Posted on 03/01/2021 3:26:44 PM PST by PBRCat
Following the death of Shemp Howard, Columbia continued to churn out "Three Stooges" short subjects without a replacement actor being selected. Eventually, Joe Besser was chosen to replace Shemp Howard.
During the period when the studio kept filming with only Moe Howard and Larry Fein available, the method used was to combine recycled stock footage of Shemp Howard as well as the use of body doubles to cover for Shemp in a number of films. Stooge fans referred to these stand-ins (usually shot from behind with their backs to the cameras) as "the Fake Shemps."
This made me think about our current "president." Biden is kept out of sight most of the time and only presented for limited photo opportunities. He is "the Fake Shemp" of US Presidents in terms of both the 2020 election and his fitness to hold office. Kamala Harris is probably the Joe Besser of Vice Presidents.
Another creepy reminder of the frailty of Joe Biden is that his limited appearances are reminiscent of the aged leaders of the Soviet Union (Yuri Andropov and Constantin Chernenko) who preceded Mikhail Gorbachev. In fact, the entire leadership of the Democrats -- Biden, Pelosi, Hoyer, and Clyburn are positively ancient.
Fake or not, he’s still a stooge
Good comparison, other than this Shemp is dangerous.
Good one...because it’s true!
Nope. He’s the Joe Besser of the Stooges: nobody wanted him but TPTB and, once he was there, everybody wanted him gone.
How did Biden get that many votes? Nobody attended his rallies.
Joe besser was a horrible stooge. Joe DiRita (curly joe) was worse.
Shemp Predated Curly in vaudeville. Curly predated Shemp in film. Both great stooges.
Sleepy Joe wouldn’t make it as a member of the Three Stooges.
But Sleepy Joe is a stooge in reality. And a useful idiot to boot.
Shemp was an original member of the Stooges when they were a vaudeville act, Curly replaced him when they started making shorts.
Ahh, I see you know your Stooges, too.
Actually, Curly has similar mannerisms as Biden. If I had time, I’d take Larry’s head out and put in Kamalaaa’s head, and put Biden’s head on Curly and stick Obama’s head on Moe.
The Stooges had more gravitas than Biden does. At least people respected them for their craft and abilities. Biden is nothing more than a vacuous script reader.
I thought joe Bessel was the fake curly?
Shemp was part of the Stooges when they were under Ted Healy, one of the least funny comedians of the late 20s/early 30s (personal opinion of course). Then Shemp wanted to try his own hand at acting, and was a character actor for a number of years before taking Curley’s spot back when C. had his stroke and became disabled.
The funny ones were:
Moe Howard (Moses Horowitz)
Larry Fine (Louis Feinberg)
Curly Howard (Jerome Horowitz)
Shemp Howard (Samual Horowitz)
The rest were unfunny.
According to friends and family members, Shemp Howard was the one member of the group who was naturally funny all of the time even when the cameras weren’t rolling.
One motivation for Shemp going solo before the Stooges made it in pictures was that he rightly developed an intense dislike for Ted Healy. Shemp made short subjects of his own and had a fairly substantial career as a supporting character actor and comic. He made films with W. C. Fields and Abbott & Costello.
His final role with Abbott & Costello “Africa Screams” is interesting because it also featured Joe Besser.
Believe it or not, Besser was celebrated as a popular live stage show vaudeville type performer. Before being paired with Moe and Larry as Shemp’s replacement, Besser had his own series of short films at Columbia.
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