Fake Shemp

Fake Shemp, or simply Shemp, is someone who appears in a film as a replacement for another actor or person. Their appearance is disguised using methods such as heavy make-up, filming from the back, or using partial shots of the actor.

Origin

The term references the comedy trio The Three Stooges. On November 22, 1955, Stooge Shemp Howard died suddenly of a heart attack at age 60. At the time, the Stooges still had four shorts left to deliver (Rumpus in the Harem, Hot Stuff, Scheming Schemers, and Commotion on the Ocean), by the terms of their annual contract with Columbia Pictures. By this point in the trio's career, budget cuts at Columbia had forced them to make heavy use of stock footage from previously completed shorts anyway, so they were able to complete the films without Shemp. New footage was filmed of the other two Stooges (Moe Howard and Larry Fine) and edited together with stock footage. When continuity required that Shemp appear in these new scenes, they used Columbia supporting player Joe Palma to be a body double for him, often appearing only from behind or with an object obscuring his face.^[1] Palma is often mistakenly cited as Shemp's stand-in, but these four shorts are the only documented times he performed in this capacity. Joe Palma was a bit character actor and was not employed as a stand-in or double. Shemp's stand-in was usually Harold Breen, and there were others from time to time. But these four shorts required someone to double as Shemp in an actor's capacity, not a stand-in per se; hence, Jules White utilized character actor Palma. Palma became the original "Fake Shemp", although the term was not officially in use at the time.^[2]

The Stooge films

Rumpus in the Harem

For Rumpus in the Harem, Palma is seen from the back several times. The first time occurs in the restaurant when Moe declares that the trio must do something to help their sweethearts. Larry then concludes the conversation by saying "I've got it, I've got it!" Moe inquires with "What?" Larry replies, "a terrific headache!" Later, Palma is seen from the back being chased in circles by the palace guard. A few lines of dialogue appear — "Whoa, Moe, Larry! Moe, help!" — by dubbing Shemp's voice from the soundtracks of Fuelin' Around and Blunder Boys. Palma was later seen from the side when staring up at the Harem girls (they allowed half his face to be shown because he was farther from the camera than Moe or Larry).

Palma is seen one final time, making a mad dash for the open window, and supplying his own yell before making the final jump. This was one of the few times during his tenure as Shemp's double that Palma was required to speak without the aid of dubbing.

Hot Stuff

For Hot Stuff, Palma is seen several times. The first time occurs when the Stooges, disguised in beards, are trolling through office hallways. Moe instructs Shemp to pursue a suspicious looking girl, to which Palma grunts "Right!" He then walks off-camera, allowing Moe and Larry to finish the scene by themselves. This is the only time Palma allowed his face to be seen on-camera. As he was purposely wearing a beard, his face is successfully concealed.

Later, Palma is seen from the back while the boys are locked in the laboratory. Palma attempts to imitate Shemp's famed cry of "Heep, heep, heep!". Again, Moe directs Shemp, this time to guard the door. Palma obliges, mutters a few additional "Heep, heep, heeps!," and conveniently hides behind the door. This was another one of the few times during his tenure as Shemp's double that Palma was required to speak without the aid of dubbing.

Scheming Schemers

For Scheming Schemers, Palma appears for the shot of "Shemp" honking a truck horn. Palma then gathers several pipes, obstructing his face. Palma then gets a line of dialogue—"Hold yer horses, will ya?"—by dubbing in Shemp's voice from the soundtrack of The Ghost Talks. Shemp is absent from several scenes. In one scene Larry, upon hearing that a valuable piece of art has been stolen, whispers to Moe, "Where's Shemp? He loves pictures!" Moe mutters, "I think he's upstairs," explaining away Shemp's absence for the next few minutes.

Commotion on the Ocean

For Commotion on the Ocean, Palma appears in only one new shot during the newspaper office scene. After Larry says, "Oh, I know Smitty: 'Under the spreading chestnut tree, the village smitty stands'," Moe slaps him. Palma gets involved in the slapstick exchange and shields himself in defense, obstructing his face. Other new footage throughout the film consists of Moe and Larry working as a duo, often discussing Shemp's absence aloud:

• Moe: "I wonder what became of that Shemp?"
• Larry: "You know he went on deck to scout out some food."
• Moe: "Oh, yeah. That's right."

First usage

Aspiring filmmaker Sam Raimi, a professed Stooges fan, coined the term in his first feature-length movie The Evil Dead.^[3] Most of his crew and cast abandoned the project after major delays (mostly due to budget issues) pushed production well beyond the scheduled six weeks. He was forced to use himself, his die-hard friends Bruce Campbell, Rob Tapert, Josh Becker, assistant David Goodman, and brother Ted Raimi as "fake Shemps".^[4]

Sam Raimi's later productions in film and TV have also often used the term to refer to stand-ins or nameless characters. For example, 15 fake Shemps were included in the credits for Army of Darkness, Raimi's second sequel to The Evil Dead.^[5] The description is sometimes modified in the final credits; in Darkman, Bruce Campbell's quick cameo in the final scene is credited as "Final Shemp", and Campbell was also credited as "Shemp Wooley" (a pun on singer Sheb Wooley) when doing the voice of "Jean-Claude the Carrier Parrot" in the short-lived TV series Jack of All Trades.

FakeShemp.Net is an entertainment website based in Melbourne, Australia. Directed by film journalist Glenn Cochrane with contributions from filmmakers Jarret Gahan and Shaun Crawford the website features a popular podcast, interviews, reviews, videos and various other cinematic ramblings. The use of "Fake Shemp" as their title refers to the website's origins when it came from an amateur perspective.

Examples

There have been many Fake Shemps over the years. One of the earliest is director Ed Wood's use of his wife's chiropractor, Tom Mason, in 1959's Plan 9 from Outer Space as a stand-in for the deceased Bela Lugosi.

Another example is from Back to the Future Part II when Crispin Glover was asked to reprise the role of George McFly. Glover indicated interest, but could not come to an agreement with the producers regarding his salary. For the George McFly character to appear, director Robert Zemeckis used some previously filmed footage of Glover from the first film and inter-spliced Jeffrey Weissman, who wore prosthetics including a false chin, nose, and cheekbones and used various obfuscating methods, such as background, sunglasses, rear shot, and even upside-down, to resemble Glover. Dissatisfied with these plans, Glover filed a lawsuit against the producers, including Steven Spielberg, on the grounds that they neither owned his likeness nor had permission to use it. Due to Glover's lawsuit, there are now clauses in the Screen Actors Guild collective bargaining agreements that state that producers and actors are not allowed to use such methods to reproduce the likeness of other actors.^[6]

References

External links

• Fake Shemp at the Internet Movie Database
• Fake Shemp at TV Tropes
• What is a Fake Shemp?
• FakeShemp.Net - entertainment website.

See also Dark Horse Comic, AOD #2 of 3, interview with Bruce Campbell