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Shemp Howard

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Shemp Howard
Howard in Brideless Groom in 1947
Born
Samuel Horwitz

(1895-03-11)March 11, 1895
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedNovember 22, 1955(1955-11-22) (aged 60)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • actor
Years active1923–1955
Known forThe Three Stooges
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Spouse
Gertrude Frank
​
(m. 1925)​
Children1
Relatives
Websitewww.threestooges.com

Shemp Howard (born Samuel Horwitz; March 11, 1895[1] – November 22, 1955) was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the third Stooge in The Three Stooges, a role he played when the act began in the early 1920s (1923–1932), while it was still associated with Ted Healy and known as "Ted Healy and his Stooges"; and again from 1946 until his death in 1955. During the fourteen years between his times with the Stooges, he had a successful solo career as a film comedian, including a series of shorts by himself and with partners. He reluctantly returned to the Stooges as a favor to his brother Moe and friend Larry Fine to replace his brother Curly as the third Stooge after Curly's illness.

Howard died while still a Stooge. Columbia pictures promised eight films for 1956, only four of which had been filmed while Shemp was still alive. Actor Joe Palma was hired to be Shemp's body double, and was filmed mostly from behind and with his face obscured. This act of body doubles standing in for either ill or deceased actors is now known as "Fake Shemp".

Early life

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Howard was born Samuel Horwitz on March 11, 1895 in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York.[1] He was the third of five Horwitz brothers born to Lithuanian Jewish parents Solomon Gorwitz (1872–1943) and Jennie Gorwitz (1870–1939).[2] His two younger brothers were Moses "Moe" (1897–1975) and Jerome "Curly" (1903–1952).[3]

Howard, who was named Samuel after his mother's grandfather, Shmuel, was known as Sam. However, his mother's thick accent left her unable to articulate the name Sam. Instead she pronounced it as Shem and then Shemp, the latter of which stuck as his nickname.[3]

Shemp graduated from P.S. 163 and enrolled at the Baron De Hirsch Trade School in New York where he took up plumbing.[4]

Career

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Show business

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Shemp and Moe began their career in showbusiness as a duo, eventually working alongside Ted Healy.[2] The Howard brothers were the original Stooges; Larry Fine joined them in 1928.[5] On stage, Healy sang and told jokes while his three noisy stooges got in his way, and Healy retaliated with physical and verbal abuse. Shemp played a bumbling fireman in the Stooges' first film, Soup to Nuts (1930), the only film where he played one of Healy's gang.[citation needed]

After a disagreement with Healy in August 1930, Moe, Larry and Shemp left[2] to launch their own act, "Howard, Fine & Howard", and joined the RKO vaudeville circuit. Healy was angered to learn about this, and filed a lawsuit against the three, claiming that they were using his copyrighted material, with Ted even threatening to bomb theatres they perform at, which frightened Shemp to the point of leaving the group.[6] Healy and the Stooges reconciled, but Shemp left due to Ted's aggressiveness and heavy drinking.[6]

On August 16, 1932, in a contract dispute, Healy walked out of the Shuberts' revue during rehearsals. Three days later, tired of what he considered Healy's domineering handling of the Stooges' career, Shemp left Healy's act to remain with "Passing Show", which closed in September during roadshow performances and after pan reviews in Detroit and Cincinnati. Shemp regrouped to form his own act and played on the road for a few months. He landed at Brooklyn's Vitaphone Studios for movie appearance opportunities in May 1933. When he split from Healy, Shemp was immediately replaced by his and Moe's younger brother Jerry Howard, known as Curly.[7]

The Three Stooges: 1946–1955

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Further information: The Three Stooges

In 1946, Curly suffered a severe stroke which forced him out of retirement. Moe and Larry asked Shemp to rejoin the group again. Howard was hesitant at first but Shemp agreed to fill in for Curly in Columbia's popular Stooge shorts, knowing that if he refused, Moe and Larry would be out of work.[8] He intended to stay only until Curly recovered, which never happened as Curly's health continued to worsen. Curly died on January 18, 1952, at the age of 48. Shemp agreed to remain with the group permanently.

