attraction, with Curly playing an integral part in the trio's work. Prime years Howard's childlike mannerisms and natural comedic charm made him a hit with audiences, particularly children. He was known in the act for having an "indestructible" head, which always won out by breaking anything that assaulted it, including saws (resulting in his characteristic quip, "Oh, look!"). Although Howard had no formal acting training, his comedic skills were exceptional. Often, directors let the camera roll freely and let Howard improvise. Jules White, in particular, left gaps in the Stooge scripts where he could improvise for several minutes. In later years, White commented: "If we wrote a scene and needed a little something extra, I'd say to Curly, 'Look, we've got a gap to fill this in with a "woob-woob" or some other bit of business', and he never disappointed us." By the time the Stooges hit their peak in the late 1930s, their films had almost become vehicles for Howard's unbridled comic performances. Classics such as A Plumbing We Will Go (1940), We Want Our Mummy (1938), An Ache in Every Stake (1941), Cactus Makes Perfect (1942), and their most violent short, They Stooge to Conga (1943), display his ability to take inanimate objects (food, tools, pipes, etc.) and turn them into ingenious comic props. Moe Howard later confirmed that when Curly forgot his lines, that merely allowed him to improvise on the spot so that the "take" could continue uninterrupted: Howard also developed a set of Brooklyn-accented reactions and expressions that the other Stooges would imitate long after he had left the act: "Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk" – Curly Howard's trademark laugh, accompanied by manic finger-snapping (snapping one finger, then the other before cupping your hand and slapping the other down), often used to amuse himself "Woob, woob, woob!" – cheering used when he was either happy, scared, dazed, or flirting with a "dame" "Hmmm!" – an under-the-breath, high-pitched sound meant to show frustration "Nyahh-ahhh-ahhh!" – a scared reaction (this was the reaction most often used by the other Stooges after Curly's departure) "La-Dee" or simply "La, la, laaa" – his singing used when he was acting innocently right before taking out an enemy "Ruff Ruff" – a dog bark, used to express anger, showing defiance, barking at an attractive dame, and/or giving an enemy a final push before departing the scene "Ha-cha-cha!" – a take on Jimmy Durante's