Moe Howard, the irascible one with the world-famous bangs, was born on June 19, 1897, in Bensonhurst, New York, a small Jewish community on the outskirts of Brooklyn. His real name was Moses Horwitz (only later did he adopt the name Harry), son of real estate entrepreneur Jennie Horwitz and clothing cutter Solomon Horwitz. Moe was the fourth eldest of the five Howard brothers, all but two, Jack and Irving, having entered show business.
Throughout Moe's career, columnists the world over tried to find words to describe his unusual haircut; buster brown, spittoon, Sugar Bowl, Rose Bowl and Beatle were but a few. His hair color changed with the years from black in his youth to reddish-brown when he dyed it) to silver-white (its final natural color) during the seventies. He had a marvelous mop of hair until the day he died, but during grammar school days it was the bane of his existence. He was constantly taunted by his class mates over his head of shoulder-length curls-which his mother adored, having always wanted a girl. One day, tired of fighting with his school chums, Moe grabbed a pair of shears and hacked off the curls that encircled his freckled face; the resulting hairstyle was a raggedy version of the one that became his trademark.
Moe was an extremely bright child and at a very young age displayed an ability to quickly memorize anything. This ability carried over into later life, making him a quick study during his acting career. Brother Jack reminisced about his youth and his love for books: I had many Horatio Alger books and it was Moe's greatest pleasure to read them. They started his imaginative mind working and gave him ideas by the dozen. I think they were instrumental in putting thoughts into his head-to become a person of good character and to become successful."
Years later recalling his lost schooldays, Moe said: "I used to stand outside the theater knowing the truant officer was looking for me. I would stand there 'til someone came along and then ask them to buy my ticket. It was necessary for an adult to accompany a juvenile into the theatre. When I succeeded I'd give him my ten cents-that's all it cost-and I'd go up to the top of the balcony where I'd put my chin on the rail and watch, spellbound, from the first act to the last. I would usually select the actor I liked the most and follow his performance throughout the play"
His love for show business indelibly fixed, Howard embarked on a film career in 1909 at the Vitagraph Studios in Brooklyn, where he earned his entree into filmmaking by running errands, "for no tips," for such performers as Maurice Costello. As a result of his persistence, Moe soon appeared in films with such silent stars as John Bunny, Flora Finch, Earle William, Herbert Rawlinson and Walter Johnson.
In 1909 Moe met Ted Healy for the first time. They became close friends and together in the summer of 1912 joined Annette Kellerman's aquatic act as diving "girls." This job lasted through the summer.
Then in 1913, Moe and Shemp tried their hand at singing, using the family room at Sullivan's Saloon to gain their much-needed experience in front of an audience. The Howards sang along in a quartet with the talented bass singer of that time, Babe Tuttle, and an Irish tenor, Willie O'Connor. Moe sang baritone, while Shemp sang lead. Together the foursome harmonized such popular old songs as "Dear Old Girl," "Oh, You Beautiful Doll," "By the Light of the Silvery Moon," "Heart of My Heart" and I've Been Through the Mill, Bill." Moe and Shemp continued to sing every night until nine or ten o'clock, until their father found out what they were doing and soon put a stop to it.
The following year, in 1914, Moe, feeling a bit of Huck Finn in his blood, wangled himself a job with a performing troupe on Capt. Billy Bryant's showboat, Sunflower. For two summers Howard acted with the company in the same melodramas he had seen as a kid, performing his favorite roles in Bertha, the Sewing Machine Girl, St. Elmo and Ten Nights in a Barroom, all at the age of seventeen. Before answering Ted Healy's call in 1922 to become a stooge, Moe worked a blackface act with Shemp, touring the country. Besides stage work, Moe also appeared in 12 two-reel shorts with baseball great Hans Wagner.
Late in 1922, Moe renewed his acquaintance with Ted Healy and together with Shemp formed a partnership that, except for a few short breaks, would last for almost ten years.
On June 7, 1925, Moe married Helen Schonberger, a cousin of the late Harry Houdini. In 1926 Helen urged Moe to leave the stage and Ted Healy in order to spend more time with her, as she was expecting a child. Moe acquiesced and left show business to work in real estate for a year. When that didn't work out he opened a small retail store and attempted to sell distressed merchandise, which turned into an hysterical fiasco. During 1927 Moe worked intermittently at the Jewish Community House in Bensonhurst, producing and directing plays. One of his early efforts, Stepping Along, was reviewed by a critic at The New York Dross, who wrote, "A Musical Dream in Three Episodes was probably as good a description as anything else and it was a dream from which none wanted to awaken." Moe was also the businessman of the team, ran the group and made most of the team's decisions. Curly and Larry were carefree individuals, never priding themselves on punctuality and with absolutely no regard for money. Moe did the worrying for all of them.
Although Moe was cautious in certain directions about saving money, be would go crazy in other directions. Norman Maurer nicknamed him Wholesale Charlie, since his fondest pleasure was buying clothes for all the members of his family. He'd buy everything by the dozen (it seemed that all his boyhood friends had wound up in the wholesale garment business). Norman felt that be wasted a good deal of money on these spending sprees, but Moe got untold enjoyment out of them.
Despite his inability to relax and enjoy life to its fullest like Curly and Larry, Moe's goal in life was to give his family their every wish, and this he did. He and his wife Helen traveled to just about every city in the world, where they were treated like royalty by their fans.
Director Edward Bernds, who knew him for 40 years, felt the businesslike side of Moe certainly helped on the set. "Moe was all business, but he was interested in making the film as good as he could. He didn't take anything away from the director but he did see to it that the boys shaped up. He liked making suggestions and was very creative.
Moe had two children: his first, Joan, and eight years later a son, Paul. He was married almost 50 years to his wife, Helen, who died six months after him on October 31, 1975.
When once asked how long the Stooges would remain in show business, Howard replied, "Forever is a long time, but with a little luck, we just might make it."
