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Curly: An Illustrated Biography of the Superstooge
Written by Moe Howard's daughter, this detailed biography is bursting with photographs Curly traces the life of one wacky Stooge from birth to his final status as a cult hero.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
June 18, 2022
I read this on a whim, hoping to find a photo of Curly with his full pre-Stooges head of hair and thick mustache, and wasn't disappointed. Picked up a few fun facts, too: Moe, Shemp and Curly's mother made and lost a fortune in real estate; Shemp was discharged from the army in WWI for bedwetting; and Curly's second wife says, twice, that the sex was lousy.
Maurer, who is Moe's daughter, has a knack for drawing TMI from members of the extended family, whose interviews are transcribed in the book. Curly's daughter by his second wife -- they divorced -- is not happy *at all* about her father and prefers to talk about her stepfather, who, confusingly, was named Moe. The sister of Curly's third and final wife remembers him fondly -- it was a happy marriage -- but talks hair-raisingly about how Moe essentially spirited Curly's body away for burial in a family plot, and kept his distance from the widow and her family from then on for reasons never made clear. At the same time, the sister tells Maurer that despite how it's seemed over the years, she never truly hated Moe. Catharsis ensues. You expect some sad-clown stuff in comedians' biographies, but I felt at a couple of points that I had no business reading something this personal. Vivid stuff.
Maurer, who is Moe's daughter, has a knack for drawing TMI from members of the extended family, whose interviews are transcribed in the book. Curly's daughter by his second wife -- they divorced -- is not happy *at all* about her father and prefers to talk about her stepfather, who, confusingly, was named Moe. The sister of Curly's third and final wife remembers him fondly -- it was a happy marriage -- but talks hair-raisingly about how Moe essentially spirited Curly's body away for burial in a family plot, and kept his distance from the widow and her family from then on for reasons never made clear. At the same time, the sister tells Maurer that despite how it's seemed over the years, she never truly hated Moe. Catharsis ensues. You expect some sad-clown stuff in comedians' biographies, but I felt at a couple of points that I had no business reading something this personal. Vivid stuff.
February 13, 2021
Really quite a shame.
Joan says in the first few pages that "I wrote this in less than 90 days", and it shows. I found multiple spelling and grammar errors, which isn't the end of the world, but definitely shows how rushed this was.
On the one hand, it's nice to hear family recollections about a larger than life figure. On the other hand, everything is completely surface-level. Most of the people Maurer interviews were in their childhood when Curly died, so their memories amount to "I think he liked dogs" and "I remember he was funny".
The entire history is constructed based on these shaky interviews, and you get the feeling that a lot of it is BS. His first wife was DEFINITELY a jew. No, she was DEFINITELY a gentile. No one knows.
Every person gets basically the same interview, so the information is redundant AT BEST. How many times do we have to hear "he liked the ladies". How many times is Joan going to ask "Was he vulgar?" (What on earth kind of question is this?).
On the other hand, this still gets two stars. One star because of all of the incredible family photos throughout the book. Honestly, the photos are reason alone to check this out at your local library. The photos, NOT the weird, scary, gross, INSANE 1980s-style drawings that Joan's brother does.
The other star is because... this is the best we are ever going to get. Everyone who ever knew Curly is now dead, and most of the people who knew *those* people are dead now too. Unless Jerome kept a diary that is in a safe somewhere, we will never know anymore than this. Despite its low quality, this is THE definitive Curly biography. For that, I guess I'm glad I read it.
Joan says in the first few pages that "I wrote this in less than 90 days", and it shows. I found multiple spelling and grammar errors, which isn't the end of the world, but definitely shows how rushed this was.
On the one hand, it's nice to hear family recollections about a larger than life figure. On the other hand, everything is completely surface-level. Most of the people Maurer interviews were in their childhood when Curly died, so their memories amount to "I think he liked dogs" and "I remember he was funny".
The entire history is constructed based on these shaky interviews, and you get the feeling that a lot of it is BS. His first wife was DEFINITELY a jew. No, she was DEFINITELY a gentile. No one knows.
Every person gets basically the same interview, so the information is redundant AT BEST. How many times do we have to hear "he liked the ladies". How many times is Joan going to ask "Was he vulgar?" (What on earth kind of question is this?).
On the other hand, this still gets two stars. One star because of all of the incredible family photos throughout the book. Honestly, the photos are reason alone to check this out at your local library. The photos, NOT the weird, scary, gross, INSANE 1980s-style drawings that Joan's brother does.
