“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.

“Soitenly!” Library Journal recommends Kearns’s “entertaining and detailed” new book, Shemp!

 

Library Journal, the trade publication for librarians in the United States, gives an unquaklified “thumbs up” to Burt Kearns’s new book, Shemp: The Biography of The Three Stooges’ Shemp Howard, The Face of Film Comedy. The review by Carolyn M. Mulac states that "Kearns (Marlon Brando: Hollywood Rebel) mined a variety of sources, including books, magazines, online material, and audio and video, to craft a complete portrait of a talented character actor who appeared in more than 100 movie shorts and features... all documented in an extensive filmography. Kearns and others quoted within contend that Shemp has never received the recognition he deserved for his entire body of work.” 

The verdict? "Fans will ‘soitenly’ enjoy this entertaining and detailed look at Shemp’s career with and without the Three Stooges."

The review, for subscribers, can be found here.

Zibby’s Bookshop hosts Kearns’s ‘Hollywood Rebel’: Did Marlon Brando make a cameo appearance?

Burt Kearns took his latest book, Marlon Brando: Hollywood Rebel, on the road on the evening of Friday, May 31, with a discussion and signing at Zibby’s, the popular bookstore on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica, California, run by podcaster and publisher Zibby Owens. 

Kearns appeared alongside noted entertainment journalist and critic, author and college professor Ray Richmond (of GoldDerby.com) in a lively talk about Brando's continued influence on western popular culture in the great actor’s centennial year.

Listening to Us, Marlon?

 

In an amusing, and to some, slightly disturbing interruption to the discussion, about fifty minutes into the program, one of the Brando books on display behind the two speakers suddenly fell into Richmond's lap. There was immediate speculation that it may have been the spirit of Marlon Brando listening in. We will leave conclusions up to the reader.

 Marlon Brando: Hollywood Rebel, published by Applause Theatre & Cinema Books on April 2 (and today in the UK), has received many favorable reviews. Kearns has made many podcast, radio and television appearances. 

 

More information can be found at MarlonBrandoBook.com. 

(Thanks to Mike Rizio, Katie Regvall and Charlotte at Zibby’s.)

SHEMP! Is coming! (video!)

SHEMP! 

The Biography of The Three Stooges’ Shemp Howard, 

The Face of Film Comedy 

by Burt Kearns, 

coming October 1, 2024 

from Applause Theatre and Cinema Books