SPRING HOUSE, Pa. — Posing for a picture with life-size statues of the Three Stooges, Gary Lassin smiled but didn't say "cheese."
"Woob-woob-woob-woob-woob!" he trilled in a Curly-like falsetto before breaking into a grin.
Larry, Moe and Curly are near the entrance to the Stoogeum, home of Lassin's large and priceless collection of Stooges memorabilia.
The Stoogeum (think "Stooges" plus "museum") has about 3,500 items on display, from Stooges bowling balls and cereal boxes to Shemp Howard's Army discharge, Larry Fine's driver's license and the flying submarine from "The Three Stooges in Orbit."
"This is as good as it gets," Lassin said.
Lassin, 52, opened the Stoogeum three years ago in a renovated architect's office that looks like a large house. It's a gold mine for fans of the old-time knucklehead movie and TV trio, but its off-the-beaten-path location in Spring House — about 25 miles north of Philadelphia — has made it a fairly well-kept secret.
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"People sort of have to work to find me," Lassin said. "I do want people to see it, but I want them to see it on my terms."
Those terms include no photographs of the memorabilia, as he fears too much exposure will cheapen it. And admission is by appointment only because Lassin, who has a day job as an executive with a mail-order catalog company, is the Stoogeum's sole employee.
The museum-quality exhibits occupy three stories totaling 10,000 square feet, including an 85-seat theater. Rooms are filled with movie props, posters, toys, artwork, figurines, scripts and even a video game, while TV screens replay all the eye-poking, pie-throwing and general mayhem that made the Stooges famous.
The Stoogeum has "more stuff than I even imagined existed," said Peter Seely, co-editor of the book "Stoogeology: Essays on the Three Stooges" (McFarland & Company; $35). "Going through there is sort of like a trip through the history of pop culture in the 20th century."
Yet, what visitors see is only a sampling of Lassin's estimated 100,000 items. His collection is both historical and personal, documenting the slapstick performers' indelible place in entertainment but also preserving a family legacy: Lassin's wife's grandfather, Morris Feinberg, was the brother of Stooge Larry (born Louis Feinberg).
Lassin was already a Stooges fan — "Soitenly!" he said — when he married into the family in 1981. He later became a sort of self-appointed guardian of Stooges keepsakes, which included items Morris Feinberg had received from his brother.
Eventually, said Lassin, the museum might have employees and regular business hours a few days a week. He would seem to be guaranteed a steady stream of visitors since the Stooges' zany antics, even though decades old, continue to win them admirers.
"Their comedy is timeless," said Seely, the editor. "They were misfits wherever they were. . . . You can plop them down in just about any time or place and they'll struggle with their environment. They could still do films today."
For Lassin, their appeal is even easier to explain.
"They were funny. It's as simple as that," he said. "Laughter makes you feel good."
Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!
online
Check the Stooges out at www.stoogeum.com and www.threestooges.com.
