As to fake, well, the famous "stooge slap" was a real slap--In his autobiography,Mousie Garner, who continued as a Stooge with Ted Healy when Howard/Fine/Howard went to Hollywood talked about the technique for rolling with the slap, and what it was like if you didn't see it coming--

Mousie was also a great comic piano player, and worked with Spike Jones---he was asked to take Curly's place in the movies but Jones wouldn't let him break his contract--he died this year, and was the last Stooge to go--