My dad introduced me to the Three Stooges at a very young age. Over the years I have read quite a few books about them. I read Moe’s autobiography, which was completed after his death by the family. I read Curly’s biography written by his niece. Larry wrote an “autobiography,” but there is controversy about who wrote a lot of it. Then Steve Cox put out the definitive Larry biography a few years back.
Each of those books were good reads for Stooge fans, but what about Shemp? Even the Joe’s got books. So where was the biography of the Stooge who was once named “The Ugliest Man in Hollywood?” Well, it has finally arrived.
Actually, two books have been published recently about him. Geoff Dale’s “Much More Than a Stooge: Shemp Howard” hit shelves just a few weeks before “Shemp!” By Burt Kearns. I just finished the latter, and it was eye-opening. Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
Shemp Howard not only had one of the most distinctive faces of the twentieth century. He was also one of the most influential comic actors of Old Hollywood. An original member of the Three Stooges, Shemp—along with his brother Moe and actor-violinist Larry Fine—perfected a brand of raucous, lowbrow, slapstick comedy that had audiences rolling in the aisles of vaudeville houses, Broadway theaters, and movie palaces, and left an indelible imprint on the face of popular entertainment. Then he walked away… and the new Three Stooges—Moe, Larry, and brother Curly—made history.
But Shemp didn’t disappear. He made Hollywood history on his own, in a successful and until now unexplored career in more than a hundred movie shorts and features. He appeared in comedies, dramas, mysteries, Westerns, and musicals alongside the biggest stars of the Golden Age, including W.C. Fields, John Wayne, James Stewart, William Powell, Lon Chaney, Jr., Myrna Loy, and Marlene Dietrich.
SHEMP! is the first book to challenge the “official” version of Three Stooges history that’s been repeated for decades, shattering myths as it uncovers the surprising and often unsettling facts behind the man’s unlikely how the child of Jewish immigrants, racked with severe anxiety and phobias could conquer vaudeville, Broadway, and Hollywood. And it’s more than a author Burt Kearns digs into the shorts and feature films Shemp did on his own—more than a hundred of them—and, through interviews with fans, family members, scholars, experts, filmmakers, and celebrities, examines the “cult of Shemp” that thrives today.
For years, Moe Howard’s biography was the “official” version of Stooges history. However, when it was written, Moe was in his mid 70’s and his memory may not recall things exactly or over exaggerate stories. That is where Kearn’s book is unique.
Kearns uses theater advertisements, programs, deeds, and other information to set the record straight on what has been passed down through history as truth. He takes on the role of private investigator and discovers many contradictions to the “official” story.
There were quite a few nuggets of info I had never heard before. For example, I had no idea that Moe’s wife Helen had a famous cousin in show business. That cousin was the great Harry Houdini!
Going into this book, I wondered if it was going to rehash the stories that Stooge fans had already heard. I have to say that there was plenty of new information to devour.
Kearns does a great job of letting the reader know exactly where you are on the Stooge timeline. He references what was going on with Moe, Larry and Curly while he was making an Abbott and Costello picture, etc… He also divulges the terms that were agreed upon when he was to “temporarily” step in for Curly while he was recovering from a stroke.
This is a must read for Stooge fans and a great read for someone who loves old comedy.
I have been meaning to do a little interview with Eddie Deezen for a couple of years. I was always afraid to ask. You see, we’ve been friends on Facebook for some time and I’ve found that we share a lot in common. He has shared a lot of great personal stories about his interactions with other Hollywood celebrities, as well as some amazing trivia on just about everything.
I had noticed that he did a few podcasts with other Facebook friends and thought, “Maybe, he’ll allow me to ask him some questions for my blog.” As scared as I was to ask, Eddie said yes almost immediately. What follows in the transcript, if you will, of our chat. My questions are in bold and his answers follow.
Today is Eddie’s birthday, by the way, so what better way to celebrate than sharing a few minutes with him?
Keith: You and I have been Facebook friends now for almost 10 years. You have a very active social media presence. For fans like me, it is a wonderful way to connect with you. Like a true friendship, you share your life with us and you share your laughs with us. Many celebrities avoid social media or have someone run their page for them. What is it about social media (Facebook) makes you love it so much?
Eddie Deezen: I love Facebook. I am 100% pure Facebook. I know I could reach more fans and have more followers on other sites, on Facebook I am limited to just 5,000 fans. This is the only thing about Facebook I dislike. The 5,000 friend limit makes no sense to me. I am a compulsive writer and joke writer. I fill up notebook after notebook with my jokes and stuff. With Facebook I have an avenue of people to see my stuff. Before I joined Facebook in 2009, I would write jokes and stories and trivia to a list of about 200 friends. My Facebook friends are wonderful. I love them very much. Also, I get told by people who are not on my Facebook friends list that they read my posts too. So that makes me happy.
