Joe DeRita height - How tall is Joe DeRita?

Passed away on July 3, 1993, only nine days before what would have been his 84th birthday, on July 12.

Their final film Kooks Tour has an odd history. Conceived in 1970 as a series of comedy travelogues showing the now retired Stooges hitting the road the production was halted by Larry having a stroke. The unfinished pilot was padded out to sixty minutes with beauty shots of Yellowstone Park then shelved for nearly 10 years. It was finally released for home use on Super 8 but few people were willing to spend $200 to see it.

When Shemp Howard died in 1955, Moe Howard wanted to recruit him into The Three Stooges. However, he could not join because he was under contract to Harold Minsky, where he was one of their top comics.

Jules White had signed him for four two-reel comedies at Columbia from 1946-48. There were rumors that he was being groomed to be the "third stooge".

Joe made his film debut in "The Doughgirls" (1944) and continued to perform in films, radio, and television before joining the Three Stooges in 1958.

Born into a show business family, DeRita began performing at the age of 7. He played the Burlesque circuit until 1942 when he went to headline in California stage shows. He toured with Randolph Scott and Bing Crosby for the USO during World War II.