“Fascinating! Fresh perspectives!” Booklist praises Shemp!, Burt Kearns’ biography of the most talented Stooge

Burt Kearns’ latest book, Shemp! The Biography of the Three Stooges, the Face of Film Comedy hits bookstores in October, six months after the publication of his Marlon Brando: Hollywood Rebel. 

Like the Brando book, the volume about the “fourth” member of the famed Three Stooges comedy team has caused some controversy, as readers and critics alike agree that Kearns’ research has literally rewritten Hollywood history, casting a very different light on the veteran comic actor and his rightful place in Hollywood history.

The latest praise comes in the October 15 issue of Booklist,  the publication of the American Library Association:

"Known best for his work as a sometime member of the Three Stooges, along with his younger brother, Moe Howard, and comedian Larry Fine, Shemp Howard also had a considerable career as a performer in live theater (on Broadway and on the road) and a supporting actor in a long list of two-reelers and feature films. Journalist and screenwriter Kearns writes with a fan’s passion, and his account of Shemp’s rise from working-class Bensonhurst in Brooklyn and the lower reaches of vaudeville to Broadway and Hollywood is fascinating. Those interested in vaudeville will enjoy Kearns’ detailed descriptions of sketches performed and reviews of shows on the circuit. Kearns’ chronicling of the evolution of the Three Stooges, from a side act in comedian Ted Healy’s much larger productions, in which they were billed as Ted Healy and His Stooges, to a popular if low-brow act in the movies and on television, offers fresh perspectives on an iconic comedy group. Shemp’s relationship with Moe, who dominated the Stooges on stage and off, was complicated, prompting Shemp’s solo adventures, which will be new to many readers.”   — Jack Helbig

author Burt Kearns

Shemp!, published by Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, is available wherever books are sold and of course online.