When Curly bolted, I'm sure people (at least right-thinking people) thought, "There's no way they can replace Curly! He's a one in a million talent!

"Hey, this Shemp guy is pretty funny..."

Then later they thought, "Oh, Shemp is leaving. Big deal. They'll just plug in another part, and it will be just as good, because it's all about the formula."

Then they got a look at "Curly Joe". It was as if a million people cried out as one, and were suddenly silenced. Holy shit, was that guy unfunny.

Thanks for the Shemp. I used to wear my hair like a cross between his and Moe's. Now it looks a little more like Larry's.

You're right, "Curly" was one of a kind, and to "Shemp's" credit he didn't try to mimic "Curly," he came in with his own unique style and it worked. That's more that can be said for "Curly Joe" although nobody could possibly be as unfunny as "Joe Besser," Holy fucking shit! It was like he was allergic to violence, a great quality for a pacifist, not a stooge. Don't worry about the hair, any "stooge" style is a helleva lot better than the "Stan Laurel" dew I have to fight every day.

I'm embarrassed to say that I wasn't aware, until recently, that Shemp predated Curly initially, then succeeded him as well. I'll admit that I've never given Curley Joe a fair shake, and I'm not sure why.