One of the things I look forward to on your Facebook posts is your personal stories about your movies, behind the scenes tid-bits, and your interaction with other actors. Many folks know you as Eugene from Grease. You have shared so many wonderful stories about John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (and others). Do you have a favorite Grease story you love to share?
My favorite Grease story would be how I got Grease in the first place. Ok, I went to my Grease audition in my little suit, with a bow tie and I put Vitalis or some greasy stuff in my hair (The movie was called “Grease”, so I figured Grease in my hair made sense). I went in to Paramount Studios (by the way, Paramount has always been my favorite studio) and the place was packed with guts in leather jackets and girls in poodle skirts and saddle shoes.
I read for Allan Carr the producer), Randal Kleiser (the director) and Joel Thurm ( the casting director). As I was talking to them and reading my two or three lines, I saw them nudging each other. I figured the nudges were a good sign. Anyway, a few days later, my agent calls and tells me I got the part. I was ecstatic, I called my parents and my friends and told them I was going to be in a movie with John Travolta and all.
Then, a few days later, my agent calls me and tells me “Eugene is a small role and the studio decided they’re going to cut out your role from the film”. Of course, I felt like jumping off a cliff. My agent said “We’re going to church to pray”. I swear to God, we go in, my agent gives me a match and tells me to light candies and pray at the alter. I prayed fervently to God. “Please God, let something good happen”. A few days later, the studio calls my agent and tells her they want me back in the movie.
True story. Divine intervention? Or just a lucky break? Who knows? I have wondered about this first 48 years now. You can believe whatever you want, but this really did happen..
That is a GREAT story! I’m glad you got back into the film! Speaking of Grease, you worked with comedy legend Sid Caesar. Did you have any interesting interactions with him?
Well, I was chauffeured home each night with Sid Caesar. I was carefully instructed “Don’t speak to Mr. Caesar unless he speaks to you first”. So I would sit in the back seat and Mr. Caesar would sit in the front seat and I would just sit silently as he spoke to our chauffeur. One day He turned around to me and said “So you’re the water boy, huh?”. I replied sarcastically “ Oh, is it okay if I speak?”. This was very rude of me, but I was a twenty year old kid. Very immature.
Mr. Caesar was a very intelligent man. I would listen to him pontificate about history and religion and stuff. Our chauffeur was named Kirk or Kurt. He was a nice guy.
One of my favorite movies of yours is 1941. What a cast for that movie! You had the chance to work with John Belushi. On Facebook, you have shared that Belushi was actually pretty quiet and was very nice to you. Can you elaborate on that?
John was always extremely kind and nice to me. I loved him so much. We had met previously in New York. He was at the premiere of my movie “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”. At the party after the premiere I sat with John and we chatted for about 15 minutes. He was serious and thoughtful. No jokes. He spoke earnestly. I loved seeing him on the set of “1941”
The last time I saw John was around 1980. I was just leaving a really bad audition. I felt bad and who comes walking down the street but John Belushi. He saw I was sad and said “What’s the matter, Eddie?”. I said, “ I just had a terrible audition, John. These guys hated me”. He replied “They’re assholes”. And he just walked away. That was the last time I ever saw John Belushi.
To John’s credit, he was probably right!
I wasn’t going to ask, but I’d kick myself if I didn’t ask you to share a bit about Murray Hamilton and the dummy from the Ferris Wheel scene….
Murray was a wonderful, very nice guy. We had many great talks up on that Ferris wheel. Murray was a big time smoker. He smoked three or four packs a day. So every once in a while he would have trouble breathing up there. Steven had a. Oxygen tank he kept for Murray. If Murray was having trouble breathing, Steven would let us down and Murray would take a few hits of oxygen.
One of my favorite holiday films is the Polar Express. Your work as the Know It All kid is just wonderful! How did you and Tom Hanks get along? Is he as nice as he seems?
Tom has always been my favorite movie star. The first day of the table read, there were a bunch of us all gathered to greet Tom. He was the biggest movie star in the world. He spots me in the bunch, walks up to me first and says, “Hi Eddie. I’m Tom”. No shit Sherlock.
He was a total pro. Never flubbed a line or missed a cue. One day I made a bad mistake. I screwed up a line or some such thing. Our director, Bob Zemeckis, said “cut”. “What happened, Eddie?”, he asked me. Before I could say anything, Tom cut in. “That was my fault”, he said. He took the blame for my mistake. He was like an older brother to me.
After we finished filming “The Polar Express”, he took me to three Dodger games at Dodger Stadium. We sat in his box seats. We sang the National Anthem and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” together. He was just as cool as you’d expect him to be.
