Stan Laurel
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Born	Arthur Stanley Jefferson (1890-06-16)16 June 1890 Ulverston, Cumbria.
Died	23 February 1965(1965-02-23) (aged 74) Santa Monica, California
Other names	Stan Jefferson
Occupation	Actor, writer, comedian, entertainer, film director
Years active	1917–1955
Influenced	Dick Van Dyke,[1] George Stevens,[2] Fred Leedon Scott[3]
Spouse	Lois Neilson (m.1926-1935) Virginia Ruth Rogers (m.1935-1937; 1941-1946; divorced twice) Vera Ivanova Shuvalova (m.1938-1940; divorced) Ida Kitaeva Raphael (m.1946-1965; his death)
Partner	Mae Charlotte Dahlberg (1919-1925)
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Website
http://www.laurel-and-hardy.com/

Arthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson (16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965), known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy.^[4] His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film The Music Box (1932). In 1961, Laurel was given a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his pioneering work in comedy. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.

Early life[link]

Arthur Stanley Jefferson was born in his grandparents' house on 16 June 1890 at 3 Argyle Street, Ulverston,^[5] then in Lancashire. He had two brothers and a sister.

His parents, Arthur and Margaret ("Madge") Jefferson, were both active in the theatre and always very busy. In his early years, he spent much time living with his grandmother Sarah Metcalfe. Stan Jefferson attended school at King James I Grammar School, Bishop Auckland, County Durham^[6] and the King's School, Tynemouth, before moving with his parents to Glasgow, where he completed his education at Rutherglen Academy. His father managed Glasgow's Metropole Theatre where he began work. At the age of 16, with a natural affinity for the theatre, Jefferson gave his first professional performance on stage at the Panopticon in Glasgow.^[7]

In 1910, with the stage name of "Stan Jefferson", he joined Fred Karno's troupe of actors, which also included a young Charlie Chaplin. For some time, he acted as Chaplin's understudy. The Karno troupe toured America, and brought both Chaplin and Jefferson to the United States for the first time. From 1916 to 1918, he teamed up with Alice Cooke and Baldwin Cooke, who became lifelong friends. Amongst other performers, Jefferson worked briefly alongside Oliver Hardy in a silent film short The Lucky Dog. This was before the two were a team.^[5]

Scene from "The Lucky Dog", Stan Laurel (left) and Oliver Hardy (center) in their first appearance onscreen together

Short clip of Mud and Sand parody

It was around this time that Jefferson met Mae Dahlberg. Around the same time he adopted the stage surname of Laurel, at Dahlberg's suggestion.^{[N 1]} The pair were performing together when Laurel was offered $75.00 per week to star in two-reel comedies. After the making of his first film, Nuts in May, Universal offered him a contract. The contract was soon cancelled, however, during a reorganisation at the studio. Among the films Dahlberg and Laurel appeared in together was the 1922 parody, Mud and Sand, of which a short clip can be seen at the left. By 1924, Laurel had given up the stage for full-time film work, under contract with Joe Rock for 12 two-reel comedies. The contract had one unusual stipulation, that Dahlberg was not to appear in any of the films as it was felt her temperament was hindering Laurel's career. In 1925, when she started interfering with Laurel's work, Rock offered her a cash settlement and a one-way ticket back to her native Australia, which she accepted.^{[citation needed]}

Laurel and Hardy[link]

Laurel went on to join the Hal Roach studio, and began directing films, including a 1926 production called Yes, Yes, Nanette. He intended to work primarily as a writer and director, but fate stepped in. In 1927, Oliver Hardy, another member of the Hal Roach Studios Comedy All Star players, was injured in a kitchen mishap and Laurel was asked to return to acting. Laurel and Hardy began sharing the screen in Slipping Wives, Duck Soup and With Love and Hisses. The two became friends and their comic chemistry soon became obvious. Roach Studios' supervising director Leo McCarey noticed the audience reaction to them and began teaming them, leading to the creation of the Laurel and Hardy series later that year.

Together, the two men began producing a huge body of short films, including The Battle of the Century, Should Married Men Go Home?, Two Tars, Be Big!, Big Business, and many others. Laurel and Hardy successfully made the transition to talking films with the short Unaccustomed As We Are in 1929. They also appeared in their first feature in one of the revue sequences of The Hollywood Revue of 1929 and the following year they appeared as the comic relief in a lavish all-color (in Technicolor) musical feature, The Rogue Song. In 1931, their own first starring feature, Pardon Us was released, although they continued to make both features and shorts until 1935, including their 1932 three-reeler The Music Box which won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject.

Trouble at Roach Studio[link]

During the 1930s, Laurel was involved in a dispute with Hal Roach, which resulted in the termination of his contract. Since Roach maintained separate contracts for Laurel and Hardy that expired at different times, Hardy remained at the studio and was "teamed" with Harry Langdon for the 1939 film Zenobia. There was also talk about a series of films co-starring Hardy with Patsy Kelly called "The Hardy Family." But Laurel sued Roach over the contract dispute. Eventually, the case was dropped and Laurel returned to Roach. After returning to Roach studios, the first film Laurel and Hardy made was A Chump at Oxford. Subsequently, they made Saps at Sea, which was their last film for Roach.

Stan Laurel in still from Tree In A Test Tube, US Department of Agriculture (1943)

Fox Studios[link]

In 1939, Laurel and Hardy signed a contract at 20th Century Fox to make one motion picture and nine more over the following five months. During the war years, their work became more standardised and less successful, though The Bullfighters, Great Guns and A-Haunting We Will Go did receive some praise. Laurel discovered he had diabetes, so he encouraged Oliver Hardy to make two films without him. In 1946, he divorced Virginia Ruth Rogers and married Ida Kitaeva Raphael.

In 1950, Laurel and Hardy were invited to France to make a feature film. The film, a French-Italian co-production titled Atoll K, was a disaster. (The film was titled Utopia in the US and Robinson Crusoeland in the UK.) Both stars were noticeably ill during the filming. Upon returning home, they spent most of their time recovering. In 1952, Laurel and Hardy toured Europe successfully, and they toured Europe again in 1953. During this tour, Laurel fell ill and was unable to perform for several weeks.^[9]

In May 1954, Oliver Hardy had a heart attack and canceled the tour. In 1955, they were planning to do a television series, Laurel and Hardy's Fabulous Fables, based on children's stories, but the plans were delayed after Laurel suffered a stroke on 25 April, from which he recovered. But as he was planning to get back to work, Oliver Hardy had a massive stroke on 14 September 1956. Paralyzed and bedridden for several months, Hardy was unable to speak or move.^{[citation needed]}

Hardy's death[link]

On 7 August 1957, Oliver Hardy died. Laurel was too ill to attend his funeral, stating, "Babe would understand"^{[citation needed]}. People who knew Laurel said he was devastated by Hardy's death and never fully recovered from it, refusing to perform ever again after his partner's death.

