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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Not even the joys of parenthood can stop married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles from investigating a ...
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Egbert Sousé becomes an unexpected hero when a bank robber falls over a bench he's occupying. Now co...
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Kitty Carroll, an attractive store model, volunteers to become a test subject for a machine that wil...
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Two bumbling service station attendants are left as the sole beneficiaries in a gangster's will. The...
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Olsen and Johnson, a pair of stage comedians, try to turn their play into a movie and bring together...
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Petty con artists Slicker Smith and Herbie Brown mistakenly join the Army evading the cops. The cop ...
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Popular crooner Russ Raymond abandons his career at its peak and joins the Navy using an alias, Tomm...
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Private eye Jerry Church is hired by a criminal defense lawyer after five mobsters he has gotten acq...
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Two half brothers battle each other for the power of the throne and the love of sensual, gorgeous da...
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Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson are Broadway stars who return to Universal Studios to make another movie....
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Abbot and Costello must find a replacement for a woman's horse they accidentally killed after feedin...
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The Stooges are janitors working in a newspaper office. When an anonymous caller phones in a tip abo...
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When bookseller Buzz cons Diana into thinking that his friend Stanley knows all there is to know abo...
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The stooges are private detectives looking for a missing millionaire. They wander around the million...
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The stooges are pharmacists who invent a fountain of youth formula that can turn old people young. T...
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Recent movies
| # | Name | Character | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bubble Trouble (1953) | Shemp | 7 | |
| 2 | Africa Screams (1949) | Gunner | 6 | |
| 3 | Who Done It? (1949) | Shemp | 7 | |
| 4 | Crime on Their Hands (1948) | Shemp | 7 | |
| 5 | Crazy House (1943) | Mumbo | - | - |
| 6 | It Ain't Hay (1943) | Umbrella Sam | - | - |
| 7 | The Strange Case of Doctor Rx (1942) | Det. Sgt. Sweeney | 5 | |
| 8 | Arabian Nights (1942) | Sinbad | 5 | |
| 9 | Hold That Ghost (1941) | Soda Jerk | 6.6 | |
| 10 | Hellzapoppin' (1941) | Louie | 6 | |
| 11 | Buck Privates (1941) | Chef | 5.7 | |
| 12 | In the Navy (1941) | Dizzy | - | - |
| 13 | The Bank Dick (1940) | Joe Guelpe | 5 | |
| 14 | The Invisible Woman (1940) | Frankie | 6 | |
| 15 | Another Thin Man (1939) | Wacky (uncredited) | 9 |

