Editing Curly Howard (section)

{{Short description|American comedian and actor (1903–1952)}}
{{Distinguish|Joe DeRita{{!}}"Curly" Joe DeRita}}
{{About||the DJ|Curly Howard (DJ)|the scientist|Jerome Horwitz}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Curly Howard
| image              = Curlyhoward.jpg
| caption            = Howard {{circa}} 1930s
| birth_name         = Jerome Lester Horwitz
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1903|10|22}}
| birth_place        = [[Brooklyn]], New York, U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1952|1|18|1903|10|22}}
| death_place        = [[San Gabriel, California]], U.S.
| resting_place      = [[Home of Peace Cemetery (Los Angeles)|Home of Peace Cemetery, Los Angeles]], California, U.S.
| othername          = Jerry Howard<br>Jerome Howard
| occupation         = {{hlist|Comedian|actor}}
| years_active       = 1928–1948
| spouse             = {{unbulleted list|{{marriage|Julia Rosenthal|1930|1931|end=div}}|{{marriage|Elaine Ackerman|1937|1940|end=div}}|{{marriage|Marion Buxbaum|1945|1946|end=div}}|{{marriage|Valerie Newman|1947<!--As marriage ended by death of Horwitz, not by death of his spouse, the year 1952 is omitted here. See instructions on [[Template:Marriage]] for more info-->}}}}
| children           = 2
| relatives          = [[Moe Howard]] (brother)<br>[[Shemp Howard]] (brother)<br>[[Joan Howard Maurer]] (niece)
| website            = {{URL|www.threestooges.com/curly-howard/|ThreeStooges.com}}
}}
'''Jerome Lester Horwitz''' (October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), better known by his stage name '''Curly Howard''', was an American comedian and actor. He was a member of [[The Three Stooges]] comedy team, which also featured his elder brothers [[Moe Howard|Moe]] and [[Shemp Howard]], as well as actor [[Larry Fine]]. In early shorts, he was billed as Curley. Curly Howard was generally considered the most popular and recognizable of the Stooges.<ref name="Scrapbook"/>

He was well known for his high-pitched voice and vocal expressions ("nyuk-nyuk-nyuk!", "woob-woob-woob!", "soitenly!" [certainly], "I'm a victim of soikemstance" [circumstance], and barking like a dog), as well as his [[physical comedy]] (e.g., falling on the ground and pivoting on his shoulder as he "walked" in circular motion), improvisations, and athleticism.<ref name="Scrapbook">{{cite book| last = Maurer| first = Joan Howard| author-link = Joan Howard Maurer|author2=Jeff Lenburg |author3=Greg Lenburg | title = The Three Stooges Scrapbook| publisher = Citadel Press| year = 1982| isbn = 0-8065-0946-5}}</ref> An untrained actor, Curly borrowed (and significantly exaggerated) the "woo woo" from "nervous" comedian [[Hugh Herbert]].<ref name="Okuda 1986 63"/> Curly's unique version of "woob-woob-woob" was firmly established by the time of the Stooges' second Columbia film, ''[[Punch Drunks]]'' (1934).<ref name="Scrapbook"/>

Howard had to leave the Three Stooges act in May 1946 when a massive [[stroke]] ended his show business career. He suffered serious health problems and several more strokes until his death in 1952 at age 48.