Soitenly
Moronika
The community forum of ThreeStooges.net

Curly died 56 years ago today (w/ video)

0 Members and 3 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline falsealarms

Realized today marks the 56th anniversery of the death of Curly Howard. One of the most intriguing Stooge questions is "what if" Curly had never fallen into bad health?

[youtube=425,350]NW1z_0jl3RQ[/youtube]



Offline Justin T

  • Toastmaster General
  • Birdbrain
  • ****
Wow, I didnt even realise it was today. Thanks False, that video of the guy visiting
Curly's grave was very cool. I liked seeing all those mementos left by people on his
grave and his name spelled out in rocks. Very cool.
"Moronica must expand! We must lend our neighbors a helping hand. We must lend them two helping hands, and help ourselves to our neighbors!"
Moe in "You Natzi Spy!"

Larry: Say, when I come back I’ll give you a password.
Moe: Brilliant, what’ll it be?
Larry: Open The Door!
"Studio Stoops"


Offline locoboymakesgood

  • I Loves Gravy!
  • Numbskull
  • ****
RIP my friend!

I did always wonder what the act would have been like had Curly never gotten ill. One can only wonder if they would have been even more popular when they were first syndicated for television.
"Are you guys actors, or hillbillies?" - Curly, "Hollywood Party" (1934)


Offline Pat The Stooge

He died on a friday afternoon on January 18,1952 at the Hollywood Baldy view Sanitarium from a massive stroke suffered while his fourth wife Valerie left the room for a moment. Legend has it that Jerry who was underweight and wheelchair bound slumped over and died when a nurse tried to revive him. Jerome Lester Howard was pronouced dead at 15:00 MT (3:00 PST)

The rest of the  stooges were on the set of "Booty and The Beast" when an intern took a phone call for Moe, Valerie delivered the news to Moe who burst into tears, when Shemp and Larry learned that Jerry Howard had died they burst into tears too sobbing "Babe is gone. Babe is gone."

When Jules White heard that Curly was dead he called an emergency meeting with the cast and crew at Columbia's short subject department and convinced Harry Cohn to give the Stooges a 16 week hiatus, as a result, production for "Booty And the Beast" was postponed until May 1952. Kinda Ironic that footage from "Hold That Lion" with Curly's cameo was still used a year after his death.


What IF Jerry's health didn't fail in 1945? That is a big question everyone is asking.  First of all in May 1945 after his first stroke suffered on the set of "Monkey Businessman" he should have asked for a hiatus and had Shemp return as an understudy.

Second, why didn't Harry cohn give a damn about Curly? A man's health should have been more important
then budget! After all Cohn  who was a jerkoff asswipe who tried and failed to maintain a sexual affair with Rita Hayworth and  was about to sign an death warrant robbing the stooges' of thier merchindising rights when he suddenly died of a stroke in Febraury 1958.


Offline Moe Hailstone

  • Chucklehead
  • ***
  • "I am Mattie Herring. Ah, my favorite dish!"
Sad day indeed... :'(

Rest in Peace.  You have given the gift of laughter to so many in the past, present and future.   [3stooges]
"Moronica must expand! We shall lend our neighbors a helping hand, we shall lend them two helping hands... and help ourselves to our neighbors!"  Moe Hailstone


Offline busybuddy

  • Busy Budy
  • Puddinhead
  • ***
A thing that makes me wonder is that when Lou Costello was sick, he got an ENTIRE YEAR off before he and Abbott made another film. So if the Stooges would went with Universal, would Curly have lasted longer?
I think Birdie will go for that!


Offline jrvass

  • Dickey-Do Award Winner!
  • Birdbrain
  • ****
I had seen the film before, but not his death certificate. 2 things surprise me.

One is his SSN is not obscured by Find-a-death. Major privacy violation there. Even though Curly is dead, it could affect his heirs.

The other is that he was in a "sanitarium". Sounds like an asylum. Thankfully that term has been softened to nursing home, hospice, and the like.

