Actor. He gained his fame as a member of the American comedic acting group, who were known as the "Three Stooges." Born Jerome Lester Horwitz, the youngest of five sons in a Jewish-Lithuanian household, his parents were Jennie and Solomon Horwitz, and because of his status as the family baby, his mother would often call him "My baby," leading his older brothers to tease him by calling him Baby and later Babe, a nickname he later grew to like so much he often used it until he became "Curly". As a result of an injury to his leg from an accidental gunshot wound, he had for the rest of his life a limp with each step. As a very young child, he was already interested in performing, appearing in small home theatrical productions with his older brothers Moe and Shemp. He idolized these two brothers, even though he did not enter show business at the same time they did, due to his younger age. In his youth he also made a name for himself as an accomplished dancer, singer, and musician. He married his first wife, Julia Rosenthal, on August 5, 1930, but the couple had their marriage annulled four months afterwards. His first stage experience came in 1928, when he became a director of musical comedies for the Orville Knapp Band. He also frequently attended the vaudeville shows performed by his older brothers along with Ted Healy, and Larry Fine, and became a backstage hand running errands during the show. Dissatisfied working with Healy, his brother Shemp left the act in 1932 for opportunities elsewhere. At this point, the group was billed as "Ted Healy and His Stooges". His brother Moe recommended him as replacement to Healy, and he was allowed to join their act if he had a funny haircut like the others. He shaved his head and later shaved off his moustache as well. This made him feel very self-conscious, and as a result he always wore a hat in public. He felt that his baldness robbed him of his masculinity and appeal to women, and also felt like a child because he had no hair. After having appeared in supporting roles in numerous features and short subjects, the two Howard brothers and Fine decided to professionally break from Healy and moved to Columbia Studios, where they would become legendary as the "Three Stooges". Each of the Three Stooges played a role: Moe would be the bully of the three, Larry would be the "middle man", while Curly would be the childlike character who received Moe's abuse. Their comedy, which could be described as abused and violent, involved excellent timing of slapping, punching, eye-poking and hair-pulling, all resulting in loud high-pitched sounds. Howard made 97 short subjects with the group, as well as appearing in a few other features and short subjects on the side, in supporting or bit roles. His screen character was that of a man-child, with an outrageous larger than life personality, yet off-camera he was very shy, reserved, and soft-spoken, except when he was with his family and close friends or at parties. He was also notoriously bad about managing money to the point that he had his brother Moe prepare his income tax returns and help him manage his money, thus preventing him from becoming penniless. He married for a second time in June of 1937 to Elaine Ackerman and the couple had a daughter, Marilyn. This marriage, however, was not destined to last as Ackerman filed for divorce in July of 1940, claiming his behavior became a serious problem. During the next five years, his health began to deteriorate, as in excess he drank alcohol, overate, smoked cigarettes and partied for long hours without sleep. In January of 1945 he was diagnosed with obesity, extreme hypertension, and a retinal hemorrhage, having to remain hospitalized for the next few weeks for further testing and treatment. Eight months after his release, he met Marion Buxbaum, a divorcée with a ten-year-old son and marrying her almost instantly on October 17, 1945. This marriage did not last long either with them separating after only three months, and this time Howard was the one who sued for divorce. His mental and physical health was declining. Many of his friends and relatives felt his wife had married him for his money, as he bought her everything she asked for, such as fur coats, jewelry, and a luxury house, which all cost a fortune, and the couple began fighting before long. The divorce was headline news, and proved to be very scandalous tabloid fodder. His wife even spread rumors to make him look like the guilty party, in an attempt to gain monetary awards from the divorce. On May 6, 1946 he suffered a major stroke on the set while filming the last day of "Half-Wits' Holiday". After a nine-month marriage, the divorce was granted in July of 1946. Many people close to him believed in hindsight that he had been suffering a series of minor strokes leading up to this, but he either had not been aware of it or had not wanted to tell anyone for fear the Three Stooges would have to disband. His brother Shemp came back into the team to take his place with his blessing. At the time everyone believed his absence would be a temporary hiatus. On July 31, 1947, he married for a fourth time to Valerie Newman and the couple had a daughter in 1948. He was given a brief cameo in the 1947 short "Hold That Lion!" in the hopes of bolstering his spirits, but his health never improved to the point where he could rejoin the team. His wife became his primary caregiver, and he proved to be a difficult patient with uncontrollable hypertension. He continued to have more strokes, becoming wheelchair-bound by 1950, having personality changes, and dying in a nursing facility at age 48. He was given a Jewish funeral and buried in his family's plot.