BLONDIE KNOWS BEST: SHEMP PULLS OUT THE SLAPSTICK GAGS AND IS THE FILM’S COMIC HIGHLIGHT AS A NEARSIGHTED PROCESS SERVER.

SHEMP FILMED HIS LAST SOLO FEATURE APPEARANCE FOR COLUMBIA PICTURES IN MARCH AND APRIL 1946. BLONDIE KNOWS BEST WAS THE EIGHTEENTH OF TWENTY-EIGHT COLUMBIA COMEDIES BASED ON BLONDIE, CHIC YOUNG’S LONG-RUNNING COMIC STRIP ABOUT THE PRETTY BLONDE HOUSEWIFE AND HER DIMWITTED, SANDWICH-LOVING HUSBAND, DAGWOOD BUMSTEAD. …SHEMP PLAYS THE PROCESS SERVER TRYING TO HAND DAGWOOD A SUBPOENA. SHEMP’S CHARACTER JIM GRAY IS AT A SERIOUS DISADVANTAGE. HE IS NEARSIGHTED. HE PLAYS THE GAG THROUGH THE PICTURE, AND HIS ASIDES AND SLAPSTICK BITS ADD AN ADDITIONAL COMIC ELEMENT TO THE FAMILY COMEDY. (FROM SHEMP!)

CRAZY KNIGHTS (comedy-horror-romance, 1944) WHILE SIGNED TO A SOLO CONTRACT AT COLUMBIA, SHEMP HAD A FREELANCE DEAL WITH THE POVERTY ROW STUDIO, MONOGRAM PICTURES, WHERE  PRODUCER SAM KATZMAN  SHOT A TRIO OF COMEDIES TEAMING HIM WITH BILLY GILBERT AND FORMER BOXER “SLAPSIE” MAXIE ROSENBLOOM. CRAZY KNIGHTS WAS KNOCKED OFF IN LESS THAN A WEEK, BEGINNING ON AUGUIST 7, 1944, A MILE AND A HALF WEST OF GOWER STREET ON NORTH LABREA AVENUE. THE HORROR-COMEDY FOCUSED ON THE GILBERT-HOWARD PAIRING AS A COUPLE OF CARNIES WHO WORK WITH A LIVE GORILLA BILLED AS “BARNEY FROM BORNEO, THE GORILLA WITH THE HUMAN MIND.” ROSENBLOOM IS A CHAUFFEUR WHO JOINS THEM IN WHAT SEEMS TO BE A HAUNTED HOUSE. (FROM SHEMP!)

HELLZAPOPPIN’ (comedy musical, 1941) SHEMP WAS CAST IN TWO FILMS STARRING THE COMEDY TEAM OF OLE OLSEN AND CHIC JOHNSON. HELLZAPOPPIN’ WAS THE SCREEN VERSION OF OLSEN AND JOHNSON’S WILD, LONG-RUNNING MUSICAL COMEDY REVUE THAT HAD OPENED ON BROADWAY IN 1938. …SHEMP IS LOUIE THE PROJECTIONIST, HANDLING REELS OF FILM TO BE SCREENED FOR THE CROWD. WHEN HE HAS TROUBLE UNSPOOLING A REEL, HE MERELY TEARS OFF A PIECE OF FILM AND THROWS IT ON THE FLOOR. “THIS IS FINE PICKLEDILLY,” HE GRUMBLES. “FIFTEEN YEARS I BEEN RUNNIN’ THESE PICTURES AND MOW ALL OF A SUDDEN I GOTTA BE AN ACTOR!” (FROM SHEMP!)

STRANGE AFFAIR (action-adventure- whodunnit-comedy, 1944) OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS (1944-1946), SHEMP WOULD BE SLOTTED IN SUPPORTING ROLES IN FOUR FEATURE FILMS AT COLUMBIA. IN EARLY JUNE 1944, HE FILMED A CAMEO IN STRANGE AFFAIR, A COMEDIC MURDER MYSTERY STARRING ALLYN JOSLYN AND EVELYN KEYES. SHEMP IS A LAUNDRY TRUCK DRIVER WHO HAPPENS TO BE NEARSIGHTED. HE’S GOT A COUPLE OF FUNNY SCENES WITH JOSLYN, WORKING ALONG THE SIDES OF THE PLOT.  (FROM SHEMP!)

