S4E10-Curly's NEAR DEATH Head Injury Gave Him 9 Stitches & Almost Ended His Life!

[@rager1969]

I love the lawyers Dewey, Cheatem and Howe.

[@reddykilowatt]

@@rager1969 Curly could have used them in a negligence lawsuit against the production company. 😉

[@ThomasGidley-kv2uj]

A plumbing we will go is about the funniest stuff I've ever seen. Bless Curly.

[@KevinMiller-xn5vu]

Curly also split his head wide open on an uncovered 2x4 when he fell down an open elevator shaft in the 1937 short Three Dumb Clucks, and had fake hair glued to his head after the studio doctor fixed him up.

[@Victor-gi3dy]

& when Moe asked Columbia Pictures President Harry Cohn for time off because of Curly's declining health he Refused them !!!!!!!!!😢😢

[@Jared_Wignall]

Some of the stuff the three of them did physically could have been fatal. I have a lot of respect for all of the Stooges for doing all the physical stuff they did and I’m glad they were safe for the most part, especially when it came to things that could be life threatening, such as with Curly in this instance. I’m glad he was alright. Thank you for the video Rick, I hope you’re doing well. Keep up the great work and take care!

[@Large23collectibles]

I love the bit where Curly keeps spitting water on Moe and Moe gets frustrated.

[@JackMcClendon]

So tragic. Thank you for your channel

[@ricknineg]

My pleasure! He had so many injures it is so unfortunate and sad

[@JamesBrown-i2e]

I remember this short and had heard Curly was injured. Curly was my favorite stooge! Since he was under a sheet, I wonder why a stunt person was not used for that scene. The head injury did not help his overall health given his other health issues.

[@KevinMiller-xn5vu]

Or a dummy.

[@arneb3818]

I have seen this short a few times. After Curly slides off the gurney, if you watch the scene continue, for a fraction of a second when he gets off the gurney and the sheet covering him slips off, you can spot a small patch of blood on it.

[@ricknineg]

I’ll have to look. It may be hard to see

[@LordBeerusHakaiGod]

Curly Is such a trooper

[@KevinMiller-xn5vu]

Somehow I wonder if Curly wasn't hurt more than Moe actually was?

[@stevengreco8961]

What a great and KZbin channel this is!

[@judykessinger3552]

Didn't know this happened. Amazing he was still able to work afterwards. I'm learning so much about these accidents, etc. by watching this channel!

[@freecycling6687]

In those days they didn't have any concussion protocols. A shot like that to the back of the head today would require that the person rest for at least one week, and monitor themselves closely for any additional symptoms. But back then, the protocol was "get back to work!"

[@danielbowden6330]

Woo-woo-wooo. No, ow, ow,ow,ow.

[@partyon5374]

The Stooges are greatly underappreciated with how many injuries they had while making us laugh. *Except for Joe Besser*

[@resurrectionsunday]

@@partyon5374 joe was great

[@loljokes]

Curly actually did comment on this specific situation... In his own words, he said, "Aww, wise guy huh? Yuck, yuck, yuck..."

[@cadeevans4623]

Loved the stooges can't believe this these facts man you nail these facts perfectly very informative rick

[@kathypappas6867]

Aww man I just watched that one again today . Now I feel bad .

[@robertdragoff6909]

I didn’t know Curley was injured in this short, but I do know he had a head injury in another one…… In the short where the guys have to stop their dad from marrying a blonde, Curley played both the son and the dad…. Dad came up in an elevator where two hoods were planning to kill him. They tell him his young wife was downstairs and as one of the gangsters pushed him back to the elevator ,the other one pushed the elevator door open.. Then the two hoods dump Curley down the elevator shaft where in real life poor Curley hurt his head. A studio doctor patched up the gash on the back of Curley’s head even used saw dust on his wound to cover it up….. I don’t remember the title or even when it was made, but it probably contributed to Curley’s growing health problems.

[@ddavenpAZ]

This would be a good short to feature behind the scenes tricks and how they were done, such as pulling the fish out of Curly’s mouth or how Curly spit like a seltzer bottle on Moe. 😂 Curly seemed like a glutton for punishment when filming but he stayed strong and pulled through, ready for the next shot. It’s hard to decide whether or not to admire him or cry for him as a result. Me? I do both for many reasons. Please keep going with these Stooges commentaries. They stand as one of your strongest works and tributes. As they progress, you take us deeper into the truth behind the farce we see on screen, and we realize the Stooges aren’t just projections, but real people, all of whom we’ve known or maybe are us, given our individual experiences.

