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The Life and Times of Laurel and Hardy
Loved by millions, this dynamic comedy duo brought smiles to the faces of many during their thirty years partnership.
Despite their success, fame was a constant surprise to these mild-mannered men, and the 92 films they made together continue to give pleasure to new generations of Stan and Ollie fans.
Despite their success, fame was a constant surprise to these mild-mannered men, and the 92 films they made together continue to give pleasure to new generations of Stan and Ollie fans.
74 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1996
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November 27, 2015
Amy Dempsey does an excellent job of covering the life and times of Stan and Ollie so succinctly in this mini book. Okay, so she does not go into great detail about their private lives but their early independent careers, their initial meeting, their subsequent short films and then their full length feature films are covered in sufficient detail for the reader to gain a good knowledge of the duo.
After a music hall career in England, Lancashire lad Stan Jefferson found his way to America with Fred Karno's famous troupe. Once he left Karno's act he changed his name to Stan Laurel and toured the country with the 'Stan and Mae Laurel' act.
Spotted in Los Angeles he made a two-reel film 'Nuts in May' before making a series of comedy films for Metro. From there he joined Hal Roach and numerous one-and two-reeler solo comedy films followed.
Meanwhile, Oliver Hardy ran away at eight-years-old and joined Coburn's Minstrels as a boy soprano. He did return home later but by then the show business bug had bitten deep. Moving to Jacksonville to work for Lubin Motion Pictures, he played 'heavies' in comedies, the most notable of which was 'The Paperhanger's Helper' of 1915. It was at this time that he gained the nickname 'Babe'.
He then worked in New York before moving to Fox for whom he played in the Buck Jones cowboy films. This led to Hal Roach calling him to work on another western 'Rex, King of Wild Horses' in 1924. Roach was impressed and signed him up, so the paths of Stan and Ollie were about to cross.
To use that old cliché, the rest is history. Nineteen twenty-seven saw their first film together, 'Putting Pants on Philip' and they went on to make films annually through to 1945. They never did quite realise their popularity and when going on tour, particularly overseas, they were amazed to see the impact that they had on the community.
Stan wrote much of the comedy himself but when they made feature length films he did not always have a free hand and it is said that these films were not up to the standard of their earlier work. This situation was probably not helped by often having two directors, one for the comedy and the other for the story-line working independently.
They certainly had a gift for making people laugh and when they died their legacy lived on through the 92 films that they made together. I can still chuckle at their antics but recently was distressed to know that the younger daughters of a friend of mine could not see what all the fuss was about ... another fine mess they probably thought!
After a music hall career in England, Lancashire lad Stan Jefferson found his way to America with Fred Karno's famous troupe. Once he left Karno's act he changed his name to Stan Laurel and toured the country with the 'Stan and Mae Laurel' act.
Spotted in Los Angeles he made a two-reel film 'Nuts in May' before making a series of comedy films for Metro. From there he joined Hal Roach and numerous one-and two-reeler solo comedy films followed.
Meanwhile, Oliver Hardy ran away at eight-years-old and joined Coburn's Minstrels as a boy soprano. He did return home later but by then the show business bug had bitten deep. Moving to Jacksonville to work for Lubin Motion Pictures, he played 'heavies' in comedies, the most notable of which was 'The Paperhanger's Helper' of 1915. It was at this time that he gained the nickname 'Babe'.
He then worked in New York before moving to Fox for whom he played in the Buck Jones cowboy films. This led to Hal Roach calling him to work on another western 'Rex, King of Wild Horses' in 1924. Roach was impressed and signed him up, so the paths of Stan and Ollie were about to cross.
To use that old cliché, the rest is history. Nineteen twenty-seven saw their first film together, 'Putting Pants on Philip' and they went on to make films annually through to 1945. They never did quite realise their popularity and when going on tour, particularly overseas, they were amazed to see the impact that they had on the community.
Stan wrote much of the comedy himself but when they made feature length films he did not always have a free hand and it is said that these films were not up to the standard of their earlier work. This situation was probably not helped by often having two directors, one for the comedy and the other for the story-line working independently.
They certainly had a gift for making people laugh and when they died their legacy lived on through the 92 films that they made together. I can still chuckle at their antics but recently was distressed to know that the younger daughters of a friend of mine could not see what all the fuss was about ... another fine mess they probably thought!
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