Emil Sitka
Encyclopedia
Emil Sitka was a veteran American
actor
who appeared in hundreds of movies, short films, and television shows, and is best known for his numerous appearances with the Three Stooges
—nearly 40. He is one of only two actors to have worked with all six Stooges (Shemp Howard, Moe Howard
, Larry Fine
, Curly Howard
, Joe Besser
, Curly Joe DeRita
) on film in the various incarnations of the group (Harold Brauer
was the other). He is remembered mostly for a line of dialogue he keeps repeating in the Three Stooges short, Brideless Groom
, where he appears as the justice of the peace attempting to marry Shemp and Dee Green
: "Hold hands, you lovebirds!"
in 1915. He was the oldest of five children. His father, a coal miner, died of black lung disease
when Sitka was 12 years old, and his mother was hospitalized, unable to take care of the children. His siblings were placed in foster homes, but Sitka went to live in a church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
with a Catholic priest for the next few years. At this time, he became an altar boy and made plans to enter the priesthood, and had his first acting opportunity in the church's annual Passion Play. At the age of 16, he and one of his brothers traveled across the U.S.A., riding the rails hobo-style, looking for work. After a year, they returned to Pittsburgh, where Sitka found a job working in a factory. He stayed there until the great St. Patrick's Day Pittsburgh Flood of 1936, after which he departed to pursue his dream of acting in Hollywood, California.
. He was told to contact Jules White
, director of many of the Three Stooges short films and head of Columbia Shorts Department, to be cast in a short film that White was directing — starring Barbara Jo Allen
as her character "Vera Vague", not the Three Stooges. The short film, Hiss and Yell, was nominated for an Academy Award. Several months and many films later, he was cast in his first Three Stooges film — Half-Wits Holiday
. At the time, Sitka did not know who the Three Stooges were.
. It was a remake of their Hoi Polloi
. Both films were adaptations of George Bernard Shaw
's play Pygmalion
(1913). The Three Stooges' films dealt with the idea that two professors bet on the outcome of turning the Three Stooges into gentlemen—with predictable results. Sitka played Sappington, the upper-crust butler, who was an excellent foil for the Three Stooges—and the target of several pies as well. Sitka's most famous scene was when he approached a woman with a cocktail and stated, "Your drink madam," and was plastered with a pie. Without changing expression he says, "Pardon me madam" and walks off.
Despite this bittersweet beginning, Sitka went on to appear in dozens of Three Stooges short films, as well as most of their feature films and the live action segments for The New Three Stooges
1965 cartoon series. He worked in both short films and feature films with others as well, including Lucille Ball
, Milton Berle
, Red Skelton
, Tony Curtis
, Alan Hale
, Walter Brennan
, Dan Blocker
, Joey Bishop
, Bob Denver
, and many others. However, Sitka is best remembered for his association with the Three Stooges, and with one line in particular which he repeated several times: "Hold hands, you lovebirds!" from Brideless Groom
.
Larry Fine
had suffered a stroke during the filming of Kook's Tour
. Plans were in the works for Sitka to replace him as the Middle Stooge in 1971, but nothing other than a promotional picture was ever made. Sitka named his character "Harry" (rhymes with "Larry"). Two feature film offers for the Stooges had been considered, but this proposed version of the group would never transpire. One of the film offers was Blazing Stewardesses
, which would go on to feature the surviving members of the Ritz Brothers
.
, Shemp Howard must be married before 6:00 p.m. in order to inherit $500,000.00. After striking out, Shemp finally finds a girl willing to marry him, and they rush off to a justice of the peace (Sitka). As he starts the ceremony, initially telling the couple to "join hands, you lovebirds", the other girls that turned down Shemp's proposal burst in, having heard of the inheritance. A free-for-all then ensues, with poor Sitka being struck again and again, attempting to start the ceremony, each time more disheveled and his "hold hands, you lovebirds" a bit weaker.
