Diehard fans of the Three Stooges may have noticed while watching some of the troupe’s classic
shorts that the character of Curly always walked with a limp. This iconic limp wasn’t
a creative choice made by the actor who played him. Curly was played by Jerome Howard,
who suffered a firearm accident when he was younger that affected his walk.
This accident resulted in the character of Curly having his iconic limp. Join Facts Verse as we
take a look at how Curly didn’t fake his limp on the Three Stooges (his real-life injury).
The Firearm Incident That Caused Curly’s Limp When the Three Stooges’ Jerome Howard was only
12 years old, he had a firearm accident that would go on to affect him for the rest of his life.
Jerome would go on to play the character of Curly in the Three Stooges’ most classic short films.
Most viewers will likely be familiar with Curly’s iconic limp, and this limp came as a result of
Jerome’s childhood accident. The accident occurred while the 12-year-old boy was attempting to clean
a firearm. During the cleaning, he accidentally fired it and ended up being shot in the leg.
As soon as Jerome Howard heard the gunshot go off, he looked down and saw that there was blood
trickling out of him. It didn’t take long for the young boy to realize that he had shot
himself in the leg, though he thankfully didn’t do too much damage! The shot didn’t go through
anything that would’ve caused Jerome serious injury. However, the accident did make it so
that the future comedic actor would be plagued with a noticeable limp for the rest of his life.
Jerome Wasn’t a Founding Member of the Three Stooges
Jerome Howard would go on to portray the character of Curly in the Three
Stooges’ most classic short films. Jerome wasn’t a founding member of the troupe,
but his two brothers were. Moe Howard, Shemp Howard, and Larry Fine founded the troupe.
Of course, Moe and Shemp were Jerome’s older brothers. When Shemp decided to
exit from the troupe fairly early on, Moe decided to bring in their younger brother
to replace him. When Jerome Howard joined the troupe as Curly, they became more popular than
ever! There are many who consider Curly to be the greatest of the Three Stooges.
Larry Fine Also Suffered a Childhood Injury Strangely, Jerome Howard wasn’t the only member of
the Three Stooges that suffered a serious injury when he was a child. Founding member Larry Fine
also suffered a fairly serious injury as a child, and this injury also went on to have an influence
on the Three Stooges’ short films! When Larry was a kid, he suffered a severe chemical burn that
caused him to have to get several skin grafts. While Larry was undergoing physical therapy to
help recover from the injury, he was encouraged to pick up the violin. Young Larry became fairly good
at the instrument, and would end up playing the fiddle quite often in the Three Stooges’ shorts!
It’s quite the coincidence that two of the Three Stooges should suffer serious injuries
as children, as the majority of the troupe’s humor revolved around making light of serious injuries.
For many, the work of the Three Stooges continues to define slapstick humor. In their shorts,
the Three Stooges could be seen being injured in all types of different ways. However, since these
shorts were meant to be comedic, the injuries typically didn’t have real-life consequences.
More About Jerome Howard’s Firearm Accident Jerome Howard was born on October 22, 1903,
in Brooklyn, New York. It was actually Moe’s gun that was fired in the aforementioned firearm
accident. Jerome had made plans to go out hunting with a friend and didn’t have his own firearm.
He grabbed his older brother Moe’s hunting rifle, and it was while cleaning this hunting rifle
that Jerome suffered the accident. The bullet entered young Jerome’s left leg. The doctors
told Jerome that they may be able to surgically correct his bones, but he opted out. Instead,
he learned to live with his new limp. Fans of the Three Stooges can be thankful for this, as
it would be hard to picture the character of Curly without the limp that has become his trademark!
Did the Three Stooges Ever Get Injured While Filming?
Given that so much of the Three Stooges’ work revolved around some pretty serious stunts,
it should also come as no surprise for the audience to learn that the members of the
troupe suffered some injuries during the filming of their classic shorts.
During the filming of the 1937 short film 3 Dumb Clucks,
Jerome Howard had to do a stunt that required him to fall down an elevator shaft. While the
set was made so that Jerome wouldn’t injure himself upon falling, the crew didn’t account
for a rogue piece of wood that was sticking out when it was time for the actor to jump.
