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Interesting letter

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Offline falsealarms

Going through old posts at stoogeworld.com, I noticed a post of mine (under "MoeHailstone") from late last year. Around that time, I wrote a letter to Moe's son Paul, who is publically listed. I always had a few lingering questions and hoped he could provide some insight into them. I didn't know if I would get a response back or not, but I did, a typed response in about three weeks. For some reason, I never posted this here, but figured I should. A different crowd here and a more larger one to boot.

 Moe's son Paul I've had a few unanswered Stooge questions, and after coincidentally stumbling upon a possible address for Moe's son Paul, I decided to write him and a ask a few questions. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Today, three weeks later, I got a typed response.

In part, it reads:

"I'm always pleased to answer questions from Three Stooges fans. Problem was, I spent a lot of my life rebelling against my dad that I didn't learn much about his career. In recent years, however, I've given a multimedia presentation at a Philadelphia suburb fan's reunion..... during this time, I did learn more about their careers, thanks to the fans. If I can't answer your questions, I recommend you attend the Reunion in Fort Washington.

Q. Who was Moe's favorite director?

I don't know who was my dad's favorite director. Perhaps Eddie Bernds.

Q. What were your dad's thoughts about using Joe Palma as a stand-in for Shemp after Shemp passed?

I've never heard of Joe Palma. I think Curly's stand-in was Charlie Cross and I believe my dad's was Johnny Cassear. As a tiny kid, I remember both of them ... but not Joe Palma.

Q. What were your dad's thoughts about the increasing amount of old footage in the shorts? (this one I was especially curious about)

I'm sure my dad was distressed about those comedies that were pieced together partly from old footage. Dad not only thought like an actor but also as a director and producer. Unlike the other Stooges, he felt responsible in some way about a quality end result. He saw the big picture. He knew that if, for example, they got behind schedule during production, that could affect the budget which, in turn, could determine wheather their (yearly) contract would be renewed.

Q. Were their ideas often incorporated into the shorts?

The Stooges often made suggestions at pre-production meetings, some of which were incorporated into the shooting script. My dad wrote a story treatment entitled "A Symphony of Punches" which ultimately was scriped (by a screen writer) into one of their first films, "Punch Drunks." In fact, my mom wrote a story treatment based upon (a book?) "Pygmalion." A screenwriter transformed it into their "Hoi Poloi," one of my favorites! Twenty years later, the same theme became a super Broadway hit, "My Fair Lady."

Q. Did your dad accomplish all he wanted?

I feel my dad accomplished some of what he wanted to do, during the latter part of his career. After Larry had a stroke, and the Stooges retired, he performed in two or three serious roles. Had he not become ill, I really think he would have done a lot more dramatic work.


Offline Bangsmith

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I guess he really DID rebel against his dad. He seems to know less about the Stooges than any of us do! It's interesting that he knew most of the stand-ins except Joe Palma, and Joe Palma is the one that fans are most likely to know!! At least he was helpful!
 
If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking 'til you do "suck seed"!!


Offline falsealarms

As far as Joe Palma goes, I believe Paul Howard was in his 20s by that point so he may not have been around as much as when Curly was still a member in the mid 40s. But I liked his answer to the 3rd question, and I found his thoughts interesting about Moe doing more dramatic work if he lived longer. Moe did drama work when he was quite young.


Offline falsealarms

Old article from 2000

By Jeremiah Horrigan
The Times Herald-Record
jhorrigan@th-record.com

When people – especially men – talk about Paul Howard's father, the room dissolves into pandemonium.

Eyes cross. Arms turn to windmills and boink the nearest noggin. High-pitched cries of "Hey Moe!" dissolve into breathless and only slightly embarrassed giggles.

Paul Howard's gotten used to it, but it hasn't always been easy being Moe Howard's only son.

"Growing up in southern California, I was a very insecure kid," Howard remembers today. "I didn't know if people liked me for myself or my father. So if anyone asked, I used to say my father was a meter reader for Pacific Gas & Electric."

But if you're thinking that life with this particular Hollywood parent was some sort of "Daddy Dearest" nightmare, think again.

"It was really a very good relationship"' Howard said. "If I had to summarize it, mine is the story of a son who loved his father and a father who loved his son, with some ironies in between."

Moe Howard was the on- and off-screen mastermind behind The Three Stooges, the mad trio of vaudevillian slapstick artists whose shenanigans have enthralled several generations of fans.

The Stooges, brothers Moe and Curly Howard and their wire-haired pal Larry Fine, made more than 200 two-reel comedies in the '30s and '40s that never won critical hearts. But their comedies enjoyed a TV renaissance in the late '50s that survives today in the memory banks of countless baby boomers.

The first thing you notice about Paul Howard is that he has his mother's hair. Or rather, he hasn't got his father's trademark black bangs.
Paul Howard has been a successful self-employed commercial artist since the early '80s. and has spent weekends at his home in Rifton for the past 18 years. Howard is a slight but broad-shouldered man who looks a decade younger than his 65 years.

His father was not an emotionally demonstrative man; his son had to learn to recognize the hidden expressions of love behind the apparently unemotional facade.

One particular visit home stands out in his mind. Howard was visiting his folks in southern California in 1971. It came time to leave the home he grew up in.

"It was still dark out, I was taking an early plane. The cab was out by the curb."

He smiled as his voice trembled momentarily.

"I reached out to shake my father's hand good-bye and my mother says 'kiss him, kiss him,' y'know, almost a snarl. But I knew she wasn't angry," Howard recalled. "So I gave him a kiss! And I knew it was something that he appreciated. And a year or two after that, we kind of hugged a little bit, which was, wow, that was really wonderful."

Tomorrow will be the 25th anniversary of Moe Howard's death.


Offline BeAStooge

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Quote

Paul Howard...
"In recent years, however, I've given a multimedia presentation at a Philadelphia suburb fan's reunion..... during this time, I did learn more about their careers, thanks to the fans. If I can't answer your questions, I recommend you attend the Reunion in Fort Washington."

Paul has done his presentation of 8mm home movies, slides and stories at each of the 1988 - 1995 Conventions, and the 1999 - 2006 Fan Club Meetings. The same basic presentation, but he makes it seem fresh and original every time. He's usually on the Saturday afternoon schedule for 1 hour, but he rarely finishes in less than 1-1/2 hours. And he always fills the room, and there're many fans who've attended the presentation every time.

Highly recommended.