Locating the Three Stooges in Los Angeles

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Courtesy Columbia Pictures (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

Jim Pauley started with a Thomas guide and hit the road in search of locations around Los Angeles that match up with scenes from the films of the Three Stooges.

(That’s how long he’s been at it. Does anyone use a Thomas guide anymore?)

On trips to LA and then from his home base of Philadelphia, Pauley sleuthed out the backdrops of these fabled slapstick bits of celluloid, and compiled them in a new book from Santa Monica Press. It’s called The Three Stooges: Hollywood Filming Locations, and it has a forward by the venerable Leonard Maltin.

One of his major discoveries has to do with stairs. Note: The Laurel and Hardy stairs (where they hoist a piano) are NOT the same as the Three Stooges Stairs (which involves ice.) Here’s what Pauley had to tell us about his journey and discoveries:

courtesy Jim Pauley (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)