This sentence is the most famous line of dialogue from “The Three Stooges”. The voice you may now hear in your ears is that from Emil Sitka, the “last” of the Stooges. He acted in dozens of Stooges films as a counterpart for the three comedians in roles like butler, reporter, professor and – as justice of the peace. In “Brideless Groom”, one of the most popular Stooges movies he plays the poor victim of a mob of wannabe brides.
He enjoyed his work with the Stooges very much and always stated that this was the best time of his life. When Larry Fine suddenly died from two strokes, Moe – who was the straight guy in reality, too – replaced him, with the blessings of Larry himself, with Emil Sitka. Promotional photographies were made, just like the one above, and plans for a new movie “Blazing Stewardesses” were made. Moe, the only one of the Stooges that was never replaced – the heart and soul of the troup – died on May, the fourth in 1975, after 53 years of playing, well… Moe. That was the end of all plans and so Mr. Sitka never actually was a part of the show. His typical American biography is worth a read and to be found at his website The Brideless Groom is public domain now and avalaible at GoogleVideo. Here you go if you search a list of Mr. Sitka’s films. John Cawley has written an interesting piece on The End of the Stooges. If you’re only interested in the Stooges, here is a never aired pilot from a liveshow in 1929: Jerks of All Trades. It’s without Emil Sitka, slightly out of topic…
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