Metal,
I think you are correct. It really would have been great if Bud and Vernon had lived long enough to be paid the respect and shown the love for their work with the boys. I really like those guys almost as much as any of the stooges.
I did get a chance to speak with Emil Sitka just before he passed away and he seemed happy to be remembered. I have posted it here...
I call it an interview, but it really is not. I wish I could have visited him in person but it was not possible at the time. As I say in the phone call, we really had a theatre lined up and 16mm shorts ready to go but he was not able. Some youtube users have said I was bothering him but I discount this, the chuckle in his laugh when he asks how long he would be gone tells me that I was not bothering him and made him smile. I did send a letter and received an autograph.
Now that my grandmother is in a home like he was at the time, It really was silly to think he would fly to Chicago... But if he did, he would have met a standing ovation!!