Ted Healy, the founder and original Stooge. Never heard of him? Why I oughta' ...
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The Three Stooges. Everyone's heard of them, right? There's
Larry, Moe, Curly, Shemp, then later on Joe, Curly Joe and, of
course, there was… Ted. Ted? Why sointenly! Ted Healy, the
founder and original Stooge. Never heard of him? Why I oughta'…
Born Charles Earnest Lee Nash in 1896, Ted Healy, as he became
known, was a failed businessman who decided one day to try his
hand at theatre. Realizing he had a natural talent for comedy,
but absolutely no ability to memorize lines, he improvised an
amateur act with impersonations and racy burlesque jokes.
Abandoning his amateurish ways, he committed to becoming a
professional, and eventually became a Broadway star. At the
time, Healy was the highest paid vaudevillian of his day,
earning up to $8,500 a week. As his stage show consisted
mostly of slapstick, it soon became apparent that he would
need a "stooge", so he could, "throw something at somebody".
And hitting stooges made him feel better.
Enter Moses Horowitz, aka Moe Howard. Moe was a boyhood pal,
so naturally, Ted considered bringing him into the act for a
proper beating. Moe brought in his brother Shemp, and then a
violinist named Larry Fine signed on for the abuse. Soon after
came Jerome "Curly" Horowitz, Moe and Shemp's little brother.
For over a decade, Healy and his Stooges performed in a string
of Broadway shows and Hollywood films. By 1934, Larry, Moe,
and Curly left his act, mostly because they were underpaid,
and struck out on their own as the Three Stooges. The rest, of
course, is Stooge history.
Ted Healy died three years later, on the eve of his son's
birth, after a drunken brawl in an LA nightclub. He was found
by a friend in front of the club, delirious and bleeding, and
never regained consciousness. He was forty-one. Despite his
success, and sizable income for the time, Healy died virtually
penniless. His wife had no money for the burial, so MGM staff
members got together a fund to help pay for the expenses.
Throughout his career, Healy was prone to heavy drinking and,
according to Moe, "refused to put any money away". The former
businessman was known to spend every dime as quickly as he
earned it, and thus, had nothing to show for it in the end.
Such a tragedy for a man who left us a legacy of comedy that
will last forever.
For a more in-depth biography on Healy, visit:
http://www.tedhealy.com/
For more on the Three Stooges, check these DVDs
out:
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