Befriended and worked with Moe Howard years before their "stooge" act in a water comedy show that featured swimmer Annette Kellerman in 1912. The act dissolved after a tragic accident in which a young female swimmer misjudged a dive and broke her neck.
Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith, pg. 210-211. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387
Brother of Marcia Healy.
In the early 1930s, Healey was the highest paid comic in the country, making $30,000 per week. Despite the small fortune he got, he paid his three "Stooges" (Sam and Moses "Harry" Horwitz, a.k.a. Shemp and Moe Howard, Larry Fi--Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard and, after Shemp left, Curly Howard--$100 per week, split three ways.
Interred at Calvary Cemetery, Los Angeles, CA - Plot: Section F, Lot 1693, Grave 14
Is portrayed by Marton Csokas in The Three Stooges (2000) (TV)
See also Emil Sitka.
Was Irish-American.
When Shemp Howard left the act, Moe Howard wanted his little brother Jerome to take his place. However, Ted disliked Jerome and wouldn't hire him. Some sources say Moe threatened to quit unless he hired Jerome. Whetever the reason, Ted finally agreed to hire him on the condition that he shaved his head, and went by the name of Curly. Healy figured that Jerome wouldn't want to shave his head so he wouldn't have to take him into the act, but Jerome did indeed agree to the terms, and thus became Curly Howard, the most popular of all The Three Stooges.