RIP Curly.

James
This prestigious award, has been presented to you.
Because your belly sticks out farther than your Dickey-Do!


Offline locoboymakesgood

  • I Loves Gravy!
  • Numbskull
  • ****
I had seen the film before, but not his death certificate. 2 things surprise me.

One is his SSN is not obscured by Find-a-death. Major privacy violation there. Even though Curly is dead, it could affect his heirs.

The other is that he was in a "sanitarium". Sounds like an asylum. Thankfully that term has been softened to nursing home, hospice, and the like.

RIP Curly.

James
Social Security numbers are public information once you pass away.
"Are you guys actors, or hillbillies?" - Curly, "Hollywood Party" (1934)



Offline curlysdame

damn, Pat the Stooge!  Those are some DEEEEP details.  :'(   thanks for sharing; where did you get that info? *curious* :o :o


RIP Curly   :angel:
"Imagine five things like us in one room??  I can't stand it!" - Curly (Time Out For Rhythm 1941)


Offline Pat The Stooge

damn, Pat the Stooge!  Those are some DEEEEP details.  :'(   thanks for sharing; where did you get that info? *curious* :o :o


  RIP Curly   :angel:
From Three Stooges Filmography book by Jon Solomon( 2001) and Curly Howard and The Three Stooges(1985) by Joan Howard Maurer I made some enteries at wikipedia because of the lack of accuracy claiming that Jerry married as a teen, when the book by Joan Howard Maurer stated that Jerry Howard was expelled from high school after he was caught visiting a brothel with several male students in Brooklyn.  The book also gave explict details around Curly's death which stated that Jerome Howard died on a Friday according to an interview Howard gave with her aunt Valerie about Jerry's last minutes alive.  I also posted on Wikipedia the exact accurate date of Shemp's death according to the L.A. County Coroner's death certificate: Tuesday November 22,1955 at 11:35 PM PST because it claimed that Shemp died on November 23.
 Please verify your information before posting.


Offline curlysdame

From Three Stooges Filmography book by Jon Solomon( 2001) and Curly Howard and The Three Stooges(1985) by Joan Howard Maurer I made some enteries at wikipedia because of the lack of accuracy claiming that Jerry married as a teen, when the book by Joan Howard Maurer stated that Jerry Howard was expelled from high school after he was caught visiting a brothel with several male students in Brooklyn.  The book also gave explict details around Curly's death which stated that Jerome Howard died on a Friday according to an interview Howard gave with her aunt Valerie about Jerry's last minutes alive. 


I don't mean to be a wise-dame, but I know Joan's biography of Curly backwards and forwards, and it doesn't say anything about him getting expelled from school after visiting a brothel.  Curly didn't finish school, but it's well assumed that he dropped out like Moe and Shemp.

Yes, he did die on a Friday.  Although, Joan didn't interview Valerie.  After Curly died, the two families grew apart and saw less and less of each other.  And then Valerie died sometime in 1961 from emphysema.  However, Joan did interview Valerie's sister, Natalie Emery, in 1985 for more details about Curly's final years, for the biography.  But, there was nothing in Natalie's interview about the literal last minutes of Curly's life.   [pie]

"Imagine five things like us in one room??  I can't stand it!" - Curly (Time Out For Rhythm 1941)


Offline s-mac


Offline Double Deal Decker

A bit late on my part, but R.I.P. , "Babe."  You may be gone, but you will never be forgotten.


Offline Pat The Stooge

curly was always my favorite stooge.. RIP. :'( :'(
Actaully it was from a 1985 biography written by Paul "Mousie" Garner that stated Jerry's last hours alive, according to the Ted Okuda scrapbook on Columbia's short subject department, production for "Booty and Beast" was postponed due to the death of Curly.