The other star is because... this is the best we are ever going to get. Everyone who ever knew Curly is now dead, and most of the people who knew *those* people are dead now too. Unless Jerome kept a diary that is in a safe somewhere, we will never know anymore than this. Despite its low quality, this is THE definitive Curly biography. For that, I guess I'm glad I read it.
December 17, 2024
I've read a lot of Stooge books [Even Larry's with the misprint] And this has to be one of the more personal journeys of a stooge.
Well sourced in it's research and bound with stories never before told. You get a glimpse behind the stooge with interviews from people who were there.
It does go into flights of fancy [A rather cringe worthy talk with a family phycologist trying to diagnosis Curly may be exciting for the niece, but frankly comes off as hot air and easily skippable. the core of Info and tales will keep you coming back
Not the happiest of tales, but ones of fame often aren't but it still gives hope that we can find happiness in the end. I'd recc for all BIG stooge fans.
Well sourced in it's research and bound with stories never before told. You get a glimpse behind the stooge with interviews from people who were there.
It does go into flights of fancy [A rather cringe worthy talk with a family phycologist trying to diagnosis Curly may be exciting for the niece, but frankly comes off as hot air and easily skippable. the core of Info and tales will keep you coming back
Not the happiest of tales, but ones of fame often aren't but it still gives hope that we can find happiness in the end. I'd recc for all BIG stooge fans.
October 10, 2017
From the Three Stooges, Curly was undoubtedly the most hilarious. With his taking things literally, for example, I laughed my spleen seeing him shaving ice, the joke being that he was a barber “shaving” the ice. With his soitenly and n’yuk-n’yuk-n’yuk, I never get bored watching him. However, this fine biography showed the other side of Curly. Dominated by his mother (who was painted almost saintly by his brother, Moe), Curly was a lonely person, on the constant look for love, drowning himself in binge eating and drinking. I can’t help but feeling sorry for him. I wonder if world’s funniest comedians are having similar troubles like Curly’s.
August 14, 2019
Not much is known about this underappreciated comic actor because he died young. However, this book is mostly a scrapbook of the author, the daughter of Moe Howard. Very scant in insight, not very well written, and many irrelevant q/a's. She's also oddly focused on whether or not Curly Howard used "vulgar language" in private. She even admits in the prologue that she had only 90 days to write it. This book should have been limited to a private press strictly for his heirs. Time for a cultural historian to step up and give the Howard brothers, plus Larry Fine, their due.
August 3, 2019
Alot of speculation, but then that's about all that can be done when the person being profiled is long dead and buried. The insider's view from within the family was very interesting. The main impression I got was that even though many people knew him, no one ever REALLY knew Curly...maybe not even the man himself.
July 18, 2025
Great biography of the superstooge for fans of the Stooges
Fascinated by this biography of Jerome “Curly” Howard’s rather tragic life by Moe Howard’s daughter. I learned new information about his life and that of his brothers, family, and teammates. This book will be appreciated by fans of the Stooges.
Fascinated by this biography of Jerome “Curly” Howard’s rather tragic life by Moe Howard’s daughter. I learned new information about his life and that of his brothers, family, and teammates. This book will be appreciated by fans of the Stooges.
January 12, 2018
good. Know a lot more about the man; not just the character he played
Currently reading
March 26, 2020J
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2021
Joan, this is Curly's best and untold story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 26, 2023
A Personal Account of Curly’s Life
I really liked how this book wasn’t too long. It was easy to read. You get to do some peeking into Curly’s personal life.
I really liked how this book wasn’t too long. It was easy to read. You get to do some peeking into Curly’s personal life.
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May 4, 2023Read just MJs foreword in the book. I love his essay on how Curly inspired him. I learned something new about him that I didn’t know.
April 29, 2024
As a kid, I would watch The Three Stooges with my papa. Curly was always a favorite of mine among the Stooges. I'm so glad Joan made this for us. It was a treat to learn about Jerome and his life.
May 26, 2017
Interesting Read
If you're a Stooges fan, this is a must read! It provides the reader with a deeper insight as to "the making of Curly."
If you're a Stooges fan, this is a must read! It provides the reader with a deeper insight as to "the making of Curly."
September 12, 2013
Of the three Stooges biographies I've read so far, this one went into the most depth. This is perhaps due to the fact that Curly was the most complex of the Stooges, personally and in his comedic character. Certainly, his neice Joan, Moe's daughter, who also put together the pieces of Moe's unfinished autobiography, spent more time analyzing Curly and the pivotal events in his life, such as being allowed to join Ted Healy's act as a stooge with Moe and Larry, but only when Shemp left the act and needed to be replaced. (All of which confirms that Curly was "a victim of soicumstances", being required to meet a higher standard than any of the other Stooges: an eager but raw beginner, being asked to replace the experienced older brother who had been in Ted Healy's act longer than anyone else, excepting Healy himself. And even at that, he had to shave off his wavy brown hair and his dapper waxed moustache to get the job.)