Life after Laurel and Hardy[link]

In 1961, Stan Laurel was given a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his pioneering work in comedy. He had achieved his lifelong dream as a comedian and had been involved in nearly 190 films. He lived his final years in a small apartment in the Oceana Hotel in Santa Monica, California.

Always gracious to fans, Laurel spent much time answering fan mail. His phone number was listed in the telephone directory, and fans were amazed that they could dial the number and speak to Stan Laurel. Dick Van Dyke told a similar story to Jerry Lewis'. When Van Dyke was just starting his career, he looked up Laurel's phone number, called him, and then visited him at his home. Lewis was among the comedians to visit Laurel, who offered suggestions for Lewis' production of The Bellboy (1960). Lewis had even paid tribute to Laurel by naming his main character Stanley in the film, and having Bill Richmond play a version of Laurel as well.^[10] Van Dyke played Laurel on "The Sam Pomerantz Scandals" episode of the The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Personal life[link]

Laurel had a rich marital history. He had four wives and married one of them twice.^[11]

In 1928, during the early years of Laurel and Hardy's partnership, Laurel and first wife Lois had a baby girl, also named Lois, who married actor Rand Brooks. In May 1930, their second child, Stanley Robert Laurel, died after nine days.^[12]

In 1935, Laurel divorced Lois and married Virginia Ruth Rogers. In 1938, he divorced Virginia and married Vera Ivanova Shuvalova. By 1941, he had divorced Vera and re-married Virginia. In 1946, he divorced Virginia and married Ida Kitaeva Raphael, whom he did not divorce.

Death[link]

Laurel was a heavy smoker until suddenly quitting around 1960.^[13] In January 1965, he underwent a series of x-rays for an infection on the roof of his mouth.^[14] He died on 23 February 1965, aged 74, four days after suffering a heart attack on 19 February.^[15] Just minutes away from death, Laurel told his nurse he would not mind going skiing right at that very moment. Somewhat taken aback, the nurse replied that she was not aware that he was a skier. "I'm not," said Laurel, "I'd rather be doing that than this!" A few minutes later the nurse looked in on him again and found that he had died quietly.^[16]

At his funeral, silent screen comedian Buster Keaton was overheard giving his assessment of the comedian's considerable talent: "Chaplin wasn't the funniest, I wasn't the funniest, this man was the funniest." Dick Van Dyke, a friend, protege and occasional impressionist of Laurel's during his later years, gave the eulogy, reading A Prayer for Clowns.^[17]

Laurel had written his own epitaph: "If anyone at my funeral has a long face, I'll never speak to him again." A similar statement was later found: "If anyone cries at my funeral, I will never speak to him again."^{[citation needed]}

Laurel is interred in Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills Cemetery.

Legacy[link]

Statue of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy outside the Coronation Hall Theatre, Ulverston, Cumbria, England

In 1989, a statue of Laurel was erected in Dockwray Square, North Shields, Tyne and Wear, England where he lived at No. 8 from 1897 to 1902, and where the steps down from the Square to the North Shields Fish Quay were said to have inspired the piano-moving scene in The Music Box. In 2006, BBC Four showed a drama called Stan, based on Laurel meeting Hardy on his deathbed and reminiscing about their career.^[18] There is a plaque on the Bull Inn, Bottesford, Leicestershire, England, recording how Laurel and Hardy while appearing in Nottingham over Christmas 1952, stayed with Laurel's sister, Olga, who was the landlady of the pub.^[19] In 1999, merchandiser Larry Harmon produced the direct-to-video film All New Adventures of Laurel and Hardy: For Love or Mummy starring Bronson Pinchot and Gailard Sartain as the descendants of the comedy duo. In 2008, a statue of Stan Laurel was unveiled in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, on the site of the Eden Theatre.^[20] In April 2009, a bronze statue of Laurel and Hardy was unveiled in Ulverston, Cumbria.^[21] There is a Laurel and Hardy Museum in Stan's hometown of Ulverston. There is also a small Laurel and Hardy Museum in Hardy's hometown of Harlem, Georgia. Laurel and Hardy are featured on the cover of the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Filmography[link]

Biography portal

• Stan Laurel filmography (films of Stan Laurel as an actor without Oliver Hardy)
• Laurel and Hardy filmography (filmography of Laurel and Hardy together)

References[link]

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Stan Laurel

• The Laurel and Hardy Forum
• The Laurel and Hardy Magazine
• The Official Laurel and Hardy website
• Stan Laurel at the Internet Movie Database
• Stan Laurel at Find a Grave
• Laurel and Hardy Museum, Ulverston
• The Stan Laurel Correspondence Archive Project
• The Laurel and Hardy Discussion Group at Yahoo!Groups
• Stan Laurel's Eulogy
• Stan's tempestuous love life

Oliver Hardy
File:Oliver hardy.png
Born	Norvell Hardy (1892-01-18)January 18, 1892 Harlem, Georgia
Died	August 7, 1957(1957-08-07) (aged 65) North Hollywood, California
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1914-1955
Spouse	Madelyn Saloshin (m.1913-1921; divorced) Myrtle Reeves (m.1921-1937; divorced) Virginia Lucille Jones (m.1940-1957; his death)
Signature

Oliver Hardy (January 18, 1892 - August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy, the classic double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted nearly 30 years, from 1927 to 1955.

Early life[link]

Oliver Hardy was born Norvell Hardy in Harlem, Georgia. His father, Oliver, was a Confederate veteran wounded at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862. After his demobilization as a recruiting officer for Company K, 16th Georgia Regiment, the elder Oliver Hardy assisted his father in running the vestiges of the family cotton plantation, bought a share in a retail business and was elected full-time Tax Collector for Columbia County. His mother, Emily Norvell, the daughter of Thomas Benjamin Norvell and Mary Freeman, was descended from Captain Hugh Norvell of Williamsburg, Virginia. Her family arrived in Virginia before 1635. Their marriage took place on March 12, 1890; it was the second marriage for the widow Emily, and the third for Oliver. He was of paternal English American descent and maternal Scottish American descent.

The family moved to Madison in 1891, before Norvell’s birth. Norvell’s mother owned a house in Harlem, which was either empty or tenanted by her mother. It is probable that Norvell was born in Harlem, though some sources say it was in his mother’s home town, Covington. His father died less than a year after his birth. Hardy was the youngest of five children. A traumatic moment in his life was the death of his brother Sam Hardy in a drowning accident in the Oconee River. Hardy pulled his brother from the river but was unable to resuscitate him.^[1] As a child, Hardy was sometimes difficult. He was sent to Georgia Military College in Milledgeville as a youngster. In the 1905/1906 school year, fall semester (September–January), when he was 13, Hardy was sent to Young Harris College in north Georgia. However, he was in the junior high component of that institution (the equivalent of high school today), not the two-year college which exists today.