That’s awesome. What an experience for you!
You got to work with Dick Shawn in an episode of Magnum PI.
He seemed like a pretty unique guy. His comedy was so different and manic at times. I don’t think there is anything I’ve seen him do that didn’t intrigue me. What was it like to work with him?
Dick Shawn was a wonderful, nice, lovely, friendly, terrific, and delightful guy. I loved working with him. My career was pretty much movies, not a whole lot of television. But that “Magnum P.I.” episode I did (“Squeeze Play”) was probably the best thing I ever did on tv. I loved the entire Magnum cast and crew. Dick Shawn was a marvelous comedian and a fantastic straight man too. I loved playing his nephew.
You also shared the screen with two of the hottest gals of the 1980’s: Heather Thomas in Zapped! and Morgan Fairchild in Mob Boss.
Correct me if I am wrong but don’t you have a story about kissing Morgan Fairchild?
Yes, I did a movie called “ Mob Boss” with Morgan. Ok, we had a scene where the nerdy guy (me) kisses the ultra-sexy woman. We embrace and kiss and my glasses are all steamed up. Well, before we did that scene, Morgan said to me, “Eddie, do you want to rehearse?”. YOU THINK?? So she held me and kissed me at different angles and straight on, Etc. By the way, Morgan was a marvelous kisser. Her lips were so soft. She was also the most lovely lady ever. I loved her so much. She was a fabulous comedienne. Great straight woman too.
It was so much fun to work with Heather Thomas, too. Heather was a doll. She was very cool and incredibly nice. The episode of “The Fall Guy” I did with her was very fun to shoot. I loved all the cast and crew of “The Fall Guy”.
As a voice over actor, you have appeared in countless cartoons and series.
I always love when I hear your voice on something my kids are watching. You showed up recently on an episode of Handy Manny and also on Oswald. Do you find voice acting to be easier than acting on screen or are the about the same? Do you prefer one over the other?
Well, I have never been great at memorizing lines. Now, on camera stuff, you have to learn your lines by heart. For “The Polar Express”, our director Bob Zemeckis, knew my problem, and he let me read my entire role using cue cards.
I enjoy voiceovers and doing cartoons because you can just read your role from a script, no memorization involved. But as a performer, you get a bigger rush doing a movie, because it’s fun seeing yourself onscreen.
A show that many folks don’t remember is the Weird Al Show from the late 90’s. Can you tell me how you got to play “Guy Boarded Up in the Wall?”
Yes, Weird Al is a marvelous, very nice guy. He also knew of my problem remembering lines and he wanted me on his show. So he created the “Man in the Wall” character. I was “ on camera” but I was behind a wall, so I could just read my lines. It was a very fun gig.
Your fans are well aware of your love for the Beatles and their music.
A while back, my blogger friend, Dave from A Sound Day ran a feature. He had some of us bloggers write about the Beatles and if they were still relevant today. I wrote my piece about songs I would use to introduce the band to someone. So, if YOU had to introduce someone who had never heard of the Beatles or their music, what 5 (or ten if you wish) songs would you play for them?
My favorite Beatles song is “A Hard Day’s Night”, so I would have to include that one. Now, you did not ask first my favorite Beatle songs, however, you asked first five or ten Beatle songs I would use to introduce a new fan to the Beatles. So here are my choices:
Love Me Do
She Loves You
I Want to Hold Your Hand
Help!
Yesterday
In My Life
Penny Lane
A Day in the Life
Strawberry Fields Forever
Let It Be
There are so many great Beatles tunes to choose from, and you have some classics there!
You and I share many of the same likes, the Beatles being one of them. However, you are also as big a Stooge Fan as I am. I have loved The Three Stooges since my dad introduced me to them as a kid. You have said often that Curly is your favorite.
It is hard NOT to like him. Is there any one thing in particular that makes him your favorite?
Yes, Curly Howard is my all- time favorite comedian. He was as great as Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton physically. Plus, he was a hilarious verbal comedian, something Chaplin and Keaton were not. He made 97 shorts. About 70 or 80 are comedy classics. He was amazingly prolific. He was all finished and retired by the age of 42. 42!!!! He just wore himself out. He was spent and got progressively sicker. The poor guy was gone at the age of 48. 48!!!
You could really see how sick he was in his last few shorts. The world certainly got a lot less “funny” when he passed away. So, do you have a favorite Stooges Short?
My favorite Three Stooge shorts are “Punch Drunks” and “Micro-Phonies”
Those are both in my top ten Stooges shorts, too. One last question for you, my friend. Do you think Shemp gets a bum rap for following Curly?
