Topic: Do kids watch the Three Stooges anymore?

[Hoi Polloi]

When I was growing up, I watched the Stooges every Saturday on Channel 11 in New York.
When I was in college and for years afterward, I watched them every week on Channel 38 in Boston.
Now the Stooges aren't on TV as much, and when they are on TV they're on Spike, a station aimed at grown-ups.
Do kids watch the Stooges anymore?
Do parents introduce their kids to the Stooges by buying them the DVDs that are coming out?
I'd love the input of parents, kids, or any interested parties.
 

[metaldams]

When I was growing up, I watched the Stooges every Saturday on Channel 11 in New York.
When I was in college and for years afterward, I watched them every week on Channel 38 in Boston.
Now the Stooges aren't on TV as much, and when they are on TV they're on Spike, a station aimed at grown-ups.
Do kids watch the Stooges anymore?
Do parents introduce their kids to the Stooges by buying them the DVDs that are coming out?
I'd love the input of parents, kids, or any interested parties.
 

My nephew will be introduced to The Three Stooges when he's old enough, that's for sure.  As for the general public, I'd say enough people know who they are so that they're not obscure, but at the same time, they're not cutting edge either.  The Three Stooges have a cult following, kids and adults alike.

[falsealarms]

Most Stooges fans were probably born before the baby boom era (46-64), during the baby boom era, or shortly thereafter. I'm 23 and I don't think the Stooges are a big hit with people my age, many of which may not know who they are. There's always some exceptions, though. I think there's a few people on here who are about my age - maybe a little older or a little younger - but people like us are probably not the majority or even close to it.

I'd be willing to bet that most people who show up for the fan club meetings are likely 30-35+ with many being 50+. I wouldn't expect to see a big contingent of college-aged kids or high schoolers at those things. I'd be interested in what people who have been to them say about that.

Just my predictions.

[curlysdame]

Most Stooges fans were probably born before the baby boom era (46-64), during the baby boom era, or shortly thereafter. I'm 23 and I don't think the Stooges are a big hit with people my age, many of which may not know who they are. There's always some exceptions, though. I think there's a few people on here who are about my age - maybe a little older or a little younger - but people like us are probably not the majority or even close to it.

I'd be willing to bet that most people who show up for the fan club meetings are likely 30-35+ with many being 50+. I wouldn't expect to see a big contingent of college-aged kids or high schoolers at those things. I'd be interested in what people who have been to them say about that.

Sadly, falsealarms, I think you're right, the Stooges aren't a very big hit with people in our age group (I'm 21).  The majority of the people at the fan club meetings are 40-50+.  At the last meeting Gary put together, there were a few kids (6-13) and a handful of college students (myself included).  As for young ladies my age... I'm 99.9% sure that I was the only one that fit that description.    Despite this 'census,' everyone at the meetings is very friendly and welcoming.

[Hoi Polloi]

Sadly, falsealarms, I think you're right, the Stooges aren't a very big hit with people in our age group (I'm 21).  The majority of the people at the fan club meetings are 40-50+.  At the last meeting Gary put together, there were a few kids (6-13) and a handful of college students (myself included).  As for young ladies my age... I'm 99.9% sure that I was the only one that fit that description.    Despite this 'census,' everyone at the meetings is very friendly and welcoming.

I posed this question because I am a parent of a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old and my kids love the Stooges ... basically because that's one of the few things they get to watch on TV. We don't have the tube on in our house too much. And I'm also a writer, so I'm playing around with an essay on the topic of "why kids love the Three Stooges." It was going to be "why MY kids love..." but then I thought I'd broaden it out.

So I'm definitely interested in hearing anything anyone would care to share about the Stooges and kids--their own experience becoming a fan as a kid, their experience as a parent, etc. Did anyone who frequents this board bring their kid to a fan club meeting? (Although I have to say that fan club meeting attendance doesn't seem to be a good indicator of how much kids love the Stooges--I wouldn't expect too many kids to be at meetings of a fan club mostly populated by people who could be their parents or grandparents.)

[shemps#1]

I posed this question because I am a parent of a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old and my kids love the Stooges ... basically because that's one of the few things they get to watch on TV. We don't have the tube on in our house too much. And I'm also a writer, so I'm playing around with an essay on the topic of "why kids love the Three Stooges." It was going to be "why MY kids love..." but then I thought I'd broaden it out.

