CURLY HOWARD Biography - Other artists & entretainers

 
 

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CURLY HOWARD

Name: Jerome Lester Horwitz                                                       
Born: October 22, 1903 Brooklyn, New York                                         
Died: January 18, 1952 San Gabriel, California                                     
                                                                                   
Curly Howard (born Jerome Lester Horwitz) (October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), 
was one of the Three Stooges, along with brothers Moe Howard and Shemp Howard,     
and actor Larry Fine, although Curly was more or less the breakout character.     
Curly is generally considered the most popular and recognizable of the Stooges .   
He is well known for his high-pitched voice, chuckling laugh (commonly rendered   
as "nyuk-nyuk-nyuk!"), and excited yell (commonly rendered as "woo-woo-woo!"),     
as well as numerous pantomimed "bits of business".                                 
                                                                                   
Family members recalled in print that Curly borrowed (and significantly           
exaggerated) the "woo woo" from "nervous" and soft-spoken comedian Hugh Herbert,   
but was otherwise an original and inspired performer. In any case, Curly's         
unique version of "woo-woo-woo" was firmly established by the time of the         
Stooges' second film Punch Drunks in 1934. According to Moe, Curly was never       
very good with written dialogue, and whenever he got stuck, he would improvise     
some visual or vocal nonsense that the directors usually kept in the finished     
film.