Because of the widespread distribution of this short (it is one of four Three Stooges shorts that slipped into public domain
and was broadcast countless times on local television stations as a result—one station in Richmond, Virginia
ran it almost every Sunday afternoon for years in the 1980s), this scene is the one that Sitka has become best known for.
Notably, a clip of this short is featured in Pulp Fiction
, for which Sitka's name even appears in the credits as "Hold Hands You Lovebirds". He continued his association with the Stooges for the next 25 years, and in 1975, was offered the chance to finally join the trio.
Sitka had six children: daughters Eelonka and Little-Star; and sons Rudigor, Storm, Darrow, and Saxon. Saxon carries on his father's legacy by appearing at Stooge conventions as often as possible.
and never regained consciousness. He died peacefully on January 16, 1998 in Camarillo, California
. As a tribute to his tenure with the Stooges, Sitka's gravestone reads "Hold hands, you lovebirds!"
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who appeared in hundreds of movies, short films, and television shows, and is best known for his numerous appearances with the Three Stooges
Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...
—nearly 40. He is one of only two actors to have worked with all six Stooges (Shemp Howard, Moe Howard
Moe Howard
Moses Harry Horwitz , known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television for four decades...
, Larry Fine
Larry Fine
Louis Feinberg , known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American comedian and actor, who is best known as a member of the comedy act The Three Stooges.-Early life:...
, Curly Howard
Curly Howard
Jerome Lester "Jerry" Horwitz , better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and vaudevillian. He is best known as a member of the American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges, along with his older brothers Moe Howard and Shemp Howard, and actor Larry Fine...
, Joe Besser
Joe Besser
Joe Besser was an American comedian, known for his impish humor and wimpy characters, and is now best remembered for his brief stint as a member of the Three Stooges in movie short subjects of 1957-59...
, Curly Joe DeRita
Curly Joe DeRita
Joe DeRita , born Joseph Wardell, was an American comedian who is best known as Curly-Joe DeRita, the "sixth" member of the Three Stooges.-Early life:...
) on film in the various incarnations of the group (Harold Brauer
Tiny Brauer
Tiny Brauer was an American film actor. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Brauer appeared in over 20 films between 1946 and 1966.-Career:...
was the other). He is remembered mostly for a line of dialogue he keeps repeating in the Three Stooges short, Brideless Groom
Brideless Groom
Brideless Groom is the 101st short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
, where he appears as the justice of the peace attempting to marry Shemp and Dee Green
Dee Green
Dee Green was an American actress who primarily worked with the Three Stooges. As such, she is perhaps best known as the foremost of Shemp's plethora of potential brides, the plain, tall and fawning Miss Fanny Dinkelmeyer, in the comedy short Brideless Groom Dee Green (November 16, 1916April 24,...
: "Hold hands, you lovebirds!"
Early life
Sitka, whose numerous appearances with the Three Stooges earned him the nickname "the Fourth Stooge," was born in Johnstown, PennsylvaniaJohnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...
in 1915. He was the oldest of five children. His father, a coal miner, died of black lung disease
Coalworker's pneumoconiosis
Coal workers' pneumoconiosis , colloquially referred to as black lung disease, is caused by long exposure to coal dust. It is a common affliction of coal miners and others who work with coal, similar to both silicosis from inhaling silica dust, and to the long-term effects of tobacco smoking...
when Sitka was 12 years old, and his mother was hospitalized, unable to take care of the children. His siblings were placed in foster homes, but Sitka went to live in a church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
with a Catholic priest for the next few years. At this time, he became an altar boy and made plans to enter the priesthood, and had his first acting opportunity in the church's annual Passion Play. At the age of 16, he and one of his brothers traveled across the U.S.A., riding the rails hobo-style, looking for work. After a year, they returned to Pittsburgh, where Sitka found a job working in a factory. He stayed there until the great St. Patrick's Day Pittsburgh Flood of 1936, after which he departed to pursue his dream of acting in Hollywood, California.
