Television producer/writer Ken Levine (M*A*S*H, CHEERS) addressed the current state of TV, specifically the current method of casting, in his blog entry of Oct. 15 (click link).
A Three Stooges supporting player is featured in Ken's example of "then vs. now," CHEERS' elderly barfly and Sinatra fan, Al Rosen. Al was Curly's stand-in in the 1940s, and had bit roles in two shorts. In BEER BARREL POLECATS (1946), Al was one of the background convicts in the rec room scene, although he can't be pinpointed in a focused shot; however, he does clearly appear in one of the film's production stills (which was used on the short's title lobby card). And in UNCIVIL WAR BIRDS (1946), he was one of the three Union officers KO'ed by the door.
Al Rosen, convict on far right...