WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.720 Have you ever known someone who is just the absolute 00:00:03.720 --> 00:00:06.320 life of the party? Oh, sure. The person who is 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:09.179 just always on. Right, exactly. Always on. The 00:00:09.179 --> 00:00:11.539 type of person who can make an entire room erupt 00:00:11.539 --> 00:00:14.240 in laughter with, you know, just a look or some 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:16.379 silly noise. We all know someone like that. Yeah, 00:00:16.420 --> 00:00:18.280 but then when you actually get to know them on 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:20.839 a personal level, you realize they secretly hide 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:24.609 this really deep... quiet vulnerability underneath 00:00:24.609 --> 00:00:27.089 all that volume. It's surprisingly common. It 00:00:27.089 --> 00:00:29.730 really is. And today we are bringing you a deep 00:00:29.730 --> 00:00:32.270 dive that explores exactly that kind of paradox. 00:00:32.770 --> 00:00:36.030 We are unpacking a really comprehensive set of 00:00:36.030 --> 00:00:38.750 source material, basically the definitive profile 00:00:38.750 --> 00:00:41.850 of a true American comedy icon. Curly Howard. 00:00:41.969 --> 00:00:44.490 Curly Howard of the Three Stooges. And our mission 00:00:44.490 --> 00:00:47.210 for this deep dive is to look way past the slaps, 00:00:47.229 --> 00:00:49.329 the eye pokes, the catchphrases. The things everyone 00:00:49.329 --> 00:00:52.539 knows. Right. We want to uncover how a shy, quiet 00:00:52.539 --> 00:00:55.560 kid from Brooklyn created this indestructible 00:00:55.560 --> 00:00:58.140 pop culture phenomenon. And we really want to 00:00:58.140 --> 00:01:01.179 examine the immense personal toll that his comedic 00:01:01.179 --> 00:01:03.979 genius ultimately took on him. It is a totally 00:01:03.979 --> 00:01:06.840 captivating story because this is not just your 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:09.739 standard biography. Not at all. No. It is this 00:01:09.739 --> 00:01:12.900 fascinating look at the intersection of raw, 00:01:13.180 --> 00:01:16.719 natural talent, the evolution of physical comedy, 00:01:16.859 --> 00:01:21.599 and the... incredibly grueling, really unforgiving 00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:24.159 machinery of the golden age of Hollywood. It 00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:26.739 was brutal. Brutal. I mean, what happens when 00:01:26.739 --> 00:01:30.579 a person's greatest insecurity becomes the very 00:01:30.579 --> 00:01:33.700 thing that makes them famous? That is the core 00:01:33.700 --> 00:01:36.000 question of Curly's life. So let's start from 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:37.780 the very beginning, before he was a household 00:01:37.780 --> 00:01:41.319 name. He was born Jerome Lester Horowitz. In 00:01:41.319 --> 00:01:43.299 the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. Right, in 00:01:43.299 --> 00:01:46.810 1903. Two Lithuanian Jewish parents. He was the 00:01:46.810 --> 00:01:48.629 youngest of five brothers, which earned him the 00:01:48.629 --> 00:01:51.109 lifelong nickname Babe. Babe, yeah. But from 00:01:51.109 --> 00:01:53.370 what I understand, he wasn't always this indestructible 00:01:53.370 --> 00:01:55.390 cartoon character we know from the screen. He 00:01:55.390 --> 00:01:57.329 was actually quite athletic. Very athletic as 00:01:57.329 --> 00:01:59.569 a kid. But he had a life -altering incident when 00:01:59.569 --> 00:02:01.569 he was young. What exactly happened there? Well, 00:02:01.629 --> 00:02:04.450 when Jerome was just 13 years old, he was cleaning 00:02:04.450 --> 00:02:06.849 a rifle. Yeah, and he accidentally shot himself 00:02:06.849 --> 00:02:10.550 in the left ankle. His older brother, Moe, actually 00:02:10.550 --> 00:02:13.189 had to rush him to the hospital. which ultimately 00:02:13.189 --> 00:02:15.969 saved his life. But the injury left him with 00:02:15.969 --> 00:02:19.050 a noticeably thinner left leg. And a limp, right? 00:02:19.250 --> 00:02:21.750 Yes, a permanent slight limp. That sounds like 00:02:21.750 --> 00:02:23.990 an incredibly traumatic experience for a teenager. 00:02:24.250 --> 00:02:26.550 And obviously it had a massive impact on his 00:02:26.550 --> 00:02:28.629 future career, especially getting into physical 00:02:28.629 --> 00:02:31.370 comedy. How did he adapt to that injury once 00:02:31.370 --> 00:02:33.550 he actually started performing? The psychology 00:02:33.550 --> 00:02:36.069 behind his adaptation is really the key to everything. 