- Born
- Died
- Birth nameSamuel Horwitz
- Nickname
- The Forgotten Stooge
- Height5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
- Shemp Howard was born Samuel Horwitz in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was also the brother of fellow stooges Moe Howard and Curly Howard. Larry Fine was not related to any of the other stooges.
When not working with The Three Stooges, Shemp made a lot of feature film appearances, such as The Bank Dick (1940) with W.C. Fields. Shemp, Moe, Larry and Curly appeared in only one short together -- Hold That Lion! (1947). In it, Curly appears as an uncredited train car passenger. Watch for the man with the hat on his face. This was a short, non-speaking cameo, due to a stroke Curly suffered the prior year.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Daniel Dopierala
- SpouseGertrude "Babe" Frank(March 15, 1925 - November 22, 1955) (his death, 1 child)
- ChildrenMort Howard
- ParentsJennie Mary Goldsmith
- RelativesMoe Howard(Sibling)Curly Howard(Sibling)Jill Howard(Grandchild)Sandie Howard(Grandchild)Jack Horowitz(Sibling)Irving Horowitz(Sibling)Joan Howard(Niece or Nephew)Jeffrey Scott(Niece or Nephew)Michael Maurer(Niece or Nephew)Janie Howard Hanky(Niece or Nephew)Brad Server(Niece or Nephew)
- Like brother Curly with his infamous "Woo-woo-woo" and "Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk", Shemp also had a well-known quirk - he would go, "Gee-gee-gee-gee-gee!" in many of his films.
- His hair, which was long enough to cover his eyes and often fell into disarray during the rough antics of the Three Stooges films.
- Homely appearance (as a publicity stunt, he was named the "Ugliest Man in Hollywood").
- Slow drawl
- He, Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard appear in only one short together, Hold That Lion! (1947). Curly appears uncredited as a train car passenger (watch for the man with the hat on his face). This was a short, non-speaking cameo, due to Curly's health issues.
- As a teen, he once crashed his car through the front window of a barbershop. The incident shook him up so much that he never drove again in his life.
- He got the name "Shemp" when he was a child. Whenever his mother would say his name, "Sam", the combination of her heavy Lithuanian accent and abrupt manner of speaking made it come out sounding like "Shemp". The name stuck.
- Was multiphobic, many who knew him jokingly said he was even afraid of his own shadow.
- After Curly Howard had his stroke, Shemp was brought back, with Curly's blessing, to be a stopgap until Curly got better. Unfortunately, Curly never got well enough to continue, so Shemp stayed with The Three Stooges until his death.
- Rome wasn't built in a day, and neit'er was Syracuse.
- There's a thousand reasons why I shouldn't drink... but I can't think of one right now.
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