So I'm definitely interested in hearing anything anyone would care to share about the Stooges and kids--their own experience becoming a fan as a kid, their experience as a parent, etc. Did anyone who frequents this board bring their kid to a fan club meeting? (Although I have to say that fan club meeting attendance doesn't seem to be a good indicator of how much kids love the Stooges--I wouldn't expect too many kids to be at meetings of a fan club mostly populated by people who could be their parents or grandparents.)

I don't believe you're going to be able to get a decent essay out of why kids love the Stooges because the answer is obvious.

As for the topic at hand, the Stooges have been relegated to a cult-like status, and with each passing generation there will be less and less Stooges fans. This is due to lack of TV exposure, the parents of the child not being into the Stooges and therefore not introducing the child to the Stooges, and children wanting to find their own bag. Some of those children will find the Stooges, but not many. Lastly, I seriously think the Stooges being in black and white will turn off generations of children who will grow up on color images. The majority of new Stooges fans will be adults rather than children.

[Hoi Polloi]

I don't believe you're going to be able to get a decent essay out of why kids love the Stooges because the answer is obvious.

As for the topic at hand, the Stooges have been relegated to a cult-like status, and with each passing generation there will be less and less Stooges fans. This is due to lack of TV exposure, the parents of the child not being into the Stooges and therefore not introducing the child to the Stooges, and children wanting to find their own bag. Some of those children will find the Stooges, but not many. Lastly, I seriously think the Stooges being in black and white will turn off generations of children who will grow up on color images. The majority of new Stooges fans will be adults rather than children.

Good point all, but let me probe a little:

1. You say the reason kids love the Stooges "is obvious." What is the reason, as you see it? I especially am interested in knowing why the Stooges have a lasting appeal that seems to surpass the work of arguably more artful comedy of yesteryear--Laural & Hardy, Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, etc. People tend to talk about those others as being superior to the Stooges, but you don't see Sony (or anyone) continuing to roll out their work on DVD. Is it simply that the Stooges appeal to a more basic human impulse?

2. If it's obvious that kids love the Stooges, why so little TV exposure these days? In other words, if there's potentially a big kid audience for the Stooges, wouldn't TV execs try to seize upon that and the ad dollars it would bring?

3. I agree that each generation wants "to find their own bag." But I grew up in the '60s and '70s, well after the Stooges were making their best shorts, and I still fell for them. So why not kids of today?

4. I also agree that kids today prefer color to black & white. I actually violated my previously strict "no colorization" rule in order to try the Stooges in color on my kids, and they liked it...but no more than the black & white. They never made a comment about the difference.

I'm not being argumentative here (okay, maybe I am), just trying to better understand.


 

[shemps#1]

Good point all, but let me probe a little:

1. You say the reason kids love the Stooges "is obvious." What is the reason, as you see it? I especially am interested in knowing why the Stooges have a lasting appeal that seems to surpass the work of arguably more artful comedy of yesteryear--Laural & Hardy, Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, etc. People tend to talk about those others as being superior to the Stooges, but you don't see Sony (or anyone) continuing to roll out their work on DVD. Is it simply that the Stooges appeal to a more basic human impulse?

2. If it's obvious that kids love the Stooges, why so little TV exposure these days? In other words, if there's potentially a big kid audience for the Stooges, wouldn't TV execs try to seize upon that and the ad dollars it would bring?

3. I agree that each generation wants "to find their own bag." But I grew up in the '60s and '70s, well after the Stooges were making their best shorts, and I still fell for them. So why not kids of today?

4. I also agree that kids today prefer color to black & white. I actually violated my previously strict "no colorization" rule in order to try the Stooges in color on my kids, and they liked it...but no more than the black & white. They never made a comment about the difference.

I'm not being argumentative here (okay, maybe I am), just trying to better understand.


 

1. Well anyone who has children or has been around children can tell you that children respond well to more visual antics. The Three Stooges are a very visual act. They are also very much like live-action cartoon as far as the violence and lack of serious injury. I believe there is a thread somewhere on this board that delves deeper into the subject if my memory does not fail me, but yes, the majority of the Stooges humor is more base and simplistic which makes it easier for a child to understand than say the Marx Bros. Yes Groucho wears the grease paint mustache and Harpo has his horn but for the most part a child will be lost when watching them because the majority of their comedy is cerebral and will go over the child's head. There's comedy in Stooges shorts that goes over a child's head, and watching again as adults they'll catch it, but for the most part the comedy is simple and visual.