This doesn't necessarily make this book the most entertaining of the three biographies, but offers the tradeoff of greater insights into the family dynamics of the Horwitz/Howard brothers and their parents, as well as more information on the little-known 4 wives and 2 daughters Curly left behind. The overall effect is bittersweet, as we come to understand that Curly was playing out his own perspective on his relationship to the universe: clueless, helpless, looking for a kind of childlike fun, but often getting a lot of loneliness and abuse instead.
Like all great clowns, Curly/Jerome/Jerry embodied more than a little pathos, and this book makes that abundantly clear. Despite all his blemishes, in the end, he has our sympathy, which is how we open the door to all forgiveness toward ourselves. There are lots of great pictures too, some of them familiar, but also many rarely seen behind-the-scenes looks at the Stooges and their milieu.
This doesn't necessarily make this book the most entertaining of the three biographies, but offers the tradeoff of greater insights into the family dynamics of the Horwitz/Howard brothers and their parents, as well as more information on the little-known 4 wives and 2 daughters Curly left behind. The overall effect is bittersweet, as we come to understand that Curly was playing out his own perspective on his relationship to the universe: clueless, helpless, looking for a kind of childlike fun, but often getting a lot of loneliness and abuse instead.
Like all great clowns, Curly/Jerome/Jerry embodied more than a little pathos, and this book makes that abundantly clear. Despite all his blemishes, in the end, he has our sympathy, which is how we open the door to all forgiveness toward ourselves. There are lots of great pictures too, some of them familiar, but also many rarely seen behind-the-scenes looks at the Stooges and their milieu.
May 5, 2014
I'd grown up watching the 3 Stooges just about every day after school, and have always been a big fan. Still enjoy watching them on occasion. Of course, Curly has been my favorite (though in recent years I've really begun to appreciate Shemp as well). Have heard and read snippets about Curly throughout the years and have searched for a long time for a biography. This one is written by his niece. She provides dozens of great family photos, and that was fun to see Curly and the others outside of their Stooge world. The author also provides several interviews, transcribed, with various family members. This book did provide many details about his life, but I felt it was only a cursory look, and maybe one that was colored by the family relationship the author and interviewees had with him. In the end, it only seemed to scratch the surface, and in that respect came up short for me. Still waiting for a more comprehensive biography of Curly, and/or all the Stooges.
December 14, 2014
Continuing on my Stooge education, I've moved onto Curly, or "Babe" as he was actually called. Curly seems like the most troubled of the Stooges, a guy who never quite grew up and was almost impossible to know. It would have been interesting to read an autobiography written by him, as Moe's was, but the ability to sit down long enough to write a biography is obviously not something Curly had.
The end of the book enlists an analyst to try to explain the guy, and while you can't really take anything he says as true, you can understand why you'd think of doing that. Overbearing mother keeping him from growing up, series of totally inappropriate and impulsive marriages, overindulgence, irresponsibility, watched over by family all his life.
Though this book, like Moe's, does make it clear that like all families this one had really interesting dynamics going on. I totally buy them as a family.
The end of the book enlists an analyst to try to explain the guy, and while you can't really take anything he says as true, you can understand why you'd think of doing that. Overbearing mother keeping him from growing up, series of totally inappropriate and impulsive marriages, overindulgence, irresponsibility, watched over by family all his life.
Though this book, like Moe's, does make it clear that like all families this one had really interesting dynamics going on. I totally buy them as a family.
April 7, 2021
This book broke my heart, but in a good way. As a die hard fan of the Stooges it kills me that they are so unattainable. There's almost nothing about how they were behind the scenes and their not much about their personal lives. I thought Joan did a fabulous job giving us a glimpse in to who Curly might have truly been. She writes a bit about their family history (which she admits was bits she had edited out of her father autobiography. Which i wish she would have left whole) and does interviews with people who knew him when no one was around but them. She takes all those interviews to a psychiatrist who then tries to break down the inner man of Jermone Lester Howard and what he states is what broke my heart. I highly recommend this for any Stooge fan. R.I.P Curly, Your still missed to this day.
