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Curly Howard (Jerome Howard or Horwitz) of The Three Stooges, Grave and Tombstone, Home of Peace Cemetery, East Los Angeles, California, photos

Curly Howard (Jerome Horwitz) of The Three Stooges, Grave and Tombstone, Home of Peace Cemetery, East Los Angeles, California, photo

The grave site and tombstone of Jerome Lester Horwitz, better known as Curly Howard, of "The Three Stooges." Curly was born on October 22, 1903, at Brooklyn, New York. He was the fifth born of five sons. Two of his older brothers were also Stooges: Samuel "Shemp" Howard born in 1895 and Moses "Moe" Howard born in 1897.

Curly Howard was arguably the most popular of all of the six different actors who were at one time or another a member of The Three Stooges. His highly animated antics and memorable phrases of "nyuk nyuk nyuk," "woob woob woob," "soitenly" (for certainly), and "I'm a victim of soycumstance" (circumstance) were often imitated. While he was never cast as the leader of the Stooges, Curly was thought by most to be the most entertaining.

Curly joined The Three Stooges in 1933 to replace his brother, Shemp Howard who was departing for other film opportunities. Up until he joined the group, Curly had thick, reddish brown hair and a waxed mustache, all of which he shaved off to create his distinctive look as the new member of The Three Stooges. During his fourteen year career from 1933 to 1946 with The Three Stooges, Curly was a part of fourteen feature films and more than 100 short films. The short subject films were usually 15 to 20 minutes long and are the films that most people are familiar with when they think of The Three Stooges.

The less well known side of Curly Howard is that he was a good basketball player in school despite being only 5' 5" tall; that he loved and excelled at ballroom dancing; and that he was a competent singer. Despite his animated persona when acting, he was actually quite shy when not in character. He despised his appearance with a shaved head thinking that it did not look manly and normally wore a hat when not performing. He was married four times and the father of two daughters.

Curly left The Three Stooges in May 1946 after suffering a severe stroke. He was 42 years old at the time and it was thought at first that he would recover. His brother, Shemp Howard, was persuaded to return to the group temporarily until Curly was able to rejoin the group again. Curly's health continued to decline and he suffered several additional strokes.

Curly Howard died from of the effects of his many strokes on January 18, 1952 at San Gabriel, California. He was only 48 years old. His remains are buried in the Home of Peace Cemetery, East Los Angeles, California. See the additional photos below.

A closeup view of the tombstone on the grave of Jerome Howard, better known as Curly.

A closeup view of the tombstone on the grave of Jerome Howard, better known as Curly.

The tombstone and graves of Solomon and Jennie Horwitz, the parents of Shemp, Moe, and Curly Howard.

The tombstone and graves of Solomon and Jennie Horwitz, the parents of Shemp, Moe, and Curly Howard. This tombstone is located directly in front of the grave of Jerome "Curly" Howard.

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