2. Part of why there is so little tv exposure nowadays has to do with the Stooges being in B&W, and more importantly the piss poor presentation which has led to low ratings. Have you ever tried to watch the Stooges on Spike TV? It's unwatchable. I really think the black and white factor seriously hurts the Stooges where young children are concerned, especially when the shitty cartoons they watch are so vibrantly colored. That doesn't even factor in that this generation's children is a few generations removed from the Stooges. My father is of the generation that helped fuel the Stooges revival in the 60's, these kids are two generations removed from him, so nevermind the generation that grew up watching the Stooges in their prime.

3. Like I said, the kids of today are different than your generation or even mine. There are so many options available to them that you did not have. From the vibrantly colored and displayed cartoons, the HUNDREDS of television channels, video games, Internet...there are many forms of entertainment competing for a child's attention and unfortunately the pale, black and white Stooges are ill equipped to compete. I tried to get my friend's children into the Stooges awhile back, sat them down and showed them a short...they were instantly bored out of their young minds.

4. Of course they are not going to comment about the difference, because they cannot instantly articulate that's the reason why they are more interested. What you might want to do is conduct an experiment where you have your children watch a show in color and a show in black and white (not the same show, but something you think they might like) and just observe them as they view both shows. My guess is they will be much more attentive and receptive to the color show because that's what they grew up on.

Even someone like myself, a young man of 31 years old, has had at least some experience with black and white programs and black and white televisions while growing up...with this generation of youth everything is in bold, bright color.

I did not think you were being argumentative at all, in fact I'm more than happy to clarify my stance for you (or at least try to).

[Justin T]

I'm one of the rare exceptions. I came to love the Stooges when I was in my early teens.

My mother (who is one of the baby boomer fans who grew up watching the Stooges on TV in the late 50's/early 60's)
got me into them when TBS aired episodes back in the 80's and early 90's. I got hooked right away
and I've been a fan ever since. I'm turning 31 this December and my love of the Stooges is actually
stronger than it was when I first started watching them more than 18 years ago.

Shemps has good points about why there isn't as many young fans these days, their not on TV as much as
they used to be and current generations growing up in the world of color aren't usually that interested in
the era of black and white. Some of my favorite movies are older ones like Cassablanca, Rear Window,
Citizen Kane, North by Northwest, the Marx Brothers films ect. I have a greater appreciation for
the classics then many people of my generation do.

If I ever recieve the joy of having children of my own, I will enjoy introducing them to the Three Stooges
and see if they will enjoy them as much as I have.

[shemps#1]

I'm one of the rare exceptions. I came to love the Stooges when I was in my early teens.

My mother (who is one of the baby boomer fans who grew up watching the Stooges on TV in the late 50's/early 60's)
got me into them when TBS aired episodes back in the 80's and early 90's. I got hooked right away
and I've been a fan ever since. I'm turning 31 this December and my love of the Stooges is actually
stronger than it was when I first started watching them more than 18 years ago.

Shemps has good points about why there isn't as many young fans these days, their not on TV as much as
they used to be and current generations growing up in the world of color aren't usually that interested in
the era of black and white. Some of my favorite movies are older ones like Cassablanca, Rear Window,
Citizen Kane, North by Northwest, the Marx Brothers films ect. I have a greater appreciation for
the classics then many people of my generation do.

If I ever recieve the joy of having children of my own, I will enjoy introducing them to the Three Stooges
and see if they will enjoy them as much as I have.

I love each of those movies you mentioned, but just to clarify you came to know and love those movies as an adult, correct? At least as a teenager because I would find it hard to believe a young child would sit down and be enthralled by Citizen Kane.

[Justin T]

I love each of those movies you mentioned, but just to clarify you came to know and love those movies as an adult, correct? At least as a teenager because I would find it hard to believe a young child would sit down and be enthralled by Citizen Kane.

Yes, I came to love those movies when I was in college. I took a course on film and we watched alot of cool movies like
Rear Window, Citizen Kane, King Kong (the 1934 original), The Searchers and Blade Runner (another of my all time favorites, but I fell in
love with that on cable before college) and then we did group discussions and analysis on them, their themes, what the directors and
writers were trying to do, what kind of story was being told ect. I got to be on the team that lead the Blade Runner discussion
which thrilled me to no end.

Watching and looking at so many classic movies made me fall in love and apprecaite them. Rear Window was my first exposure to
the world of Alfred Hitchcock and I proceded to get my hands on some of his other classic movies like Northwest, Vertigo,
Dial M For Murder and Psycho (which I had never watched before) and I liked them all.

