Was Moe REALLY the replacement for Ted Healy when they separated in 1934? In all the old vaudeville acts and the 1930 movie Soup to Nuts, Ted usually hit/punched/clobbered/kicked/poked ALL three of them. When the boys were interacting with each other, they did pretty much what they had always done in the later two-reel comedies. To have Moe thought of as "the straight man" is just wrong, since he did alot of his own silly antics. Ted was much closer to being the straight man, much like Bud Abbott. All told, losing Ted Healy left NO noticable hole in The Three Stooges act.
Sounds to me like Ted Healy was a relic of the Vaudeville days and didn't really have a place in the made-for-the-movie-theater two-reelers that the Stooges became famous for. I've never seen Ted Healy anyway (that I'm aware of).
Seems to me the Stooges were an act that passed the role of "straight" man around amongst themselves as the script and/or routine called for it. You're right, Derf, Moe wa not strictly a straight amn at all.
Here's an example of where Larry played the straight man:
Larry: I don't see a single cow.
Curly: I don't see any married ones, either.
The next time you're up for a family visit, I'll dig up the "off-the-shelf" CD that shows some of the early Stooges history for you, bro. It speaks in detail about Ted Healy and his relationship with Moe.
You're right, though that the boys traded the job of "straight man" liberally among them. They did it most often in those Hitler spoofs we're so fond of.
Larry: You said we'd invade Great Mitten in August.
Curly: Yeah, then you said Septober, then Octember ... it's now Novanda and you STILL haven't done nuthin'!
Moe: Well, novanda! ... I didn't say what year!
A tidbit of info from the website ThreeStooges.com … C3 Entertainment (the owners of The Three Stooges) and the production company of the Farrelly Brothers has announced an upcoming movie starring, believe it or not, The Three Stooges. The publication gave no title (working or otherwise), gave no dates, or whether anyone will play the Stooges (or if they will use Columbia footage). It only hawked the abilities of the Farrelly Brothers and some of their past films. It DID say that the movie would be an original story and not based on any one specific Stooge film. Here is the link, for those interested in reading it for yourself … http://www.threestooges.com/press.html
It seems that only Moe's friendship with Healy kept them all four working together. Shemp left the act not long after the filming of Soup to Nuts due (supposedly) to his dislike of Ted Healy. It took another few years for Moe to see the obvious, probably due to his loyalty and gratitude to Ted for helping him get into the business. But it is clear from watching the old flicks of the boys with Ted that Ted didn't necessarily NEED the Stooges to be a box office draw, and vice-versa.
Here's another Stooge related item to ponder. It seems the boys STILL have to fight for their pay!
Disorder in the Court?