He had little interest in education, although he acquired an early interest in music and theater, possibly from his mother’s tenants. He joined a theatrical group, and later ran away from a boarding school near Atlanta to sing with the group. His mother recognized his talent for singing, and sent him to Atlanta to study music and voice with singing teacher Adolf Dahm-Petersen, but Hardy skipped some of his lessons to sing in the Alcazar Theater, a cinema, for US$3.50 a week. He subsequently decided to go back to Milledgeville.

Sometime prior to 1910, Hardy began styling himself "Oliver Norvell Hardy", with the first name “Oliver” being added as a tribute to his father. He appeared as “Oliver N. Hardy” in the 1910 U.S. census,^{[N 1]} and in all subsequent legal records, marriage announcements, etc., Hardy used “Oliver” as his first name.

Hardy’s mother wanted him to attend the University of Georgia in the fall of 1912, to study law, but there is no evidence as to whether he did.

Career[link]

Early career[link]

In 1910, a movie theater opened in Hardy’s home town of Milledgeville, Georgia, and he became the projectionist, ticket taker, janitor and manager. He soon became obsessed with the new motion picture industry, and became convinced that he could do a better job than the actors he saw on the screen. A friend suggested that he move to Jacksonville, Florida, where some films were being made. In 1913, he did just that, where he worked as a cabaret and vaudeville singer at night, and at the Lubin Manufacturing Company during the day. It was at this time that he met and married his first wife, pianist Madelyn Saloshin.

The next year he made his first movie, Outwitting Dad, for the Lubin studio. He was billed as O. N. Hardy, taking his father’s name as a memorial. In his personal life, he was known as “Babe” Hardy, a nickname that he was given by an Italian barber, who would apply talcum powder to Oliver’s cheeks and say, “nice-a-bab-y.” In many of his later films at Lubin, he was billed as “Babe Hardy.” Hardy was a big man at six feet, one inch tall and weighed up to 300 pounds. His size placed limitations on the roles he could play. He was most often cast as “the heavy” or the villain. He also frequently had roles in comedy shorts, his size complementing the character.

Lobby card for The Lucky Dog (1921) Laurel sits as Hardy holds him down, with Jack Lloyd (right)

By 1915, he had made 50 short one-reeler films at Lubin. He later moved to New York and made films for the Pathé, Casino and Edison Studios. He then returned to Jacksonville and made films for the Vim Comedy Company, until that studio closed its doors after Hardy discovered the owners were stealing from the payroll.^[2] He then worked for the King Bee studio after they bought Vim. He worked with Charlie Chaplin imitator Billy West and comedic actress Ethel Burton Palmer during this time. (Hardy continued playing the “heavy” for West well into the early 1920s, often imitating Eric Campbell to West’s Chaplin.) In 1917, Oliver Hardy moved to Los Angeles, working freelance for several Hollywood studios. Later that year, he appeared in the movie The Lucky Dog, produced by G.M. (“Broncho Billy”) Anderson and starring a young British comedian named Stan Laurel.^[3] Oliver Hardy played the part of a robber, trying to stick up Stan’s character. They did not work together again for several years.

Between 1918 and 1923, Oliver Hardy made more than forty films for Vitagraph, mostly playing the “heavy” for Larry Semon. In 1919, he separated from his wife, ending with a divorce in 1920, allegedly due to Hardy’s infidelity. The very next year, on November 24, 1921, Hardy married again, to actress Myrtle Reeves. This marriage was also unhappy and Myrtle eventually became an alcoholic.^{[citation needed]}

In 1924, Hardy began working at Hal Roach Studios working with the Our Gang films and Charley Chase. In 1925, he starred as the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz. Also that year he was in the film, Yes, Yes, Nanette!, starring Jimmy Finlayson, who in later years would be a recurring actor in the Laurel and Hardy film series. The film was directed by Stan Laurel.^[4] He also continued playing supporting roles in films featuring Clyde Cooke and Bobby Ray.

In 1926, Hardy was scheduled to appear in Get ’Em Young but was unexpectedly hospitalized after being burned by a hot leg of lamb. Laurel, who had been working as a gag man and director at Roach Studios, was recruited to fill in.^[5] Laurel kept appearing in front of the camera rather than behind it, and later that year appeared in the same movie as Hardy, 45 Minutes from Hollywood, although they didn’t share any scenes together.

With Stan Laurel[link]

In 1927, Laurel and Hardy began sharing screen time together in Slipping Wives, Duck Soup (no relation to the 1933 Marx Brothers’ film of the same name) and With Love and Hisses. Roach Studios’ supervising director Leo McCarey, realizing the audience reaction to the two, began intentionally teaming them together, leading to the start of a Laurel and Hardy series later that year. With this pairing, he created arguably the most famous double act in movie history. They began producing a huge body of short movies, including The Battle of the Century (1927) (with one of the largest pie fights ever filmed), Should Married Men Go Home? (1928), Two Tars (1928), Unaccustomed As We Are (1929, marking their transition to talking pictures) Berth Marks (1929), Blotto (1930), Brats (1930) (with Stan and Ollie portraying themselves, as well as their own sons, using oversized furniture sets for the ‘young’ Laurel and Hardy), Another Fine Mess (1930), Be Big! (1931), and many others. In 1929, they appeared in their first feature, in one of the revue sequences of Hollywood Revue of 1929 and the following year they appeared as the comic relief in a lavish all-color (in Technicolor) musical feature entitled The Rogue Song. This film marked their first appearance in color. In 1931, they made their first full length movie (in which they were the actual stars), Pardon Us although they continued to make features and shorts until 1935. The Music Box, a 1932 short, won them an Academy Award for best short film — their only such award.

In 1936, Hardy’s personal life suffered a blow as he and Myrtle divorced. While waiting for a contractual issue between Laurel and Hal Roach to be resolved, Hardy made Zenobia with Harry Langdon. Eventually, however, new contracts were agreed and the team was loaned out to producer Boris Morros at General Service Studios to make The Flying Deuces (1939). While on the lot, Hardy fell in love with Virginia Lucille Jones, a script girl, whom he married the next year. They enjoyed a happy, successful marriage until his death.

In the early 1940s, Laurel and Hardy made A Chump at Oxford (1940) (which features a moment of role reversal, with Oliver becoming a subordinate to a temporarily concussed Stan) and Saps at Sea (1940) before leaving Roach Studios. They began performing for the USO, supporting the Allied troops during World War II, and teamed up to make films for 20th Century Fox, and later MGM. Although they were financially better off, they had very little artistic control at the large studios, and hence the films lack the very qualities that had made Laurel and Hardy worldwide names. Their last Fox feature was The Bullfighters (1945), after which they declined to extend their contract with the studio.

In 1947, Laurel and Hardy went on a six week tour of the United Kingdom. Initially unsure of how they would be received, they were mobbed wherever they went. The tour was then lengthened to include engagements in Scandinavia, Belgium, France, as well as a Royal Command Performance for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Biographer John McCabe said they continued to make live appearances in the United Kingdom and France for the next several years, until 1954, often using new sketches and material that Laurel had written for them.

Oliver Hardy in The Fighting Kentuckian, 1949

In 1949, Hardy’s friend, John Wayne, asked him to play a supporting role in The Fighting Kentuckian. Hardy had previously worked with Wayne and John Ford in a charity production of the play What Price Glory? while Laurel began treatment for his diabetes a few years previously. Initially hesitant, Hardy accepted the role at the insistence of his comedy partner. Frank Capra later invited Hardy to play a cameo role in Riding High with Bing Crosby in 1950.

During 1950–51, Laurel and Hardy made their final film. Atoll K (also known as Utopia) was a simple concept; Laurel inherits an island, and the boys set out to sea, where they encounter a storm and discover a brand new island, rich in uranium, making them powerful and wealthy. However, it was produced by a consortium of European interests, with an international cast and crew that could not speak to each other.^[6] In addition, the script needed to be rewritten by Stan to make it fit the comedy team’s style, and both suffered serious physical illness during the filming.

In 1955, the pair had contracted with Hal Roach, Jr., to produce a series of TV shows based on the Mother Goose fables. They would be filmed in color for NBC.^{[citation needed]} However, this was never to be. Laurel suffered a stroke, which required a lengthy convalescence. Hardy had a heart attack and stroke later that year, from which he never physically recovered.

Death[link]

In May 1954, Hardy suffered a mild heart attack. During 1956, Hardy began looking after his health for the first time in his life. He lost more than 150 pounds in a few months which completely changed his appearance. Letters written by Stan Laurel, however, mention that Hardy had terminal cancer,^[7] which has caused some to suspect that this was the real reason for Hardy’s rapid weight loss. Hardy was a heavy smoker, as was Stan Laurel. Hal Roach made the statement they were a couple of "freight train smoke stacks".^{[citation needed] [8]} Hardy suffered a major stroke on September 14, which left him confined to bed and unable to speak for several months. He remained at home, in the care of his beloved Lucille. He suffered two more strokes in early August 1957, and slipped into a coma from which he never recovered. Oliver Hardy died on August 7, 1957, at the age of 65.^{[9][N 2]} His remains are located in the Masonic Garden of Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood. ^[10]

Stan Laurel was too ill to go to his film partner and friend's funeral. He stated, "Babe would understand."^{[citation needed]}

Legacy[link]

Statue of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy outside the Coronation Hall Theatre, Ulverston, Cumbria, England

• Hardy’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located at 1500 Vine Street, Hollywood, California.
• The Dick Van Dyke Show episode The Sam Pomerantz Scandals, Dick van Dyke's character, Rob Petrie, and Sam Pomerantz, one of Rob's old army buddies played by Henry Calvin do their own impression of a Laurel and Hardy sketch.
• In 1999, merchandiser Larry Harmon produced the direct-to-video film The All New Adventures of Laurel and Hardy: For Love or Mummy starring Bronson Pinchot and Gailard Sartain as the comedy duo.
• There is a small Laurel and Hardy Museum in Hardy's hometown of Harlem, Georgia, which opened on July 15, 2000. Every year, the first Saturday in October, Oliver Hardy is celebrated and remembered with the Oliver Hardy Festival in this town.
• Laurel and Hardy are featured on the cover of The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Filmography[link]

• For Oliver Hardy’s films without Stan Laurel, see: Filmography of Oliver Hardy
• For his films with Laurel, see: Laurel and Hardy films

See also[link]

• Laurel and Hardy music

References[link]

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Oliver Hardy

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Oliver Hardy

• Oliver Hardy at the Internet Movie Database
• The Laurel and Hardy Magazine Website
• Official Laurel and Hardy Website
• The Laurel and Hardy Forum
• Oliver Hardy at Find a Grave
• Free clip from Bouncing Baby (1916), made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida

• Oliver Hardy's obituaries in the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Mirror-News

Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema. Composed of thin Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and fat American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957), they became well known during the late 1920s to the mid-1940s for their slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy and childlike friend of the pompous Hardy.^[1] They made over 100 films together, initially two-reelers (short films) before expanding into feature length films in the 1930s. Their films include Sons of the Desert (1933), the Academy Award winning short film The Music Box (1932), Babes in Toyland (1934), and Way Out West (1937). Hardy's catchphrase "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!" is still widely recognized.^{[N 1]}

Prior to the double act both were established actors with Laurel appearing in over 50 films and Hardy in over 250 films. Although the two comedians first worked together on the film The Lucky Dog (1921), this was a chance pairing and it was not until 1926, when both separately signed contracts with the Hal Roach film studio, that they began appearing in movie shorts together.^[2] Laurel and Hardy officially became a team the following year in the silent short film Putting Pants on Philip (1927). The pair remained with the Roach studio until 1940, then appeared in eight "B" comedies for 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1941 to 1945.^[3] After finishing their movie commitments at the end of 1944, they concentrated on stage shows, embarking on a music hall tour of England, Ireland, and Scotland.^[3] In 1950 they made their last film, a French/Italian co-production called Atoll K, before retiring from the screen. In total they appeared together in 107 films. They starred in 40 short sound films, 32 short silent films and 23 full-length feature films, and made 12 guest or cameo appearances, including the recently discovered Galaxy of Stars promotional film (1936).

A common comedy routine was a tit-for-tat fight. Their silent film Big Business (1929), which includes one of these routines, was added to the Library of Congress as a national treasure in 1992. Notable Laurel traits included crying like a baby while being berated and scratching his hair when in shock. On December 1, 1954, the team made their only American television appearance, surprised by Ralph Edwards on his live NBC-TV program, This Is Your Life.

The works of Laurel and Hardy have been re-released in numerous theatrical reissues, television revivals, 16mm and 8mm home movies, feature-film compilations, and home videos since the 1930s. They were voted the seventh greatest comedy act in a 2005 UK poll by fellow comedians. The duo's signature tune, known variously as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku", or "The Dance of the Cuckoos", played on the opening credits of their films. The official Laurel and Hardy appreciation society is known as The Sons of the Desert, after a fraternal society in their film of the same name.