My love for The Marx Brothers came about in college as well, because I attended college at SUNY Fredonia in Fredonia, NY. The small town
that just happens to share the name of the fictional country in their classic Duck Soup. (although its spelled Freedonia in the movie)

They used to have a Marx Brothers film festival each year and show some of their movies, with the main one being Duck Soup of course,
I found this out while working at the school library. So I found they had the VHS copies of some of their films in the library, checked them
out and I was hooked. I was blown away by how funny Duck Soup was.

Thankfully my mother is also a fan of the Marx Brothers and we got to watch many of their movies together over the years. Two years ago
for Christmas I bought her the Marx Brothers DVD box set that starts with Night at the Opera so she could enjoy them for years to come.

Earlier this year I bought Ben Hur on DVD, another classic I've never seen, I haven't found the time to watch it yet but I look foward
to it, my parents both love it.

So yeah, I didn't get into those classic movies untill I was much older.

[metaldams]

Yes, I came to love those movies when I was in college. I took a course on film and we watched alot of cool movies like
Rear Window, Citizen Kane, King Kong (the 1934 original), The Searchers and Blade Runner (another of my all time favorites, but I fell in
love with that on cable before college) and then we did group discussions and analysis on them, their themes, what the directors and
writers were trying to do, what kind of story was being told ect. I got to be on the team that lead the Blade Runner discussion
which thrilled me to no end.

Watching and looking at so many classic movies made me fall in love and apprecaite them. Rear Window was my first exposure to
the world of Alfred Hitchcock and I proceded to get my hands on some of his other classic movies like Northwest, Vertigo,
Dial M For Murder and Psycho (which I had never watched before) and I liked them all.

My love for The Marx Brothers came about in college as well, because I attended college at SUNY Fredonia in Fredonia, NY. The small town
that just happens to share the name of the fictional country in their classic Duck Soup. (although its spelled Freedonia in the movie)

They used to have a Marx Brothers film festival each year and show some of their movies, with the main one being Duck Soup of course,
I found this out while working at the school library. So I found they had the VHS copies of some of their films in the library, checked them
out and I was hooked. I was blown away by how funny Duck Soup was.

Thankfully my mother is also a fan of the Marx Brothers and we got to watch many of their movies together over the years. Two years ago
for Christmas I bought her the Marx Brothers DVD box set that starts with Night at the Opera so she could enjoy them for years to come.

Earlier this year I bought Ben Hur on DVD, another classic I've never seen, I haven't found the time to watch it yet but I look foward
to it, my parents both love it.

So yeah, I didn't get into those classic movies untill I was much older.

I think a lot of us use The Three Stooges as a gateway into other classic movies.  My situation is very similar to yours, as I enjoy Hitchcock, Welles, and a whole boatload of other things as well, but it all started with The Three Stooges.

As for why kids don't dig the Stooges, I guarantee you folks if 50 Cent made a video containing nothing but Stooge footage, kids would be buying Stooge DVD's left and right.  Classic rock songs that were previosuly "old people's music" are now cool again the second they are included in the latest edition of GUITAR HERO.  Old culture is fine with kids if it is incorporated into their culture, but they'll rarely seek out old culture on its own terms.  The exceptions to this rule are people who post on threestooges.net.

[JazzBill]

Don't lose hope. I have 6 grandsons. From the ages 3 to 16. They all watch and like the Stooges. It was a proud moment for me when the 13 year old started to question me on how come Curly sounds different in some of the shorts. He's already picking up on the sick Curly shorts.

[46FAN]

When I was a kidI'm 50]I grew up watching the 3 stooges on Paul Shannon's Adventure Time Children's Show on Ch.4 in Pgh.It aired Mon.-Fri.at 6pm and feat.Popeye cartoons,Lil Rascals,etc.besides the stooges.I agree with many of you why kids don't watch the stooges like we did as kids[the b&w issue,etc.]One of the other reasons for kids not watching the stooges is the surprising fact that out of hundreds of cable channels out there as far as i know the stooges aren't currently being shown on any of them.And when they were shown on amc and spike they weren't presented in a way that would attract children.I personally wasn't impressed with either of those stations stooge presentations.AMC imo seemed to offer a high brow impersonal introduction of the stooges shorts while spike seemed to present an mtv style stooge broadcast.I miss the days of when the stooges were presented as part of a kid show such as the adventure time format i mentioned or when they were shown as part of tbs superstation funtime show when they were shown w/classic bugs bunny cartoons,rascals,etc.Imo those types of shows are what really attracted kids to the stooges.In the late '70's early 80's Ch.22 from pgh.showed the stooges on the capt.pitt show which also feat.cartoons,etc.I believe these were the best formats to feat.the stooges as kids watching the cartoons,etc.in these shows wound up getting interested in the stooges and from an adult point of view they have a nice feeling of true nostalgia to them as it reminds me of how i grew up watching the stooges.Sadly they don't have shows for kids like this anymore and today's kids will never experience the fun we had being introduced to the stooges on these types of shows.

