U.S. comedy team. It was originally formed as a vaudeville team in 1923 by brothers Moe and Shemp Howard (1897-1975, 1900-55), who performed with "Ted Healy and His Stooges." In 1928 the brothers added Larry Fine (1911-74) to the act, which appeared in Broadway revues. After Shemp left the act (1930), he was replaced by his brother Curly (1906-52). They appeared in several feature films, and in 1934 they began a series of comedy shorts that numbered more than 200 when they ceased in 1958. Their films were characterized by violent slapstick
disapproval If you refer to someone as a stooge, you are criticizing them because they are used by someone else to do unpleasant or dishonest tasks. He has vehemently rejected claims that he is a government stooge