00:02:36.389 --> 00:02:39.629 He was so terrified of surgery after the initial 00:02:39.629 --> 00:02:42.050 accident. Which makes sense. Completely. So he 00:02:42.050 --> 00:02:44.270 absolutely refused to ever get the ankle medically 00:02:44.270 --> 00:02:46.870 corrected. Fast forward to his time on screen 00:02:46.870 --> 00:02:49.360 with the Stooges. If you're listening to this 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:51.759 right now, you can probably picture his famously 00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:54.759 exaggerated sweeping circular walk. Oh, absolutely. 00:02:54.900 --> 00:02:57.240 The floor spin walk. Right. That walk was not 00:02:57.240 --> 00:02:59.639 originally designed as a joke. Really? No, it 00:02:59.639 --> 00:03:02.360 was born entirely out of his desire to mask that 00:03:02.360 --> 00:03:04.740 physical childhood trauma. He was just trying 00:03:04.740 --> 00:03:08.580 to hide his limp from the audience. Wow. necessity 00:03:08.580 --> 00:03:11.020 breeding invention right there. He turned a physical 00:03:11.020 --> 00:03:13.560 insecurity into literally one of the most recognizable 00:03:13.560 --> 00:03:16.759 comedic walks in history. Exactly. But his entry 00:03:16.759 --> 00:03:19.000 into show business didn't immediately involve, 00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:21.439 you know, getting hit in the head with a wrench 00:03:21.439 --> 00:03:23.319 alongside his brothers. He had a surprisingly 00:03:23.319 --> 00:03:25.719 elegant start, didn't he? He did. He was actually 00:03:25.719 --> 00:03:28.080 an accomplished ballroom dancer. I just can't 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:30.759 picture that. It's hard to imagine. But he would 00:03:30.759 --> 00:03:33.199 regularly turn up at the Triangle Ballroom in 00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:36.639 Queens. and his first real stage appearance was 00:03:36.639 --> 00:03:40.139 in 1928, working as a comedic musical conductor 00:03:40.139 --> 00:03:42.819 for the Orville Knapp Orchestra. Okay, so he 00:03:42.819 --> 00:03:46.300 was conducting. Yes, but his whole act was conducting 00:03:46.300 --> 00:03:49.039 the ensemble with his arms flailing so wildly 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:51.360 that he was completely oblivious to the fact 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:53.400 that his pants were falling down. That is hilarious. 00:03:53.620 --> 00:03:56.479 His brother Mo even remembered that Jerome's 00:03:56.479 --> 00:03:59.719 pant -dropping routine usually completely overshadowed 00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:01.860 the band itself. People were just watching him. 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:04.219 That definitely shows he already had that innate 00:04:04.219 --> 00:04:07.699 sense of timing and physical absurdity. But how 00:04:07.699 --> 00:04:09.840 does a ballroom dancer with a pant -dropping 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:13.120 routine eventually become the third stooge? Because 00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:15.800 the stooges originally started under a very different 00:04:15.800 --> 00:04:17.819 dynamic. Right. They originally worked under 00:04:17.819 --> 00:04:20.660 a vaudeville star named Ted Healy. Healy, right. 00:04:20.920 --> 00:04:25.000 By 1932, Jerome's older brother Shemp had grown 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:28.360 really tired of Healy's abrasiveness. And Healy 00:04:28.360 --> 00:04:31.139 had severe alcoholism. So Shemp walks away. Shemp 00:04:31.139 --> 00:04:34.639 quits the act. Moe suggested his kid brother 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:37.850 Jerome could fill the spot. So Jerome actually 00:04:37.850 --> 00:04:40.350 ran through his Orville Knapp pants -dropping 00:04:40.350 --> 00:04:42.730 routine for Healy to audition. I have to imagine 00:04:42.730 --> 00:04:44.990 Healy was thrilled to find someone with that 00:04:44.990 --> 00:04:47.370 kind of physical comedy chops already developed. 00:04:47.689 --> 00:04:50.089 Actually, he completely rejected him. Wait, really? 00:04:50.389 --> 00:04:52.870 Yeah, Healy told Moe to get him a real comedian, 00:04:53.009 --> 00:04:55.490 not some amateur whose only trick was letting 00:04:55.490 --> 00:04:58.449 his pants fall down. Ouch. And more importantly, 00:04:58.670 --> 00:05:00.850 he said Jerome didn't even look right for the 00:05:00.850 --> 00:05:03.329 part. What did he mean by not looking right? 