As for the the Jerry Howard expelled rumor, I had read years back that although Jerry never finished school, there was an alleged incident when he was a teenager that invovled him and  serveral male classmates going to a brothel circa 1920. Because of this alleged incident, it is rumored that Curly's family fabricated a story that Jerry was married as a teen and that his mother Jeannie annuled it when actaully Jerry Howard's first marriage was in mid 1930 to Julia Rosenthal.

Jerry Howard suffered a mild stroke in May 1945( a year before his major stroke) while on th set of Monkey Businessman, his doctor diagnosed him with high blood pressure and placed him on a boiled vegggies diet, because Harry Cohn forced him to follow his contract, Jerry was not allowed any time off, henchforth his health worsened.


Offline BeAStooge

  • Birdbrain
  • Master Stooge
  • Bunionhead
  • ******
Thanks to 'curlysdame' for taking the initiative, and being the first to point out the misinformation posted by 'Pat'...

I don't mean to be a wise-dame, but I know Joan's biography of Curly backwards and forwards, and it doesn't say anything about him getting expelled from school after visiting a brothel.  Curly didn't finish school, but it's well assumed that he dropped out like Moe and Shemp.

Yes, he did die on a Friday.  Although, Joan didn't interview Valerie.  After Curly died, the two families grew apart and saw less and less of each other.  And then Valerie died sometime in 1961 from emphysema.  However, Joan did interview Valerie's sister, Natalie Emery, in 1985 for more details about Curly's final years, for the biography.  But, there was nothing in Natalie's interview about the literal last minutes of Curly's life.   [pie]


Additional follow-up clarifications and corrections...

He died... at the Hollywood Baldy view Sanitarium from a massive stroke suffered while his fourth wife Valerie left the room for a moment. Legend has it that Jerry who was underweight and wheelchair bound slumped over and died when a nurse tried to revive him.

The rest of the  stooges were on the set of "Booty and The Beast" when an intern took a phone call for Moe, Valerie delivered the news to Moe who burst into tears, when Shemp and Larry learned that Jerry Howard had died they burst into tears too sobbing "Babe is gone. Babe is gone."

When Jules White heard that Curly was dead he called an emergency meeting with the cast and crew at Columbia's short subject department and convinced Harry Cohn to give the Stooges a 16 week hiatus, as a result, production for "Booty And the Beast" was postponed until May 1952. Kinda Ironic that footage from "Hold That Lion" with Curly's cameo was still used a year after his death.

... May 1945 after his first stroke suffered on the set of "Monkey Businessman"

... Harry cohn... was about to sign an death warrant robbing the stooges' of thier merchindising rights when he suddenly died of a stroke in Febraury 1958.

 - Baldy View Sanitarium is in San Gabriel, CA, not Hollywood

 - The details behind Curly's death, as presented above by 'Pat the Stooge,' are dramatized fiction

 - No Columbia production was ever postponed after Curly's death; the script for BOOTY AND THE BEAST is dated April, and went into production in May 1952, as originally intended

 - Curly's minor strokes can be traced back to early 1945, preceding IF A BODY MEETS A BODY; MONKEY BUSINESSMEN was filmed in January 1946, not May 1945

 - Harry Cohn had no "death warrant" plan to rob the Stooges of merchandising rights

... From Three Stooges Filmography book by Jon Solomon( 2001)
... and Curly Howard and The Three Stooges(1985) by Joan Howard Maurer
Actaully it was from a 1985 biography written by Paul "Mousie" Garner that stated Jerry's last hours alive, according to the Ted Okuda scrapbook on Columbia's short subject department, production for "Booty and Beast" was postponed due to the death of Curly.

As for the the Jerry Howard expelled rumor, I had read years back that although Jerry never finished school, there was an alleged incident when he was a teenager that invovled him and  serveral male classmates going to a brothel circa 1920. Because of this alleged incident, it is rumored that Curly's family fabricated a story that Jerry was married as a teen and that his mother Jeannie annuled it when actaully Jerry Howard's first marriage was in mid 1930 to Julia Rosenthal.

