Much More Than A Stooge: Shemp Howard

by Geoff Dale, Geri Howard Greenbaum (foreword)

Shemp Howard was a gifted physical actor and ad-libber yet his career oddly seemed at times to fly-under-the-radar. A century ago, his onstage life began as the original Stooge for superstar Ted Healy, ultimately gracing Broadway. Alongside brother Moe Howard with Larry Fine – the nucleus of The Three Stooges – they appeared in the feature film Soup to Nuts . He went solo in 105 movies with stars like John Wayne, James Stewart, W.C. Fields and Abbott and Costello.

Returning to The Three Stooges in place of ailing younger brother Jerome (Curly), Shemp saved the act from prematurely ending but sadly he died at the rather young age of 60 in 1955. A Shemp renaissance has attracted attention from gifted artists including Drew Friedman, Tristan Yonce and Darin McGowan, the latter responsible for transporting him to magical cinematic locales like Oz (see photo above).

BearManor Media author and veteran Canadian journalist Geoff Dale probes his fascinating life in this first-ever Shemp Howard book. Foreword by Geri Howard Greenbaum, Jill Howard Marcus and Sandie Howard Isaac.

396 pages, Paperback

Published October 26, 2023

About the author

I was born in London, England in 1950 and moved to Canada in November 1955. My wife Elaine and I live in Woodstock, Ontario.
An avid movie-goer and always interested in writing, I graduated with an Honours BA in English and History from McMaster University in 1977.
A professional writer since 1976 in print media, radio, public relations(public and private sectors) and now online agencies, my areas of interest are entertainment, business, agriculture and general reporting. I have been a photographer since 1980.
The Fine Art of Boxing - No Stooge in the Ring is my first work of fiction. I'm currently working on two other books, for release sometime in 2014.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is in serious need of an editor. The same information is given several times, there’s no continuity to the narrative, etc.

[Glenn Victor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was hoping for a little more from this. Didn't really tell any good antidotes about life with his brothers.

[John Raspanti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun at times, but maddening. The narrative is all over the map. An editor could have improved the flow. Also, the book contains numerous repetitions of information.

[Russell R · Rating 5 out of 5]

tremendous book on the Stooge legend!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Potentially a real gem, but wants proofreading. Buy it! Then maybe Dale can put out a revised edition.

[Samantha Glasser]

Geoff Dale signed my copy of his book at the Columbus Moving Picture Show in Columbus, Ohio 2024.