Well, yes. Shemp is obviously anticlimactic because he followed Curly. That’s Iike following Elvis or Paul McCartney, anyone would suffer in comparison. That said, Shemp was a fair to good comedian. He was not great. He did not have Curly’s innate sense of humor or timing or sense of what makes a line funny or what makes a gag funny.
He had his great moments, yes, but he has a lot of very unfunny scenes too. Plus, his character was not as original or lovable or magical as Curly’s. I always love what Leonard Martin said about him- Shemp was an indisputably good comedian, but he never had Curly’s “otherworldliness.” A perfect word that captures it all. Curly was otherworldly.
I’d forgotten that you wrote a piece about Shemp for Mental Floss back in 2011. It’s a great piece that readers can see on the Mental Floss Site.
Eddie, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. Thank you for your friendship. I truly hope to meet you in person one day. Maybe a trip to the Stoogeum in Pennsylvania one day? I wish you all the best and lots of happiness on your birthday, my friend! Cheers to another year of friendship and laughs!
Thanks Keith. I’m glad to answer these questions for you. You are a wonderful guy and I am proud to have you as a friend both on Facebook and in my life. That trip to the Stoogeum sounds like a plan on my bucket list, so let’s hope! See you on Facebook!
I need to once again extend a huge thank you to Eddie for taking the time to chat with me. If you are a fan, Eddie also does do personalized messages for birthdays and such on Cameo. I had him do one for my dad a year or so ago! You can check out the information on Eddie’s Cameo Page.
Happy Birthday, Eddie! May your day be filled with laughter and happiness!
My last blog was a “throwaway.” I’ve had a lot going on, yet I was struggling to find something to write about. I stepped away for a couple days and now I have a few things worth sharing.
We Have a Street!
They finally blacktopped the street this weekend! They finished the driveways and sidewalks a couple weeks ago. They were out yesterday laying the final coat.
Of course, every one of us now has that “hay” on our lawns in hopes that it will grow into grass by next spring. They better be back to lay our walkway bricks back down. They took them out to dig up our yard and they are still stacked next to our porch.
Puppy VS Table
Those who have been following this blog know that before Ella was born, we turned our dining room into her room. The huge dining room table was moved to the basement for a bit. We brought it up for a short time, but with all of the toys and such in the living room, we took it back downstairs.
The kids have a little picnic table they eat at. Well, the puppy can jump up and grab all their food, so I mentioned that the old table should come back upstairs so the pup couldn’t jump up there. Sam reminded me of how big that table was and how we hardly have room, so we went out and bought a smaller table, which works fine and doesn’t take as much room.
Putting that table together was project #1 this weekend. Naturally, it is all put together with those Allen wrenches. The instructions said not to use power tools to put the table and chairs together, but I did anyway! I cannot stand what those wrenches do to my hand!
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like ….
My wife decided that since Halloween was over, it was time to put up the Christmas tree. So I dug through the boxes and such in the basement and found the tree. I drug it upstairs and put it together. No ornaments yet, but I did string the lights.
With the puppy, the cats, and the kids, I had to find a way to keep them away from and out of the tree. Sam reminded me that her dad bought us this play pen type thing that is meant to keep babies in when you’re outside. The tree fits perfectly!
Book Ordered
Finally, Shemp Howard of the Three Stooges gets a book! My pal, Geoff Dale has completed it and it is now available. Larry, Moe, and Curly all have books, and I cannot wait to read this one. He was, as the title proclaims, much more than a stooge! He starred in many solo shorts and appeared in many Abbott and Costello movies. This should be a very interesting read!
Testing, Testing
I haven’t talked much about it because I’d been so busy with other things (a poor excuse), but I have been back in my Bible classes. Over the past week and a half, I worked on tests for two classes. I was so glad to see that I passed both of them. Just started a third test today, and will chip away at it over the next day or two. Praying for similar results. I won’t be but a couple more weeks and I move on to the next semester.
Upcoming
The next Turntable Talk topic has been selected and I will be participating in it again. I’m not quite sure what angle I am going to take, but hope to know soon.
It is taking all that is in me to write a blog today. I don’t feel like writing. I’m numb today.
All weekend long I struggled with whether or not to proceed with something. It is something that has weighed very heavy on my heart. It is something that comes with risks no matter what I decided to do. I have spent three entire therapy sessions (one I scheduled purposely) discussing it with my therapist. No matter how much I talked about it, no matter how I looked at it, no matter what the pros and cons were, I still don’t feel like I was ready to make a decision. Based on previous blogs, you can probably figure out what I am talking about.
It doesn’t really even matter what it is. I wrestled to make a decision and now I am wrestling with the decision I made. I am literally numb. I am feeling many emotions today – fear, anger, sadness, uncertainty, worry, and so many more. As I stared at the computer screen, I wondered just what the hell I wanted to write about. So I grabbed my phone and looked back at some of the pictures from the weekend and figured maybe I should at least talk about the positives.