 - None of the books referenced above contain any stories, interviews, or otherwise that lend any credence to the imaginary tales posted by 'Pat the Stooge'

 - Mousie Garner's autobiography was not published in 1985; he wrote it in 1998, it was published in 1999; it contains no tales of Curly's death

 - Ted Okuda's and Ted Watz's The Columbia Comedy Shorts contains no tales of Jules White postponing the Stooges' shorts production due to Curly's death

 - No Stooge books, even the Forresters' book, contain a tale about Curly's marriage being a cover story for a teenaged brothel brouhaha



Offline curlysdame

Wow!  Thanks for picking up the slack, BeAStooge.  ....Unfortunately, that story about Jerry and the brothel is now in his biography at wikipedia.com   :-\

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curly_Howard
"Imagine five things like us in one room??  I can't stand it!" - Curly (Time Out For Rhythm 1941)


Offline Justin T

  • Toastmaster General
  • Birdbrain
  • ****
Wow!  Thanks for picking up the slack, BeAStooge.  ....Unfortunately, that story about Jerry and the brothel is now in his biography at wikipedia.com   :-\

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curly_Howard

Not anymore. I'm a registered memeber of wiki so I went and removed that from Curly's bio.
"Moronica must expand! We must lend our neighbors a helping hand. We must lend them two helping hands, and help ourselves to our neighbors!"
Moe in "You Natzi Spy!"

Larry: Say, when I come back I’ll give you a password.
Moe: Brilliant, what’ll it be?
Larry: Open The Door!
"Studio Stoops"


Offline jrvass

  • Dickey-Do Award Winner!
  • Birdbrain
  • ****
An applaud for you for fixing that!

James
This prestigious award, has been presented to you.
Because your belly sticks out farther than your Dickey-Do!


Offline curlysdame

An applaud for you for fixing that!

James

kudos Justin T! 
"Imagine five things like us in one room??  I can't stand it!" - Curly (Time Out For Rhythm 1941)


Offline Pat The Stooge

First of all, my apologies for the inaccuracies. I have gone back to read and researched to find the facts and after reading " THe Three Stooges Filmography" by Jon Solomon.

Accorrding to the book, Jerry died not long after production of "HE Cooked his Goose" was completed in Janaury 1952 here's the qoute from the book:  "This film was shot in late December 1951 early January 1952 when Christmas trees were still availible for purchase but not released until July 1952. When Belle answers the door, the Christmas trees are ommited. Curly Howard aged 48 passed away on January 18, several weeks after the film was shot. Although his health continued to deteriorate during his final five years, his fourth wife Valerie and daughter Janie made Jerome very happy. His favorite TV commedian was Jackie Gleason, and he enjoyed watching Beanie and Cecil with Janie."

Curly's fisrt stroke did occur in April 1945, during filming of "A bird in the Head" which was postponed on April 12 out of respect for the death of FDR. Direction Ed Berns recalled the Curly seemed disoriented,pale and incoherent during filming henceforce is why in Larry's 1972 autobiography, he incorrectly recalls Jerry's major stroke as April 1945. Both Mircophonies (which was released first) and Three Troubledoers were shot in May 1945. Before he begin production on "Three Troubledoers" his doctor diagnosed him with hypertension and obseity.

Getting to the alleged brothel incident, After doing research, I have found the 1985 biography by Paul Garner on  the Stooges, It is called "Stooges Cronicles" written by Jeffery Forrester and recorded by Paul Garner. unfortunely the book is now out of print. http://www.3-stooges.com/books/bookrvw.html#Chronicles%20Bio( it was written in 1982 so it contains accounts from the Stooges' surviving families including Larry's daughter who died in 1988, Shemp's widow, Curly's daughters and Joan and Norman Maurer. In the book, Garner who records and narrates, displays rare old family photos of the Howard brothers( including a young Jerry Howard with wavy black hair surrounded by two girls( taken circa 1923.) Shemp with his father Solomon taken in 1915, and newlywed photos of Moe and Shemp with Helen and Gertrude taken in 1925. the incident was have alleged to have occured in 1920. The book said that Curly was very successful with women and was expelled from school for a year after visting a brothel. After the incident, Howard decided not to finish school and decided to pursue acting, it also said that Jerry idolized his brothers and wanted to be like them. Out of the Horwitz chlidren, Shemp was the most misbehaved, Moses was the most insecure often teased about his long girly hair, and Jerry was well manered and loved by everyone. The book also had a still photo of Curly from Monkey Businessman looking pale and disheveled and puzzled with Moe helping him with his lines.


