Paul Howard dies at 91 — Paul Howard, the only son of Moe Howard and a lifelong steward of The Three Stooges’ history, has died at 91, C3 Entertainment announced. The company, which owns the comedy team’s license and brand, said Howard died this week. He lived on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
With his passing, the last surviving son of the original Stooges lineup — Moe Howard, his brothers Curly and Shemp, and Larry Fine — is gone. Since his father’s death in 1975 at 77, Paul Howard had carried the family’s story to generations of fans, appearing at conventions and events to share memories of Moe, Shemp and Curly.
A Family's Story on Screen
In 2015, Howard narrated a nine-part docuseries called Hey Moe, Hey Dad!, which offered a personal look at the team through rare archival footage, family accounts and interviews. The series featured members of the Howard, Fine and DeRita families — Curly Joe DeRita was another member of the act — along with fans including Whoopi Goldberg and Leonard Maltin. It is available on The Three Stooges+ YouTube channel.
Howard’s role as a guardian of his father’s legacy gave fans a firsthand view of the man behind the bowl-cut hairstyle and the enduring slapstick comedy. His stories connected audiences with the lives of his father and uncles, preserving a family history that overlapped with some of the most recognizable comedy of the 20th century.
The Howard Family
Moe Howard married Helen Schonberger, a cousin of escape artist Harry Houdini, in June 1925. Their first child, Joan, was born in April 1927. Paul arrived on July 8, 1935. Helen died six months after Moe, and Joan, a writer and actress, died in September 2021 at 94.
Paul Howard lived in Rifton, New York, for more than 40 years before moving to Manhattan. He is survived by his wife, Joanne; his daughter, Jennifer; his nephew, Jeffrey; and a cousin, Janie Howard Hanky, Curly’s daughter, who was born in May 1948.
His death closes a direct link to the original Stooges, but the stories he told and the docuseries he narrated remain available to fans who want to understand the family behind the comedy.
