Ted Healy was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. He is chiefly remembered today as the creator of The Three Stooges, but had a successful stage and film career of his own. Healy was born Ernest Lea Nash on October 1, 1896 in Houston, Texas, and was known as Lee. In 1912, as teenagers, Nash and his childhood friend Moses Harry Horwitz joined the Annette Kellerman Diving Girls, a vaudeville act which included four boys. The work ended quickly, however, after an accident on stage. Nash and Howard then went their separate ways. Nash developed a vaudeville act and adopted the... stage name Ted Healy. Healy's act was a hit, and he soon expanded his role as a comedian and master of ceremonies. He added performers to his stage show, including his new wife Betty Brown . When some of his acrobats quit in 1922, Moe Howard answered the advertisement for replacements. Since Howard was no acrobat, Healy cast his old friend as a stooge .
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| Birthdate: | October 1, 1896 |
| Birthplace: | Houston, Texas |
| Date of death: | December 21, 1937 |
| Also known as: | Ernest Lee Nash, Lee, Ernest Lea Nash |