He was born Jerome Lester Horwitz in 1903, but the world will always forever know him simply as Curly of The Three Stooges. He was probably the public’s favorite of the comedic trio, but more relevant to this site is that he was also the alcoholic stooge. In fact, you can say that alcoholism played a very large role in both the creation and the end of Curly’s comedy career.
The Stooges were created by US vaudevillian Ted Healy as foils and the victims who bore the brunt of his on stage jokes. The trio was made up of the Horowitz brothers who went by the stage names Moe and Curly Howard and long time friend Larry Fine. Mr. Healy was the highest paid comedian of the time, but his miserly manner and alcoholic tendencies eventually caused the Stooges to form their own act and they signed with Columbia Pictures in 1934. Three years later Ted Healy was killed in a bar fight.
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