Beyond the Laughter...: A Daughter's Story of Curly's Post Three Stooges Years [Paperback]

Grace Garland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 11, 2001

The world will finally see Curly not only as the brilliant comedian he was, but also as the manical nnemeses he became.The information uncovered in this book is like an untapped natural resource! It will gush forth a tale so amazingly unbelievable that political figures, movie moguls and Mafia members will want to cap, and voices from beyond will scream for the truth to finally set them free! It will give a daughter the closure she needs to go Beyond the Laughter.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Grace Garland is a freelance newspaper columnist, author, and teacher. She has one teenaged daughter who attends college. Grace enjoys traveling, the arts, and spending time with her Bichon Frise, Nicholi 'Nikki'.

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (December 11, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595208460
• ISBN-13: 978-0595208463
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,601,362 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

124 of 125 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Top Ten Reasons to Avoid This, April 3, 2002

By 

Paul E. Gierucki "Laughsmith Entertainment" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond the Laughter...: A Daughter's Story of Curly's Post Three Stooges Years (Paperback)

I am shocked that a book such as this could reach the light of day.

As writer, producer and director of "Stooges: The Men Behind the Mayhem"
I can say with absolute certainty, and complete authority, that this story is a farce.

The content is total fabrication -- submitted without one stitch of evidence. There are no photographs. There are no documents. There are no dates. There is nothing adduced here to connect this twisted flight of fantasy with anything that resembles reality. The wild and irresponsible claims made in these pages have no documented validity whatsoever.

Had the author done some homework (historical research about the Stooges, or contacting members of the Howard family) she would have immediately realized that she had been taken in by an unscrupulous charlatan or, giving the interviewee a modicum of latitude, a seriously mislead individual.

It is impossible to address all of the ridiculous claims made in this tome, so here are the highlights;

1. Curly's real name was Jerome Lester Horowitz until he officially changed his last name to Howard. His nickname was "Babe", and he was known professionally as "Curly".

2. Curly was NEVER known as "Larry Fine". Actor Larry Fine was the only person in the act ever billed as Larry Fine.

3. Curly was NOT Catholic he was JEWISH.

4. Curly was the youngest brother of Irving, Jack, Moe and Shemp Howard -- birth records, income tax and social security documents bear this out. It is FACT. Despite claims to the contrary Moe Howard, in nearly every interview, mentioned that Curly was his youngest brother. Furthermore, Curly had NO sisters.

5. The Howard family lived in NY, NOT Georgia.

6. Curly was no longer a member of the Stooges when they were fired from Columbia. He was dead. Joe Besser was the actor working with the Stooges at that time.

7. The Howard family was NOT Italian, they were Lithuanian.

8. Neither Curly nor the Horowitz/Howard family were ever part of the Mafia, Italian or otherwise.

9. Curly Howard had no knowledge of the JFK assassination -- as he died on January 18,1952 from cerebral arterio sclerosis. Medical records and coroner reports prove this fact.

10. Curly Howard never met Mario Puzo, and he did not write the story that eventually became "The Godfather" novel. He couldn't write anything -- because he was DEAD.

The list, unfortunately, goes on and on.

This book does a disservice to film historians everywhere, and will undoubtedly cause no small amount of grief for the TRUE RELATIVES of Curly Howard -- his two LIVING daughters.

I suggest that readers, interested in the REAL history of the Stooges, look into books published by Jeff Forrester. They are based on firsthand accounts and documented FACT, not innuendo and supposition.

Unless you're in the mood for a total work of fiction --
Avoid this book like the plague, Reader.

56 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Insanity!!!!, May 15, 2005

By 

DR "DR" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond the Laughter...: A Daughter's Story of Curly's Post Three Stooges Years (Paperback)

This book is absolutely fiction in every sense. You want truth....here is some truth, my Great Uncle was in Vaudville and new Curly very well. He has always been up front and not exaggerated, always saying we weren't best of friends but did remain friendly for many many years. He still has actual photos of he and curly together also with Moe and Shemp spanning several years in the thirties and forties and even a couple from 1951 shortly before Curly passed on. You can see the progression in his photos as Curly had stroke after stroke, it's painfully obvious. I made Uncle read the book and it literally took me three weeks to convince him it wasn't something I printed as an April Fools joke. Everything he told me about Curly when I was a child has later been supported by books that have been published....Curly loved dogs, loved to drink and party,had a very loving and tender relationship with both Moe and Shemp, loved his daughters, and his true love was his last wife Valerie. I mean my God he told me Curly's youngest daughter's name was Janie back in the seventies before any of this stuff was written. He has always said of all the stars he mingled with back in the day Curly Howard was his favorite and when he finally realized I wasn't putting him on and this book was "real" the poor old guy nearly passed on himself. Even in his nineties he wants to strangle the author for defacing his friend. How can anyone believe this crap??? one does not even need the personal pictures I have access to.....look at all the other stooge books......hundreds and hundreds of Moe, Curly, Shemp, Larry, Curly's parents pictures. As a society have we become this STUPID that a person could read this book and choose to believe it? if yes, then I am in a word....HORRIFIED! I read this book and was insulted for two reasons....one is as I have said I am lucky enough to have someone close to me who new the man and secondly I consider Curly Howard as important a figure in entertainment history as Elvis.....he is without a doubt the single most popular comic figure of all time world wide and he does not deserve to be dragged through the mud like this. How many children for the last almost century has Curly Howard made smile and feel good????? it's countless people. I ask for myslef, my Great Uncle Mike and all Stooge fans that Moes daughter Joan Maurer and Curly's real daughters do something to stop this pathetic excuse for a human being from writing anything else like this trash.

DR

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Beyond the Laughter: A Daughters Story, April 23, 2005

By 

J. Jones (Mansfield, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond the Laughter...: A Daughter's Story of Curly's Post Three Stooges Years (Paperback)

I'm a long time Stooge fan and a fairly good authority on facets of their life and career. I'm also a mental health professional and can comfortably say that the person(s) who wrote this tawdry attempt at sensationalism are severly personality disordered. None of this stands up to even the most elementary evaluation. I suppose the "revealing of proof" promised "when the time is right" will also discuss the "lost" stooges movie made at Roswel, New Mexico where the Stooges are the doctors who botch the ailien autopsy. Shame on the the perpetrators and supporters of this garbage for not having the consience to make an honest living but rather trying to cash in on a fabrication.