Curly was born Jerome Lester Horwitz on October 22, 1903 in Batch Beach (a summer resort in Brooklyn), New York. He was the youngest of five brothers and was given the nickname "Babe." When Curly was 12, he accidently shot himself in the leg with a rifle, but was so scared of surgery, never got it fixed; because of this, he had a limp for the rest of his life. When Curly was with the Stooges, he developed an exaggerated walk in order to cover up the limp on filim.
Curly, more interested in music and comedy, never graduated from school. He would often watch his brothers Moe and Shemp perform with Ted Healy on stage. Curly would hang out backstage and cater to the performers. It wasn't until 1928, that Curly finally got his break on stage as a comedy musical conductor for the Orville Knapp Band.
After Shemp left the act in 1932, Moe suggested Curly fill in as a replacement. Healy felt that Curly, with his long hair and mustache, was not Stooge material. Curly left and came back a few minutes later bald and clean shaven, and became "Curly."
After the Stooge's popularity grew from their comedic shorts, Curly began to drink, smoke, and over eat, feeling that his shaved head took away his sex appeal. Curly also struggled with his finances, usually spending his money on wine, food, women, homes, cars, and dogs, almost to the point of poverty. Moe ended up handling all of Curly's finances.
On June 7, 1937, Curly married Elaine Ackerman and had a daughter, Marilyn in 1938, but in 1940 the couple divorced. In 1945, Curly suffered a mild stroke and was diagnosed woth hypertension, a retinal hemorrhage, and obesity. Also that year, Curly met and married Marion Buxbaum, with Moe urging, hoping that marriage would improve his health. Friends and family however, felt that Marion was using Curly for his money, and three months later the two seperated.
In 1946, Curly's condition was worsening; his voice becomming hoarse and was having trouble remembering his lines. The Columbian Pictures boss Harry Cohn refused to give Curly time off, so he worked through it. On May 6, 1946, Curly suffered a massive stroke during the filming of the Stooge Short Half Wits Holiday. Curly was forced to leave the Stooges until he recuperated, with Shemp filling in for him.
While Curly was recovering he met Valerie Newman, and the two were married on July 31, 1947. They had a daughter, Janie, in 1948. In 1949, Curly suffered another massive stroke that left him partialy paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. On January 18, 1952, Curly died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage.
