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Joe DeRita

Joe DeRita

Actor · Died July 3, 1993, aged 83 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   Joe DeRita (July 12, 1909 – July 3, 1993), born Joseph Wardell, was an American comedian who is best known as Curly-Joe DeRita, the "sixth" member of the Three Stooges. DeRita was born into a show-business family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wardell's father was a stage technician, his mother a professional stage dancer, and the three often acted on stage together from his early childhood. Taking his mother's maiden name, DeRita (Portuguese), the actor joined the burlesque circuit during the 1920s, gaining fame as a comedian. During World War II, DeRita joined the USO, performing through Britain and France with such celebrities as Bing Crosby and Randolph Scott. Description above from the Wikipedia article Joe DeRita, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
July 12, 1909
Died
July 3, 1993 (aged 83)
From
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Works as
Actor
Titles
12 on MovieCove · 35 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 38 days to Oct 27Down 10% in 30 days

What are Joe DeRita's films like?

Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Power.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
48%
Power
18%
Society
18%
Survival
16%
Friendship3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 6 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 6 · Serious 0 · Dark 0

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 3 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 3

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 1 · Intense 0

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 3 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1

Funny: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their funny movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 6

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 6 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 6 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

5 analyzed roles

Usually the Ally: 3 of 5 analyzed roles.

Ally
3 of 5
Trickster
1 of 5
Hero
1 of 5

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
6
Absurd
4
Romantic
1
Warm
1

How their films linger

Feel-good6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy6

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Joe DeRita's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Joe DeRita's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

35 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page; 5 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Hey Moe, Hey Dad!(2015)

    Show 24 episodes · as Curly-Joe (archive footage)

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows

  • The Three Stooges 75th Anniversary Special(2003)

    as Joe (archive footage)

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • The Three Stooges Funniest Moments - Volume I (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    as Curly-Joe (archive footage) (uncredited)

  • The Three Stooges Funniest Moments - Volume II (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    as Curly-Joe (archive footage) (uncredited)

  • The Three Stooges Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    as Curly-Joe (archive footage) (uncredited)

  • The Three Stooges: Kings Of Laughter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    as Joe (archive footage) (uncredited)

  • The Three Stooges Greatest Hits! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    as (archive footage)

  • Kook's Tour (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)

    as Curly-Joe

  • Star Spangled Salesman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)

    as Curly Joe

  • The Outlaws Is Coming(1964)

    as Curly-Joe

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • The New 3 Stooges (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    Show 156 episodes · as Curly Joe (voice)

  • 4 for Texas(1963)

    as Painting Deliveryman

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

  • It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World(1963)

    as Airport Firemen #3

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • The Three Stooges Scrapbook (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    as Curly-Joe

  • The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    as Curly-Joe

  • The Three Stooges in Orbit(1962)

    as Curly-Joe

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • The Three Stooges Meet Hercules(1962)

    as Curly Joe

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Snow White and the Three Stooges(1961)

    as Curley-Joe

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films

  • Have Rocket -- Will Travel(1959)

    as Curley-Joe

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • The Bravados(1958)

    as Tony Mirabel (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Coroner Creek (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)

    as Jack the Bartender

  • Jitter Bughouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)

    as Joe

  • Wedlock Deadlock (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)

    as Eddie

  • The Good Bad Egg (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)

    as Joe Priggle

  • Slappily Married (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)

    as Joe Bates

  • High School Hero (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)

    as Tiny

  • The French Key (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)

    as Fox

  • People Are Funny(1946)

    as Mr. Hinkley (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films

  • The Sailor Takes a Wife (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1945)

    as Waiter

  • The Doughgirls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    as Snoring Man

  • Thank Your Lucky Stars(1943)

    as Meek Man (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • The Three Stooges (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    Show 190 episodes · as Curly Joe

  • The Three Stooges + Comedy Gold Standard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show as Joe

  • The Time Element (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    as Man at Bar

Career shape

Star power in the 73rd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 35 titles, 33 of them dated from 1934 to 2015.

Highest rated

The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962)

Midcredits 53rd

Most popular right now

Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961)

Film career

  • 1948Screen debut· Coroner Creek

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting35 of 35: 35 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score47th

By decade

1930s1 · acting1940s11 · acting1950s3 · acting1960s10 · acting1970s1 · acting1990s1 · acting2000s5 · acting2010s1 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Joe DeRita's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 41st percentile, the median of all 11; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 39th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

39thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Approval · how many liked their films

36thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Reach · how many have seen their films

45thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Midcredits score across 12 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th4
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

6 of their 12 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Crowd Pleaser3
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed6

Most divisive · actor

Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961)

66th percentile spread · 32% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Hey Moe, Hey Dad! (2015)

Midcredits 92nd · 85% liked

Reviewers score the acting 53/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles; fans 66, detractors 36. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Joe DeRita work with?

People who share at least 2 of Joe DeRita's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Larry Fine shares the most, 6.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors