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Show I Iii Tragic Role r 1! V i TED HEALY II Autopsy shows death mih I TED HEALY DIES; ' DEATHPROBED HOLLYWOOD, Dee. S? (VP) Ted Healy, famous stage and scree comedian, died of heart . disease and lung congestion, with no evident of injuries from foul play. Coroner F. A. Nance announced an-nounced today following an u- topoy. HOLLYWOOD. Dec. 22 (INS) The curtain was up today on an- . other Hollywood mystery as police swiftly backtracked the bisarre trail of the noted comedian, Ted Healy. which ended in his sudden death yesterday in his home In nearby near-by Westwood Hills. Homicide squad officers sought the man, reputed to be prominent here, who fought a wild battle with the comedian outside a world fa- mous Hollywood night spot and gave him a beating which may have ended his life, or at least contributed thereto. Cause of death probably will be established by an autopsy slated to be held today. Unofficial medical opinion was about evenly divided between the theories of natural death from heart disease, and vio- , lent death from head injuries. ra J m mm a 1M ssa. a Is m www W J WSajss t M amifsru nVT) WIIv died at the time of his greatest personal happiness and perhaps at the apex of his professional career, ca-reer, suffered a deep laceration above his left eye, a bruise on his temple and a badly discolored area about his eye. Healy was celebrating the birth of his son, John Jacob Healy, now four days old, in a Culver City hospital, hos-pital, and the preview of his latest picture which brought him wide acclaim ac-claim for some of the finest bits of comedy ever filmed here. Mrs. Healy, the former Betty Hickman, who married the comedian come-dian a year and a half ago at Yuma. Am., was told of the tragedy last night at the hospital. She had expected ex-pected to go home with her baby and spend Christmas with Healy. Nurses said she was dased by the grim message. From Jack Marcus, Healy's friend and manager, police learned most of the details of the comedian's last celebration. They patched the story together as follows: Healy called his studio Saturday In great excitement, telling the phone girls to "tell the newspapers, 1 tell everybody that I'm a father; the proudest father in the world, with the swellest baby ever born." He Waa Treating He rushed in and out of the hospital hos-pital several times, comforting Mrs. Healy and chatting happily with attendants, and then made a round of cafes, treating all who would listen to his story of "the greatest baby in all history." The next day. Sunday, Healy was ill and spent most of the day in bed under the watchful eye of a bodyguard, Hymie Marx, who had been posted at the comedian's home by Marcus with instructions not to let Healy out of his sight. But the actor eluded Marx about 11 p. m called a taxi and as- peered at the Trocadero, filmland's film-land's swank night dub, where he was refused service at the bar "because "be-cause he didn't need any more to ' drink." Healy then got In an argument with a patron, was taken out of the club by attaches, but got back in again by a ruse and pkinged into another argument with another man who invited the comedian "to come outside and settle it" Healy accepted the Invitation, the two men went to an adjoining parking park-ing lot and a free-swinging bout took place, with the actor doing most of the receiving. When he couldn't fight any longer, his ad- versary went back to the club and Healy boarded a taxi. At another night club he borrowed (30 and went on to a third cafe, where he ' was found by three friends at 2:30 a. m. They took him to the suite of Dr. Sidney I Weinberg, in a Hollywood hotel, and the physician I closed the cut over Healy's eye with two surgical clips and other-wise other-wise treated his Injuries. |