Generally speaking, vintage comedy fans consider the golden era of The Three Stooges to be the shorts made between 1934-1946 with Curly Howard as the third player. However, all things must pass and the group was forced to soldier on after Curly suffered a massive stroke and was rendered unable to perform. His brother Shemp Howard, who was part of the act in its earliest days, was brought in as a temporary pinch hitter and was persuaded to stay when it became clear that Curly was not going to recover. Shemp contributed to dozens of shorts until he died a little under ten years he rejoined the troupe.

Ryan is joined by Rachel for this examination of four representational shorts from the Shemp era. Discussion topics include Shemp's days with the Stooges under Ted Healy, his lengthy career as a character actor outside of Stooge films, the differences between Shemp's persona and Curly's, the legacy of the "fake Shemp", the etymology of slapstick, and the impact of Jewish comedy on American cinema. 

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