#33: Shemp and Moe Howard, Performing as Howard and Howard in Vaudeville, 1919

Let me introduce you to Shemp and Moe Howard, or Howard and Howard, two brothers who comprised a popular vaudeville duo in the 1920s. Their comic routines might not have caught on so well today as they heavily utilized (and perhaps centered around) blackface, even bearing the title “A Study in Black.”

However, it was no obstacle to their popularity, and both Howard brothers later became a part of The Three Stooges Act’ at various times. You wouldn’t know it from looking at them in this photo, but these are some of the faces that shaped American comedy in the last century.