March Matchups: Abbott & Costello vs. Laurel & Hardy vs. The Three Stooges with Peter Sellers as Special Referee

I’m a big fan of “fatal four-way” and “triple threat” matches, so I decided to put together a “triple threat” match of the comedy teams here at the Big Dick Dudley Memorial Coliseum. Our latest installment in March Matchups features Abbott & Costello vs. Laurel & Hardy vs. The Three Stooges. I’ve asked Billy Barty to take a breather from his officiating duties to allow Peter Sellers to work this bout.

Bud Abbott & Lou Costello are probably most widely-known for their “Who’s On First?” baseball routine. Yet, they have been in countless movies and also had their own show on radio and television. My favorite movie that they were in is Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, but one that doesn’t get too much attention that is R.O.F.L.M.A.O. funny is Who Done It? A radio play, a murder and Bud Abbott and Lou Costello equals nonstop laughter and that’s what you will get in Who Done It!

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were in the classic, March of the Wooden Soldiers, made in 1934. It seems like around the holidays this movie was always a staple on WPIX in New York during the 1980’s. Although I think it’s a very funny and highly creative movie, I never really found the duo to be too funny in some of their other forays.

The Three Stooges (Moe, Larry and Curly, but actually six if you count Joe, "Curly-Joe" and Shemp) would have the advantage in a wrestling match if they were able to disguise their moves from the referee. I mean the trio was way ahead of the times in their use of “foreign objects” such as frying pans and the like. So that’s why I went out and got such an outstanding referee in Peter Sellers. We all know him for his role as the bumbling “Inspector Clouseau” in The Pink Panther. Or perhaps you remember him for his portrayal of three different characters in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. But I’ll give you one that may have slipped under the radar, A Shot in the Dark, which is actually the second film in the Pink Panther series. Funny, funny, funny!

Sellers maintains order throughout this contest, although there are some “guaranteed laughs.” But in the end, straight man Bud Abbott and his portly buddy Lou Costello get the duke.