Before the teaming[link]

Stan Laurel[link]

Stan Laurel (June 16, 1890 – February 23, 1965) was born Arthur Stanley Jefferson in Ulverston, Lancashire, England.^[4] His father, Arthur Joseph Jefferson, was a theatrical entrepreneur and theatre owner in northern England and Scotland, who with his wife was a major force in the industry.^[5] Laurel was born into a family with theatre in its blood.^[6] In 1905 the Jefferson family moved to Glasgow to be closer to their business mainstay, The Metropole Theatre,^[7] with Laurel making his stage debut in a Glasgow hall called the Panoptikon, a month short of his 16th birthday.^[8] Arthur Jefferson secured Laurel his first acting job with a theatrical juvenile company, Levy and Cardwell, specialising in Christmas Pantomimes.^[9] In 1909 he was employed by Britain's leading comedy impresario, Fred Karno,^[10] working as a supporting actor and as an understudy of Charlie Chaplin.^[11] Laurel said of Karno "There was no one like him. He had no equal. His name was box-office."^[12]

In 1912, Laurel left England with a Fred Karno Troupe, to tour the United States of America. Laurel expected the tour to be merely a pleasant interval in his life before returning to London; however, he had, in actuality, emigrated.^[13] In 1917 Laurel was teamed with Mae Dahlberg: they worked as a double act for stage and film and were common law husband and wife.^[14] Laurel made his film debut with Dahlberg in Nuts in May (1917).^[15] It was while working with her that he started using the stage name Stan Laurel, changing his name legally in 1931.^[16] Dahlberg held Laurel's career back because she demanded parts in Laurel's films and her tempestuous nature made her difficult to work with; dressing room arguments between the two were common, so film producer Joe Rock paid her to leave Laurel and return to her native Australia.^[17] In 1925 Laurel joined the Hal Roach film studio as a director and writer and between May 1925 and September 1926 he was credited in at least 22 films.^[18] Laurel starred in over 50 films for various producers before teaming up with Hardy,^[19] but without Hardy he experienced only modest success because it was difficult for producers, writers and directors to figure out what character he might be playing, and American audiences knew him either as a "nutty burglar" or as a Charlie Chaplin imitator.^[20]

Oliver Hardy[link]

Oliver Hardy (January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was born Norvell Hardy in Harlem, Georgia.^[21] He took his father's first name, calling himself "Oliver Norvell Hardy."^[22] His offscreen nicknames were "Ollie" and "Babe." Hardy's nickname "Babe" originated from an Italian barber near the Lubin Studios in Jacksonville, Florida, who would rub Hardy's face with talcum powder and say, "That's nice a baby!" which the other Lubin actors mimicked.^[23] Hardy was billed as "Babe Hardy" in his early films.^[24] By his late teens, Hardy was a popular stage singer, and he operated his own movie house in Milledgeville, Georgia, the Palace Theater, partly financed by his mother.^[25]

Seeing film comedies inspired him with an urge to take up comedy himself and in 1913 he began working with Lubin Motion Pictures in Jacksonville, Florida. He started out by helping around the studio with lights, props and other duties, gradually learning the craft as a script-clerk.^[25] Around the same time, he married his first wife, Madelyn Salosihn.^[26] In 1914, Hardy acted as Babe in his first film called Outwitting Dad.^[24] Between 1914 and 1916, Hardy made 177 shorts as Babe with the Vim Comedy Company, which were released up to the end of 1917.^[27] Exhibiting a versatility in playing heroes, villains and even female characters, Hardy became much in demand as a supporting actor, comic villain or second banana. For the next 10 years he memorably assisted star comics Billy West, a Charlie Chaplin imitator, Jimmy Aubrey, Larry Semon and Charley Chase.^[28] In total, Hardy starred or co-starred in more than 250 silent shorts, about 150 of which have been lost. While in New York, his abortive effort to enlist in 1917 led him and his wife, Madelyn, to seek new opportunities in California.^[29]

History[link]

Films[link]

Laurel and Hardy appeared for the first time together in The Lucky Dog (1921). In this lobby card scene, Stan Laurel (left), is attacked by Oliver Hardy (above) as Jack Lloyd spots that Stan's faithful dog has retrieved Oliver's lit stick of dynamite. Laurel and Hardy in their 1939 feature film The Flying Deuces. File:L&H-west-wide.jpg Laurel and Hardy in Way Out West (1937)

The first film pairing of the two comedians, although as separate performers, took place in The Lucky Dog (1921). The exact date the film was produced isn't recorded, but film historian Bo Bergulund dated it between late 1920 and January 1921.^[30] The association was so casual that based upon interviews given in the 1930s both had forgotten it entirely.^[31] The plot sees Laurel befriended by a stray dog who after a number of lucky escapes saves him from being blown up by a stick of dynamite, while Hardy is a mugger attempting to rob him.^[32] Several years later, both comedians had separately signed for the Hal Roach film studio and next appeared in 45 Minutes From Hollywood (1926).^[33]

Hal Roach was the most important person in their film careers; he brought them together officially as a team and paid their wages for over 20 years.^[34] Charley Rogers worked closely with the three men for many years and said "It could not have happened if Laurel, Hardy and Roach had not met at the right place and at the right time.^[35] Their first "official" film together was Putting Pants on Philip (1927).^[36] The plot sees Laurel as Philip, a young Scottish man newly arrived in the United States in full kilted splendor: after various mishaps surrounding the kilt, his uncle, played by Hardy, tries to put him in trousers.^[37]

Laurel said to John McCabe: "Of all the questions we're asked, the most frequent is how did we come together? I always explain that we just came together naturally."^[38] Laurel and Hardy were joined by accident and grew by indirection.^[39] In 1926 both were part of the Roach Comedy All Stars - a group of actors of similar standing who took part in a series of films; quite unwittingly Laurel and Hardy's parts became larger and the parts of their fellow stars became less, because Laurel and Hardy were the best actors.^[40] The teaming was suggested by Leo McCarey, who was their supervising director between 1927 and 1930; during this period McCarey and Laurel jointly devised the team's format.^[41] After the teaming they played the same characters for 30 years.^[42]

Although Hal Roach employed writers and directors such as H. M. Walker, Leo McCarey, James Parrott and James W. Horne on Laurel and Hardy films, Laurel would rewrite entire sequences or scripts, have the cast and crew improvise on the sound stage, and meticulously review the footage for editing.^[43] By 1929 Laurel was the head writer. The writing sessions were gleeful chaos; Stan had three or four writers who joined him in a perpetual game of 'Can You Top This?'^[44] As Laurel so obviously relished writing gags, Hardy was more than happy to leave the job to his partner.^[45] From this point Laurel was also the uncredited film director. He ran the Laurel and Hardy set no matter who was in the director's chair, but never felt compelled to assert his authority. Roach remarked "Laurel bossed the production. With any director if Laurel said 'I don't like this idea,' the director didn't say 'Well, you're going to do it anyway.' That was understood."^[46] As Laurel made so many suggestions there wasn't much left for the credited director to do.^[47]

