Various references to The Three Stooges in Pynchon's work
"'We were at the MGM Grand, I was playing one of the Stooges slots, had just got three Larrys, a Moe, and a pie on the payline, turned around to share my good fortune, Shae and Bruno were nowhere in sight. Collected my Jackpot, went looking all over for them, they were gone. I always imagined if they ever did run out , I'd be left in some embarrassing public situation, handcuffed to a lamppost or whatever. But there I was, free as any normal citizen, with the room paid up and enough casino credit to last me a couple of days anyway.'"
(Bleeding Edge, p. 405)
"When they were introduced next morning at breakfast, she saw this shorter, older guy wearing a truly gross suit, in synthetic fabric but printed to look like some tweed of bright powder-blue flecks against a liver colored background. The pants bagged at the knees. DL leaned lightly on his shoulder and looked down at him, a little apologetic. 'Just got to keep an eye on his feet, you'll be fine,' as Takeshi took Prairie's hand and leered genially. 'Here,' DL reaching over and swiftly brushing bangs down over his eyebrows while he tried, muttering, to push her away, 'who's he remind you of?'
'Moe!' Prairie cried.
He winked. 'What's she been tellin' ya, Toots?'
'All about it,' said DL."
(Vineland, p. 149)
I swear he also referenced them an additional handful of times in his other novels. Maybe Inherent Vice? Shadow Ticket? Gravity's Rainbow? I just really love how he references all these little bits of pop culture and television in a very unabashed and cheeky way.