Shemp

The ugly fellow above is one Samuel Horwitz, a.k.a. Shemp Howard born this day 1895, in Brooklyn, New York. He was the older brother of Moe Howard, and was the third stooge in the early years of the act. He was a notoriously phobic person, his fears included airplanes, dogs, automobiles, and water. How you could be scared of water is a little beyond me, but Shemp managed it. He got his "break" when he was in the audience while his brother Moe was on stage performing. Moe yelled at Shemp to get onstage, and Shemp yelled back and walked onto the stage. A career was launched by something just as simple as his brother yelling at him. In those early years the "Stooges" were the Howard brothers, and Larry Fine, and they were a part of an act with Ted Healey. The stooges were always in disputes with Healey over bookings, billings, and money, and Shemp left the act in 1932. He had a moderately successful solo career before rejoining the Stooges after Curly's stroke in 1946. He would go on to appear in 73 shorts with Moe and Larry, and while not an "original" Stooge as most fans would know it, he was still a incredibly funny man, and the chemistry between him and Moe is a thing of beauty to watch. He died on November 22, 1955, while in a taxi cab while returning from a boxing match. After telling a joke, he slumped forward onto his friend's lap dying from a massive heart attack. But for taking the Stooge torch from Curly, and being a damn funny man in his own right Shemp Howard (March 4th, 1895-November 22nd, 1955, at the age of 60, you are my (190th) hero of the day.