Shemp Howard..

Shemp, the oldest of the Stooges,  was born Samuel Horwitz in 1895. Samuel received the nickname Shemp from his friends when he was very young.  When his mother would holler for him, she would yell "Sam," and with her thick European accent it sounded like "Shemp."  So the name stuck. 

As a child, Shemp was very mischievious.  He was always getting into trouble or playing some kind of a practical joke on someone.  By his teen years, Shemp had outgrown most of his mischief-making.  It was thought by many back then that Shemp would make it big as an actor or comedian, but Shemp didn't seem interested in that, until Moe turned him on to comedy.  Shemp, like Moe, never finished high school.

Because he never finished school, Shemp tried a variety of different jobs, including plumbing and delivering newspapers, but after a while he realized that the only thing he could succeed at was the theatre.

Moe and Shemp tried out their act on amateur night in their home-town theatre, and they were so bad that they were thrown out of the theatre. This devastated Shemp, but Moe made him realize that at least he actually made it up on stage. (Shemp used to suffer from stage fright.)

They improved their act, and in 1917 they started touring with different theatre circuits doing a blackface act.  They continued this until 1922, which was the year they joined Ted Healy. 

Shemp stayed with Moe and Ted Healy until 1925.  He then left the act  to form his own act with fellow vaudevillian Jack Waldron, and he was replaced by Larry Fine.  It was also in 1925 that Shemp married his wife, Gertrude Frank.  The two had a son, Morton, in 1927.

Shemp rejoined Ted Healy in 1927 when Moe and Larry left the act temporarily, and the two starred in the Broadway musical "A Night in Spain" in 1928.  Moe and Larry rejoined Ted and Shemp in 1929. Shemp and the other Stooges made their big screen debut in 1930 in a film called "Soup to Nuts." 

In 1932, the boys were scheduled to appear in the Broadway musical "J.J. Shubert's Passing Show of 1932," but Ted found a better deal with another theatre circuit and got out of his contract with the Shubert show, taking Moe and Larry with him.  Shemp, however, was sick of Healy's dealings and stayed behind in the Shubert show.

Shemp embarked on a very successful solo career starting in 1932.  He appeared in several Abbott and Costello features including "In the Navy" and "Africa Screams," which also featured Joe Besser.  He also played the role of Knobby Walsh in the Joe Palooka series.

Those who knew Shemp said he was the nicest and most caring of all the Stooges.  They also say that he was the funniest behind the scenes, even funnier than Curly, who was said to be more serious when the cameras weren't rolling.  Shemp was also scared of everything, even his own shadow.  He hated to ride in a car, and he even hated water.  He hated to fly as well, and usually traveled by train.  Shemp did love sports, however, especially boxing.

When Curly had his stroke in 1946, Moe asked Shemp to rejoin the Stooges and take Curly's place.  Shemp agreed, and was once again the third Stooge.  His first Stooges film, coincidentally, dealt with his favorite sport, boxing.  It was called "Fright Night."  Shemp made 73 short subjects with Moe and Larry between 1946 and 1955.  The comedies with Shemp may not have been as funny as the ones with Curly, but they certainly were of higher quality.  The Stooges won the Laurel Award every year between 1950 and 1955 except for 1952.  This award was given to those whose two-reel films made the most money.

Shemp's life ended very suddenly. He was on his way home from the fights one night, not too long after the Stooges had finished their 170th short, "For Crimin' Out Loud."  He was riding in the back seat with his good friend Al Winston, when he suddenly slumped over into Al's lap, burning him with his cigar.  Shemp had suffered a massive heart attack, on November 23, 1955, and was dead at the age of 60.  Four more Stooges films featuring Shemp were made after his death.  The studio used heavy amounts of stock footage and a double who was only seen from behind.  So, Shemp appeared in a total of 77 Stooges' comedies.His favorite Stooge comedy was his first, "Fright Night" (1947).

The debate as to whether Shemp or Curly was the funnier Stooge continues to this day.  I don't believe it's fair to compare the two since their styles were so different.