In 1929 the silent era of film was coming to an end and most silent-film actors saw their careers decline with the advent of sound.^[48] Silent film actors failed to make the transition because they decided their prime duty was to tell stories in words, and they misused sound through over-emphasis, or there was poor recording. Laurel and Hardy avoided this pitfall because they decided to continue making primarily visual films.^[49] They did not ignore sound but they were not ruled by it.^[49] They proved skillful in their melding of visual and verbal humor,^[50] and made a seamless transition to the talking era in their first sound film Unaccustomed As We Are (1929). The title took its name from the familiar phrase "Unaccustomed as we are to public speaking".^[51] In the opening dialogue Laurel and Hardy began by spoofing the very slow and self conscious speech of the early talking actors, a routine they would use regularly.^[52]

Laurel and Hardy's first starring feature film was Pardon Us (1931).^[53] The most memorable Laurel and Hardy film is The Music Box (1932), the image of the duo forever pushing a piano up a tremendous flight of steps has stuck in the public consciousness.^[54] The film won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Subject in 1932.^[55] While many enthusiasts claim the superiority of The Music Box, their silent film Big Business (1929) is by far the most consistently acclaimed.^[56] The plot sees Laurel and Hardy as Christmas tree salesman involved in a classic tit-for-tat battle with James Finlayson, eventually destroying his house and their car.^[57] Big Business was added to the Library of Congress in the United States as a national treasure in 1992.^[58] Sons of the Desert (1933) is considered Laurel and Hardy's best feature film.^[59]

Babes in Toyland (1934) retains a timeless appeal and remains a perennial on American T.V. at Christmas.^[60] Hal Roach spoke scathingly about the film and Laurel's behavior during its making. Laurel was unhappy with Roach's plot and after an argument was allowed to make the film his own way. The rift permanently damaged Roach-Laurel relations to the point that Roach said that after Toyland he no longer wished to produce Laurel and Hardy films, although their association continued for another six years.^[43]

Hoping for greater artistic freedom, Laurel and Hardy split with Roach and signed with major studios 20th Century-Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. However, the working conditions were now completely different, as they were hired only as actors, relegated to the B-film divisions, and initially not allowed to improvise or contribute to the scripts. When the films proved popular, the studios allowed the team more input with Laurel and Hardy starring in eight features through 1944. These films, while not considered the team's best, were extremely successful. Budgeted at $250,000 to $300,000 each, the films earned millions at the box office. The films were so profitable that Fox kept making Laurel and Hardy comedies after discontinuing its other "B" series.^[61]

Laurel and Hardy made one final film together, Atoll K (1951), a French-Italian co-production directed by Leo Joannon, which was plagued by language barriers, production problems, and both Laurel and Hardy's grave health issues. During shooting, Hardy began to lose weight precipitously and developed an irregular heartbeat while Laurel experienced painful prostate complications.^[62] Critics were disappointed with its storyline, English dubbing, and Laurel's sickly physical appearance.^[63] The film was not a success, and brought an end to Laurel and Hardy's film careers.^[62]

A number of their films were re-shot with Laurel and Hardy talking in Spanish, Italian, French or German.^[64] The plots for these films were similar to the English language version although the supporting cast were often native language actors. Laurel and Hardy could not speak a foreign language and they received voice coaching to reproduce their lines. Pardon Us (1931) was re-shot in all four foreign languages. Blotto (1930), Chickens Come Home (1931) and Below Zero (1930) had French and Spanish versions.

Most of the Laurel and Hardy films survive, and have never gone out of circulation permanently. Three of their 107 films are considered lost, as they have not been seen in full since the 1930s.^[65] The silent Hats Off (1927) has vanished completely. The first half of Now I'll Tell One (1927) is lost and the second half has yet to be released on video. In the operatic Technicolor musical The Rogue Song (1930) Laurel and Hardy appear in 10 sequences, only one of which is known to exist along with the complete soundtrack.^[66]

Style of comedy and characterizations[link]

The humor of Laurel and Hardy was generally visual with slapstick used for emphasis. They often had physical arguments with each other, which were quite complex and involved cartoon violence, and their characters preclude them from making any real progress in even the simplest endeavors. Much of their comedy involves milking a joke, where a simple idea provides a basis from which to build several gags without following a defined narrative.

Laurel and Hardy had an inherent physical contrariety. Stan Laurel was of average height and weight, but appeared small and slight next to Oliver Hardy, who was 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) tall^[63] and weighed about 280 lb (127 kg) in his prime. Laurel kept his hair short on the sides and back, but let it grow long on top to create a natural "fright wig". At times of shock he would simultaneously cry while pulling up his hair. In contrast, Hardy's thinning hair was pasted on his forehead in spit curls and he wore a toothbrush moustache. To achieve a flat-footed walk, Laurel removed the heels from his shoes. Both wore bowler hats, with Laurel's being narrower than Hardy's, and with a flattened brim. The characters' normal attire also called for wing collar shirts, with Hardy wearing a standard neck tie which he would twiddle and Laurel a bow tie. Hardy's sports jacket was too small for him and done up with one straining button, whereas Laurel's double breasted jacket was loose fitting.

A common routine the team performed was a "tit-for-tat" fight with an adversary. This could be with their wives—often played by Mae Busch, Anita Garvin or Daphne Pollard—or with a neighbour, often played by Charlie Hall or James Finlayson. Laurel and Hardy would accidentally damage someone else's property, with the injured party retaliating by ruining something belonging to Laurel or Hardy. After calmly surveying the damage they would find something else to vandalize and conflict would escalate until both sides were simultaneously destroying property in front of each other. An early example of the routine occurs in their classic short, Big Business (1929), which was added to the Library of Congress as a national treasure in 1992, and one of their short films, which revolves entirely around such an altercation, was titled Tit for Tat (1935).

One of their best-remembered dialogue routines was the "Tell me that again" routine. Laurel would tell Hardy a genuinely smart idea he had come up with, and Hardy would reply, "Tell me that again." Laurel would attempt to repeat the idea, but jumble it into utter nonsense. Hardy, who had difficulty understanding Laurel's idea when expressed clearly, would understand perfectly when hearing the jumbled version.

While much of their comedy remained visual, various lines of humorous dialogue appeared in Laurel and Hardy's talking films. Some examples include:

• "You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be led." (Laurel, Brats)
• "I was dreaming I was awake, but I woke up and found meself asleep." (Laurel, Oliver the Eighth)
• "A lot of weather we've been having lately." (Hardy, Way Out West)

In some cases, their comedy bordered on the surreal, a style Stan Laurel called "white magic".^[67] For example, in Way Out West (1937), Laurel clenches his fist and pours tobacco into it, as if it were a pipe. Then, he flicks his thumb upward as if he held a lighter. His thumb ignites, and he matter-of-factly lights his "pipe." The amazed Hardy, seeing this, would unsuccessfully attempt to duplicate it throughout the rest of the film. Much later in the film, Hardy finally succeeds – only to be terrified when his thumb catches fire.

Rather than showing Hardy suffering the pain of misfortunes such as falling down stairs or being beaten by a thug, banging and crashing sound effects were often used so the audience could visualize the scene for themselves.