GIVE US WINGS (adventure-comedy, 1940) BACK ON THE UNIVERSAL LOT IN LATE AUGUST 1940, SHEMP HAD A SUBSTANTIAL SUPPORTING ROLE IN GIVE US WINGS. THE ADVENTURE-COMEDY WAS THE FIRST OF THREE FILMS (ALONG WITH HIT THE ROAD IN 1941 AND KEEP ‘EM SLUGGING IN 1943) THAT HE WOULD MAKE UNDER UNIVERSAL’S “DEAD END KIDS AND LITTLE TOUGH GUYS” BRAND, WHICH FEATURED FIVE OF THE ORIGINAL DEAD END KIDS (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF LEO GORCEY, STILL UNDER CONTRACT TO WARNER BROS.). HUNTZ HALL WAS ONE OF THE ORIGINALS AND, OF AL THE KIDS, THE ONE WITH WHOM SHEMP CONNECTED. SHEMP SAW REAL COMIC POTENTIAL IN THE YOUNG ACTOR AND COACHED HIM THROUGH THE COMEDY SCENES THAT WERE IMPORTANT TO THE SERIES. (FROM SHEMP!)

MURDER OVER NEW YORK (mystery, 1940)  ONCE AGAIN, SHEMP WAS CALLED IN FOR A SINGLE SCENE, ALTHOUGH THIS ONE WOULD BE SOMETHING OF A TOUR DE FORCE. IN MURDER OFVER NEW YORK, THE LATEST AMONG DOZENS OF PICTURES IN THE SERIES IN THAT FOLLOWED THE FICTIONAL HONOLULU POLICE DETECTIVE CHARLIE CHAN… SHEMP APPEARS IN “BROWNFACE,” AT LEAST TEMPORARILY, AS PART OF A POLICE LINEUP ASSEMBLED FOR “NUMBER TWO SON” JIMMY CHAN. AFTER JIMMY GETS A LOOK AT A MURDER SUSPECT WHO APPEARED TO BE EAST INDIAN, THE POLICE INSPECTOR ORDERS HIS MEN TO “ROUND UP EVERY HINDU IN TOWN.” …SHEMP, IN A LONG RAINCOAT, IS DEAD CENTER IN THE LINEUP OF SUSPECTS, ALTHOUGH, WITH HIS DARKENED SKIN, TURBAN, MUSTACHE, AND BEARD, HE’S NOT IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZABLE.  (FROM SHEMP!)

DAMON RUNYON’S BUTCH MINDS THE BABY  (comedy, 1942)  SHEMP PLAYS BLINKY SWEENEY, A MEMBER OF THE GANG WHO HAPPENS TO BE NEARLY BLIND. THE ROLE GIVES HIM THE BEST STAGE YET FOR HIS ‘NEARSIGHTED ROUTINE,” AND HE TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITY, WALKING INTO CLOSED DOORS (“OOH! WHO CLOSED THAT DOOR?”) OR WALKING INTO THE DOOR AFTER IT’S BEEN OPENED FOR HIM (“WHAT IS THAT? A REVOLVING DOOR?”) THE PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN INCLUDED A PRESS RELEASE: “ONE OF THE MOST UNUSUAL ELECTIONS EVER STAGED IN HOLLYWOOD TOOK PLACE ON THE LOT OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS DURING THE FILMING OF BUTCH MINDS THE BABY. … IT WAS TO CHOOSE THE UGLIEST MAN IN HOLLYWOOD AND THE ‘HONOR’ WAS ACCORDED SHEMP HOWARD. “ (FROM SHEMP!)

PRIVATE BUCKAROO (comedy musical, 1942)  A HIGH POINT IN SHEMP HOWARD’S CAREER. ACCORDING TO EDWARD WATZ, SHEMP WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE THE LEADING COMEDIC ROLE IN THE FILM — BUT HE TOOK IT, PULLING OUT ALL THE COMEDIC STOPS IN EVERY SCENE HE PLAYED.  ONCE AGAIN, SOMEBODY NOTICED: “A BONAFIDE STUDIO GENIUS REALIZED THAT SHEMP WAS WALKING AWAY WITH THE FILM, SO ALL OF HIS SCENES WERE INCLUCED IN THE FINAL CUT, MAKING BUCKAROO THE CLOSEST THING TO A FEATURE FILM STARRING SHEMP.” IT’S THE PICTURE’S FINALE, AN ARMY CAMP VARIETY SHOW, THAT PROVIDES A TRANSCENDENT SHEMP MOMENT…  (FROM SHEMP!)