The Clever Contract Trick
The ignorantly famous stooges may have gotten stiffed by Columbia Pictures despite being admired actors. It was obvious that they deserved more than they got. But, as it turned out, the head of the group, Moe, conjured up a sneaky little trick. He was pretty smart when it came to their deals.
Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe De Rita. Photo By Kobal/Shutterstock
Moe made sure that their contracts had a clause that granted them the right to receive all of the profits from their personal appearances. Considering they weren’t given a raise, this was a smart move and provided them with a whole lot more money than the studio would have given them for over 200 short films. Very clever!