Positives
First of all, I got to spend the entire weekend with my wife and daughter. It was an extended weekend for my wife and I, and as a bonus we both got Tuesday off. We actually had time to sit on the couch and watch shows we had on the DVR, which is something we rarely get to do. Ella had us laughing a lot this weekend. Recently, Sam’s folks bought her an easel. It has a chalkboard, whiteboard, place for paper, etc… We thought that this would be great for her to draw on. We haven’t let her paint yet, but she can color on it and uses the chalkboard a lot. Up until now, the sidewalk chalk had to stay outside. Now she has it on the easel, which isn’t always a good thing ….
This probably won’t stop her from drawing on the furniture … but it was worth a try!
On Sunday, I got together with two of my close friends from high school – Margaret and Chris. It was probably a couple months ago that a picture of the three of us came up in Facebook Memories. I think it said the picture was taken 10 years ago! While I’ve gotten together with them separately since, it had been that long since we all got together. So we met at Margaret’s house and she had a cook out. The town was hopping because the peach festival was going on. I got their late, because I thought we were supposed to get together on Monday. No matter, we all got to sit around and chat, reminisce, laugh, and enjoy each other’s company. Before we wrapped up the day, I said we had to get another picture! I sent the picture to both of them, and each of us posted it on our pages. Margaret joked around and said to crop the picture more …. so I did….
Really a great picture of us ….
Sometimes, I have to do things just to take my mind off the crap that is on social media. I am so sick of the politics, hatred, and sadness that is often the subject of posts on Facebook. During conversation at Margaret’s, the topic turned to some silliness I have been posting. I did this last September, too. I know it is stupid, but it truly makes me laugh and I share to save my sanity.
One of the Three Stooges pages I follow on Facebook takes Shemp Howard’s picture and Photoshops them on other pictures. The can be movie stills, magazine covers, etc. They call the entire month of September – SHEMPtember! So every day this month, I find a silly pic from their page and post it. This remains one of my favorites, and I am sure my musical followers will get a good laugh from it, too….
The Shemptations!!!!!
30 days of stupidity? Yeah, probably. I’ll take the stupidity and enjoy the laugh over the other things I am feeling any day.
The rest of the weekend falls into the area that I’d rather not think about ….
I can’t wait for this weekend! I have my tickets. I am anxiously awaiting 2 hours of laughing. I will exit the Redford Theater on Friday night with my sides aching from laughter!
My dad, as I have mentioned in many blogs, introduced me to many things – music, movies, old radio and more. One of the things that I am forever grateful for, is his introducing me to three of the funniest men who ever lived – The Three Stooges. Now there are many folks who say that they are “a guy thing” and this is just not true! I know many females who love the Stooges. My friend Roxanne and I are forever referencing the Stooges in phone calls and social media posts! There are plenty of Stooge fans, both male and female, and many of them will be in the audience with me watching and laughing.
There is something to be said about watching them on TV or at home on video or DVD. Yes, they are funny. There is, however, nothing like watching them on the big screen with an audience laughing with you! That’s exactly how audiences saw them in the first place – in the theater!
I bought my tickets this past week and am looking forward to going to see “the boys” with my sons, my father-in-law, and my brother-in-law. I was finally able to see the shorts that will be showing this weekend, and it only adds to the excitement! There are some classics playing!!!
Men in Black
This was the third short the Stooges ever released. For those who say that the Stooges never did anything worth watching – this short was nominated for an Academy Award! This is such a wonderful short full of quotable lines and running gags (“Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Doctor Howard”, “For Duty and Humanity”). The Stooges are new doctors who reek havoc on the hospital. Larry has two very memorable moments – when he sings into the stethoscope and when he is in the operating room, both which crack me up every time! Comedian Billy Gilbert’s cameo is funny, too!
Hoi Polloi
One of the great Stooge stories – and an idea that came from Moe’s wife, Helen. The boys are garbage men, who are the subjects of a bet. A professor and a colleague are debating whether environment or heredity make a man. The professor bets that he can take the lowly Stooges and make gentlemen out of them.
The Stooges often went head to head with the folks of “high society” and this was one of the great examples.
Ants in the Pantry
Here is another short where the Stooges go up against the upper class. They are exterminators who are looking for business. In an effort to drum up some, they actually plant mice, ants, and other pests in homes! Of course, they are then hired to remove the pests that they planted. A highlight is the destruction of a piano due to mice and cats!
The boys are then invited on a fox hunt and end up with a much different, and smelly animal.