00:05:03.509 --> 00:05:05.509 I mean, vaudeville acts had all sorts of different 00:05:05.509 --> 00:05:08.470 looking characters. Well, Jerome had thick chestnut 00:05:08.470 --> 00:05:12.029 hair and a very elegant waxed mustache. The ballroom 00:05:12.029 --> 00:05:14.689 dancer look. Exactly. Healy basically told him 00:05:14.689 --> 00:05:17.129 he looked too good. He was too handsome for low 00:05:17.129 --> 00:05:20.259 slapstick comedy. In the harsh world of vaudeville 00:05:20.259 --> 00:05:22.120 stooking, you need to look like a punching bag. 00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:25.319 Not a leading man. Right. So Jerome is faced 00:05:25.319 --> 00:05:28.120 with this ultimate rejection based on his looks. 00:05:28.379 --> 00:05:31.120 How does he pivot from being too handsome to 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:34.120 becoming the iconic Curly? That rejection is 00:05:34.120 --> 00:05:37.040 the pivotal moment of his life. Jerome leaves 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:39.699 the room, and when he returns just minutes later, 00:05:39.860 --> 00:05:42.500 he has completely shaved his head right down 00:05:42.500 --> 00:05:44.600 to the skin. Just totally buzzed it off. They 00:05:44.600 --> 00:05:47.199 bawled. He sacrificed his vanity right then and 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:49.639 there to prove he was dedicated to the lowbrow 00:05:49.639 --> 00:05:52.620 comedy Healy demanded. Mo actually recalled the 00:05:52.620 --> 00:05:54.660 exact moment Jerry walked back in the room, and 00:05:54.660 --> 00:05:57.620 Mo said, Hey, Curly. And Larry Fine looked at 00:05:57.620 --> 00:05:59.939 him and said, What did you call him? Mo repeated, 00:06:00.180 --> 00:06:02.959 Curly. And Larry responded, That's all right. 00:06:02.980 --> 00:06:05.100 I thought you said Gurley. And just like that, 00:06:05.240 --> 00:06:08.100 the elegant Jerome Horwitz was gone. It really 00:06:08.100 --> 00:06:10.220 highlights how much performers had to physically 00:06:10.220 --> 00:06:13.600 alter themselves to fit a very narrow mold in 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:16.240 that era of entertainment. It was a huge sacrifice. 00:06:16.699 --> 00:06:19.699 It sold the act to Ted Healy, but it was one 00:06:19.699 --> 00:06:23.339 Curly deeply resented on a personal level. In 00:06:23.339 --> 00:06:25.439 one of the very few interviews he ever gave, 00:06:25.540 --> 00:06:27.100 he complained about having to shave his hair 00:06:27.100 --> 00:06:29.899 off. Professionally, though, it was the catalyst 00:06:29.899 --> 00:06:32.259 that launched him into superstardom. And what 00:06:32.259 --> 00:06:36.149 a rise to stardom it was. In 1934, the Stooges 00:06:36.149 --> 00:06:38.810 split from Ted Healy to join Columbia Pictures, 00:06:38.970 --> 00:06:42.129 and their third short film, Men in Black, actually 00:06:42.129 --> 00:06:44.689 got nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short 00:06:44.689 --> 00:06:47.490 Subject. Which is incredible for slapstick. It 00:06:47.490 --> 00:06:49.930 lost to a film called La Cucaracha, but it bumped 00:06:49.930 --> 00:06:53.410 their salaries to an exceptional $2 ,500 per 00:06:53.410 --> 00:06:55.490 short. That was huge money then. For context, 00:06:55.730 --> 00:06:58.350 Columbia usually paid between $500 and $1 ,000 00:06:58.350 --> 00:07:01.100 per short. They became the studio's most popular 00:07:01.100 --> 00:07:04.519 short subject attraction, and Curly was undeniably 00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:07.079 the breakout star. Undeniably. But he didn't 00:07:07.079 --> 00:07:09.220 have the typical background of a Hollywood star, 00:07:09.300 --> 00:07:12.399 did he? He had absolutely zero formal acting 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:16.639 training. None. None. His comedy was pure, unfiltered 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:19.399 instinct and frantic energy. Just raw talent. 00:07:20.090 --> 00:07:22.810 Directors like Jules White quickly realized that 00:07:22.810 --> 00:07:25.689 trying to script Curly too tightly was a massive 00:07:25.689 --> 00:07:28.850 mistake. White would literally leave blank gaps 00:07:28.850 --> 00:07:31.449 in the script. Just empty pages. Yeah, he would 00:07:31.449 --> 00:07:33.290 tell Curly they had a gap to fill in with some 00:07:33.290 --> 00:07:35.670 bit of business, fully trusting that Curly would 00:07:35.670 --> 00:07:37.990 improvise something brilliant on the spot once 00:07:37.990 --> 00:07:39.800 the cameras rolled. For those of you listening 00:07:39.800 --> 00:07:42.100 who enjoy modern comedy, you know that feeling 00:07:42.100 --> 00:07:44.560 of watching an actor totally break character 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:47.139 and go off script to create a magical moment. 00:07:47.560 --> 00:07:49.759 Curly was essentially pioneering that feeling, 00:07:49.939 --> 00:07:53.639 but within the rigid structure of 1930s slapstick. 00:07:53.879 --> 00:07:56.420 He was a machine. I imagine that lack of formal 00:07:56.420 --> 00:07:58.579 training made him a bit unpredictable on set 00:07:58.579 --> 00:08:00.540 when it came to actually remembering lines, though. 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:03.439 Unpredictable is the perfect word. Most actors, 00:08:03.540 --> 00:08:05.800 when they forget a line, will freeze, turn pale, 00:08:05.980 --> 00:08:08.220 and ask the director for a prompt. Curly never 00:08:08.220 --> 00:08:10.300 broke character. What would he do? If he forgot 00:08:10.300 --> 00:08:12.519 his line, he would drop down to the floor and 00:08:12.519 --> 00:08:15.459 spin around ten times like a top, until the line 00:08:15.459 --> 00:08:18.040 finally came back to him. That is amazing. The 00:08:18.040 --> 00:08:20.259 camera could just keep rolling, and the audience 00:08:20.259 --> 00:08:22.279 would just think it was another hilarious piece 00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:26.019 of physical comedy. That floor spin is legendary. 00:08:26.300 --> 00:08:28.839 And it wasn't just physical movements. He developed 00:08:28.839 --> 00:08:31.459 an entire symphony of sounds that completely 00:08:31.459 --> 00:08:33.879 defined his character. He developed an entire 00:08:33.879 --> 00:08:36.789 vocabulary. Lots of Brooklyn -accented reactions 00:08:36.789 --> 00:08:39.789 and high -pitched expressions. He famously used 00:08:39.789 --> 00:08:42.610 a non -rhotic dialect. Right, which essentially 00:08:42.610 --> 00:08:45.590 means dropping the R sounds at the ends of words, 00:08:45.789 --> 00:08:48.350 typical of a classic old -school Brooklyn accent. 00:08:48.629 --> 00:08:50.830 You hear that clearly when he says his famous 00:08:50.830 --> 00:08:54.879 catchphrase, I am a victim of circumstance. Instead 00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:57.139 of circumstance. Exactly. And of course, there's 00:08:57.139 --> 00:09:00.220 the famous yuck, nyuck, nyuck, usually accompanied 00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:02.899 by that manic finger snapping. Plus the barking 00:09:02.899 --> 00:09:04.879 like a dog whenever he saw an attractive woman 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:07.460 or right before giving an enemy a final shove. 00:09:07.720 --> 00:09:10.080 He also had his signature whoop, whoop, whoop. 00:09:10.610 --> 00:09:12.750 Interestingly, he synthesized a lot of these 00:09:12.750 --> 00:09:15.610 influences. He actually borrowed that whoop -whoop 00:09:15.610 --> 00:09:17.889 sound from a nervous comedian named Hugh Herbert. 00:09:18.049 --> 00:09:20.490 Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, but he significantly 00:09:20.490 --> 00:09:23.450 exaggerated it until it became something entirely 00:09:23.450 --> 00:09:25.990 original and firmly his own. He also had these 00:09:25.990 --> 00:09:28.870 brilliant linguistic quirks built into the act. 00:09:29.029 --> 00:09:31.169 One of the most fascinating details from the 00:09:31.169 --> 00:09:34.309 source material is his uncanny ability to instantly 00:09:34.309 --> 00:09:38.000 spell complex words. Yes. If a character asked 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:39.779 him to spell chrysanthemum, he could rattle it 00:09:39.779 --> 00:09:42.639 off perfectly. But the brilliant comedic catch 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:44.600 was that he could only do it when it absolutely 00:09:44.600 --> 00:09:47.460 didn't matter. That was the genius of it. Whenever 00:09:47.460 --> 00:09:49.200 there was something important at stake, like 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:51.539 a moment that could land the Stooges a much -needed 00:09:51.539 --> 00:09:54.600 job, he'd miss the opportunity entirely, prompting 00:09:54.600 --> 00:09:56.519 Moe to smack him and ask where he was a minute 00:09:56.519 --> 00:09:59.399 ago. That was the magic of his on -screen persona. 00:09:59.700 --> 00:10:02.740 He had this indestructible head that broke saws 00:10:02.740 --> 00:10:05.500 and hammers, and this overwhelming childlike 00:10:05.500 --> 00:10:08.159 merriment. But if we turn to the man behind the 00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:11.639 curtain, the contrast is stark. And quite heartbreaking. 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:15.980 Very. Off screen, Curly was the exact opposite 00:10:15.980 --> 00:10:19.139 of that boisterous, unbridled character. It is 00:10:19.139 --> 00:10:21.340 always striking to learn how different comedians 00:10:21.340 --> 00:10:24.090 are when the cameras stop rolling. From what 00:10:24.090 --> 00:10:27.429 we know, he was incredibly quiet, reserved, and 00:10:27.429 --> 00:10:30.409 introspective. He largely avoided social interactions. 