The death of 95-year-old comedian Paul "Mousie" Garner
August 9, 2004 (Press Release) --
Farewell to a Fabulous Funnyman
(HOLLYWOOD, CA, August 8th, 2004)
Comedian Mousie Garner, best known as the last surviving member of the world-famous “Three Stooges” comedy troupe, died today at Verdugo Hills Hospital in suburban Los Angeles. Garner, who was the youngest of all the various Stooges, was 95.
The venerable Mousie enjoyed one of the longest-running performing careers in the history of entertainment, stretching from vaudeville to virtual reality. With his cousin Jack Wolf, Mousie made his stage debut as a child in 1913, singing, dancing, and imitating Al Jolson in a family musical-comedy act developed by his father. While still a child, Mousie entertained soldiers during World War I. And by the the time he was a teenager in the 1920s, he had already decided upon a career on the vaudeville stage. Garner made his television debut in 1928, when he appeared with his cousin Jack on an experimental TV program broadcast from RCA`s original NBC studios in Schenectady, New York. This live production was one of the first TV broadcasts in history, making Garner the first comedian ever to appear on television.
In the early 1930s, Mousie appeared on stage as “Third Stooge” opposite Moe Howard and Larry Fine, when the team’s original member, Shemp Howard, was unable to perform. Over the years Mousie would appear in teamings with a total of nine different Stooge partners, culminating in the 1970s with CurlyJoe DeRita and Frank Mitchell in what became the last incarnation of The Three Stooges. In addition to his work with the Stooges, Mousie also shared the stage with such entertainment giants as Charlie Chaplin, Al Jolson, W.C. Fields, Groucho Marx, Bob Hope, Red Skelton, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and “Three Stooges” impresario Ted Healy. He also appeared as part of “The Gentlemaniacs,” a musical-comedy trio he formed with Jack Wolf and longtime friend Dick Hakins.
To younger audiences, Mousie is perhaps best known as the madcap solo Stooge from David Lee Roth’s “Just a Gigolo” music video, one of the most popular short films ever to run on MTV.
Mousie toured the United States throughout 2002 and 2003, appearing at major universities, in theaters, and on TV and radio, as part of a nationwide promotional tour for “The Three Stooges: The Triumphs and Tragedies of The Most Popular Comedy Team of All Time” (by Jeff Forrester & Tom Forrester, Donaldson Books, Los Angeles). He wrote the introduction to the book and was eagerly sought after as an expert on the so-called “golden age” of show business.
Garner will serve as one of the primary on-camera voices in “Ted Healy and His Stooges” a Donaldson Books documentary currently in production. The film will chronicle the career of Mousie’s former showbiz boss, Three Stooges originator Ted Healy. Another documentary, tentatively titled “The Last Stooge,” will focus on Garner’s own career, and is slated for release early next year. “The Last Stooge,” which has been in production since 2001, will feature interview footage of Garner, culled from dozens of interviews filmed at his Los Angeles area home over the last several years.
(HOLLYWOOD, CA, August 8th, 2004)
Comedian Mousie Garner, best known as the last surviving member of the world-famous “Three Stooges” comedy troupe, died today at Verdugo Hills Hospital in suburban Los Angeles. Garner, who was the youngest of all the various Stooges, was 95.
The venerable Mousie enjoyed one of the longest-running performing careers in the history of entertainment, stretching from vaudeville to virtual reality. With his cousin Jack Wolf, Mousie made his stage debut as a child in 1913, singing, dancing, and imitating Al Jolson in a family musical-comedy act developed by his father. While still a child, Mousie entertained soldiers during World War I. And by the the time he was a teenager in the 1920s, he had already decided upon a career on the vaudeville stage. Garner made his television debut in 1928, when he appeared with his cousin Jack on an experimental TV program broadcast from RCA`s original NBC studios in Schenectady, New York. This live production was one of the first TV broadcasts in history, making Garner the first comedian ever to appear on television.
In the early 1930s, Mousie appeared on stage as “Third Stooge” opposite Moe Howard and Larry Fine, when the team’s original member, Shemp Howard, was unable to perform. Over the years Mousie would appear in teamings with a total of nine different Stooge partners, culminating in the 1970s with CurlyJoe DeRita and Frank Mitchell in what became the last incarnation of The Three Stooges. In addition to his work with the Stooges, Mousie also shared the stage with such entertainment giants as Charlie Chaplin, Al Jolson, W.C. Fields, Groucho Marx, Bob Hope, Red Skelton, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and “Three Stooges” impresario Ted Healy. He also appeared as part of “The Gentlemaniacs,” a musical-comedy trio he formed with Jack Wolf and longtime friend Dick Hakins.
To younger audiences, Mousie is perhaps best known as the madcap solo Stooge from David Lee Roth’s “Just a Gigolo” music video, one of the most popular short films ever to run on MTV.
Mousie toured the United States throughout 2002 and 2003, appearing at major universities, in theaters, and on TV and radio, as part of a nationwide promotional tour for “The Three Stooges: The Triumphs and Tragedies of The Most Popular Comedy Team of All Time” (by Jeff Forrester & Tom Forrester, Donaldson Books, Los Angeles). He wrote the introduction to the book and was eagerly sought after as an expert on the so-called “golden age” of show business.
Garner will serve as one of the primary on-camera voices in “Ted Healy and His Stooges” a Donaldson Books documentary currently in production. The film will chronicle the career of Mousie’s former showbiz boss, Three Stooges originator Ted Healy. Another documentary, tentatively titled “The Last Stooge,” will focus on Garner’s own career, and is slated for release early next year. “The Last Stooge,” which has been in production since 2001, will feature interview footage of Garner, culled from dozens of interviews filmed at his Los Angeles area home over the last several years.
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