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General Boards => General Discussion => Topic started by: Dunrobin on March 13, 2023, 05:02:22 PM

Title: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: Dunrobin on March 13, 2023, 05:02:22 PM: (https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0731/4305/8742/files/Tour-de-Farce-cover.jpg?v=1677179912&width=750)

The Stoogeum is pleased to announce the publication of A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road. This hardcover, 765-page encyclopedic compendium is the product of almost twenty years of research and it is the first new book about the Three Stooges in over a decade!
A Tour De Farce follows the Boys’ day by day travels over five decades as they entertain live audiences at theaters, military bases, circuses, hospital wards, and even a corn palace, with over 1,500 personal appearances documented for the very first time. While the Stooges spent months at a time on the road, none of these antics were ever chronicled…until now.

Authored by Gary Lassin, the museum’s Executive Director and Three Stooges Fan Club president, A Tour De Farce features hundreds of never-before-published photos, documents, and stage reviews that bring the Stooges' road trips to life. Make a home for A Tour De Farce on your bookshelf today or give as a gift to your favorite Stooge!

Product Availability
The book is priced at $49.95 which includes free shipping via USPS media mail and a bookplate signed by the author. It can be purchased in person at The Stoogeum, online via the book’s website (tourdefarce.net (https://tourdefarce.net)) or through the mail by sending check or money order payable to: The Stoogeum, P.O. Box 747, Gwynedd Valley, PA 19437.

For press and interview inquiries:
Gary Lassin, Erin Smith, Michelle Squiccimara
(267) 468-0810
tourdefarce.book@gmail.com

The Stoogeum
P.O. Box 747
Gwynedd Valley, PA 19437
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: Bustoff73 on March 15, 2023, 04:51:44 PM: This looks amazing. Ordered mine two days ago and tracking says it should be here Monday. Cant wait.
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: Dunrobin on March 15, 2023, 06:13:46 PM: Quote from: Bustoff73 on March 15, 2023, 04:51:44 PM
This looks amazing. Ordered mine two days ago and tracking says it should be here Monday. Cant wait.

I'm glad you posted - I almost forgot today is Wednesday. Off to order my copy! :D
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: ProfessorStooge on March 17, 2023, 08:24:08 AM: I just ordered a copy. This book should be interesting.
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: Dunrobin on March 17, 2023, 08:56:13 AM: Quote from: Dunrobin on March 15, 2023, 06:13:46 PM
I'm glad you posted - I almost forgot today is Wednesday. Off to order my copy! :D

I got my notice from the USPS saying delivery should be on Tuesday.

I Can Hardly Wait! ;)
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: metaldams on March 17, 2023, 01:27:48 PM: I just ordered a bunch of Euro horror blu rays and vowed to cut back on my spending for a while. Then - this. Gary, you got my money. Looking forward to this book!
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: Bustoff73 on March 17, 2023, 08:42:29 PM: Ok. So, I received my copy today and......this has got to be the most detailed, researched book on the Three Stooges thus far. Absolutely amazing. Its like reading a 700 page issue of the Journal, lol. Kudos to Mr. Lassin! I cant imagine the thousands of hours it took to put this together. Just incredible. There is SO MUCH information here. I was introduced to the Stooges via late night showings on KPLR in St. Louis as a 9 year old in 1982 and since that time I have devoured any and every book or piece of info about the Stooges. This tops them all. I love this book.
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: metaldams on March 17, 2023, 08:54:23 PM: Nice endorsement, Bustoff. Looking forward to my copy that much more. Stooge news has been dead for years. Nice to see something come down the pike like this!
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: garystooge on March 18, 2023, 06:18:52 AM: Thanks for the kind review Bustoff....sounds like you have given it your seal of approval which is greatly appreciated! I used the same design philosophy for the book that I used for the Stoogeum....to cram-jam so much stuff inside that when you come back for the umpteenth time you can still find something you didn't notice before. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts! Gary
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: Dunrobin on March 18, 2023, 08:04:11 AM: Quote from: garystooge on March 18, 2023, 06:18:52 AM
Thanks for the kind review Bustoff....sounds like you have given it your seal of approval which is greatly appreciated! I used the same design philosophy for the book that I used for the Stoogeum....to cram-jam so much stuff inside that when you come back for the umpteenth time you can still find something you didn't notice before. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts! Gary

My father was one of those people who watch a movie once and then are never interested in watching it again, no matter how good it was, so he never understood my love of watching old movies and shorts - like the Stooges! - over and over again. But your "design philosophy" plays on the same reason I re-watch movies. I've watched the Stooges literally hundreds of times over the decades, for example, and I still notice things I never noticed before. Being so familiar with the story itself makes it easier to focus on other things like small props in the background or the set itself, or just watching Larry's reactions in the background to Curly or Shemp's antics, etc. And it fits in with my life-long philosophy of "Learn something new every day." :)

I love delving into details (I grew reading from an encyclopedia set for my bedtime stories), so I think I am going to be spending a lot of time with your book, Gary, especially since it covers an aspect of the Stooges' career that I've known very little about - so far. :D

I Can Hardly Wait! [3stooges]
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: garystooge on March 18, 2023, 08:34:54 AM: Rob-The book is very encyclopedic in nature because it contains mini-capsule entries for each appearance which are independent of each other. So you can basically open the book to any page and start reading without being invested in anything which came before, just like an encyclopedia. Hope you like it.
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: Dunrobin on March 18, 2023, 09:53:36 AM: Quote from: garystooge on March 18, 2023, 08:34:54 AM
Rob-The book is very encyclopedic in nature because it contains mini-capsule entries for each appearance which are independent of each other. So you can basically open the book to any page and start reading without being invested in anything which came before, just like an encyclopedia. Hope you like it.