Violent is the Word for Curly
This one is a classic that will forever be remembered for the song “Swingin’ the Alphabet.” The Stooges are working at a gas station giving “super service” to customers. They come across three professors who are off to speak at a college. They toss their luggage into a truck so they can “do their job.” The Stooges end up blowing up their car and jump in the truck to get away. They dress in the professor’s clothes and are mistaken for them by a college staff member. Their speech is the song mentioned above.
I don’t care how many times I watch the scene where they cut to Larry – I laugh because of him staring off into space!
Priceless!
Dutiful But Dumb
The Stooges are photographers who fail to get a photo of a starlet. They are fired by their boss, then rehired and sent to a country where taking pictures is punishable by death (LOL). Of course, they are asked to take pictures!
This short has two of my favorite Curly moments. The boys are hiding from officers of the law. Curly is hiding inside a huge radio and when one of them goes to turn the radio on. Curly has pulled almost all the wires out of it. When they wonder what is wrong with the radio, Curly pulls out a harmonica puts a cymbal on his head and begins to play music.
The other Curly moment is his wonderfully orchestrated fight with an oyster. Curly orders some oyster stew. Each time he puts a cracker in it, the oyster eats it. It is such a masterpiece and a great example of just how he can make you laugh without saying anything!
Out West
There is a great debate over who was funnier – Curly or Shemp. I avoid this debate at all costs, because in my opinion, they were both very funny men. They each had their own style. I love that the Redford plays one Shemp short at their Stooges festivals. While this one is not one of my favorites, it still is worth watching.
I always love when the Stooges do a period piece, and this one is obviously set in the Old West. Anytime the amazing Christine McIntyre plays alongside the Stooges, it’s fun. Jock Mahoney, who is probably best known for playing Tarzan in a few feature films, also stars in this one.
It’s going to be a blast, for sure! The Redford Theater is a beautiful theater and has a Barton organ that has been in the theater since 1928! It really is a wonderful place and they often show classic movies for a very reasonable price. If you are a fan of the Stooges and live in Michigan, you need to make it out to their annual Three Stooges festival! Check out their website for upcoming events –
One of my Facebook friends noted on his page that this weeks marks the 100th birthday of comedian Red Buttons. Red was known for his “never got a dinner” and “I was there” bits which he did frequently at celebrity roasts. I remembered that last year, on his birthday, I blogged about Red and included many of my favorite “never got a dinner” lines. It was one of the first blogs I wrote when I started this Word Press Blog. It’s hard to believe that this blog is over a year old!
The beginnings
When I began this blog, I really didn’t have any idea of what it would be. In my head, I thought that I might blog about some things I liked. I also knew I would probably write about some favorite memories. I might also write tributes to important people in my life or just random thoughts to help me deal with emotions or life situations.
This blog was meant for me. It was to be a “sort of” therapy for me. I envisioned it as a way to keep track of thoughts, write down stories I didn’t want to forget, and occasionally just vent. I had often joked about writing an autobiography, and in a way, this blog has become “chapters”.
I never thought that anyone would actually want to read these blogs (unless, of course, the blog mentioned them)! Yet, here I am over a year later and I have “followers” – people who actually make it a point to read this no matter what the topic. It humbles me.
Looking Back
The last few years of my life have been full of many changes: job changes, deaths, divorce, depression, stress, remarriage, happiness, bliss, and the rekindling of old friendships. It is interesting to go back and see the variety of topics this blog has covered through it all. It really is a hodge-podge of randomness.
There is no shortage of posts about music here! My iPod selections and the various connections that I make with songs, events, and people in my life are well documented. There are so many great songs! Musical blogs are among my favorite to write. I recently started following another blog (PowerPop) which shares many of my musical tastes and I have enjoyed some great conversations with the owner of that blog.
My love for movies is also represented by blogs I wrote about movies I watched for the first time and movies I have watched over and over. Television is also represented by a salute to the Dukes, childhood memories of School House Rock, TV Catchphrases, and my favorite cartoons. My hatred of movie and TV remakes was one of my very first blogs.
My radio career is also reflected in this blog. You’ll find blogs that include some of my favorite radio stories, about listeners who became friends, my first morning show partner, radio mentors, radio bosses and co-workers, and encounters with famous people I met during my career all make up a good chunk of this blog. One of my favorite blogs about radio is the World Radio Day blog, which thanks many of those people.
My family and friends, who are very special to me, are also well represented in this blog. Tributes to my mom, my dad, my grandparents, my children, and my uncle/Godfather often were very emotional to write. A blog about those teachers who were so influential and helpful to me was one of the easiest to write. As my first wedding anniversary approaches, a long overdue blog about my wonderful wife will appear here. One of my favorite blogs was about the trip to Florida that my wife and I took, which also doubled as our honeymoon. Re-reading that one brings back many happy memories! It still amazes me how we were able to keep it a secret.
