archived tabloid newspaper and TV reports of the brouhaha.

[kinderscenen]

The management of C3 is controlled by the DeRita heirs.

How did I forget that?  I suppose I shouldn't be reading about Curly-Joe's partnership with the Stooges at the same time as posting.  How I got that mixed up with what's going on now is mind-boggling.  That said, I've always wondered what it would be like if someone with a real merchandising talent could get hold of things.  There are SO many ways that the fellows could be marketed, even today. Ah, well.