Topic: Jerome Gottler - I had no idea he passed

[falsealarms]

Browsing the index of the latest Journal issue, I learn that Jerome Gottler recently passed. He wrote the screenplay for Woman Haters, the first Stooges short at Columbia. I had no idea he passed - I certainly don't remember it being discussed here, and the only search result for "Gottler" was something about Archie. More to my surprise was that he was still alive... he was only 19 when he did Woman Haters, having been born in 1915. That's awfully young. I would have thought he had been gone for decades.

He also did the screenplay for Sweet and Hot, which may explain why he wasn't mentioned here.

[falsealarms]

I guess it's just me - I thought this was a pretty big deal, especially since everytime some associated with the Stooges passes, we're one closer to having nobody left. And this guy did have some historical significance, having been involved in their first Columbia short.

[Dunrobin]

I didn't realize that Jerome Gottler was still around, either, or that he was so young when he wrote Woman Haters.  To be technical, though, Woman Haters wasn't actually written for the Stooges as such; it was part of a series of "musical novelties" that Columbia was producing, and they decided to feature the Stooges in it to see what they could do.  (Obviously, that went well!)   

It is sad that so many of those associated with the Stooges in one way or another are gone now, even if it is to be expected, considering how long ago the boys got started.  Their era will never be over, however, as long as there are dedicated fans and copies of the Stooge films available!

[Bruckman]

My personal theory re Gottler is that the script for SWEET AND HOT was written in the mid-30s, then shelved when Columbia discontinued its "Musical Novelties" series of shorts in favor of comics like the Stooges, Andy Clyde, etc. in 1934-35. I have no documentation for this hunch, it just feels right. I elaborated on this idea in an essay published in the Three Stooges Journal back in 2002: my hunch is that, in the budget-cutting Besser era, someone, likely Jules White, dug out the script, dusted it off, added a few changes and updates, and used it as the basis for SWEET AND HOT. If I ever have time, I'd like to dig around in LA to see if a script for this short can be found and what it reveals.

I too was surprised gottler was still living as recently as 2005; if I'd known, maybe I would've attempted to contact him and set the story straight! (Assuming his memory had remained sharp enough to recall such info, though it's surprising what acuity many long-lived Hollywooders retain, Ed Bernds being a prime example.)