December 24, 2013
This story captures everything that was to the man called Curly. The research the author has done for us to get to know the man we laugh at is amazing, family members and friends of Curly really did paint the picture of what person Curly was and what he loved and did.
This book is full of three stooges history and is very interesting and good for any three stooges fan who wants a glimpse of the one of best stooges ever. At the end of the book it showed what the fans perspective of Curly was and it was simply beautiful and must be heartwarming for the existing Howard Family.
This book is full of great stories and insights from the people who were closest to Curly. And I think it's defiantly a must read for any three stooges fan.
This book is full of three stooges history and is very interesting and good for any three stooges fan who wants a glimpse of the one of best stooges ever. At the end of the book it showed what the fans perspective of Curly was and it was simply beautiful and must be heartwarming for the existing Howard Family.
This book is full of great stories and insights from the people who were closest to Curly. And I think it's defiantly a must read for any three stooges fan.
February 27, 2016
I love Curly!
I am rating this emotionally because though Curly was a comedic genius.. He was actually quite different in real life. The best part is that besides being a Stooge...there was nothing else he could have done more perfect. The Author, Moe Howard's daughter really gave a lot of great information, and I really enjoyed the family interviews. Although..one of them was a little pointless, as no information, just a set up for the Dr's take at the end. Overall it made me smile and remember how much I loved the Stooges growing up in the 80's! My father and I watched them everyday before elementary school...and once a cute guy thought I was cool because I loved the Stooges! Rock on! I hope my kids will love you guys as much as I did!!
I am rating this emotionally because though Curly was a comedic genius.. He was actually quite different in real life. The best part is that besides being a Stooge...there was nothing else he could have done more perfect. The Author, Moe Howard's daughter really gave a lot of great information, and I really enjoyed the family interviews. Although..one of them was a little pointless, as no information, just a set up for the Dr's take at the end. Overall it made me smile and remember how much I loved the Stooges growing up in the 80's! My father and I watched them everyday before elementary school...and once a cute guy thought I was cool because I loved the Stooges! Rock on! I hope my kids will love you guys as much as I did!!
February 24, 2015
OK, I must admit that I have read Moe's autobiography and now Curly's biography. Yet to come Larry's? I will draw the line at Shemp. In any case, the author --Moe's daughter -- takes advantage of many family-member recollections to reconstruct the person who was really the most talented and most tormented of the Three Stooges. A mix of decent narrative based on her research and interviews with those who knew Curly at different points in his life. A guilty pleasure for an old Stooges fan.
December 20, 2015
Wonderful
I adore the Three Stooges, and I enjoyed learning more about Curly from his niece, who was obviously very fond of him.
The biography is written with the utmost respect, but does not gloss over the more difficult truths. In spite of his comic genius, Curly was something of a tragic figure.
I enjoy Joan's writing. She never talks down to her audience. It is as if we are joining her in her search for the mysteries of her uncle's past.
I adore the Three Stooges, and I enjoyed learning more about Curly from his niece, who was obviously very fond of him.
The biography is written with the utmost respect, but does not gloss over the more difficult truths. In spite of his comic genius, Curly was something of a tragic figure.
I enjoy Joan's writing. She never talks down to her audience. It is as if we are joining her in her search for the mysteries of her uncle's past.
September 4, 2012
An insightful book into the comic genius of my favorite member of The Three Stooges.... Curly! Having been written by Moe Howard's daughter, she is able to provide an intimate look at the background of Curly and The Three Stooges. Wonderful family photos are scattered throughout the book - many showing an "unknown" side to the public persona of Curly.
July 4, 2010
A somewhat scattergun approach to the book and some atrocious pretent psychology - but, if one ignores the latter especially, there is a certain charm to the overall book and family insights give it a different feel.
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November 15, 2013Very interesting...will give you a different angle from which to view the Stooges....it made me want to look at their films all over again; especially when "Curly" health started to spiral out of control--and after his strokes.
June 10, 2015
Like most clowns Curly was funny on the outside but crying on the inside. This provides a great insight into the life of that lovable clown Curly. I'm glad that he finally seemed to find happiness in the end.
March 31, 2015
Soitently.
Some good history on Curly and the stooges. Truly the best stooge of them all. Nyuk nyuk woob woob woob.
Some good history on Curly and the stooges. Truly the best stooge of them all. Nyuk nyuk woob woob woob.
March 7, 2017
It was a great book written by Curly's niece (Moe's daughter). A very interesting psychological profile of everyone's favorite Stooge.
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February 10, 2016Great quick read for any serious Stooges fan, complete with great vintage photos, about the real star of the act.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews