Editing Curly Howard (section)

==Illness==

===Decline===
By 1944, Curly Howard's energy began to wane. His performances in films such as ''[[Idle Roomers (1944 film)|Idle Roomers]]'' (1944)  and ''[[Booby Dupes]]'' (1945) present a Curly whose voice was deeper and his actions slower. It is believed that Howard suffered the first of several strokes between the production of ''[[Idiots Deluxe]]'' (October 1944) and ''[[If a Body Meets a Body]]'' (March 1945). Following the completion of the feature-length ''[[Rockin' in the Rockies]]'' (December 1944), he was persuaded by Moe Howard to seek medical attention and was admitted to [[Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital|Cottage Hospital]] in [[Santa Barbara, California]], on January 23, 1945. There, he received diagnoses of severe [[hypertension]], [[retinal hemorrhage]], and [[obesity]], necessitating a period of rest. Consequently, only five short films were released in 1945, a notable reduction from the usual six to eight per year.

Despite Moe Howard's appeals to Harry Cohn to grant his brother an extended leave to recuperate, Cohn refused to disrupt the production schedule of the profitable Stooges shorts.<ref name="Fleming"/> The team was afforded a hiatus of five months between August 1945 and January 1946, during which they undertook a demanding two-month live performance engagement in New York City, performing daily. During this period, Howard met Marion Buxbaum, whom he married on October 17, 1945, after a two-week courtship.<ref name="Scrapbook"/>

Upon returning to Los Angeles in late November 1945, Howard's health had deteriorated significantly. Despite two months of relative rest, the team's 1946 production schedule at Columbia resumed in late January, involving only 24 days of filming between February and early May. Even with an additional eight weeks of leave during this timeframe, Howard's physical and mental state continued to decline.<ref name="Scrapbook"/>

By early 1946, Howard's voice had grown increasingly coarse, and he struggled to recall even the simplest dialogue. He exhibited significant weight loss and pronounced facial lines, reflecting the toll of his deteriorating health.<ref name="Scrapbook"/>

===1946 stroke===
[[File:Stooges malice palace curly scene.jpg|thumb|Curly as the cook, in a still from Curly's cut scene in ''[[Malice in the Palace]]'' in 1949]]
''[[Half-Wits Holiday]]'', released in 1947, was Howard's final appearance as an official member of The Three Stooges. During filming on May 6, 1946, he suffered a severe [[stroke]] while sitting in director Jules White's chair, waiting to film the last scene. When called by the assistant director to take the stage, he did not answer. Moe looked for his brother; he found him with his head dropped to his chest. Moe later recalled that his mouth was distorted, and he was unable to speak, only able to cry. Moe immediately alerted White, leading the latter to rework the scene quickly, dividing the action between Moe and Larry while Curly was rushed to the hospital,<ref name="Okuda"/> where Moe joined him after the filming. Howard spent several weeks at the [[Motion Picture & Television Fund|Motion Picture Country House]] in [[Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California|Woodland Hills]] before returning home for further recovery.<ref name="Scrapbook"/>

In January 1946, Shemp had been recruited to substitute for a resting Curly during live performances in [[New Orleans]].<ref>"Moe and Shemp Howard and Larry Fine, the originals in the Three Stooges act, compose the trio to appear here. Curley [sic] Howard, who took Shemp's place after the act had been organized some years and whose appearance is familiar to movie audiences, is not on the current tour because of illness." ''[[The Times-Picayune]]''; January 18, 1946 edition</ref> After Curly's stroke, Shemp agreed to replace him in the Columbia shorts, but only until his younger brother was well enough to rejoin the act. An extant copy of the Stooges' 1947 Columbia Pictures contract was signed by all four Stooges and stipulated that Shemp's joining "in place and stead of Jerry Howard" would be only temporary until Curly recovered sufficiently to return to work full-time.<ref name="Fleming"/> However, Curly's health continued to worsen and it became clear that he would not be returning. As a result, Shemp's involvement became permanent.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Howard, partially recovered and with his hair regrown, made a brief cameo appearance in January 1947 as a train passenger barking in his sleep in the third film after brother Shemp's return, ''[[Hold That Lion! (1947 film)|Hold That Lion!]]'' (1947). It was the only film that featured Larry Fine and all three Howard brothers – Moe, Shemp, and Curly – simultaneously; director White later said he spontaneously staged the bit during Curly's impromptu visit to the soundstage:

{{blockquote|It was a spur-of-the-moment idea. Curly was visiting the set; this was sometime after his stroke. Apparently he came in on his own, since I didn't see a nurse with him. He was sitting around, reading a newspaper. As I walked in, the newspaper he had in front of his face came down and he waved hello to me. I thought it would be funny to have him do a bit in the picture and he was happy to do it.<ref name="Okuda">Okuda, Ted; Watz, Edward; (1986). ''The Columbia Comedy Shorts'', p. 69, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. {{ISBN|0-89950-181-8}}</ref>}}

In June 1948, Howard filmed a second cameo as an angry chef for the short ''[[Malice in the Palace]]'' (1949), but due to his illness, his performance was not deemed good enough, and his scenes were cut. A lobby card for the short shows him with the other Stooges, although he never appeared in the final release.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

===Retirement===
Still not fully recovered from his stroke, Howard met Valerie Newman and married her on July 31, 1947. A friend, Irma Leveton, later recalled, "Valerie was the only decent thing that happened to Curly and the only one that really cared about him."<ref name="Scrapbook"/> Although his health continued to decline after the marriage, Valerie gave birth to a daughter, Janie, in 1948.<ref name="A&E"/>

Later that year, Howard suffered a second massive stroke, which left him partially paralyzed. He used a wheelchair by 1950 and was fed boiled rice and apples as part of his diet to reduce his weight (and blood pressure). Valerie admitted him into the [[Motion Picture & Television Fund]]'s Country House and Hospital on August 29, 1950. He was released after several months of treatment and medical tests, although he returned periodically until his death.<ref name="Scrapbook"/>

In February 1951, Howard entered a nursing home, where he suffered another stroke a month later. In April, he went to live at the North Hollywood Hospital and Sanitarium.<ref name="Scrapbook"/>

===Final months and death===
[[File:Curly Howard Grave.JPG|thumb|Grave of Curly Howard, at [[Home of Peace Cemetery (East Los Angeles)|Home of Peace Cemetery]] in [[East Los Angeles, California]]]]
In December 1951, the North Hollywood Hospital and Sanitarium supervisor told the Howard family that Curly was becoming a problem to the nursing staff at the facility because of his mental deterioration. They admitted they could no longer care for him and suggested he be placed in a mental hospital. Moe refused and relocated him to the Baldy View Sanitarium in [[San Gabriel, California]].<ref name="Scrapbook"/>

On January 7, 1952, Moe was contacted on the Columbia set while filming ''[[He Cooked His Goose]]'' to help move Curly for what would be the last time. This proved unsuccessful, and Curly died eleven days later, on January 18, 1952.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VY_j1vzWnasC|title=Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer, Greg Lenburg - Google Books|isbn=9781613740859|via=books.google.ca|last1=Lenburg|first1=Jeff|last2=Maurer|first2=Joan Howard|last3=Lenburg|first3=Greg|year=2012|publisher=Chicago Review Press }}</ref> He lived the shortest life of the Stooges, dying at the age of 48. He was given a Jewish funeral and was buried at the Western Jewish Institute section of [[Home of Peace Cemetery (East Los Angeles)|Home of Peace Cemetery]] in [[East Los Angeles, California]].<ref name="Scrapbook"/> His older brothers Shemp and Benjamin would also be interred there in 1955 and 1976 respectively, near parents Jennie and Solomon.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}