00:10:30.750 --> 00:10:34.029 The only times he was truly loud or energetic 00:10:34.029 --> 00:10:36.330 off -camera was when he was actively performing, 00:10:36.529 --> 00:10:38.889 spending time with his family, or when he was 00:10:38.889 --> 00:10:41.929 inebriated. And that brings us back to the psychological 00:10:41.929 --> 00:10:44.629 impact of the shaved head. The shaved head really 00:10:44.629 --> 00:10:47.389 destroyed his self -esteem. It did. He felt that 00:10:47.389 --> 00:10:49.809 it made him look unappealing to women and completely 00:10:49.809 --> 00:10:53.460 juvenile, to feel masculine, and to... hide what 00:10:53.460 --> 00:10:56.200 he perceived as a massive flaw, he constantly 00:10:56.200 --> 00:10:58.639 wore hats in public. He was just deeply uncomfortable 00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:01.539 in his own skin. Right. And to manage these profound 00:11:01.539 --> 00:11:03.960 feelings of inadequacy, he increasingly resorted 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:06.299 to excessive drinking and very indulgent social 00:11:06.299 --> 00:11:08.700 behavior. It seems like he was constantly searching 00:11:08.700 --> 00:11:11.059 for validation to fill that void. And that led 00:11:11.059 --> 00:11:13.299 to him being an absolute pushover in his personal 00:11:13.299 --> 00:11:15.360 life, especially when it came to love and money. 00:11:15.500 --> 00:11:17.759 He went through four marriages. Four marriages, 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:21.769 yeah. And he had a chaotic financial life. marked 00:11:21.769 --> 00:11:25.409 by lavish spending on food, wine, real estate, 00:11:25.529 --> 00:11:28.850 and women. Moe's son -in -law, Norman Moore, 00:11:29.070 --> 00:11:31.789 actually painted a pretty bleak picture of how 00:11:31.789 --> 00:11:34.789 easily Curly could be taken advantage of. Moore 00:11:34.789 --> 00:11:37.289 noted that Curly was an absolute pushover for 00:11:37.289 --> 00:11:40.470 women. If a pretty girl approached him with a 00:11:40.470 --> 00:11:43.159 convincing story, Curly would marry her. She 00:11:43.159 --> 00:11:45.299 would take his money and then she would run off. 00:11:45.379 --> 00:11:48.299 Just terrible. And he exhibited the exact same 00:11:48.299 --> 00:11:51.000 impulsive behavior with real estate agents. If 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:52.659 an agent told him they had a great house for 00:11:52.659 --> 00:11:55.000 him, he would sell his current home and buy a 00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:57.720 new one on a whim. Think about how exhausting 00:11:57.720 --> 00:11:59.840 that must be for you as an individual, living 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:02.980 a constant state of financial and romantic upheaval, 00:12:03.080 --> 00:12:05.460 while simultaneously having to go to work every 00:12:05.460 --> 00:12:07.580 day and pretend to be the happiest, most energetic 00:12:07.580 --> 00:12:09.799 person on the planet. It got to the point where 00:12:09.799 --> 00:12:12.519 his brother Mo had to legally step in just to 00:12:12.519 --> 00:12:14.919 keep Curly out of bankruptcy. Mo managed his 00:12:14.919 --> 00:12:17.159 finances, helped with his budgeting, and even 00:12:17.159 --> 00:12:19.639 prepared his income tax returns. Amidst all that 00:12:19.639 --> 00:12:23.299 chaos, though, there is a deeply endearing, humanizing 00:12:23.299 --> 00:12:26.929 aspect to how he found comfort. Curly had an 00:12:26.929 --> 00:12:29.250 immense compassion for animals. Specifically 00:12:29.250 --> 00:12:33.490 stray dogs. Yes. During World War II, the Stooges 00:12:33.490 --> 00:12:35.769 suspended filming for seven months each year. 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:38.879 to go on grueling tours, performing for servicemen 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:41.419 across the country. Which was incredibly demanding. 00:12:41.720 --> 00:12:44.539 These tours were physically exhausting. But during 00:12:44.539 --> 00:12:47.100 these travels, Curly would constantly adopt stray 00:12:47.100 --> 00:12:49.740 dogs he found in different towns. Picture this 00:12:49.740 --> 00:12:52.379 incredibly famous comedian traveling from town 00:12:52.379 --> 00:12:54.700 to town in the 1940s, taking these homeless dogs 00:12:54.700 --> 00:12:56.759 along with him until he could find them good 00:12:56.759 --> 00:12:59.120 homes. And he kept several dogs at his own house 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:01.700 as well. It speaks to a profound gentleness in 00:13:01.700 --> 00:13:04.220 his character, a need to care for something vulnerable, 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:06.720 perhaps because... as he felt so incredibly vulnerable 00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:09.480 himself. Unfortunately, the intense pressures 00:13:09.480 --> 00:13:11.779 of his career, combined with his coping mechanisms, 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:15.460 began to catch up with him very quickly. By 1944, 00:13:15.899 --> 00:13:17.860 the unforgiving Hollywood machine was taking 00:13:17.860 --> 00:13:20.730 a massive physical toll. You can see it in films 00:13:20.730 --> 00:13:23.529 from that time like Idle Rumors and Booby Doops. 00:13:23.629 --> 00:13:27.309 His incredibly high energy started to wane. His 00:13:27.309 --> 00:13:29.850 voice deepened and his movements slowed down 00:13:29.850 --> 00:13:32.250 considerably. He was struggling. What exactly 00:13:32.250 --> 00:13:34.269 was happening to him medically at this point? 00:13:34.309 --> 00:13:36.690 Because he was still quite young in the early 00:13:36.690 --> 00:13:39.590 1940s. He was pushing his body to the absolute 00:13:39.590 --> 00:13:42.309 limit. He was suffering from severe hypertension, 00:13:42.669 --> 00:13:45.090 which means his blood pressure was dangerously 00:13:45.090 --> 00:13:47.840 high. He also developed a retinal hemorrhage. 00:13:48.059 --> 00:13:50.620 Bleeding in his eyes. Yes, he was actually experiencing 00:13:50.620 --> 00:13:53.179 bleeding in his eyes, which is a terrifying sign 00:13:53.179 --> 00:13:56.639 of how compromised his vascular system was. Add 00:13:56.639 --> 00:13:59.480 to that severe obesity, and his body was essentially 00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:02.659 failing him. In today's world, a major star in 00:14:02.659 --> 00:14:04.639 that condition would immediately be put on medical 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:07.799 leave. Production would shut down. How did the 00:14:07.799 --> 00:14:10.279 studio handle his declining health back then? 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:13.059 This is where the harsh reality of the 1940s 00:14:13.059 --> 00:14:15.919 studio system becomes glaringly apparent. actors 00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:18.639 were essentially treated as property. Following 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:22.059 the completion of a feature in late 1944, Moe 00:14:22.059 --> 00:14:24.799 actually persuaded Curley to seek medical attention, 00:14:25.059 --> 00:14:28.490 and he was hospitalized for a time. Mo pleaded 00:14:28.490 --> 00:14:31.029 with Columbia Pictures president Harry Cohn to 00:14:31.029 --> 00:14:33.850 give Curly an extended leave of absence so he 00:14:33.850 --> 00:14:36.049 could truly recuperate. And Cohn's response? 00:14:36.409 --> 00:14:39.850 Cohn flatly refused. He refused, knowing his 00:14:39.850 --> 00:14:41.549 biggest star was dealing with eye hemorrhages 00:14:41.549 --> 00:14:44.330 and sky -high blood pressure. Cohn prioritized 00:14:44.330 --> 00:14:46.590 the highly profitable production schedule of 00:14:46.590 --> 00:14:49.879 the Stooges' shorts over Curly's life. They gave 00:14:49.879 --> 00:14:52.019 him a brief hiatus, but during that supposed 00:14:52.019 --> 00:14:54.799 rest period, the studio still had them doing 00:14:54.799 --> 00:14:57.419 live performances daily in New York City. That's 00:14:57.419 --> 00:15:00.120 not a rest at all. Not at all. Back in Los Angeles, 00:15:00.340 --> 00:15:02.220 the directors at Columbia even had to resort 00:15:02.220 --> 00:15:04.820 to salvaging footage from older shorts just to 00:15:04.820 --> 00:15:07.039 complete new ones, because Curly was struggling 00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:09.679 so much to perform his usual physical gags. That 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:12.960 is incredibly bleak. Director Edward Burns recalled 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:16.080 how strange and sad it was watching Curly's faculty's 00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:18.850 waiver on set. Some days he was sharp and energetic, 00:15:19.049 --> 00:15:21.110 and other days he could barely remember the simplest 00:15:21.110 --> 00:15:23.690 dialogue. He was exhibiting significant weight 00:15:23.690 --> 00:15:26.129 loss and pronounced facial lines. The relentless 00:15:26.129 --> 00:15:29.110 schedule just kept moving forward, leading directly 00:15:29.110 --> 00:15:33.470 to the tragic events of May 6, 1946. The Stooges 00:15:33.470 --> 00:15:35.490 were on the set filming the short half -wits 00:15:35.490 --> 00:15:38.269 holiday. Curly was sitting in director Jules 00:15:38.269 --> 00:15:40.769 White's chair, waiting to film the final scene 00:15:40.769 --> 00:15:42.850 of the day. And then what happened? When the 00:15:42.850 --> 00:15:44.649 assistant director called him to take the stage, 00:15:44.789 --> 00:15:47.259 there was no answer. Mo went looking for his 00:15:47.259 --> 00:15:49.320 brother and found him still sitting in the chair. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:52.679 Curly's head had dropped to his chest. He had 00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:54.899 suffered a massive stroke right there on set. 00:15:55.259 --> 00:15:58.100 Mo later described that moment, and it is devastating. 00:15:58.539 --> 00:16:01.120 He said Curly's mouth was distorted, he was entirely 00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:03.759 unable to speak, and all he could do was cry. 00:16:04.120 --> 00:16:06.940 The director hastily reworked the scene to divide 00:16:06.940 --> 00:16:09.460 the action between Mo and Larry while Curly was 00:16:09.460 --> 00:16:12.539 rushed to the hospital. And that stroke fundamentally 00:16:12.539 --> 00:16:14.870 marked the end of his career. His show business 00:16:14.870 --> 00:16:17.710 career was over in an instant. His older brother 00:16:17.710 --> 00:16:20.389 Shemp was brought back in to replace him. At 00:16:20.389 --> 00:16:22.250 first, there was an actual contract signed by 00:16:22.250 --> 00:16:24.490 all four of them stating that Shemp's role was 00:16:24.490 --> 00:16:27.710 only temporary until Curly recovered. They genuinely 00:16:27.710 --> 00:16:30.240 hoped he would bounce back. But his health continued 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:33.580 to decline, and Shemp quietly became his permanent 00:16:33.580 --> 00:16:36.419 replacement. There is one incredibly bittersweet 00:16:36.419 --> 00:16:38.379 moment that occurred after the stroke, though. 00:16:38.460 --> 00:16:42.320 In 1947, Curly, partially recovered and with 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:44.799 his hair finally grown back, made a spontaneous 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:46.980 visit to the soundstage where his brothers were 00:16:46.980 --> 00:16:49.200 working. They were filming a short called Hold 00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:52.259 That Lion. Right. The director saw Curly sitting 00:16:52.259 --> 00:16:54.620 there reading a newspaper and thought it would 00:16:54.620 --> 00:16:57.480 be funny. and perhaps therapeutic, to give him 00:16:57.480 --> 00:16:59.899 a cameo. Curly plays a train passenger who is 00:16:59.899 --> 00:17:02.620 barking in his sleep. It is a tiny, fleeting 00:17:02.620 --> 00:17:06.140 moment, but historically, it is massive. It remains 00:17:06.140 --> 00:17:09.160 the only film in history that features all three 00:17:09.160 --> 00:17:12.440 Howard brothers Moe, Shemp, and Curly alongside 00:17:12.440 --> 00:17:15.259 Larry Fine. After that brief return to the screen, 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:18.000 Curley spent his final years in a series of hospitals, 00:17:18.299 --> 00:17:20.940 sanitariums, and nursing homes, suffering from 00:17:20.940 --> 00:17:23.740 several more debilitating strokes. He did find 00:17:23.740 --> 00:17:25.920 some genuine comfort in his final years through 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:27.839 the care of his fourth wife, Valerie Newman. 00:17:28.119 --> 00:17:30.660 But his mental and physical deterioration was 00:17:30.660 --> 00:17:34.200 severe. He passed away on January 18, 1952. He 00:17:34.200 --> 00:17:37.200 was only 48 years old. It is an incredibly young 00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:39.920 age to pass away, especially after giving so 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:42.799 much of his physical vitality to his art. But 00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:44.779 even though his life was short and often filled 00:17:44.779 --> 00:17:48.019 with hidden pain, his immortal pop culture legacy 00:17:48.019 --> 00:17:51.440 cannot be overstated. Absolutely. Curly Howard's 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:54.460 specific mannerisms didn't just disappear. They 00:17:54.460 --> 00:17:57.740 became permanently baked into the DNA of American 00:17:57.740 --> 00:18:00.319 comedy. If you are listening to this, I guarantee 00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:02.460 you have encountered Curly's influence without 00:18:02.460 --> 00:18:06.490 even realizing it. Take the animated show Futurama. 