# A Stooge’s question! Curlie’s early job

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stooge-s-question-curlie-s-early-job/128655>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 16, 2002, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stooge-s-question-curlie-s-early-job/128655 "2002-09-16T06:14:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stooge-s-question-curlie-s-early-job/128655/1 "2002-09-16T06:14:32Z")

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On a recent newspaper celebrity article, the early jobs that comedians had before becoming famous appeared.

It mentioned the stooges:

Moe was into real state  
Larry: Violin player and wrestler.  
Shemp: Plumber.

But Curly was left out! Anybody knows what the straight nyuck on Curly’s early career?

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**Author:** ![kawliga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@kawliga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kawliga)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stooge-s-question-curlie-s-early-job/128655/2 "2002-09-16T07:34:01Z")

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According to The Stoogephile Trivia Book, Curly worked in vaudeville as a “comedy conductor” with the Orville Knapp Band before he became the third stooge.

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**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stooge-s-question-curlie-s-early-job/128655/3 "2002-09-16T07:40:14Z")

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But he didn’t get that job until 1928 when he was 25. His history before that is pretty mysterious including a marriage to an “unknown” woman.

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**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\
**Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stooge-s-question-curlie-s-early-job/128655/4 "2002-09-20T01:42:35Z")

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Thanks **kawliga**!

I could have thanked you early; but the hamsters decided to revel and I was afraid to post.