Maurer Joan Howard - Curly - an illustrated biography of the superstooge

Copyright 1985 by Joan Howard Maurer

Afterword copyright 2013 by Joan Howard Maurer

All rights reserved

Originally published by Citadel Press

New edition published 2013 by Chicago Review Press Incorporated

814 North Franklin Street

Chicago, Illinois 60610

ISBN 978-1-61374-746-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Maurer, Joan Howard.

Curly : an illustrated biography of the superstooge / Joan Howard Maurer ; [foreword by] Michael Jackson.

pages cm

Originally published: Secaucus, N.J. : Citadel Press, 1985.

Summary: While the Three Stooges were the longest active and most productive comedy team in Hollywood, their artistic height coincided with the years Curly was with them, and this is his definitive biography. From 1932 to 1946 Curly was the zaniest of the Stooges, becoming famous for his high-pitched voice, his nyuk-nyuk-nyuk and why, soitenly, and his astonishing athleticism. He was a true natural, an untrained actor with a knack for improvisation, yet for decades, little information about him was available. Curlys niece Joan Howard Maurer amassed a wealth of Curly memorabiliaa mixture of written material and rare photographs of Curlys family, films, and personal lifeand her exhaustive research and exclusive interviews resulted in this first and only in-depth look at a crazy comedic genius. Plenty of intimate details are included about his astonishing relationship with his mother, his three marriages, and his interactions with his daughters and friends. The book was so beloved among Three Stooges fans that it even garnered a foreword from Michael Jackson, the King of Pop himself. This new, redesigned edition of a timeless classic is sure to be appreciated by Three Stooges fans new and oldProvided by publisher.

Includes filmography.

ISBN 978-1-61374-746-9 (pbk.)

1. Howard, Jerome Lester, 19031952. 2. Three Stooges (Comedy team) 3. ComediansUnited StatesBiography. I. Title.

PN2287.H725M38 2013

792.70280922dc23

[B]

2013022098

Unless otherwise indicated, all images courtesy of the Moe Howard Collection

Cover design: Andrew Brozyna, AJB Design Inc.

Interior design: Scott Rattray

Printed in the United States of America

5 4 3 2 1

To my husband, Norman, who convinced me I could do the impossible and then went about helping me do it

Curlys Roots (1886-1903)
Curlys Parents Start the Stooge Dynasty Life with Father, Mother, Moe, and Shemp

A Baby Named Babe (1903-1919)
Curly: Lover of Sports, Lover of Dance, and Just Plain Lover

The 20s
Curly Roars Through the 20s Marriage #1 A Trip to Paris The Start of a Career

The 30s
Curly Meets Life Head-On with a Shaven Head And Then There Were Three Exit Ted Healy, Enter Columbia Marriage #2 and Daughter #1 Europe and George Whites Scandals

The 40s
Divorce and Short, Sweet Marriage #3 Too Much Work, Wine, Women, and Song Hes Feeling Mighty Low Marriage #4 and Daughter #2 And a Stooge No More

The 50s
The End of a Comic Genius Peace at Last Curlys Daughters Speak

What Made Curly Tick?
A Question-and-Answer Segment with the Author and Dr. John Grenner, Marriage and Family Therapist

Aftermath (1980s)
Curly the Cult Hero

Afterword
Curlys First Marriage: Lost and Found Marilyn and Janie: Ever the Twain Did Meet

M y memories of the Three Stooges, and especially Curly, are still with me to this day. In my childhood, around our house in Indiana, it was a daily ritual for me to watch the Three Stooges on television. All my brothers loved them then, and even more so now. Chaplin and the Stooges are the greatest to metheir humor survives each generation. Even my mother loved to see us have fun watching them. Rehearsing as a team and watching the Stooges were the only times we got together as a whole family.

Michael Jacksons dressing table, artfully arranged with some of his favorite things, e.g., a photo of the Stooges.

People magazine

The Stooges craziness helped me to relax and to escape lifes burdens. They influenced me so much that I even wrote a song about them.

Curly was definitely my favorite Stooge. He was unquestionably a comic genius who understood ad-libbing better than anyone. I loved the Stooges slapstick action and especially Curlys funny noises and his silly, childlike mannerisms and attitudes. He should be honored much more than what has been done for him in the past, for everyone loves him.

As a kid, I imitated Curly all the time, and I enjoyed feeling superior to and smarter than those three silly grownups. I owe so much to them that I feel they belong to me. Thats why I had to write the foreword for this book.

Joan, the author, asked me whether I thought that Curly had suffered when he had to shave off his wavy head of hair in order to become a Stooge. My answer was that I was sure he did, that underneath the smile may have been a tearafter all, he was a clown. But it is our duty as entertainers to satisfy the peopleto give of our souls even if it hurts.

Curly had a magic. He was God-gifteda natural. Even when he didnt intend to be funny, he was magic.

Today, years after his death, Curly still has legions of fans because he was a natural. Such people appeal to the masses, young and oldlike the color blue.

I love everything about Curly, and I would give anything to really know what he was like.

Thanks to the author, this book will clear up much of the mystery of Curly for me and his millions of devoted fans.

M ICHAEL J ACKSON
1985

I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the following people and institutions who helped me in illuminating my rather obscure picture of Curlys life:

Lester Borden, Columbia Pictures

Donovan Brandt

Eddie Brandts Saturday Matinee

Candy Cole

Steve Cox

Elaine Diamond

Marilyn Ellman

Natalie and Tom Emery

Theodore Gell

Margie Golden

Ernestine Goldman

Dr. John Grenner

Jane, Frank, and Kelly Hanky

Dr. Bernice Herzog

Dr. Norman Howard

Paul Howard

Michael Jackson

Ruth Kramer

Jeff and Greg Lenburg

Irma Leveton

Brooklyn Historical Society

Stanley Marx

Rhonna Resnick

Dolly Sallin

Art Seid

Naomi Tepfer

Mrs. Milton Trager and the Trager Institute

Marc Wanamaker and the Bison Archives

Allan Wilson, my editor

Lyle and Carole Stuart

A special thank-you to all those fans who added their words of love for Curly:

Randall Beach

Joe Caruso

Gary Deeb

Margaret Engel, staff writer, Washington Post

Bill Gagan

Wayne Hawk

Linda Jett

Phil Kaplansky

Jack Kerouac

Steven Meltzer

Mark Pawlick

Barry Pearl

Peter Quinn

Scott Spiegel

Anson Williams

Steve Williams

Steve Zodtner

And to those artists who illustrated their love for the Stooges and Curly: