Shemp Howard
Acting
Born 1895-03-11
Died 1955-11-22
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
202 credits
Read biography
Samuel (born Shmuel) Horwitz (March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955), known professionally as Shemp Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He is best known today for his role as the third stooge in the Three Stooges, a role he first portrayed at the beginning of the act in the early 1920s (1923–1932) while the act was still associated with Ted Healy and known as "Ted Healy and his Stooges", and again from 1946 until his death in 1955. Between his times with the Stooges, Shemp had a successful film career as a solo comedian.
He was born in Manhattan, New York and raised in Brooklyn, the third-born of five Horwitz brothers, sons of Lithuanian Jewish parents. Moses - professionally known as Moe Howard - and Jerome - professionally known as Curly Howard - were his younger brothers.
Throughout his career Shemp seldom stuck to the script and would liven up scenes with ad-libbed incidental dialogue or wisecracks. This became a trademark of his performances. His most notable characteristic as a Stooge was a high-pitched "bee-bee-bee-bee-bee-bee!" sound, a sort of soft screech done by inhaling. It became his signature sound. He used his somewhat homely appearance for comic effect, often mugging grotesquely or allowing his hair to fall in disarray.
Shemp was married to the former Gertrude Frank, whom he wed in September 1925. The couple had one child, Morton (1926–1972).
On November 22, 1955, while returning home in a taxicab following attending a boxing match with friends, Shemp, age 60, died of a sudden massive heart attack.
The Three Stooges have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street.
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Filmography
— top 60 of 202
The Colgate Comedy Hour
The Three Stooges
Where the Pest Begins
Wham-Bam-Slam!
Buck Privates
The Bank Dick
Hold That Ghost
Arabian Nights
Hellzapoppin'
Another Thin Man
The Flame of New Orleans
Knutzy Knights
Trouble Chasers
Mississippi Gambler
The Three Stooges: Hey Moe! Hey Dad!
Bedlam in Paradise
Tricky Dicks
Out West
Fright Night
It Ain't Hay
Society Mugs
The Invisible Woman
I Scream
Africa Screams
Cracked Nuts
Crazy House
Jiggers, My Wife
Millionaires in Prison
Slaphappy Sleuths
In the Navy
Brideless Groom
Fling in the Ring
Husbands Beware
Give Us Wings
One Exciting Week
In the Dough
Spooks!
Hot Ice
Three of a Kind
Musty Musketeers
Hokus Pokus
Three Stooges 75th Anniversary Special
Headin' East
Pardon My Clutch
Dopey Dicks
Goof on the Roof
Bubble Trouble
Don't Throw That Knife
Murder Over New York
Merry Mavericks
Too Many Blondes
Private Buckaroo
The Hot Scots
Rumpus in the Harem
Butch Minds the Baby
Soup to Nuts
Self Made Maids
Stone Age Romeos
The Leather Pushers
A Missed Fortune
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