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"Curly: An Illustrated Biography of the Superstooge" Foreword

Date of publication confirmed on “Barnes & Noble” listing (archived) (“11/28/1985”)

Michael Jackson, "Curly: An Illustrated Biography of the Superstooge" (November 29, 1985) foreword (archived)

My memories of The Three Stooges”, and especially Curly, are still with me to this day. In my childhood, around our house in Indiana, it was a daily ritual for me to watch “The Three Stooges” on television. All my brothers loved them then and even more so now. Chaplin and the Stooges are the greatest to me - their humor survives each generation. Even my mother loved to see us have fun watching them. Rehearsing as a team and watching the Stooges were the only times we got together as a whole family.

The Stooges craziness helped me to relax and to escape life’s burdens. They influenced me so much that I even wrote a song about them.

Curly was definitely my favorite Stooge. He was unquestionably a comic genius who understood ad-libbing better than anyone. I loved the Stooges’ slapstick action, childlike mannerisms and attitudes. He should be honored much more than what has been done for him in the past, for everyone loves him.

As a kid, I imitated Curly all the time, and I enjoyed feeling superior to and smarter than those three silly grownups. I owe so much to them that I feel they belong to me. That’s why I had to write the Foreword for this book.

Joan, the author, asked me whether I thought that Curly had suffered when he had to shave off his wavy head of hair in order to become a Stooge. My answer is that I was sure he did, that underneath the smile may have been a tear – after all, he was a clown. But it is our duty as entertainers to satisfy the people – to give of our souls even if it hurts.

Curly had a magic. He was God-gifted - a natural. Even when he didn’t intend to be funny, he was magic.

Today, thirty-three years after his death, Curly still has legions of fans because he was a natural. Such people appeal to the masses young and old – like the color blue.

I love everything about Curly and I would give anything to really know what he was like.

Thanks to the author, this book will clear up much of the mystery of Curly for me and his millions of devoted fans.

Michael Jackson

“Vibe” magazine interview, 2002

I love Curly. I love him so much that I did a book on him. I got a hold of his daughter, and we wrote the book together.

Joan Howard Maurer, author, Preface of "Curly: An Illustrated Biography of the Superstooge" (archived)

When it came time to decide on a choice for someone to write the book’s foreword, I recalled that I had recently seen an article in People magazine on the rock star Michael Jackson. In the article there was a double-page spread with a photograph of his dressing table, captioned “Some of Michael’s favorite things.” Prominent on the table was a picture of the Three Stooges, and I instantly realized that the Michael Jackson was a Three Stooges fan. I wrote him and asked if he would write the foreword for the book and was truly surprised when, without hesitation, he took time from his busy schedule to get word to me that he would consider it an honor.