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Curly Howard
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===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 β Moe, Shemp, and Curly β 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}}
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