00:18:06.630 --> 00:18:10.450 Oh, Zoidberg. Yes. The character Zoidberg's famous 00:18:10.450 --> 00:18:12.710 high -pitched whooping sound when he runs away 00:18:12.710 --> 00:18:15.990 from danger is a direct lift of Curly's whoop 00:18:15.990 --> 00:18:18.490 -whoop. Or look at The Simpsons. In the classic 00:18:18.490 --> 00:18:20.930 episode Last Exit to Springfield, when Homer 00:18:20.930 --> 00:18:23.509 successfully gets the union's demands met, he 00:18:23.509 --> 00:18:26.329 celebrates by dropping to the floor and walking 00:18:26.329 --> 00:18:28.869 in that circular motion. Which is Curly's signature 00:18:28.869 --> 00:18:31.750 move. The exact one he invented to hide his childhood 00:18:31.750 --> 00:18:34.059 limp. There was even a Saturday morning cartoon 00:18:34.059 --> 00:18:36.700 in the 1970s called Jabberjaw, where the main 00:18:36.700 --> 00:18:39.140 character, a walking great white shark, was entirely 00:18:39.140 --> 00:18:42.000 modeled after Curly's voice and mannerisms. And 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:44.960 we can't forget the 1980s. A country pop group 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:48.259 called the Jump in the Saddle Band scored a massive 00:18:48.259 --> 00:18:50.980 novelty hit with a song called The Curly Shuffle. 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:53.279 The music video just featured all of Curly's 00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:55.920 best scenes, and it was a huge cultural moment 00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:58.339 decades after he passed away. The reason his 00:18:58.339 --> 00:19:00.880 legacy endures so strongly today comes down to 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:03.640 what he represented. on screen. Critics often 00:19:03.640 --> 00:19:07.220 note that Curly represented pure, childlike tenacity. 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:09.619 When he was confronted with a problem, whether 00:19:09.619 --> 00:19:12.000 it was a tool that wouldn't work, a complex social 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:14.859 situation, or an enemy standing in his way, he 00:19:14.859 --> 00:19:17.339 didn't overthink it. He grunted, he slapped his 00:19:17.339 --> 00:19:19.400 own face to wake himself up, and he tackled the 00:19:19.400 --> 00:19:22.779 obstacle head on with frantic, unapologetic action. 00:19:23.109 --> 00:19:25.289 In a complicated, stressful world, there is something 00:19:25.289 --> 00:19:27.509 deeply therapeutic about watching someone just 00:19:27.509 --> 00:19:30.130 let their emotions completely dominate, laughing 00:19:30.130 --> 00:19:32.690 self -indulgently at their own cleverness, even 00:19:32.690 --> 00:19:34.609 when they are entirely wrong. He was merriment 00:19:34.609 --> 00:19:37.289 personified. The story of Jerome Lester Horowitz 00:19:37.289 --> 00:19:39.670 is the story of a man who sacrificed his own 00:19:39.670 --> 00:19:42.470 vanity, shaving his head and masking his handsome 00:19:42.470 --> 00:19:45.890 features to create an indestructible comedic 00:19:45.890 --> 00:19:48.890 persona. He brought laughter and joy to millions 00:19:48.890 --> 00:19:51.930 of people. Pioneering a form of... unbridled 00:19:51.930 --> 00:19:54.890 physical improvisation yet he did all of this 00:19:54.890 --> 00:19:57.970 while secretly battling his own profound insecurities 00:19:57.970 --> 00:20:01.069 navigating the ruthless exploitation of the hollywood 00:20:01.069 --> 00:20:04.009 studio system and searching for love and validation 00:20:04.009 --> 00:20:06.829 in all the wrong places he left a legacy that 00:20:06.829 --> 00:20:09.250 still makes us laugh shaping the cartoons and 00:20:09.250 --> 00:20:11.789 comedies you and i consume right now It is a 00:20:11.789 --> 00:20:14.170 legacy of boundless laughter born from a very 00:20:14.170 --> 00:20:17.589 real human pain. And it leaves us with an important 00:20:17.589 --> 00:20:19.769 question to ponder long after this deep dive 00:20:19.769 --> 00:20:23.470 ends. Think about Jerome Horwitz physically altering 00:20:23.470 --> 00:20:25.769 himself for the world. masking his childhood 00:20:25.769 --> 00:20:28.529 limp with a wildly exaggerated walk, and masking 00:20:28.529 --> 00:20:30.849 his deep, crushing insecurities with a loud, 00:20:30.910 --> 00:20:33.630 chaotic, shaved -headed persona. It makes you 00:20:33.630 --> 00:20:35.609 wonder, as you go about your week, what parts 00:20:35.609 --> 00:20:37.930 of your own daily performances in life, the quirks 00:20:37.930 --> 00:20:40.009 you have, the jokes you tell to entertain your 00:20:40.009 --> 00:20:41.690 friends, the persona you put on for your colleagues, 00:20:41.869 --> 00:20:44.490 are actually just elaborate, hidden ways to mask 00:20:44.490 --> 00:20:45.569 your own deepest vulnerabilities.