THE MAN Behind the Laughs

THE COMEDIAN HAD AN ENORMOUS ROLE IN THE CREATION AND LONGEVITY OF THE THREE STOOGES

- Louise A. Barile

In a 1929 newsreel from Coney Island, N.Y., future Three Stooges star Shemp Howard wrestles a grizzly bear, jumps into a pool of water and leads the crowd in a sing-along. The little guy jumping around behind him is his younger brother Moe Howard.

A new biography, Shemp! by Burt Kearns, takes an in-depth look at the life of the Three Stooges' most underrated member. "The classic lineup that lasted was Moe, Larry [Fine] and Curly [Howard], so Shemp didn't really have a chance," Kearns explains to Closer. "Everything he did was considered second-rate, although he was a better actor than any of them." In fact, had it not been for Curly's 1946 stroke, it's unlikely he would have ever rejoined the comedy trio. Shemp was having so much success as a character actor in movies, he didn't need to Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Shemp and Moe began working in vaudeville as young men.