When Jerome Howard jumped down the elevator shaft, he slammed his head on the rogue piece of wood
and it caused the comedic actor’s scalp to split open. However, this was par for the course for
the Three Stooges! There was a doctor on hand to stitch Jerome right up, and the
star was back to work in a matter of minutes. Sadly, Jerome would suffer a series of strokes
later on in the lifespan of the troupe that he couldn’t get up from. If you’re enjoying this
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A Young Fan Beats the Three Stooges Up Besides the Three Stooges getting injured on set,
there was also a memorable incident where a fan of the troupe physically assaulted them in public.
The Three Stooges were visiting Atlantic City and found themselves on a boardwalk. While walking,
the troupe was approached by a young fan. Being approached by fans was nothing
new for the trio, but this young fan was about to make the experience memorable in a decidedly
painful way! Wanting to pay homage to his favorite slapstick trio, the young boy pulled out a cane
and began beating the Three Stooges with it! Of course, since this was real life,
the beating from the boy hurt a good deal more than the fake beatings the Stooges took on camera.
The Demise of Curly Although Jerome Howard hadn’t
been an original founding member of the Three Stooges, Curly quickly became the troupe’s most
popular character over the course of their rise to superstardom during the 1930s. However, by
the 1940s, Jerome Howard wasn’t quite feeling himself anymore. Fans will notice that the
performer wasn’t quite as lively in the Three Stooges’ short films entering the 1940s, and this
came as a result of Jerome’s failing health. After the filming of a short film by the name of Idiots
Deluxe, Jerome Howard was convinced by his older brother Moe to visit the hospital.
Upon Jerome Howard’s visit to the hospital during the early months of 1945 to check
up on his failing health, the comedic star was diagnosed with several notable issues.
In addition to obesity, Jerome was also diagnosed with some fairly extreme hypertension, as well as
a retinal hemorrhage. As a result of Jerome’s diagnosis in the early part of the year, the
Three Stooges only went on to produce a total of five short films over the course of 1945.
While this may seem like a lot, it was slightly less than they normally did.
While the Three Stooges' output immediately following Jerome Howard’s diagnoses was mildly
diminished, Moe Howard would’ve preferred for the troupe’s output to have stopped altogether until
Jerome was feeling himself. Sadly, Moe Howard wasn’t the person in charge of whether or not
the Three Stooges were required to work or not. The person in charge of the troupe was producer
Harry Cohn, who demanded the troupe keep working despite Jerome’s failing health. This resulted
in a number of short films wherein Jerome’s physical performance was far from perfect.
Curly’s Last Appearance Not only did Harry Cohn’s
decision to force the Three Stooges to continue to work after Jerome’s diagnoses affect the quality
of the troupe’s output, but it also likely had a pretty negative effect on Jerome’s health.
The star arguably needed more rest than he got after his serious diagnosis,
and the fact that he had to keep working caused unnecessary stress that may have
contributed to his early death. The last Three Stooges' short that Jerome Howard appeared in
was Half-Wits Holiday, which was released in 1946. During the filming of the short, Jerome
suffered a stroke that would put his performing days to an end for good.
According to legend, Jerome was taking a rest in the director’s chair when he was called to
film a scene and didn’t respond. His brother went to go check on him and found that the actor was
completely debilitated. Jerome was rushed to the hospital, and the remainder of Half-Wits
Holiday was rewritten to have Curly removed. Once filming was complete,
Moe was able to go check on his brother at the hospital. Jerome went on to
slightly recover from the stroke, though it wouldn’t be the last one he would suffer.
After suffering his first serious stroke and quitting the Three Stooges, Jerome Howard married
a woman by the name of Valerie Newman in 1947. The two had a daughter in 1948, though Jerome
wouldn’t be around very long to take care of her. The very same year as his daughter’s birth,
Jerome suffered a second serious stroke that left him partially paralyzed. He was forced to
get around using a wheelchair for the remainder of his days. Jerome Howard would continue suffering
increasingly debilitating strokes over the next several years leading up to his 1951 death.
While the Three Stooges may have seemed immortal on the screen, their bodies in real life were just
as subject to the consequences of injuries as the average person’s. Now it’s time to hear from you:
did you know that the Three Stooges were once physically attacked
by an underage fan and that two members of the troupe suffered childhood injuries? As always,
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