Early acting experience
Sitka found inexpensive lodging in a small acting theater, doing handiwork to pay his rent, and gradually acting in small parts in the theater. With time and experience, the parts became larger, and eventually Sitka was directing plays as well. Since the theater did not pay, Emil always kept a job as a civil engineer to pay the bills as well as his acting career at night. By 1946, he had played dozens, if not hundreds of roles; this breadth of experience would help him in his later film career, playing everything from butler to lawyer to businessman to construction worker.In films
In 1946, Sitka was leading his own acting troupe when he was spotted by a talent scout for Columbia PicturesColumbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
. He was told to contact Jules White
Jules White
Jules White born Julius Weiss was a film director and producer best known for his short-subject comedies starring the Three Stooges.-Early years:...
, director of many of the Three Stooges short films and head of Columbia Shorts Department, to be cast in a short film that White was directing — starring Barbara Jo Allen
Barbara Jo Allen
Barbara Jo Allen was an actress also known as Vera Vague, the spinster character she created and portrayed on radio and in films during the 1940s and 1950s. She based the character on a woman she had seen delivering a PTA literature lecture in a confused manner...
as her character "Vera Vague", not the Three Stooges. The short film, Hiss and Yell, was nominated for an Academy Award. Several months and many films later, he was cast in his first Three Stooges film — Half-Wits Holiday
Half-Wits Holiday
Half-Wits Holiday is the 97th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
. At the time, Sitka did not know who the Three Stooges were.
Sitka's first Three Stooges film—and Curly Howard's last
Sitka's first Three Stooges' film was Half-Wits HolidayHalf-Wits Holiday
Half-Wits Holiday is the 97th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
. It was a remake of their Hoi Polloi
Hoi polloi
Hoi polloi , an expression meaning "the many", or in the strictest sense, "the majority" in Greek, is used in English to denote "the masses" or "the people", usually in a derogatory sense. Synonyms for "hoi polloi" include ".....
. Both films were adaptations of George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's play Pygmalion
Pygmalion (play)
Pygmalion: A Romance in Five Acts is a play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of...
(1913). The Three Stooges' films dealt with the idea that two professors bet on the outcome of turning the Three Stooges into gentlemen—with predictable results. Sitka played Sappington, the upper-crust butler, who was an excellent foil for the Three Stooges—and the target of several pies as well. Sitka's most famous scene was when he approached a woman with a cocktail and stated, "Your drink madam," and was plastered with a pie. Without changing expression he says, "Pardon me madam" and walks off.
Despite this bittersweet beginning, Sitka went on to appear in dozens of Three Stooges short films, as well as most of their feature films and the live action segments for The New Three Stooges
The New Three Stooges
The New Three Stooges is a syndicated television program that ran from 1965-1966 starring the Three Stooges. The show follows the trio's antics both in live-action and animated segments. The cast consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly-Joe DeRita, with actor and close friend Emil Sitka...
1965 cartoon series. He worked in both short films and feature films with others as well, including Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
, Milton Berle
Milton Berle
Milton Berlinger , better known as Milton Berle, was an American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater , in 1948 he was the first major star of U.S. television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr...
, Red Skelton
Red Skelton
Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American comedian who is best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing...
, Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
, Alan Hale
Alan Hale, Sr.
Alan Hale, Sr. was an American movie actor and director, most widely remembered for his many supporting character roles, in particular as frequent sidekick of Errol Flynn. His wife of over thirty years was Gretchen Hartman , a child actress and silent film player and mother of their three children...
, Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
, Dan Blocker
Dan Blocker
Dan Blocker was an American actor best remembered for his role as Eric "Hoss" Cartwright in the NBC western television series Bonanza.-Early life:...
, Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop was an American entertainer who was perhaps best known for being a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin...
, Bob Denver
Bob Denver
Robert Osbourne "Bob" Denver was an American comedic actor known for his roles as Gilligan on the television series Gilligan's Island and the beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 TV series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.-Early life:Denver was born in New Rochelle, New York, and raised in...