You're just making it worse, you know! Now I'm going to be jonesing for it like a basketball (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlhWPVJNAOo) until my copy arrives on Tuesday! [rotfl]
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: metaldams on March 20, 2023, 05:42:09 PM: Some schmuck who is impersonating me just made an unboxing video.

Literally my first moments with the book, so it’s me figuring out what I’m looking at. Plus bubble wrap!
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: Dunrobin on March 20, 2023, 07:05:19 PM: I got my copy today as well, a day earlier than expected! As you can tell from Doug's video above, the book is incredibly complete, and it's also an incredibly well-made book. It weighs a ton, as it is printed on a high-quality glossy paper, which makes the photos beautifully vivid. And what an awesome collection of cool pictures that I've never seen before!

Bravo, again, Gary for blowing my mind and providing me with something that I know I will be pouring through for hours on end! [read2]

Major thumbs up! [thumbleft]
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: garystooge on March 21, 2023, 06:14:31 AM: Thanks so much Rob and Metal for your early reviews. Love the drama you created with your video Metal...seeing the potential here makes me glad I didn't sell away the foreign movie rights to the book! I hope it's not too heavy or unwieldy to work with. Part of the blame lies with the Stooges for having such a long career and part with me for subtitling it "The Complete History...." and then really feeling like the book needed to look and feel complete. Truth-be-told this book had several hundred pages which wound up on the cutting room floor out of concern for the size/weight issue. As for the unseen photos, many of them I've been sitting on for 30 years waiting to run them in the Journal but the right time never came... until now. Anyway I'll hold off on quizzing you guys about the book until you've had a chance to digest further.
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: Freddie Sanborn on March 21, 2023, 09:30:33 AM: Can’t wait. Does the book cover the vaudeville years with Healy?
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: metaldams on March 21, 2023, 11:12:51 AM: Quote from: Freddie Sanborn on March 21, 2023, 09:30:33 AM
Can’t wait. Does the book cover the vaudeville years with Healy?

Unless if I’m overlooking it, the actual entries themselves for appearances begin in 1929. However, there is a twenty four page chapter on the years preceding that with a lot of pictures of Ted and Betty Healy along with the young Stooges themselves.
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: garystooge on March 21, 2023, 01:00:12 PM: Doug- There is a detailed list of all the 1918-1928 appearances in Appendix B beginning on page 682
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: metaldams on March 21, 2023, 01:20:25 PM: Quote from: garystooge on March 21, 2023, 01:00:12 PM
Doug- There is a detailed list of all the 1918-1928 appearances in Appendix B beginning on page 682

Ah! Thanks Gary! I’ll check that out tonight.

So far, I have skipped to sections to answer certain questions I’ve had about the late Curly era and the Besser era. My questions have been answered. This book will last a lifetime, so much info.
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: garystooge on March 21, 2023, 01:28:51 PM: Originally I wrote entries for all those 1918-1928 appearances but they were so Healy-centric that I decided just to list them in an appendix, saving about a hundred pages.
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: Paul Pain on March 22, 2023, 08:11:18 AM: Doug, I actually found your unboxing video by logging onto my YouTube account and not by coming on here. [pie]

Great video, and I really wish I could get my hands on the book but am unable to do so because of my living conditions.
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: falsealarms on March 26, 2023, 08:56:18 AM
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: metaldams on March 27, 2023, 05:14:00 PM: Reading about their MGM era appearances, it really feels like the boys were just comic filler for bigger stars - very much like the movies themselves. Doing waiter routines and the like. This book is going to take years to absorb. Wonderful job, Gary.
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: metaldams on April 01, 2023, 08:34:12 AM: One thing I wondered in my unboxing video is of the shorts would somehow be linked to the appearances and indeed - they are. I find it fun going through going through this book and watching the shorts. Going through the first six shorts while reading about 1934, for example. Crazy to think when they were filming WOMAN HATERS, they did their last engagement with Healy just six weeks before. Fun to know after watching HORSE’ COLARS they had a week engagement in L.A. starting the next day. Interesting reading about the various straight men they had on stage as well. I was never aware of the transition into the name “The Three Stooges” and that they were “Howard, Fine and Howard” for a bit. Good stuff.
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: archiezappa on May 22, 2023, 08:27:27 PM: I'm hoping to get mine soon. This really looks like one of the most comprehensive books on the Stooges career. A prestigious achievement. Soitenly!
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: QuinceHead on July 03, 2023, 10:06:24 PM: Looks like I need to start saving my pennies! Had no idea this book existed until I saw the scrolling banner across the top of the web page…
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: archiezappa on July 03, 2023, 11:05:58 PM: Well, I'm about one third of the way through this book and I'm absolutely blown away! This book has so many great photos and ad reproductions. There is so much new information. I love seeing old myths debunked as further evidence and research provides further truth.

