Shelly Stoker

"No man is. We're all alone. We're all alone in this world."

- Shelly Stoker about her distrust for men. "God made some of us super pretty, and some of us knife-throwers. Now believe in the gift. You are a Stoker."

- Shelly Stoker to her daughter Candy.

Shelly Stoker is is the mother of young Candy Stoker and she is an expert knife thrower. In fact she is so, it was because of this gift of knife throwing has been passed down from generation to generation of women in her family. Shelly and her mother have began their winning streak in the mother/daughter "Prettiest Pretty Princess" pageants back in 1981 when they first won against young Joy and her mother in the pageant. She appeared alongside her daughter in Broke Joy's Fancy Figurine.

She was portrayed by Missi Pyle.

Before Season 1
Shelly came from a long line of Stoker women who were excellent knife throwers. That skill of theirs became so legendary the ladies within the Stoker family became famous throughtout Camden County and throughout time, like her ancestor was a skillful knife thrower in the time when there were traveling circuses across America. Then another of her family performed on Broadway when the cabaret music genre was playing at the time. And Shelly's mother was perfoming her well known knife-throwing skills during the era of the hippie culture.

Later in 1981, Shelly Stoker and her mother enter the mother/daughter beauty pageant called "Prettiest Pretty Princess". Together they beat young Joy Darville and her mother and won the competition. From then on, that is when it was the reign of the Stokers.

Season 1
After meeting the manufacturer of the "Prettiest Pretty Princess" figurine, Gertrude Balboa who explains that it has been a prize in a mother-daughter beauty pagent for over 40 years, and they can never be sold.

Earl decides to track down Shelly Stoker, a woman who, with her mother won the pagent many times, and was planning to win it again with her daughter, Candy. After Earl asked that he can buy a figurine from her, Shelly decided not to because she believed it would not set a positive example for Candy if she sold him one... before she yelled at Candy and said "If you do not put that book down, I don't know what!". She explained that she needed someone to help with the pair's talent section, and agreed to give Earl the figurine if he helped. He happily obliged, then realized that their talent was knife throwing. However, he was relieved to discover that both mother and daughter were capable of throwing the knives accurately, even Shelly's own daughter was pretty reluctant about her gift and everything. Shelly even told that no way they can lose because of the gift of knife throwing which has been passed down from generation to generation of Stoker women.

The competition went underway, led and hosted by local celebrity Tim Stack. While on backstage before the show Candy confesses to her mother that she does not want to follow the family line and be in show business by going all over the country after winning the pageant just like Shelly and her mother did before; instead she wants to go to school and one day become a doctor. However, her mother brushes off the concerns when She said "Honey, if I wanted a doctor, I would've have a boy". Earl listens in, and tells Candy to hit him in the leg with one of the knives during the performace so she can pursue her true dream. In the competition, Joy performs with her mother and recieves surprising good remarks from the crowd and judges. But when the Stokers come on stage and it becomes clear what they plan to do, the crowd becomes interested. Shelly throws all of her knives successfully, and as the crowd turns to Candy the little girl hits Earl in the leg, as he suggested. Shelly herself was utterly shocked at her daughter's "accidental mistake" and and left, knowingly lost the compettion because of it. Despite the pain, Earl is pleased that he helped Candy. Furthermore, Joy then wins the prize herself, and despite thinking that Earl now owes her a hot tub Earl knew he did not, because he enabled Joy to win the prize and bring back the little girl inside of her who was truly upset when she learnt that the figurine had been destroyed. He crossed her off his list. But more importantly, Shelly's daughter Candy was finally free and now can pursue her own goals in life.

Trivia

 * Shelly Stoker seems to have that same competitive nature and even an obnoxious personality as too did the mother of Violet Beauregarde from Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, though her daughter Candy is the walm and calm opposite of Violet Beaudegarde.