Joe DeRita Autographs
Joseph Wardell (July 12, 1909 – July 3, 1993), known professionally as Joe DeRita, was an American actor and comedian, who is best known for his stint as a member of The Three Stooges in the persona of Curly Joe DeRita.
DeRita was born into a show-business family in Philadelphia, the son of Florenz (née DeRita) and Frank Wardell, and of French-Canadian and English ancestry. He was the youngest of 5 brothers. Wardell's father was a stage technician, his mother a professional stage dancer, and the three often acted on stage together from his early childhood. Taking his mother's maiden name, DeRita, the actor joined the burlesque circuit during the 1920s, gaining fame as a comedian. During World War II, DeRita joined the USO, performing throughout Britain, France, and the Pacific with such celebrities as Bing Crosby and Randolph Scott. In the 1944 comedy film The Doughgirls, about the housing shortage in wartime Washington, D.C., he had an uncredited role as "the Stranger", a bewildered man who repeatedly showed up in scenes looking for a place to sleep.
In 1946, DeRita was hired by Columbia Pictures Short Subjects Division head/director Jules White to star in his own series of comedies. The first effort, Slappily Married, was released under the studio's All-Star Comedy series. The three remaining entries—The Good Bad Egg, Wedlock Deadlock (both 1947) and Jitter Bughouse (1948)—billed DeRita as the headliner. Regarding his Columbia shorts series, DeRita said, "My comedy in those scripts was limited to getting hit on the head with something, then going over to my screen wife to say, 'Honey, don't leave me!' For this kind of comedy material, you could have gotten a busboy to do it and it would have been just as funny." After his contract with Columbia ended, DeRita returned to burlesque and recorded a risque LP in 1950 called Burlesque Uncensored.
Read more about Joe DeRita on Wikipedia
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Traded items with a signature of Joe DeRita
The most expensive item with a signature of Joe DeRita (MOE HOWARD Signed Letter w/1959 Fleer Set & Curly Joe DeRita Content BAS Slabbed) was sold in August 2022 for $1,195.00 while the cheapest item (Curly Joe DeRita 2.5 x 6 inch signed page autograph card) found a new owner for $4.00 in August 2021. The month with the most items sold (3) was April 2025 with an average selling price of $64.98 for an autographed item of Joe DeRita. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in January 2023 with $435.00 and the month that saw the lowest prices with $10.00 was July 2013. In average, an autographed item from Joe DeRita is worth $69.95.
Most recently, these items with a signature of Joe DeRita were sold on eBay - click here for more items.
| Picture | Item Title | Price | Store |
 | Autographed Curly Joe DeRita Signed Index Card Three Stooges d. 1993 Beckett COA | $75.00 |  |
| Autographed Curly Joe DeRita Signed Index Card Three Stooges d. 1993 Beckett COA | $75.00 | |
| Autographed Curly Joe DeRita Signed Letter Three Stooges d. 1988 Beckett COA | $75.00 | |
| Autographed Curly Joe DeRita Signed Letter Three Stooges d. 1988 Beckett COA | $75.00 | |
 | Curly Joe Derita - Actor - 3x5 Card - Signature - Autograph (e) | $64.98 | |
| Curly Joe Derita - Actor - 3x5 Card - Signature - Autograph (e) | $64.98 | |
 | Curly Joe Derita - Actor - 3x5 Card - Signature - Autograph (f) | $64.98 | |
| Curly Joe Derita - Actor - 3x5 Card - Signature - Autograph (f) | $64.98 | |
 | Curly Joe Derita - Actor - 3x5 Card - Signature - Autograph (h) | $64.98 | |
| Curly Joe Derita - Actor - 3x5 Card - Signature - Autograph (h) | $64.98 | |
 | Curly Joe DeRita Autographed 8x10 Photo 3 Stooges Comedian Actor TV Star JSA | $204.99 | |
| Curly Joe DeRita Autographed 8x10 Photo 3 Stooges Comedian Actor TV Star JSA | $204.99 | |
| Curly Joe DeRita The Three Stooges Curly Signed Auto 3x5 Card Beckett BAS | $149.99 | |
| Curly Joe DeRita The Three Stooges Curly Signed Auto 3x5 Card Beckett BAS | $149.99 | |
| Curly-Joe DeRita Three Stooges Signed Hollywood Comedy Club 1964 Membership Card | $435.00 | |
