Ted Healy and his Stooges , was a comedy group featuring Ted and Moe more Moe 's brother Shemp Howard , Larry Fine and Fred Sanborn . Shemp and Moe heckled each other to a large positive response from the audience and Healy hired Shemp as a permanent part of the act . Next , Healy recruited a vaudeville violinist , Larry Fine , in 1925 , to join the comedy troupe , which was billed as `` Ted Healy and His Racketeers '' ( later changed to Ted Healy and His Stooges ) .