Larry, Moe and Curly are the ones most commonly remembered as the famed comedy group The Three Stooges, and then people sometimes remember to toss Shemp Howard into the mix. It’s not that he’s forgotten but rather just doesn’t make it on to the same level of remembrance as the other three.
But for Geoff Dale, he’s hoping his new book on Shemp will help change that.
Dale, a theatre reviewer for StratfordToday.ca, has released Shemp Howard - Much More Than A Stooge because of his love of the group and the appreciation of Howard in particular. It was an idea that came to him a decade ago when the Stooges were approaching their century anniversary and Dale noticed a lack of coverage for the forgotten man.
“There were plenty of works out there about the group with individual studies dealing largely with Curly, Moe and even Larry,” he said. “Yet, no Shemp, clearly the true original. So that’s how I started. Strangely, I was suddenly contacted – almost immediately and out of the blue – by Ben Ohmart, owner of the US publisher BearManor Media. He’d been looking for a writer to tackle a Shemp project for years but with no luck. He offered me the opportunity and away I went.”
In researching Howard’s life and career, Dale reached out to as many big names as possible among the entertainment world, professors, comedians, actors and remaining family members. He found Howard’s daughter-in-law, Geri Howard Greenbaum, as well as granddaughters Jill Howard Marcus and Sandie Howard Isaac.
The information began to flow, and Dale said he drew on his own research of Howard as it was related to his work with Moe and Larry between 1946-1955. But the more he dug, the more fascinated he was with his discoveries.
“I was unaware that he appeared as a solo actor away from the trip in 105 films, some short entries with several feature-length movies,” Dale said. “Nor was I aware that he brought his comedic skills to film sets that showcased big names like John Wayne, James Stewart (who was tackling his first paid and un-billed role in a Shemp short called Art Trouble), the great W.C. Fields, Marlene Dietrich and many more stars of the day.”
It took time to put it all together because, as mentioned before, most people’s memory of the Stooges is of the trio and not Shemp. Dale understood that reasoning but still felt a twinge of sympathy for Howard.
“It’s understandable but sad because Shemp’s very impressive career simply flew under the radar, even though he was spoken of with great praise from fellow actors like Sid Caesar and Milton Berle,” Dale said. “I hope through my book, he’ll get much more of the credit he so richly deserves.”
And while he had to dig into Howard’s past, some current showbiz names happily offered their takes on Shemp’s impact.
“VIrtually everybody I spoke with offered fascinating tidbits about Shemp – even though his answers were short and straight to the point, Penn Jillette is clearly a huge fan and catches a film short featuring his favourite Stooge whenever possible,” he said. “When Gilbert Gottfried spoke about a project (San Antonio Rose) featuring Lon Cheney Jr. and Shemp, he said jokingly it must be the greatest film ever made. It was like being treated to a free comedy monologue over the phone in my living room from one of the greats. And Paula Poundstone was fascinating because her thoughts came from a female perspective, yet aren’t women supposed to dislike the trio intensely?”
Since Dale was already a Shemp fan, it was unlikely that his opinion of the man changed as a result of this book. In fact, he says it only elevated him more.
“He played it straight without a gag or pratfall in sight and somehow proved to be the best - actually the only good thing – about a very bland movie,” Dale said, referencing Howard’s turn in ‘Convention Girl’. “So for me, Shemp moved up from A to an A+ in the blink of a proverbial eye.”