I read the book in 8th grade, My teacher once loaned it to me, now that I found it again I remember better about what I read from it. You can dig deep for this rare book which also includes in interview with Gertrude, and some info about his only son Morton(who died in 1972). Altough this book was written by Jeffrey Forrester, Garner who claimed that Columbia had considered him to replace Shemp in 1955 but was turned down by Moe who told him that him and Larry would be the two stooges didn't publish his autobiogrpahy  until 1998.


Offline BeAStooge

  • Birdbrain
  • Master Stooge
  • Bunionhead
  • ******
Getting to the alleged brothel incident...

I have found the 1985 biography by Paul Garner on  the Stooges, It is called "Stooges Cronicles" written by Jeffery Forrester and recorded by Paul Garner. unfortunely the book is now out of print.

http://www.3-stooges.com/books/bookrvw.html#Chronicles%20Bio

... In the book, Garner who records and narrates, ... The book said that Curly was very successful with women and was expelled from school for a year after visting a brothel. After the incident, Howard decided not to finish school and decided to pursue acting

Further clarifications...

The Stooge Chronicles is not a Paul "Mousie" Garner biography, nor did he record and narrate. Author Jeff Forrester quoted Garner several times, but that was the extent of Garner's involvement.

No brothel story in the book.


The above quoted link is obsolete. A virtually complete Bibliography of Three Stooges (and related) books, 1970 - Present, is available on this website. Chronicles may be out-of-print, but it and most OOP books remain easily accessible to fans from online used booksellers.


Offline curlysdame




No brothel story in the book.




yeah, i was gonna say... as soon as i saw pat the stooge's post, i went to straight to my copy of "Chronicles," thinking, "hmm, i don't remember seeing that"  and sure enough, no brothel story...

"I'm at a loss for adjectives"
"Imagine five things like us in one room??  I can't stand it!" - Curly (Time Out For Rhythm 1941)


Offline Pat The Stooge

Another note. The wikipedia page onced claimed that Joan H. Maurer said in the '85 Curly biography, that Curly had been married as a teen( I don't remember reading about that in the book) and that Jeannie annuled the marriage. Since I also have a wikipedia account, I tried numorous times to delete this claim but the site keep putting it back on there so I posted the brothel incident to conincide with thier claim.  speaking of the link, I just checked it and it works.

Jerry's first wife was Julia Rosenthal. they were briefly married in the early 1930s.


Offline curlysdame

Another note. The wikipedia page onced claimed that Joan H. Maurer said in the '85 Curly biography, that Curly had been married as a teen( I don't remember reading about that in the book) and that Jeannie annuled the marriage. Since I also have a wikipedia account, I tried numorous times to delete this claim but the site keep putting it back on there so I posted the brothel incident to conincide with thier claim.  speaking of the link, I just checked it and it works.

Jerry's first wife was Julia Rosenthal. they were briefly married in the early 1930s.

The question of the 'teen marriage' was brought up in "Curly" only because it had been somewhat debunked by Joan...

"After extensive interviews, some of which were with distant relations... I was floored when I discovered that Curly actually married his first wife when he was twenty-five years old" (Curly p. 50)

brothel incident:  Since all the sources that were given proved to be false (and that no one else has ever heard of this), I gotta file this under 'dramatized fiction', along with those 'details' of Curly's final minutes.
"Imagine five things like us in one room??  I can't stand it!" - Curly (Time Out For Rhythm 1941)