Shemp was born Samuel Horwitz in Brooklyn, New York on March 17, 1895. He acquired the name "Shemp" when his mother, with her broad European accent, would call him "Sam," which sounded like "Shemp." Shemp graduated from P.S. 163 in Brooklyn. Shemp enrolled along with Moe at the Baron De Hirsch Trade School in New York where Shemp took up plumbing and Moe studied to be an electrician.
Shemp, like his brother Moe, had ambitions to be an entertainer. Shemp worked with his brother Moe in various amat