 |
| The Three Stooges that never happened: right, Emil Sitka, replacing frizzy haired Larry Fine, as Larry's brother, Harry. |
By Greg Lenburg
In 1974 I vividly remember reading a small blurb in one of the Hollywood trade papers that Emil Sitka, one of the best remembered character actors of the Stooges stock company, was signed to become one of The Three Stooges. I called the Stooges' manager, writer-producer-director Norman Maurer to talk to him about it.Norman informed me that Sitka was signed to replace middle man, frizzy haired and original Stooge Larry Fine, to play his brother, Harry. Larry was forced to retire from the act in 1970 following a stroke that paralyzed the left side of his body. He had been with the team for 45 years, joining them in 1925 as a Stooge under their mentor, comedian Ted Healy in vaudeville.
Norman confirmed that Sitka, mopped haired and team leader Moe Howard (also one of the last of original Stooges) and Curly Joe DeRita, the last of the third stooges, were signed for appear in a feature film entitled The Jet Set.
However, it wasn't revealed until the film, retitled Blazing Stewardesses (1975), was released in 2006 on DVD that, according to commentary by producer Samuel M. Sherman, it was originally hoped Larry would have been able to appear in the film, even though he was confined to a wheelchair. Sources report that Sherman rewrote the Stooges comedy scenes to "accommodate Larry." Moe and Curly Joe were going to visit a health spa run by Larry.
When it became apparent Larry could not appear, Sitka was signed to replace him. But, in the end, neither Sitka, Moe nor Curly Joe appeared in the film. One week prior to the March 1975 shooting date, they had to bow out from appearing because Moe's lung cancer progressed and he was too ill to perform. He died two months later. The Stooges were replaced in the film by the two surviving members of The Ritz Brothers, Harry and Jimmy.
In all honesty, I was greatly relieved the Stooges did not appear in the film. Blazing Stewardesses was an R-rated sex comedy-western, soft porn. The Stooges were a G-rated, family act. Appearing in such a film, in my opinion, would have been a huge mistake. And, while Sitka was an extremely capable and often times hilarious comic actor, he would have had huge shoes to fill. It definitely would not have been the same without Larry who, in my opinion, was irreplaceable.