THE Definitive biography that reveals more of the greatness of Shemp Howard, an original member of the Three Stooges, and one of Hollywood's most influential actors

"This is the only book you will ever need to read about anything. Burn all the other books — there is ONLY SHEMP!" —Patton Oswalt

Shemp Howard not only had one of the most distinctive faces of the twentieth century, but was also one of its most accomplished, influential comic actors and showbiz personalities. Along with his brother Moe and comedy violinist Larry Fine, Shemp was an original member of the comedy team that became known as the Three Stooges before he quit and set off on his own in 1932.

SHEMP! shows how he made an even greater mark in a successful and until now largely 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, Marlene Dietrich, William Powell, Lon Chaney Jr., Myrna Loy, and the team of Abbott & Costello. Author Burt Kearns challenges the “official” version of Three Stooges history that’s been repeated for decades, shattering myths while uncovering the surprising and often troubling facts behind the man’s unlikely story: how the child of Jewish immigrants, supposedly racked by debilitating phobias, could conquer show business; the behind-the-scenes machinations that pushed him to return to the team; and the circumstances surrounding his untimely death.

Through interviews with fans, family members, experts, filmmakers, and celebrities, SHEMP! unearths treasures in Shemp’s solo work, examines the “cult of Shemp” that thrives today, and confirms Shemp Howard’s deserved place in cinematic history.

BURT KEARNS is an author, journalist, and film and television producer, dubbed by Vanity Fair as “a show business and pop culture savant.” His books include Marlon Brando: Hollywood Rebel, Lawrence Tierney: Hollywood’s Real Life Tough Guy, The Show Won’t Go On, and the memoir Tabloid Baby. His screenwork includes The Seventh Python, Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura, and Kardashian: The Man Who Saved O.J. Simpson. He also cowrote and produced, along with Academy Award winner Albert S. Ruddy, the Burt Reynolds comedy movie, Cloud 9. He lives in Los Angeles.

DREW FRIEDMAN, world-acclaimed illustrator, artist, Shemp Howard appreciator, and subject of the documentary, Drew Friedman: Vermeer of the Borscht Belt, not only wrote the foreword to SHEMP!, but also contributed an exclusive never-seen portrait of the great man that is the book’s frontspiece.  Friedman’s work has appeared in The New York Times, MAD, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and many other magazines. He is the author of several collections of comics and cartooning, including All the Presidents, Maverix and Lunatix: Icons of Underground Comix, Old Jewish Comedians, and Any Similarity to Persons Living or Dead is Purely Coincidental. His most recent book of illustrations, Schtick Figures, featuring two portraits of Shemp, was published by Fantagraphics Books.