Columbia Pictures · Public domain

Curly Howard became the most recognizable member of the Three Stooges through pure physical invention -- the exaggerated 'woo-woo,' the shoulder-pivoting fall, a vocabulary of grunts and catchphrases he largely improvised himself as an untrained actor. He performed in the act for over two decades before a stroke ended his career in 1946; he died six years later after several more strokes.