Topic: What if Shemp had never left? 2 Q's

[Shemoeley Fine]

Okay fellow Stooges fans, what if Shemp never left the trio way back when?

Let's assume the boys eventualy go solo as they did with Curly, would the Three Stooges have become as popular as they did and are now without Curly catapulting them into the highest level of fame-past & present?

Would it have been Curly to have had the outstanding career as a solo actor as older brother Shemp had? It's reasonable to assume he would've been "discovered" performing his band leader routine with his long, curly locks and uniform falling of while conducting the band gag?

Bonus Q,
Could he have become a famous hoofer, a song and dance man? Perhaps he would've lived longer without suffering the drama of his bald head leading him to consume so much alcohol and be so self conscious?

What's your speculation?

S F

[Giff me dat fill-em!]

Sorry for the blank post ... but I originally stated that Curly would not have become famous if it weren't for Moe, and I deleted that post and thought about it for awhile. Now, my thoughts are thus:

If Shemp had never left the group (1932), I think that the boys would have taken much longer to separate from Ted Healy (as long as Ted didn't die, that is), and as such, we would have a much abbreviated list of Stooge-Only eps to view today.

As far as Curly is concerned ... after much thought, I feel he probably would have become a comedian like Shemp (because Shemp "never" left the Stooges) and we would have a full list of Curly-Only eps to view instead of the Shemp-Only eps we now enjoy.

It would be a great exercise in imagination to wonder what "Curly" would have called himself if he were to be a single act?

[kinderscenen]

The impractical person in me (because you can't deny the market appeal of Curly) says that they were funnier when Shemp was there--just going by the miniscule amount of footage of Shemp in the Healy days (or maybe I hallucinated this?) and the early solo Shemp efforts, I certainly think they would've been more physical and most likely would've had more appeal to adults.

However, it was probably for the best that Shemp left then returned--the skills he gathered while doing solo work really came into play when he returned, and I think that gave them an edge with their TV appearances. Also, there was the added bonus of his less physical style--with the Stooges in their late 40s/early 50s, the "youthful" style of Curly may not have worked as well.

[Bangsmith]

If Shemp had never left, The Stooges would not have achieved the success that they did. I feel funny saying this, because Shemp is my favorite Stooge by far. It was Curly who made them household names initially, and it was Curly who spearheaded their renaissance in 1959 (not Curly-Joe, he merely rode the tide of success). I think they would have had about the level of success that, say, Abbott and Costello had.