Shemp's role as the third Stooge was much different from Curly's. His characterization was more relaxed as opposed to Curly's energetic persona. Unlike Curly, who had many distinct mannerisms, Shemp's most notable characteristic as a Stooge was a high-pitched "bee-bee-bee-bee-bee-bee!"[2] sound, a sort of soft screech done by inhaling. It was a multipurpose effect: he emitted this sound when scared, sleeping (done as a form of snoring), overtly happy, or dazed.

Shemp appeared with Moe and Larry in 77[9] short subjects, four of which were produced posthumously using stock footage. When it was time to renew the Stooges's contract, Columbia hired comedian Joe Besser to replace Shemp following his death. Columbia discontinued filming new Stooge shorts in December 1957 but continued to release them through June 1959. The Stooge shorts were still in demand for kiddie-matinée shows, and their TV revivals boosted the team's popularity to an all-time high.[10]

Personal life

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In September 1925, Shemp married Gertrude Frank (1905–1982). They had one child, Morton (1927–1972).[2]

Shemp had several phobias, including of airplanes, automobiles, dogs, and water. According to Moe's autobiography, Shemp was involved in a driving accident as a teenager and never obtained a driver's license.[11]

Death

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Crypt of Shemp Howard at Home of Peace Cemetery in East Los Angeles, California

On November 22, 1955, Shemp went out with his friends to a boxing match at the Hollywood Legion Stadium.[2] Once the fights were done, Shemp hailed a cab with Al Winston to go back home. During the drive, he lit a cigarette before suddenly collapsing into Winston’s lap.[2] He had suffered a fatal heart attack, aged 60. Howard's death date has had different dates thrown around, but an obituary appeared in the November 23 afternoon editions of Los Angeles newspapers, citing the death on the night of November 22.[12]

There have also been different accounts as to how Howard died.[13] Joan Howard Maurer, daughter of Moe, wrote in The Three Stooges Scrapbook that Shemp died of a heart attack. Shemp's daughter-in-law, Geri Greenbaum, has said she believed he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage.[13] Shemp's funeral was held at the Home of Peace Cemetery on November 24, 1955, two days after his death. Howard's funeral details published by Los Angeles Examiner: Obituary

Legacy

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The Three Stooges earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street on August 30, 1983.[14] In the television biopic The Three Stooges (2000), Shemp Howard was portrayed by John Kassir.

Fake Shemp

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Following Shemp's death, Columbia had promised exhibitors eight Three Stooges comedies for 1956, but only four were completed at the time of Shemp Howard's death. To fulfill the contract, producer Jules White manufactured four more shorts "with Shemp" by combining old footage of Howard with new connecting scenes played by a body double (longtime Stooge supporting actor Joe Palma) who is seen mostly from the back.[15] He came to be known by Stooge fans as the "Fake Shemp", a term which director Sam Raimi later coined in reference to any body double replacing an actor.[16]

These new releases of 1956 are all based on Stooge comedies of 1949. Rumpus in the Harem borrows from Malice in the Palace; Hot Stuff from Fuelin' Around; Commotion on the Ocean from Dunked in the Deep. The best-received and most technically accomplished of the four is Scheming Schemers (1956), combining new footage with recycled clips from three old Stooge shorts: A Plumbing We Will Go (1940), Half-Wits Holiday (1947) and Vagabond Loafers (1949).[17]

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Shemp with his younger brother Moe Howard and partner Larry Fine in Sing a Song of Six Pants in 1947
Shemp in Brideless Groom in 1947
Moe Howard, Shemp (bottom center), and Larry Fine in Malice in the Palace in 1949
Brideless Groom (1947)
Malice in The Palace (1949)