The Christmas holiday spawned many blogs. Blogs about Christmas memories, Christmas specials, Christmas characters, Christmas songs that drove me nuts, Christmas coffee, and yes – even a letter to Santa! Christmas remains one of my favorite times of the year. One thing I was unable to really blog about was the Christmas songs I love. My friend, Chris, asked me to do that and I started it … just never finished it. Consider it a head start for next year!
It was always fun for me to write about famous people. As you look over the list of those who I wrote about, it is easy to learn a lot about me and what I like. Comedians Red Buttons, Jackie Gleason, Shemp Howard, Curly Howard, Soupy Sales, and Rich Little give you a glimpse and who and what I find funny. Musicians Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Weird Al Yankovic, Frank Sinatra, and, of course, Dean Martin give you a picture of my musical tastes. Other blogs about Mr. Rogers, Jack Webb, Christopher Lloyd, and Wolfman Jack expose you to other aspects of who I am.
At times, my blog can tackle serious topics, too. Breast cancer is a big one. Cancer, in general, is a big topic. It took many people from me. I foresee a blog about St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the future. I’ve been there and they do amazing work. The importance of Music Education in schools is another great cause I will always fight for! I have yet to write about Autism, but that is definitely on my list of future topics.
One of my favorite blogs summed up a lot about the past and the changes that occurred in me and my life over the past two years. The subject was “Negativity, Judgement, and Happiness”. Moving from sadness to happiness and moving from away from negativity and finding positives made a lot of difference! Living with a positive attitude was such a game changer – and life is good.
The Future
Not so long ago, I was told my someone once close to me to stop writing. “Nobody wants to read about that crap! It is a waste of time. Stop trying to be creative. Nobody cares about what you like and don’t like!” If I have learned anything from Facebook and this blog, it is that people do care! People do like to read what I write! In the end, I don’t really write for others, I write for myself. The fact that other people read this blog and get some enjoyment out if it is a little bonus.
In future blogs, I will continue to write about things I love. I will write about things that people want to know about. I will continue to participate in Blogathons (I have a few coming up that I am excited to write for) on various topics like movies and music. I will continue to write about things in my personal life. I will continue to write – because I enjoy it. The minute this is no longer satisfying and I feel that I have written all I can write … I will stop. Until then, thank YOU for reading my “various ramblings”. I appreciate you!
Throughout history, some truly great people never got the respect they deserved simply because they had big shoes to fill.
* John Adams following George Washington as President of the United States.
* Ryan Seacrest following Dick Clark hosting New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.
* Ray Combs following Richard Dawson as host of Family Feud.
*Daniel Craig is forever compared to Roger Moore and Sean Connery as James Bond.
* Dick Sargent never fully got the credit he deserved as an actor because he replaced Dick York on Bewitched.
There is one “under rated” comedian who truly never got the true respect that he deserved … Simply because he stepped in to fill the shoes of a comedy GIANT! This modest blog hopes to give him some recognition.
Shemp Howard was born today in 1895. Shemp was born Samuel Horwitz, but his mother had a very heavy Lithuanian accent so when she called his name it came out “Shemp”. That name stuck and he was Shemp for the remainder of his life.
Shemp and his younger brother, Moe, watched a lot of vaudeville shows and eventually started their own act. They did an act entirely in black face. This wasn’t unusual as many performers like Al Jolson, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll we’re doing just the same.
Moe and Shemp teamed up with Ted Healy, and eventually Larry Fine joined the group. Ted Healy and his Stooges were a vaudeville hit.
My pal, Eddie Deezen, who you may know as Eugene from the movie Grease and many other great films, wrote an very nice article about Shemp for Neatorama. In it he addresses one of Shemp’s “issues”:
According to Shemp’s wife, Gertrude “Babe” Howard, whom Shemp married in 1925, Shemp was “just a big old ‘fraidy cat.” Everyone has a particular fear or phobia (many of us have more than just one); Shemp was “afraid of his own shadow,” according to his friends, with a whole litany of fears:
*He lived in constant fear of cars, never driving or getting a driver’s license. According to Moe, this fear was rooted in an auto accident Shemp experienced when he was a youth. (In his films, when Shemp had to fake driving a car, he was towed by prop men in a simulated car but was still scared, nervously holding the steering wheel until the scene mercifully ended.)
*Shemp also refused to fly in airplanes, travelling only by train.
*He was terrified of strange dogs and would carry a big stick with him, just in case a strange dog approached him.
*He refused to swim or go in any body of water larger than a bathtub. Shemp always carried a pair of rubber overshoes in his pocket, lest he be caught in the rain.