[@timothyweers8054]

It is something that we laugh at silly hijinks where it is supposed to be funny, when we ourselves get injured, we start to feel the pain when it is inflicted to the funny scene. It is amazing how Curly hasn't had a tragedy onset that ended it all instead of multiple times that attributed to the point where he couldn't continue.

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

suffering for your art

[@billbright1755]

They tried to put salt 🧂 on a talking parrot 🦜 in one episode.

[@FishHeadSalad]

In 1936 they did Disorder in the Court in which a stunt double or Curly was wearing a helmet that was painted like Curly's head stubble and was used when he was on the stand and his chair fell backwards and and he slammed his head against the wall before falling off the chair (the stand). Maybe they should have stuck with the stubble helmet or maybe a stunt double for this short literally saving a lot of headache.

[@joshuabrophy4585]

I am pretty sure it was a stunt double because of the bald cap

[@FishHeadSalad]

@@joshuabrophy4585 I agree, but I did not want to leave the other possibility out due to budget reasons on those shorts. Every now and then I see doubles/stunt men fill in for a stooge, but it is not too oft until later. What always cracked me up is when they used what was obviously stuffed dummies. LOL!

[@williamheald6781]

I didn't know about that injury concerning Curly, but I'm aware of Moe's when he broke his ribs. Moe was standing on the table and Curly cut it in half. Moe continued with broken ribs. That was a hilarious stunt though, still laugh thinking about it.

[@marlenepearson3936]

It's a wonder they lasted as long as they did with these injuries. That's terrible 😕 Thanks for all the work that goes into these videos, Rick. 🎉

[@orangehornet57]

The guys took some safety precautions. But it was definitely not enough. I still thought the Shemp episodes seemed more violent. Those sound effects played a huge role. Curly's overindulging in food and alcohol didn't help. In his autobiography Moe seemed to blame the drinking for causing the stroke. Whatever we lost Curly way too soon.

[@pl5624]

He drank and partied a lot..that helped lead to high blood pressure along with his size.

[@ricknineg]

That’s a definite contribution as well

[@happyjohnrn]

I am just a RN. A TBI and CVA are two different events. I do not know what kind of stroke Jerome Howard had that finished his career? Hemorrhagic or ischemic? I will guess Hemorrhagic, which is a bleed or ruptured brain vessel. These are commonly caused by long duration hypertension or high blood pressure. It is well known that Curly led a very active social life, which is what leaves me to believe it was hemorragic. An ischemic event is caused by a blockage of a blood vessel. Maybe due to poor diet or just poor genetics ? Either way, you mentioned he was having a series of accidents. Which leads me to believe it was a on going process. Mini Strokes. His outcome was inevitable given the medical care availble at the time. No the accident on set, though not helpful was not the cause of his future demise.

[@MrPGC137]

I didn't know about his head injury in this film, bu I did know about the one he sustained while making "3 Dumb Clucks." I think it was probably the second one that did the more-significant & long-lasting damage however, as it was right at that point on that Curly began to decline. Even in this film, you can see he's not quite all "there" during the latter part of the film; his energy-level just isn't what it was. In retrospect, he probably sustained a concussion & should've been under bed-rest with cold-compress for at least a few days to recover.

[@bejoyful]

Never heard of any injuries for our dear Stooges and why no stunt man for Curly in this scene?

[@randytim512]

I don't think I ever saw this short but it looks hilarious. Head injuries are certainly can be serious and logically I think you can connect the dots and conclude this was a contributing factor in his health issues.

[@ricknineg]

100%

[@mamas.8259]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@riverbender9898]

Sadly, safety was no priority at all to protect anyone involved in moviemaking in those days and later. Thank you.

[@joeanderson9852]

❤❤

[@bluemoon3264]

Are you married or happy ? (No Census No feeling episode) 🤙 .

[@ricknineg]

😆

[@davescrimshaw7781]

Probably didn't help! NYUK, NYUK.

[@Local1Laborer]

Too many cigars contributed to his decline and deterioration

[@sailordude2094]

The saw they used on Curly's head wasn't a prop? Lol. Poor Curly.

[@MattelAquarius]

@2:28 You said it's your professional opinion (as a youtuber or a doctor?), but I think you meant it is your personal opinion. ;-)