On a fateful night in December 1937, comedy legend Ted Healy emerged from the Cafe Trocadero on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles in a disoriented state, visibly injured.
He claimed to friends that he had been assaulted by three college students.
Subsequently, a doctor was summoned to his hotel where he received medical attention for a laceration above his eye, but the following morning, Healy began experiencing seizures.
Despite efforts from his personal physician Wyant LaMont, Healy tragically passed away.
LaMont hesitated to issue a death certificate due to the suspicious nature of Healy’s injuries, prompting an autopsy.
The official cause of death was reported as nephritis, a kidney inflammation attributed to alcohol abuse.
However, this explanation left many unsatisfied, especially after revelations surfaced implicating Albert “Cubby” Broccoli in a confrontation with Healy, raising further questions about the events leading to Healy’s demise.
Ted Healy’s life ended in misfortune, tarnishing a career that kickstarted the rise of the iconic Three Stooges.
While Healy achieved individual stardom apart from the Stooges, his personal life was marred by struggles with relationships and finances.
Originating as Ernest Lea Nash in Texas on October 1, 1896, Healy’s early exposure to the entertainment industry led him to pursue a career in theater alongside his friend Moe Horowitz.
Renaming himself Ted Healy, he crafted a successful vaudeville comedy routine involving singing, jokes, and physical comedy.
By the 1920s, Healy had established himself as one of the highest-paid vaudeville performers and tied the knot with fellow actor Betty Brown, who joined him in his act.
However, their marriage faced challenges due to Healy’s infidelity, financial irresponsibility, and alcoholism, which escalated his aggressive behavior when intoxicated.
Incorporating Howard (formerly Horowitz) into the act as a faux stooge in 1922, followed by Shemp as a mock heckler and Larry to complete the trio in 1925, the group gained immense popularity in vaudeville circuits.
Hollywood soon came calling, but contractual disputes led to the Stooges parting ways with Healy in 1930, eventually surpassing his fame.
Beset by personal turmoil, including a divorce from Brown in 1932 and subsequent relationships, Healy found solace in a contract with MGM in the early 1930s, starring in films like “San Francisco” and “Mad Holiday.”
His marriage to Betty Hickman in 1936 culminated in the birth of his only child, John Jacob Nash, in December 1937.
Healy’s celebratory mood after the premiere of “Hollywood Hotel” on December 20 took a tragic turn during a night out at the Trocadero, frequented by notable figures like Wallace Beery and Cubby Broccoli, whose altercation with Healy reportedly preceded the comedian’s untimely death.
Conflicting witness accounts and rumors of studio cover-ups have shrouded Healy’s passing in mystery, leaving his legacy intertwined with unanswered questions.
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