been reduced and Curly Joe divided much of the comedy with Moe. Curly Joe also showed more backbone, even occasionally talking back to Moe, calling him "buddy boy". Gradual decline Through the 1960s, DeRita remained a member of the team, participating in a full workload of television apprearances and commercials, a multiyear movie deal until 1965, and The New Three Stooges animated cartoons series (with live-action introductions). However, Larry Fine suffered a paralyzing stroke in January 1970 (he died on January 24, 1975, at the age of 72) during the production of Kook's Tour, a pilot for a planned TV series, putting all new Stooges-related material on hold. Emil Sitka was twice named as "the middle stooge", but never got to perform with the team. Shortly after Larry's stroke, Moe, Emil, and Joe were going to appear in a movie written by Moe's grandson, but financing fell through. Before Moe's death on May 4, 1975, at age 77, the Stooges (with Sitka set to succeed the deceased Larry) had planned to film an R-rated movie called The Jet Set (later produced with the surviving members of the Ritz Brothers and released as Blazing Stewardesses). In the very early 1970s, with Moe's blessing, DeRita attempted to form a truly "new" Three Stooges. He recruited burlesque and vaudeville veterans Mousie Garner and Frank Mitchell to replace Moe and Larry for nightclub engagements. However, their act was poorly received, thereby ending the group. Mitchell had worked with original Stooges organizer Ted Healy decades earlier in an abortive attempt to replace the Stooges after they had split from Healy, in addition to having replaced Shemp as the "third stooge" in a 1929 Broadway play. Mousie Garner had also participated in a substitute Stooges iteration after the Stooges split from Healy. On August 30, 1983, the Three Stooges received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Joe Besser was the only Stooge to show up at the ceremony because of DeRita's illness; Stooges longtime supporting player Emil Sitka spoke for him. Sometime after the new star award, Besser eventually fell ill which led to his death from heart failure on March 1, 1988, at age 80. DeRita was the last Stooge to be born, the last to join the ensemble, and the last to die. Personal life DeRita was married twice. His first marriage was to a chorus girl named Bonnie Brooks (real name