The Three Stooges Walk of Fame

Three Stooges author Greg Lenburg (left) watches
as his longtime close friend comic Joe Besser of
The Three Stooges speak at the 1983 Hollywood
Walk of Fame ceremony.

Greg Lenburg played a crucial role in supporting and helping radio and TV announcer Gary Owens—best known as the announcer for the classic TV show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In—in his campaign to secure a long-overdue star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for the Three Stooges.

To support Owens’ efforts, Greg and his twin brother Jeff established the A Star for the Stooges Committee, which garnered significant endorsements from comedy legends like Bob Hope and Carl Reiner.

The Lenburgs also organized a Stooges film festival in Hollywood to gather fan signatures on a petition to be presented to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce which decides who receives a star. 

Additionally, the Lenburgs enlisted Besser, their longtime friend, to help unveil the Stooges' star at the August 30, 1983, ceremony with the Joan and Norman Maurer, Stooge Larry Fine’s daughter Phyllis Fine Lamond and Jean DeRita, wife of Curly Joe DeRita, who replaced Besser as the third stooge, and was too ill to attend due to poor eyesight. Moe Howard, Fine, Curly Howard Shemp Howard had all long passed away.

Star on the east side of the 1500 block of Vine Street.

The unveiling ceremony was attended by over 3,000 enthusiastic fans, making it the largest crowd for any star unveiling in Walk of Fame history then and to this day. The Maurers, the Lenburgs, Owens, legendary comedian Milton Berle, Stooges actors Emil Sitka and Adam West were among the guest speakers at the event.

Owens is credited with covering the $3,000 sponsorship fee for the star, a cost that would rise to an impressive $75,000 for the installation and maintenance of a star in 2024.