<Tr> <Th> Relatives </Th> <Td> Moe Howard (brother) Shemp Howard (brother) Joan Howard Maurer (niece) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> threestooges.net </Td> </Tr> <P> Jerome Lester Horwitz (October 22, 1903--January 18, 1952), known professionally as Curly Howard, was an American vaudevillian actor and comedian . He was best known as a member of the American farce comedy team the Three Stooges, which also featured his elder brothers Moe and Shemp Howard and actor Larry Fine . Curly Howard was generally considered the most popular and recognizable of the Stooges . He was well known for his high - pitched voice and vocal expressions ("nyuk - nyuk - nyuk!", "woob - woob - woob!", "soitenly!" (certainly), and barking like a dog) as well as his physical comedy (e.g., falling on the ground and pivoting on his shoulder as he "walked" in circular motion), improvisations, and athleticism . An untrained actor, Curly borrowed (and significantly exaggerated) the "woob woob" from "nervous" and soft - spoken comedian Hugh Herbert . Curly's unique version of "woob - woob - woob" was firmly established by the time of the Stooges' second Columbia film, Punch Drunks (1934). </P> <P> Howard was forced to leave the Three Stooges act in 1946 when a massive stroke ended his show business career . He suffered through serious health problems and several more strokes until his death in 1952 at age 48 . </P>

When did curly die of the three stooges