Talk:Larry Fine

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If he thought the acid was a cool drink, why did he put it on his arm?

What happened was Larry was going to drink it when his father smacked it out of his hand. Some of the acid landed on his arm, causing the burns.

Contents 1 pro boxer 2 Died in 1975 or 1990? 3 Stimpy 4 Sections 5 Requested move 5.1 Survey 5.2 Discussion

[edit] pro boxer

why did someone take out my text about him being a pro boxer. this is true and there is numerous written evidence to support this i am not making it up. Scapone

I can't speak for the person who reverted your text, Scapone, but I searched and found back-up for your bit about him being a boxer. I put it back in, with a citation. I find no evidence that he was suspended for dirty fighting, however. Do you have a credible source that backs that up? Rizzleboffin 23:56, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

Here's the text I removed: "At one time, Larry was also a professional boxer. He was eventually suspended from the sport for dirty tactics such as eye gouging and low blows." No reference was cited. Can you blame me for assuming this was a joke?  : ) dbtfz^talk 00:29, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

Certainly understandable, Dbtfz... I think I read about Larry being a boxer in the book his brother wrote on him. I'll look it up tomorrow, and substitute that as a more reliable source, if I find it. I suspect the part about Larry being suspended for Stooge-like behavior in the ring, however, is either a joke or a a bit of creativity on the part of Scapone's memory. Rizzleboffin 02:53, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

Here are two passages on Larry's boxing career:

"But now, it was time to pick a special sport: a sport that he would want to concentrate a lot of time and energy on, a sport that would make maximum use of his arms. Tennis, say. Or golf. Larry chose boxing.

By the age of 14, Larry had become a real terror in the ring. I was taller than Larry at this point, but I sure didn't pick on him.

He had joined a local gymnasium and made friends with its manager, a boxing promoter named Philip Glassman. Mr. Glassman had taken him under his wing, and soon he was sparring with the best in the business. The guy who led the calisthenics training was Benny Bass, who went on to become featherweight champion of the world.

Sometimes, vaudeville theaters would raise all their back-drops and show a few amateur fights in the middle of their shows. And Larry fought in a few of those. But Mother and Dad were opposed to Larry boxing in public. So Larry adopted the name, "Kid Roth," and hoped for the best.

Dad found out, though. Another jeweler dropped by his shop and niadvertently blew the whistle: "Hey, Joe, I see your kid's going pro next weekend! He did pretty well against the Zimmerman kid last night. But do you reallyt hink he's ready for a pro match?"

Dad was furious. Larry fought his professional match and won. But Dad was in attendance. And at the end of the fight, he dragged an embarrassed Larry out of the ring by his ear.

It was his last fight. True, he had beaten his scheduled opponent, but when he and Dad left no one could say he was retiring undefeated."

• Feinburg, Morris et. al. (2001). Larry the Stooge in the Middle. Last Gasp. ISBN 0867193085. 

p.22

"He also took up boxing during his formative years, primarily to further strengthen his arm.

As was the case with the violin, Feinberg was a quick study. After training alongside such fighters as featherweight champion Benny Bass, he began taking amateur fights as a teen, showing promise. Until his father found out.

Clearly feeling that his son's future was in music, the elder Feinberg tracked him down to a gym. After watching his son win by early knock-out, Feinberg cornered the youth and threatened to clean his clock. The boxing career was over, though learning to take a punch would certainly come in handy when he became a human punching bag for Healy and later Moe."

• Fleming, Michael (1999). The Three Stooges : An Illustrated History, from Amalgamated Morons to American Icons. Doubleday. ISBN 0385488807. 

p.15

So, it seems that his brief boxing career is factual, but it was put to an end by his father, rather than due to suspension for dirty fighting. I'll touch up the bit on his boxing in the article. Rizzleboffin 22:17, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

Nice job on the research! dbtfz^talk 01:04, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Died in 1975 or 1990?

The article says he died in 1975 and in 1990. Which is it? --Mrwojo 23:41, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

He died in 1975, the same year that Moe did.144.126.161.43 15:10, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

>>RIP Larry! I almost laughed out loud when I saw your wiki-picture. Thanks for the childhood memories.

[edit] Stimpy

Would it be appropriate to include the info that voice actor Billy West's characterization for Stimpy from the Ren and Stimpy cartoons was based on Larry Fine? He was one of the only people around doing a Larry Fine impression (which was flawless) and he simply raised the pitch of it to fit Stimpy.

I suppose so.144.126.161.43 15:10, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sections

Can someone split this article into sections? Currently, it's lead-TOC-trivia-etc., which means the majority of the article is in the lead. Which is bad. — SheeEttin {T/C} 23:09, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Requested move