 Please watch your spacing between sentences and capitalization. This post is quite messy and hard to read. S#1

[JazzBill]

When I was a kidI'm 50]I grew up watching the 3 stooges on Paul Shannon's Adventure Time Children's Show on Ch.4 in Pgh.It aired Mon.-Fri.at 6pm and feat.Popeye cartoons,Lil Rascals,etc.besides the stooges.I agree with many of you why kids don't watch the stooges like we did as kids[the b&w issue,etc.]One of the other reasons for kids not watching the stooges is the surprising fact that out of hundreds of cable channels out there as far as i know the stooges aren't currently being shown on any of them.And when they were shown on amc and spike they weren't presented in a way that would attract children.I personally wasn't impressed with either of those stations stooge presentations.AMC imo seemed to offer a high brow impersonal introduction of the stooges shorts while spike seemed to present an mtv style stooge broadcast.I miss the days of when the stooges were presented as part of a kid show such as the adventure time format i mentioned or when they were shown as part of tbs superstation funtime show when they were shown w/classic bugs bunny cartoons,rascals,etc.Imo those types of shows are what really attracted kids to the stooges.In the late '70's early 80's Ch.22 from pgh.showed the stooges on the capt.pitt show which also feat.cartoons,etc.I believe these were the best formats to feat.the stooges as kids watching the cartoons,etc.in these shows wound up getting interested in the stooges and from an adult point of view they have a nice feeling of true nostalgia to them as it reminds me of how i grew up watching the stooges.Sadly they don't have shows for kids like this anymore and today's kids will never experience the fun we had being introduced to the stooges on these types of shows.

I live in the Chicago area, and we get Stooge-A-Palooza every Satarday night, 7 O'clock to 9 O'clock. Some people are still lucky enough to get a good Stooges show. From what I hear the ratings are pretty good.

[stoogeboomer]

I skimmed through most of the posts on this topic, so if my "spin" on this has already been submitted, please forgive me.  I too am a 50-something Stooge fan who received my daily dosage of the Stooges through the local television station's kiddie program during the late 1950's-60's.  I think the big thing that endeared us to the Stooges back then was not only did we have these great film classics to watch, but the Stooges were still around, quite active and making some new movies.  Not to mention, they would make at least one or more live appearances on our local show throughout the year.  Although they were much older, and had Joe DeRita as the third Stooge, they were still the Stooges.  I think the fact that they've all been gone for so long now is a contributing factor to why the kids today can't make the conection like we did.  But, there are exceptions.  I have met several younger folks, even in their teens who absolutely love the Stooges.

[locoboymakesgood]

I don't know anyone my age that's a Stooge fan. I'm 22. That's why I come on here as often as I do.

My father got me in to them when I could barely talk. We'd always have lengthy discussions on them, all the time. Unfortunately he passed away a few years ago so that kind of dwindled. It was hard to watch them for awhile because of it, but now in memory it's still a lot of fun.

When I have kids some day, they'll definitely be Stoogephiles like me. Or at least I hope.

[metaldams]

Back to my point earlier about old things sometimes succeeding in a new medium the way classic rock has with GUITAR HERO.  All you baby boomers who grew up with The Three Stooges on television, well....that was a new medium for your generation.  Let's also add in the Sally Starr's and Officer Joe Bolton's of the world, kiddie show hosts that were the in thing at the time, and it also gave The Three Stooges a contemporary twist.  For better or worse, I believe the only way old culture has a shot with newer generations is by the old culture coming to the kids, because it's rare that kids themselves look for the old.

Of course, there can be real out of touch attempts as well.  Look at The Three Stooges Nintendo game in the 80's.  Great idea on paper, awful execution because the game sucked.

[FineBari3]

Back to my point earlier about old things sometimes succeeding in a new medium the way classic rock has with GUITAR HERO.  All you baby boomers who grew up with The Three Stooges on television, well....that was a new medium for your generation.  Let's also add in the Sally Starr's and Officer Joe Bolton's of the world, kiddie show hosts that were the in thing at the time, and it also gave The Three Stooges a contemporary twist.  For better or worse, I believe the only way old culture has a shot with newer generations is by the old culture coming to the kids, because it's rare that kids themselves look for the old.

Of course, there can be real out of touch attempts as well.  Look at The Three Stooges Nintendo game in the 80's.  Great idea on paper, awful execution because the game sucked.

What usually happens is that the current generation adopts something of their parent's generation. Mine did with the 1950's; this is when the 50's got their revival in the 1970's with 'Happy Days' and 'Grease'. I remember having a 1950's day in kindergarten.

Because Generation X covers so many years, the Hippie revival also touched Gen X in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Most of them didn't even know who the Grateful Dead were until 'In The Dark' came out.

[The 4th Stooge]

Hmmm....I don't know--I'm guessing I was born a little later than the average Stooge fan (the fateful year of 1975...), and I don't really remember kids in elementary school even mentioning the Stooges that much, and this was the early to mid-1980s, when they were in the spotlight because of their star on the Walk of Fame.

In my case, I became a fan in utero--my mother watched the shorts with my older sister, and she (my mother) never missed Moe's appearances on The Mike Douglas Show, or even the rare occasion she could see an interview with Larry.  But the lineage goes further than that! My maternal grandmother was a fan, and my paternal GREAT-grandmother, grandmother, and father were/are fans.  Of course, with neither my sister or I ever having children, I suppose the line ends here, sadly.  Perhaps we can show an interested kid in a video store or something why these three guys were so great.

But then again, I remember a segment of "Jay Walking," where Leno showed a picture of the Stooges, and a couple of people got it, but then he showed a picture of ELVIS, and the stupid (college) student didn't even recognize it!  Come on! I know Mae West when I see her, and not just because of Myra Breckenridge and Sextette. Duh!

[FineBari3]

Hmmm....I don't know--I'm guessing I was born a little later than the average Stooge fan (the fateful year of 1975...), and I don't really remember kids in elementary school even mentioning the Stooges that much, and this was the early to mid-1980s, when they were in the spotlight because of their star on the Walk of Fame.

In my case, I became a fan in utero--my mother watched the shorts with my older sister, and she (my mother) never missed Moe's appearances on The Mike Douglas Show, or even the rare occasion she could see an interview with Larry.  But the lineage goes further than that! My maternal grandmother was a fan, and my paternal GREAT-grandmother, grandmother, and father were/are fans.  Of course, with neither my sister or I ever having children, I suppose the line ends here, sadly.  Perhaps we can show an interested kid in a video store or something why these three guys were so great.

But then again, I remember a segment of "Jay Walking," where Leno showed a picture of the Stooges, and a couple of people got it, but then he showed a picture of ELVIS, and the stupid (college) student didn't even recognize it!  Come on! I know Mae West when I see her, and not just because of Myra Breckenridge and Sextette. Duh!

Ah, another Gen Xer Stooge fan!

Yes, you were probably too young to have taken part in the early 1980s revival. I think that was more of a 'Midnight Film' thing, rather than a TV/video thing. (Not many VCRs back then). Were you living in a big city or a small town then? In Pittsburgh, we had an annual Three Stooges Film Festival, held around Thanksgiving every year. We were also fortunate to have them on TV in the mornings and afternoon on the local crappy UHF station.

Wow! So many women in your family liked the Stooges! Can you elaborate on your Grandmother and Great-Grandmother's love of the Stooges?  Most women back then absolutely hated the Stooges! It has been more commonplace now for women to like them, especially with young adults now.

About the dumb college student: Never underestimate the stupidity of the American public. (Is that a famous quote?)
I work with autistic kids, and have to be in a 2nd grade classroom every day. Their teacher says words like "Ill-i-noize" for Illinois, and "percipitation" instead of precipitation, and even spelled it that way for them. Amazing.

[metaldams]

About the dumb college student: Never underestimate the stupidity of the American public. (Is that a famous quote?)
I work with autistic kids, and have to be in a 2nd grade classroom every day. Their teacher says words like "Ill-i-noize" for Illinois, and "percipitation" instead of precipitation, and even spelled it that way for them. Amazing.

I work with a woman who thinks Michaelangelo painted the "Sixteen Chapel" and that the most famous extinct bird is the "Dildo Bird."

Born in '78 myself, so I guess I qualify as well.  I just remember watching them on Sunday morning TV with my Dad.