Filmography

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Features
Two Reelers
  • Salt Water Daffy (1933)
  • Close Relations (1933)
  • Paul Revere Jr. (1933)
  • Gobs of Fun (1933)
  • In the Dough (1933)
  • Here Comes Flossie! (1934)
  • Howd' Ya Like That? (1934)
  • Henry the Ache (1934)
  • The Wrong, Wrong Trail (1934)
  • Mushrooms (1934)
  • The Knife of the Party (1934)
  • Everybody Likes Music (1934)
  • Pugs and Kisses (1934)
  • Very Close Veins (1934)
  • Pure Feud (1934)
  • Corn on the Cop (1934)
  • I Scream (1934)
  • Rambling 'Round Radio Row # 7 (Series 2 # 1) (1934)
  • Art Trouble (1934)
  • My Mummy's Arms (1934)
  • Daredevil O'Dare (1934)
  • Smoked Hams (1934)
  • So You Won't T-T-T-Talk (1934)
  • Dizzy & Daffy (1934)
  • A Peach of a Pair (1934)
  • His First Flame (1935)
  • Convention Girl (1935)
  • Why Pay Rent? (1935)
  • Serves You Right (1935)
  • On the Wagon (1935)
  • The Officer's Mess (1935)
  • While the Cat's Away (1936)
  • For the Love of Pete (1936)
  • Absorbing Junior (1936)
  • Here's Howe (1936)
  • Punch and Beauty (1936)
  • The Choke's on You (1936)
  • The Blonde Bomber (1936)
  • Kick Me Again (1937)
  • Taking the Count (1937)
  • Hollywood Round-Up (1937)
  • Headin' East (1937)
  • The Leather Pushers (1938)
  • Home on the Rage (1938)
  • Glove Slingers (1939)
  • Money Squawks (1940)
  • The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady (1940)
  • Boobs in the Woods (1940)
  • Pleased to Mitt You (1940)
  • Pick a Peck of Plumbers (1944)
  • Open Season for Saps (1944)
  • Off Again, On Again (1945)
  • Where the Pest Begins (1945)
  • A Hit with a Miss (1945)
  • Mr. Noisy (1946)
  • Jiggers, My Wife (1946)
  • Society Mugs (1946)
  • Bride and Gloom (1947)
with The Three Stooges

References

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  1. ^ a b "Shemp's Birth Certificate". Threestooges.net. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Moe Howard". Three Stooges. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Kearns, Burt (October 1, 2024). Shemp!: The Biography of The Three Stooges' Shemp Howard, The Face of Film Comedy. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 1–3. ISBN 978-1-4930-7422-8. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  4. ^ "Shemp Howard". Three Stooges. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  5. ^ Davidson, Robert. "ThreeStooges.net :: The Three Stooges Journal – Issue No. 155".
  6. ^ a b Fleming, Michael (2002). The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons. Broadway Publishing. pp. 22, 21, 23, 25, 33, 49, 50. ISBN 0-7679-0556-3.
  7. ^ Deezen, Eddie (January 18, 2012). "The Final Years of Curly (of Three Stooges Fame)". Mental Floss. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  8. ^ Lenburg, Jeff; Maurer, Joan Howard; Lenburg, Greg (2012). Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer, Greg Lenburg. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-61374-085-9.
  9. ^ "Filmography". Three Stooges. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  10. ^ Variety, June 10, 1959, p. 5.
  11. ^ Howard, Moe (1979) [1977]. Moe Howard and the Three Stooges. Broadway Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8065-0723-1.
  12. ^ "Comic Shemp Howard of 3 Stooges Dies. Veteran Actor, 60, Stricken by Heart Attack in Auto". Los Angeles Times. November 24, 1955. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2011. Shemp Howard, 60, veteran stage and screen comedian and one of 'The Three Stooges,' died Tuesday of a heart attack.
  13. ^ a b Inc, M. Shanken Communications. "Shemp's Last Cigar". Cigar Aficionado. Retrieved March 6, 2025. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  14. ^ "The Three Stooges". walkoffame.com. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  15. ^ 1. Lenburg, 2. Howard Maurer, 3. Lenburg, 1. Jeff, 2. Joan, 3. Greg (1982). The Three Stooges Scrapbook. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-0946-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Bemler, Sir Andre (August 12, 2011). "Fake Shemp vs. Real Shemp". Sensitive Skin Magazine. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  17. ^ Forrester, Jeff (2002). Three Stooges: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Most Popular Comedy Team of All Time. Donaldson Books. pp. 151–152. ISBN 0-9715801-0-3.
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