And the timeline! The format of this book is very much a timeline of The Three Stooges careers. That helps in understanding perspective, context, and cause-and-effect. Such excellent attributes for a book like this.

I'm really enjoying going through this book. I can't say enough good things about it. Thanks Gary for all your hard work!
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: garystooge on July 05, 2023, 04:06:26 PM: Thanks so much for your nice comments Arch. Glad you appreciate this newly improved timeline. In the past it was difficult to know exactly what the Stooges were doing in any given month or year without pulling together info from several sources. Now fans can almost tell what the Boys were doing on any given day . Gary
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: Dunrobin on July 05, 2023, 04:50:10 PM: Quote from: garystooge on July 05, 2023, 04:06:26 PM
Thanks so much for your nice comments Arch. Glad you appreciate this newly improved timeline. In the past it was difficult to know exactly what the Stooges were doing in any given month or year without pulling together info from several sources. Now fans can almost tell what the Boys were doing on any given day . Gary

It is a prodigious achievement, Gary. It's even putrid! ;D
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: Myren on July 14, 2023, 08:32:51 PM: Thank you to who ever posted this book in the top banner. I had no idea this was out. I ordered it and it just showed up today. (Might I say with in two days, wow.) I have just had a chance to flip through it, and I have to say I am really digging it! So many photos I have never seen. Thank you again.
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: Dunrobin on July 15, 2023, 08:16:31 AM: Quote from: Myren on July 14, 2023, 08:32:51 PM
Thank you to who ever posted this book in the top banner. I had no idea this was out. I ordered it and it just showed up today. (Might I say with in two days, wow.) I have just had a chance to flip through it, and I have to say I am really digging it! So many photos I have never seen. Thank you again.

You're welcome! As soon as I saw the announcement from Gary that his book was finally available, I knew that we had to promote it to make sure that fans knew about it. :)
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: metaldams on January 01, 2024, 09:07:48 PM: So for something crazy, if you turn to page 262 in this book, you’ll see a picture of The Three Stooges with the three brothers who would eventually own Three Little Bakers Dinner Theater in Wilmington, DE. While I don’t believe it’s still there, I did go there once and remember a picture of the owners with The Three Stooges on display. Don’t know if it’s the same pic, but it very likely could be.

For something more humorous, they also had a golf course. As a teenager in the 90’s, before me and my friends could drive, we had to walk to the record/CD store, Wonderland Records, to buy music. In order to do so, we had to cut through The Three Little Bakers golf course regularly and sometimes got chased out of there, Three Little Beers style.

I’m about to read the 1942 section now. I just watched watched all nine shorts that were filmed that year today and want to see what happened surrounding them.
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: G.mariner55 on January 05, 2024, 07:11:10 PM: Quote from: Bustoff73 on March 15, 2023, 04:51:44 PM
This looks amazing. Ordered mine two days ago and tracking says it should be here Monday. Cant wait.
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: G.mariner55 on January 05, 2024, 07:14:29 PM: This book is a must have. Amazingly researched. Nice work Gary.
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: garystooge on January 07, 2024, 06:17:59 PM: Quote from: G.mariner55 on January 05, 2024, 07:14:29 PM
This book is a must have. Amazingly researched. Nice work Gary.

Thanks for your kind words...glad you like it!
Gary
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: Mark The Shark on March 23, 2024, 06:06:12 PM: I'm kind of late replying here, but I just want to say what a great book this is. It's ostensibly about one aspect of the Stooges' careers but its thorough coverage answers so many questions which maybe we didn't even know were questions.

For instance, now it's reliably established exactly when certain things happened. For decades we've been told the Stooges trio was established in 1925 because the same info from one book was copied over and over, now we have a timeline of the comings and goings of Moe, Shemp and Larry and we know all three appeared together for the first time in 1929, only a year before "Soup To Nuts." We know the exact dates when Shemp first left and Curly joined. We have more detail on the situation in 1945 when Shemp briefly was an emergency fill-in for Curly. I appreciate the clearer picture and reappraisal of Ted Healy. And everything is documented. This book is absolutely essential and sets the record straight on many long standing questions.

What a wonderful book! Thank you Gary!
Title: Re: NEW! A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road
Post by: garystooge on March 25, 2024, 06:37:50 AM: Thanks Mark, I really appreciate the shout out. Setting the record straight was a major motivation for this book. I always found it bothersome in the other Stooges books that lots of stuff was bandied about as fact without presenting any evidence. They're all filled with Moe said this, or Larry thought that, even though the author wasn't even there and couldn't possibly know what was actually said or thought. It leaves the reader wondering about credibility. I decided to put the evidence for my findings right in the book. So when I write that the Stooges were in Memphis from August 10-12, I present the newspaper ad or contract or poster for the shows containing that info. Anyway, thanks again for your comments and glad you like the book.
Gary