Why Girls Love Sailors (1927) was a significant film for Hardy because it gave him two of his most enduring trademarks. The first was his "tie-twiddle" to demonstrate embarrassment. Hardy, while acting, had been met with a pail of water in the face. He said "I had been expecting it, but I didn't expect it at that particular moment. It threw me mentally and I couldn't think what to do next, so I waved the tie in a kind of tiddly-widdly fashion to show embarrassment while trying to look friendly." ^[68] His second trademark was the "camera look" in which he breaks the fourth wall. Hardy said "I had to become exasperated, so I just stared right into the camera and registered my disgust"^[69]

Offscreen, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were quite the opposite of their movie characters: Laurel was the industrious "idea man," while Hardy was more easygoing.^[70]

Final years[link]

After Atoll K, Laurel and Hardy took several months off, so that Laurel could recuperate. Upon their return to the European stage in 1952, they undertook a well-received series of public appearances in a short sketch Laurel had written called "A Spot of Trouble". Hoping to repeat the success the following year, Laurel wrote a routine titled "Birds of a Feather" (in 1953).^[71] On September 9, 1953, their boat arrived in Cobh, Ireland. Laurel recounted their reception:

The love and affection we found that day at Cobh was simply unbelievable. There were hundreds of boats blowing whistles and mobs and mobs of people screaming on the docks. We just couldn't understand what it was all about. And then something happened that I can never forget. All the church bells in Cobh started to ring out our theme song ["Dance of the Cuckoos"] and Babe [Oliver Hardy] looked at me and we cried. I'll never forget that day. Never.^[72]

The pair on This Is Your Life

On December 1, 1954, the team made their only American television appearance, surprised by Ralph Edwards on his live NBC-TV program, This Is Your Life. Lured to the Knickerbocker Hotel as a subterfuge for a business meeting with producer Bernard Delfont, the doors opened to their suite #205, flooding the room with light and the voice of Edwards. The telecast was preserved on a kinescope and later released on home video. Partly due to the positive response from the television broadcast, the pair was renegotiating with Hal Roach Jr. for a series of color NBC Television specials to be called Laurel and Hardy's Fabulous Fables. However, plans for the specials were shelved, as the aging comedians suffered from declining health.^[71]

In 1955, Laurel and Hardy made their final public appearance together, taking part in This Is Music Hall, a BBC Television program about the Grand Order of Water Rats, a British variety organization. Laurel and Hardy provide a filmed insert during which they reminisce about their friends in British variety. They made their final appearance on camera in 1956 in a home movie titled "One Moment Please". The film was shot by a family friend at Laurel's home; it is without audio and lasts three minutes.

Under doctor's orders to improve a heart condition, Hardy lost over 100 pounds (45 kg; 7.1 st) in 1956. Several strokes resulted in loss of mobility and speech. He died of a stroke on August 7, 1957. Longtime friend Bob Chatterton said Hardy weighed just 138 pounds (63 kg; 9.9 st) at the time of his death. Hardy was laid to rest at Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood.^[73]

Just after Hardy's death, Laurel and Hardy's films returned to movie theaters, as clips of their work were featured in Robert Youngson's silent-film compilation The Golden Age of Comedy. For the remaining eight years of his life, Stan Laurel refused to perform, even turning down Stanley Kramer's offer to make a cameo in his landmark 1963 movie, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. In 1960, Laurel was given a special Academy Award for his contributions to film comedy. Despite not appearing onscreen after Hardy's death, Laurel did contribute gags to several comedy filmmakers. Most of his writing was in the form of correspondence; he insisted on answering every fan letter personally. Late in life, he hosted many visitors of the new generation of comedians and celebrities, including Dick Cavett, Jerry Lewis, Peter Sellers, Marcel Marceau and Dick Van Dyke. Laurel lived until 1965, surviving to see the duo's work rediscovered through television and classic film revivals. He died on February 23 in Santa Monica, and is buried at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, California.^[74]

Supporting cast[link]

Laurel and Hardy's films included a memorable supporting cast, some of whom appeared regularly.^[75]

• Harry Bernard, played bit parts as waiter, bartender and cop.
• Mae Busch played a formidable Mrs. Hardy, and some other characters.
• Charley Chase, the Hal Roach film star and brother of James Parrott, Laurel and Hardy writer/director, made 4 appearances.
• Baldwin Cooke played bit parts as waiter, bartender and cop.
• James Finlayson, a small, balding, moustachioed Scotsman known for displays of indignation and squinting "double takes", made 33 appearances.
• Anita Garvin was a memorable Mrs. Laurel.
• Billy Gilbert, made many appearances, most notably in the classic The Music Box (1932).
• Charlie Hall, who usually played angry "little men", appeared nearly 50 times.
• Jean Harlow, the "Blonde Bombshell" had a small role in their short Double Whoopee (1929) and two other films, before her breakout stardom.
• Arthur Housman made memorable appearances as a comic drunk.
• Edgar Kennedy master of the "slow burn", often appeared as a cop, hostile neighbor or relative.
• Walter Long played grizzled, physically threatening villains.
• Sam Lufkin appeared several times.
• Daphne Pollard was featured, mostly as Oliver's shrewish wife.
• Charley Rogers, the English actor, appeared several times.
• Tiny Sandford was a very tall and burly man who played authority figures, notably cops.
• Thelma Todd appeared several times.
• Ben Turpin the cross-eyed actor made two memorable appearances.
• Peter Cushing, well before becoming a star in many memorable Hammer Horror Films made an appearance in A Chump at Oxford.

Music[link]

The duo's famous signature tune, known variously as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku", or "The Dance of the Cuckoos", was composed by Roach musical director Marvin Hatley as the on-the-hour chime for the Roach studio radio station.^[76] Laurel heard the tune on the station, and asked Hatley to use it as the Laurel and Hardy theme song. In Laurel's eyes, the song's melody represented Hardy's character (pompous and dramatic), while the harmony represented Laurel's own character (somewhat out of key, and only able to register two notes: "coo-coo").^{[citation needed]} The original theme, recorded by two clarinets in 1930, was re-recorded with a full orchestra in 1935. Leroy Shield composed the great majority of the music used in the Laurel and Hardy short sound films.^[77] A compilation of songs from their films titled Trail of the Lonesome Pine was released in 1975. The title track was released as a single in the UK and reached #2 in the charts.

Influence and legacy[link]

Silhouette portrait of the duo in Redcar, England

Statue of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy outside the Coronation Hall Theatre, Ulverston, Cumbria, England

.

