In the event visitors are wondering who I am, my name is Bill Major and I have been a Three Stooges collector for over twenty years. I always enjoyed the Stooges growing up, but after purchasing a book called "Moe Howard and the Three Stooges" in the '80's, I was hooked. This book developed a fascination in me with the Stooges and a need to know more, so I started to read everything I could get my hands on relating to "the boys". I was like a kid in a candy store, after eventually picking up the holy grail of Stooges books, Joan Howard-Maurer's "Three Stooges Scrapbook". The Scrapbook offered a glimpse into what real collectibles looked like. It featured a bevy of Stooges photos, posters, lobby cards, and an endless wealth of information. After my extensive reading, I just had to start purchasing things relating to the Stooges. I started with a couple T-Shirts and some postcards, then came comics, photos, toys, posters, and my "desire to acquire" Stooges-related items kept growing.
After a few years of collecting and learning more about the Stooges, I started to develop an affection for Shemp. As I learned more about him, I grew to really appreciate him as a person and as a performer. I was blessed to come in contact with several key collectors in the 80's, who somewhat "took me under their wing", and opened my eyes to what "real collectors" were like. One of them in particular was a long time friend of Shemp's wife "Babe", and he passed along stories to me that he and Babe had talked about over the years. What I gained from those days was Shemp was not only a really funny actor, he was an overall nice guy and a true gentleman. In some ways, I see him as somewhat the "underdog", who walked away from an almost "sure thing", working with brother Moe, Larry Fine and Ted Healy, to strike out on his own.
When I started collecting, all those years ago, I lived in a small town in Ontario, Canada. Let me tell you, collecting Three Stooges items in small-town Canada was no easy feat in those days. Almost everything I found was through a network of fellow collectors that I started to build throughout the US and Canada. To complicate things, this was before the internet, email, and before I got into the world of computers. In this low-tech world, I lived on my typewriter and snail-mail. With my trusty typewriter, I was able to correspond with numerous people who worked with Shemp and the Stooges. I exchanged letters with Lucille Ball (who worked with the Stooges in "Three Little Pig Skins"), Morey Amsterdam (who was a very good friend of Shemp's, and later worked with Moe Howard in a somewhat obscure film called "Don't Worry We'll Think of a Title"), Mae Clarke (who worked with the Stooges in "Turn Back the Clock"), Emil Sitka (who was often considered "The Fourth Stooge"), Lyle Talbot (who starred with the Stooges in "Gold Raiders"), Ed Bernds (who worked with the Stooges in several capacities through the years...more to follow on Ed later), and even screen legend Jimmy Stewart. I remember the excitement of checking my mailbox, and finding letters from way out in Hollywood, from these bigger than life people. Now, more than 20 years later, I still treasure the letters and photos I received from these wonderful folks.
On April 26, 1987, the world as I knew it changed again. It was on this date that the first Three Stooges Fan Club convention took place in Bensalem, PA. After a 9 hour drive with new friend Bob K., I arrived at what felt like Disneyland, for Stooge fans. That first convention started friendships that have lasted to this day. The years that followed brought many more conventions, which were something that I (and hundreds of others) looked forward to, throughout the year. These conventions formed some of my fondest memories of both collecting and of "Stooge friends". Over the years, the conventions changed to fan club meetings, and old friends drifted out of the collecting world, but the fun and memories still remain. There are some photos from "the old days" on my "Personal Pics" page.
I mentioned Ed Bernds above, and I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation and affection for him as well. I corresponded with Ed for many years, and he was always very responsive, full of information, and just a wonderful man. Ed was also a true gentleman and a very trusting man. He would often send things like photos or original scripts through the mail, for people to copy and send back to him. I remember asking him about photos of him with the Stooges one time, and he sent me a great original photo (there's a copy on the photos page) from his personal collection, of him with the Stooges. I took the photo he sent me, had a negative made from it, and then made my own copy of the photo. I then sent him back his original, along with my new copy, and he would autograph the copy and send it back to me. I fondly remember receiving and reading his lengthy hand-written letters. One day, much to my surprise, I received an unexpected package from Ed containing an original script to the Shemp short subject "Society Mugs". He had personally autographed it to me "From one fan of Shemp Howard to another, sincerely Ed Bernds". I immediately contacted him because I felt that he shouldn't have sent me such an extravagant gift. He insisted that he really wanted me to keep it, and given the fact that he had inscribed it personally to me, I did in fact keep it. On my "Photos" page, you will find a photo of Tom Kennedy, Ed Bernds and Shemp, on the set of Society Mugs, reviewing a script. In a follow-up letter from Ed, he confirmed that the copy of the script that he was holding in the photo was in fact the actual script he sent me! To this day (19 years since I received it), it is probably my most valued collectible. If you want to learn more about Ed, the early days of Hollywood, and the Three Stooges, I highly recommend his book, "Mr. Bernds Goes to Hollywood".
After spending the first 30+ years of my life in Canada, my wife and I decided to head south. In 1998, we moved to the Los Angeles area. This move allowed us to see those places that seemed a world away when I was sitting behind my typewriter, back in Canada. Since our move to the sunny south, we have enjoyed being able to visit areas where the Stooges worked. A couple of years ago, we were able to tour Sunset-Gower Studios, the former home of Columbia Pictures, as well as the Warner Brothers Ranch, formerly the Columbia Ranch, where the Shemp and the Stooges spent so much time. Walking around these locations was very surreal and very exciting. Although we are many miles away from family and friends, we love our new life in LA.
Aside from the many hours of enjoyment I have experienced collecting over the years, another huge benefit I have received, has been the opportunity to meet and build friendships with many wonderful Stooges fans and family members.
Thanks to everyone that has contributed to my enjoyment of the Three Stooges and Shemp Howard over the years.
Bill
I can be contacted via email at:
