As the most popular of the three stooges, Curly Howard was the brains behind the majority of the Stooges’ iconic catchphrases, the most well known being nyuk, nyuk, nyuk; nyahh-ahhh-ahhh; a WISE guy, eh?; say a few syllables; oh, look; I’ll moider you; and soitenly!
Even after his death, the Stooges continued to use many of Curly’s most-loved expressions during their performances.
The Many Phobias of Shemp Howard
Despite the jolly demeanor displayed on screen, in reality, Shemp’s life was actually heavily impacted by his many phobias. According to Shemp’s wife, Gertrude “Babe” Howard, her husband was “just a big old ‘fraidy cat.” Throughout his life, Shemp Howard suffered from a long list of phobias, some of which included being “afraid of his own shadow,” a fear of cars, planes, dogs and even water.
Much of these fears can be traced back to traumatic experiences in his childhood, such as his fear of automobiles, a phobia which first began following a terrifying car crash the comedian was in at a young age. As a result of this particular incident, Shemp never got his driver’s license. Additionally, during filming of the Three Stooges, in all scenes involving Shemp behind the wheel, the moving car being filmed was actually always towed, never once driven by Shemp.
An Ironic Death
Ironically reflecting his fear of cars, Shemp would actually die in a car, though not in a car crash. On November 22, 1955, while driving home from a Los Angeles boxing match with a friend, Shemp would tell his last and final joke.
Soon after lighting his cigar and telling his joke, Shemp suddenly slumped over, appearing dead. Though the friend first believed this to be another one of his pranks, this time, the actor was actually dead.
Curly Cameos
In addition to his role as one of the Three Stooges, Curly almost cameo in a number of other on-screen performances, including “Hold That Lion” in 1947, during which he played a sleeping train passenger, almost unrecognizable due to the fact that his hair had grown a lot since shaving his head for the Stooges.
Notably, this film was the only film that included all three of the Howard brothers, plus Larry Fine, all in the same scene. Additionally, the Stooges also have a split-second cameo in the movie, “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.” Curly also appeared in another cameo in 1940, but his part was later cut from the film.
An Unhappy Union
Regarded by fans as the most popular of the Stooges, there was a dark side to Curly’s popularity. This Stooge was notoriously known to drink in excess, and blew almost all of his fortune on wine, cars, dogs and houses. Above all of Curly’s weaknesses, his greatest by far was his weakness for women. Immensely insecure, unbeknownst to Curly, women often took great advantage of the actor, who carried his heart on his sleeve.
In the early ‘40s, concerned for Curly’s worsening health and heavy drinking, Moe encouraged his fellow Stooge to marry a woman by the name of Marion Buxbaum, believing that this union would help Curly change his unhealthy habits. Sadly, Moe was horribly wrong. This marriage was largely turbulent. By the end of the marriage, Curly had already squandered much of his income on jewelry and fur coats, in an attempt to please his wife. Just nine months after getting married, the couple filed for divorce, resulting in a highly public, and horribly bitter legal battle.