Joe Palma - "Fake Shemp"

"Fake Shemp"

Today, Palma is best known as Shemp Howard's posthumous double. In 1955, Three Stooges member Shemp Howard died of a sudden heart attack. At the time, the Stooges still had four short films left to deliver on their annual contract with Columbia Pictures. By 1955, budget cuts had forced them to utilize stock footage from previous shorts as a matter of survival. As a result, the Stooges managed to complete the four films without Shemp. To do this, Palma was made up to resemble the late Stooge, complete with wig, and would be filmed only from the back or side. On occasion, Palma was required to add a brief line of dialogue or sound (most notably in Hot Stuff). The few new shots Palma appeared in were then edited together with the recycled footage containing the real Shemp, and "new" films were born.