Jerome Lester Horwitz, (Yehudah Leib bar Shlomo Natan HaLevi) born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, was the youngest of the five sons of Jennie (Gorovitz) and Solomon Horwitz, a clothing cutter. He was best known as Curly in the comedy team The Three Stooges, which also featured his elder brothers Moe and Shemp Howard and actor Larry Fine.
His early nickname was Babe but when his brother married a woman with the same nickname, his was changed to Curly. In high school (he did not graduate), he excelled as an athlete on the basketball team. He was also an accomplished ballroom dancer and singer. He accidentally shot himself in the ankle while cleaning a rifle when he was 12, resulting in a limp which he covered with his famous exaggerated walk while performing.
His brothers achieved some success, along with Fine as Ted Healy’s stooges, and when Shemp left the act, Curly replaced him, although he had to shave his thick, chestnut hair and elegant waxed mustache, a sacrifice which bothered him the rest of his life.
The 3 Stooges, with Moe and Larry a constant and a number of comedians playing the 3rd role, had success for many years and are still watched today. Curly was a member until 1946 when he had a stroke during a filming. His health continued to fail and he died in 1952 at age 48.
His first census was the 1910 census for Brooklyn. He is listed as Jerome. His brothers Moses (Moe) and Samuel (Shemp) are also listed.
Click on the census for a larger view.
Sources
- Wikipedia.org
- Ancestry.com
- Onthisday.com
- Picryl.com
- Youtube.com
Famous People and Their First Census 