, and many others. However, Sitka is best remembered for his association with the Three Stooges, and with one line in particular which he repeated several times: "Hold hands, you lovebirds!" from Brideless Groom
Brideless Groom
Brideless Groom is the 101st short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
.
Almost a Middle Stooge
Larry Fine (actor)
Louis Feinberg , known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American comedian and actor, who is best known as a member of the comedy act The Three Stooges.-Early life:...
had suffered a stroke during the filming of Kook's Tour
Kook's Tour
Kook's Tour is the title of an American short comedy film produced in late 1969 and early 1970. It was the final film to star the Three Stooges and originally intended as part of a television series. However, on January 9, 1970, before filming was completed, Larry Fine suffered a severe stroke,...
. Plans were in the works for Sitka to replace him as the Middle Stooge in 1971, but nothing other than a promotional picture was ever made. Sitka named his character "Harry" (rhymes with "Larry"). Two feature film offers for the Stooges had been considered, but this proposed version of the group would never transpire. One of the film offers was Blazing Stewardesses
Blazing Stewardesses
Blazing Stewardesses is a 1975 sex comedy film that reunited the last remaining members of the Ritz Brothers comedy team. Originally, the film was to have starred the Three Stooges featuring Moe Howard, Emil Sitka , and Curly Joe DeRita, but Howard's illness led to the Ritz Brothers being brought...
, which would go on to feature the surviving members of the Ritz Brothers
Ritz Brothers
The Ritz Brothers were an American comedy team who appeared in films, and as live performers from 1925 to the late 1960s.Although there were four brothers, the sons of Austrian-born haberdasher Max Joachim and his wife Pauline, only three of them performed together. There was also a sister,...
.
"Hold hands, you lovebirds"
In the 1947 Three Stooges short Brideless GroomBrideless Groom
Brideless Groom is the 101st short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
, Shemp Howard must be married before 6:00 p.m. in order to inherit $500,000.00. After striking out, Shemp finally finds a girl willing to marry him, and they rush off to a justice of the peace (Sitka). As he starts the ceremony, initially telling the couple to "join hands, you lovebirds", the other girls that turned down Shemp's proposal burst in, having heard of the inheritance. A free-for-all then ensues, with poor Sitka being struck again and again, attempting to start the ceremony, each time more disheveled and his "hold hands, you lovebirds" a bit weaker.
Because of the widespread distribution of this short (it is one of four Three Stooges shorts that slipped into public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
and was broadcast countless times on local television stations as a result—one station in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
ran it almost every Sunday afternoon for years in the 1980s), this scene is the one that Sitka has become best known for.
Notably, a clip of this short is featured in Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction (film)
Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
, for which Sitka's name even appears in the credits as "Hold Hands You Lovebirds". He continued his association with the Stooges for the next 25 years, and in 1975, was offered the chance to finally join the trio.
Later years
Sitka continued with the acting career, more out of love for acting than the need for money (including a cameo as a supermarket customer in the 1989 horror film Intruder, in which he said his signature line), appearing in films as late as 1992. He was in demand at various Three Stooges conventions, and had numerous requests from Three Stooges fans to appear at their wedding to say "Hold hands, you lovebirds!"Personal life
Sitka and first wife Donna Driscoll married in the 1940s and divorced in the 1960s. He married longtime girlfriend Edith Weber in the 1970s; they were married until her death in 1981.Sitka had six children: daughters Eelonka and Little-Star; and sons Rudigor, Storm, Darrow, and Saxon. Saxon carries on his father's legacy by appearing at Stooge conventions as often as possible.
Death
While hosting several Stooge fans in his home in June 1997, Sitka suffered a massive strokeStroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
and never regained consciousness. He died peacefully on January 16, 1998 in Camarillo, California
Camarillo, California
Camarillo is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The population was 65,201 at the 2010 census, up from 57,084 at the 2000 census. The Ventura Freeway Camarillo is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The population was 65,201 at the 2010 census, up from 57,084 at...
. As a tribute to his tenure with the Stooges, Sitka's gravestone reads "Hold hands, you lovebirds!"