Catchphrases[link]

The catchphrase most used by Laurel and Hardy on film is:

The phrase, which was earlier used by W. S. Gilbert in The Mikado (1885) and again in The Grand Duke (1896), was first used by Hardy in The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case (1930). In popular culture, the catchphrase is often misquoted as "Well, here's another fine mess you've gotten me into." The misquoted version of the phrase was never used by Hardy on film; the misunderstanding stems from the title of their film Another Fine Mess (1930).^[78] Numerous variations of the quote appeared on film. In Chickens Come Home (1931), Ollie says impatiently to Stan, "Well...." with Stan replying, "Here's another nice mess I've gotten you into." In Thicker than Water (1935) and The Fixer-Uppers (1935), the phrase becomes "Well, here's another nice kettle of fish you pickled me in!" In Saps at Sea (1940) it becomes "Well, here's another nice bucket of suds you've gotten me into!"

Another regular catchphrase, cried out by Ollie, when in moments of distress, as Stan stands helplessly by, is "Why don't you do something to help me?"

"D'oh!" is a catchphrase used by James Finlayson, the mustachioed Scottish actor who appeared in 33 Laurel and Hardy films. The phrase, expressing surprise, impatience, or incredulity, was the inspiration for "D'oh!" as spoken by the fictional character Homer Simpson in the long running animated comedy The Simpsons. Homer's first intentional use of "d'oh!" occurred in the Ullman short "Punching Bag" (1988).^[79]

The Sons of the Desert[link]

The official Laurel and Hardy appreciation society is known as The Sons of the Desert, after a fraternal society in their film of the same name (1933).^[80] It was founded in New York City in 1965 by Laurel and Hardy biographers John McCabe, Orson Bean, Al Kilgore, Chuck McCann and John Municino, with the sanction of Stan Laurel. Since the group's inception, well over 150 chapters of the organization have formed across North America, Europe and Australia. An Emmy-winning film documentary about the group, Revenge of the Sons of the Desert, has been released on DVD as part of The Laurel and Hardy Collection, Vol. 1.

Posthumous revivals[link]

Since the 1930s, the works of Laurel and Hardy have been re-released in numerous theatrical reissues, television revivals (broadcast, especially public television, and cable), 16mm and 8mm home movies, feature-film compilations, and home video. After Stan Laurel's death in 1965, there were two major motion-picture tributes: Laurel and Hardy's Laughing '20s, Robert Youngson's compilation of the team's silent-film highlights; and The Great Race, a large-scale salute to slapstick which director Blake Edwards dedicated to "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy." For many years the duo were impersonated by Jim MacGeorge (as Laurel) and Chuck McCann (as Hardy) in children's TV shows and television commercials for various products.^[81]

There are two Laurel and Hardy museums, one in Laurel's birthplace, Ulverston, United Kingdom,^[82] and the other in Hardy's birthplace, Harlem, Georgia, United States.^[83]

Maurice Sendak showed three identical Oliver Hardy figures as bakers preparing cakes for the morning in his award-winning children's book In the Night Kitchen (1970).^[84] This is treated as a clear example^{[by whom?]} of "interpretative illustration" wherein the comedians' inclusion harked back to the author's own childhood.^{[N 2]}

The Beatles used cut-outs of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy as two of the cutout celebrity crowd for the cover of their 1967 album, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

A 2005 poll by fellow comedians and comedy insiders of the top 50 comedians for The Comedian's Comedian, a TV documentary broadcast on UK's Channel 4, voted the duo the seventh greatest comedy act ever, making them the most popular double act on the list.^{[citation needed]}

Numerous colorized versions of copyright-free Laurel and Hardy features and shorts have been reproduced by a multitude of production studios. Although the results of adding color were often in dispute, many of the popular titles are currently only available in the colorized version. The color process often renders the print into an "unwatchable" state, while some scenes were altered or deleted, dependent on the source material used.^[87] Helpmates (1932) was the first film to undergo the process; it was experimented upon by Colorization Inc., a subsidiary of Hal Roach Studios in 1983. Colorization became a success for the studio and Helpmates was released on home video with the colorized version of The Music Box (1932) in 1986. The technology for this process was inferior compared to today's digital colorization technology. There were numerous continuity errors and garish color design choices. However the most significant criticism that these versions received revolved around their editing: whole scenes were altered or deleted altogether, changing the character of the film.

Merchandiser Larry Harmon claimed ownership of Laurel's and Hardy's likenesses, and issued Laurel and Hardy toys and coloring books. He co-produced a series of Laurel and Hardy cartoons in 1966 with Hanna-Barbera Productions.^[88] His animated versions of Laurel and Hardy guest-starred in a 1972 episode of Hanna-Barbera's The New Scooby-Doo Movies. In 1999, Harmon produced a direct-to-video feature, the live-action comedy The All-New Adventures of Laurel and Hardy: For Love or Mummy, with actors Bronson Pinchot and Gailard Sartain playing the lookalike nephews of the original Laurel and Hardy, Stanley Thinneus Laurel and Oliver Fatteus Hardy.^[89]

Filmographies[link]

Biography portal

• Laurel and Hardy filmography
• Oliver Hardy filmography
• Stan Laurel filmography

References[link]

Notes[link]

Citations[link]

Bibliography[link]

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Laurel and Hardy (category)

• Stan Laurel at the Internet Movie Database
• Oliver Hardy at the Internet Movie Database
• The Official Sons of the Desert Website
• The Official Laurel and Hardy Website
• Laurel and Hardy Films Official Website
• Laurel and Hardy Central.com
• Laurel and Hardy Forum.com
• The Laurel and Hardy Discussion Group on Yahoo!Groups

Richard Thomas "Rich" Correll (born May 14, 1948) is an American television actor, director, producer and writer.

Life and career[link]

Born in Los Angeles County, California, Correll is the son of Charles Correll, who starred as Andy Brown on the radio program, Amos and Andy. He is the brother of Barbara Correll, Dottie Correll and Charles Correll, Jr. (who worked on Animal House as cinematographer and directed episodes of Without a Trace, CSI: Miami, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Placeand Stargate SG-1).

As a child actor, Correll played the role of Beaver's friend Richard Rickover during the last two seasons of Leave It to Beaver (1957–63). As a teenager, Correll became a close friend of legendary silent film comedian Harold Lloyd and his family, and volunteered to assist Lloyd in preserving and archiving Lloyd's extensive films. He continues this work today, and is credited as the chief archivist for the Lloyd Trust. He has shared his encyclopedic knowledge of Lloyd's work and life in interviews and commentary tracks for the 2005 DVD release of Lloyd's films, and in the 1991 documentary The Third Genius.^[1]

Correll has directed episodes of The Suite Life on Deck, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Family Matters, What I Like About You, That's So Raven, So Little Time, The Amanda Show, The Hogan Family, Yes, Dear, Two of a Kind and many other series. He is also the co-creator of the Disney Channel Original Series, Hannah Montana.^[2] In 1961 Richard Correll as Richard and Roberta Shore as Joyce played in Ozzie and Harriet. ^[3]

In 2010, Correll sued Disney for unfair termination and alleged non-payment of creative royalties for Hannah Montana.^[4]

Filmography[link]

Director[link]