Fake Shemp

Fake Shemp is a name attributed to a specific role or character type. The term relates to someone who has to replace an actor for a scene, either as a stand-in, or a body double. This differs from traditional stand-ins, as the person who is the Shemp is not normally employed to perform this job function. Generally, these replacements are used whenever circumstances prevent the original actor from performing his or her part. The name is taken from Shemp Howard, who was 1/3rd of the vaudeville comedy sketch trio, The Three Stooges. Shemp was one of the original Stooges, and was eventually replaced with his more well-known younger brother, Jerome "Curly" Howard. Fake Shemp is never used in an in-universe context.

The most well-known version of a Fake Shemp are characters featured in the Evil Dead film series. They are the bodies of the recently deceased who have been resurrected and infused with demonic spirits. In the credits for The Evil Dead, all of these creatures are identified as "Fake Shemps".

In the Evil Dead film series, the possessed corpses are later referred to as "Deadites".

The Evil Dead
The following actors are all credited as "Fake Shemps" in The Evil Dead.


 * Phil Gillis
 * Dorothy Tapert
 * Cheryl Guttridge
 * Barbara Carey
 * David Horton
 * Wendall Thomas
 * Don Long
 * Stu Smith
 * Kurt Rauf


 * Ted Raimi
 * Ivan Raimi
 * Bill Vincent
 * Mary Beth Tapert
 * Scott Spiegel
 * John Cameron
 * Joanne Kruse
 * Gwen Cochanski
 * Debie Jarczewski

Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn

 * Sid Abrams
 * Josh Becker
 * Scott Spiegel


 * Thomas Kidd
 * Mitch Cantor
 * Jenny Griffith