*It also became fairly common that, before Shemp appeared live on stage, he would throw up to relieve himself.
*And Shemp was a chronic bed-wetter. He had actually served in World War I, but his stint was truncated due to his bed-wetting.
Ted Healy was a jerk. He saw these things and often used his knowledge of Shemp’s fears to scare him. Because of Healy, Shemp left the group to do solo projects. He was replaced by…Curly Howard (Shemp and Moe’s younger brother). Curly went in to become the comedy icon with the Stooges and was loved by millions.
Shemp had great success working alone. He can be seen in some of Abbott and Costello’s films, but according to Eddie Deezen’s article, Costello was very jealous of Shemp and most of his funny stuff ended up being edited out. He also appeared with WC Fields in The Bank Dick and he also played Knobby Walsh in the Joe Palooka films. While off on his own, Shemp was called (and billed as) “The Ugliest Man in Hollywood”!
In the 1940’s, it is evident by watching the Three Stooges comedies that Curly’s health was on the decline. In 1946, while waiting to shoot a final scene for Half-Wits Holiday, Curly had a massive stroke. With Curly no longer able to perform, Moe turned to his older brother, Shemp, who agreed to return to the group.
Shemp made over 70 comedies with the Stooges. He never stepped in to copy Curly, nor did he want to. He was Shemp and that was what makes his comedies with the boys unique.
Shemp had his on vocal sounds. Curly “woo woo woo’d” and “n’yuk n’yuk n’yuk’d while Shemp did something totally different. 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. This was rather multi-purpose, since Shemp emitted this sound when scared, sleeping (done as a form of snoring), overtly happy or dazed. It became as much a trademark sound of Shemp as the “nyuk nyuk” sound had become Curly’s.
Shemp was always compared to Curly. In my humble opinion, this is like comparing baseball to football or apples to oranges. They are both unique and each have their own attributes! There is no way to compare them to each other! Curly was Curly. He was energetic, childish, silly and graceful. Shemp (who was already in his 50’s when he rejoined the group) was more flippant. He was a wise cracking, all talk no action kinda guy. The dynamic was different, but it still worked.
He played with the human language wonderfully. One of my favorite Shemp lines comes from the short Sing a Song of Six Pants. The boys are dry cleaners/tailors. A customer comes in and Shemp says “Where did you get this mess?” (Referring to the man’s suit). The customer replies ” I bought it here!”. Shemp’s reply: “Oh, what a beautiful messterpiece!”
On November 22, 1955, Shemp went out with his friends to a boxing match at the Hollywood Legion Stadium. After the fights were over, Shemp hailed a taxicab to take him to his North Hollywood home with friend Al Winston. Shemp set back and lit up his cigar and told a joke. Suddenly he slumped over into Winston’s lap. Shemp had a heart attack and was dead at the age of 60. (Shemp’s daughter-in-law, Geri Greenbaum, maintains he suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage.) His friend, Al, thought Shemp was playing a joke, since Shemp was laughing moments earlier, but realized he was actually dead. Moe’s autobiography gives a death date of November 23, 1955, as do most subsequent accounts, because of Moe’s book. But much of that book was finished posthumously by his daughter and son-in-law, and some specific details were confused as a result. The Los Angeles county coroner’s death certificate states that Shemp Howard died on Tuesday, November 22, 1955, at 11:35 [PM] PST.
Many Stooge fans know “the rest of the story” (to quote Paul Harvey), but for those who don’t, Eddie Deezen’s article shared the odd final chapter of Shemp’s film career :
Columbia Studios still needed four new Three Stooges shorts after Shemp died, so they hired a replacement named Joe Palma to “be Shemp.” Joe became Shemp’s “double,” or stand-in, faking scenes by not facing the camera, just standing with his back to the camera and running off or bumbling. Old footage from previous Stooge films was intermixed with the Joe Palma footage, and thus the last four Three Stooges films with “Shemp” were made.
To this day, to “get a Shemp” or “a fake Shemp” or “a Shemp” is Hollywood nomenclature for “get a double” or “use a stand-in.” Director Sam Raimi (Spiderman), a big Three Stooges fan, always credits stand-ins or doubles in his films as “Fake Shemps.”
While people who talk about Shemp often say things like, “he’s no Curly” and Stooge Festivals often promote being “all Curly”, let’s give Shemp some credit! He was a brilliant performer. He was quick, funny, and helped to keep Stooges Comedies in theaters for years after Curly left the group.
As with any team, everyone plays a part. While the team took on a new look, the slapstick was still there. The puns are still there. Larry’s facial expressions and reactions are still there. Shemp Shorts are still funny, but people who automatically cop an attitude at the opening credits before the short even starts will never come to appreciate the genius of Shemp…and that is sad.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 