| Hello Shemp Fans,
We're Sandie and Jill Howard, Shemp's granddaughters. We're not going to address what YOU, the wonderful fans already know. Instead we would like to share some personal sides of our grandfather and life as his granddaughters. Sandie never met Shemp. His passing was 10 months prior to her birth. Jill was fortunate to remember him though she was a wee tot of four years old. Our father Mort, Babe and Shemp's only child never followed into the
limelight of "center stage:. Mort was though as multi-talented as his father. Morts ambitions included writing script material for his father from time to time for fun. He was a terrific writer and a genius in his own right. Mort was accepted into a major college university at the tender age of 14, and he went! The path our dad followed was the love of working in the great outdoors. He owned and operated gasoline stations. Our dad was the first to start "self service gas" in the nation. Dad could of been in any career of his choosing but with also the love of writing he had correspondence with the late President Kennedy. Morts life came to a quick end at age 43, losing battle to cancer. Babe, our grandma...she was a wonderful and gutsy woman. She always said,"I'm gonna tell it like it is" |
Babe was also in Vaudeville under the stage name called: The Gertrude Frank Girls. They danced and sang and we're quite popular as opening acts. Through Jill and Sandie's growing up years we're spent with grandma Babe who ironically shared the exact nickname as Curly. Babe said it was very painful looking back at the past. We are still questioning why, to this day..... Her later years were lonely but we we're a very close family. Just a handful of individuals who were Shemp Fans we're able to get her to open up and speak of her times with the Stooges. One of Babes few stories but ones to remember were during war time, Babe was appointed Air Raid Warden and walked the streets at midnight of their Toluca Lake neighborhood. All homes would have to be tightly closed up without any light leaking out between the blinds. The sirens would roar! ear piercing while chills ran up and down your back. Shemp would dart like a cat under the piano and hold on to the leg, shaking with fear until her return. He'd yell out, "Babe, is it safe yet, can I come out"? Can't you just picture Shemp doing that in a scene? Babe also stated that our grandpa, unfortunately was the biggest frady cat ! Shemp carried terrible stage fright and threw up before almost every live performance, poor grandpa. |
Neither Shemp nor Babe drove. Shemp gave up driving after he drove through a store front window from a driving lesson from brother Moe. Grandma also mentioned on one occasion Shemp was on a set with a tiger and was petrified of it. He made the prop man run down a thick plate of glass to place between them to shoot the scene, hoping the tiger wouldn't attempt to jump through it. His other love was the fights. At ringside, the referee would have to come down and towel Shemp off as if he was in-side the ring boxing himself. Shemp took over the audience! He loved being on, the fans, signing autographs. He really made people laugh just with his body language, just walking into a room was funny. A kind, soft spoken individual who loved his family and his work. Shemp volunteered for charitable work as well. After the death of our grandmother Babe in the early 1980's we discovered hidden between her bed mattress, a personal diary of memos of some adventures with Shemp at home and on the road with the Stooges. We were never told about this diary. It is beautifully written and YET TO BE TOLD. Babe was an exquisite writer in her own right. We both hope to put this diary into print so all can read. Shemp constructed scrapbooks, of every single article, review, appearances from the beginning of this career to the end.
Continue to part 2 |
