Laurel and Hardy were a British-American
comedy duo during the early
Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman
Stan Laurel
Stan Laurel ( ; born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, director and writer who was in the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 sh ...
(1890–1965) and American
Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in the
silent film
A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...
era, they later successfully transitioned to "
talkies". From the late 1920s to the mid-1950s, they were internationally famous for their
slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy, childlike friend to Hardy's pompous bully. Their signature theme song, known as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku", or "The Dance of the Cuckoos" (by Hollywood composer
T. Marvin Hatley) was heard over their films' opening credits, and became as emblematic of them as their
bowler hats.
Prior to emerging as a team, both had well-established film careers. Laurel had acted in over 50 films, and worked as a writer and director, while Hardy was in more than 250 productions. Both had appeared in ''
The Lucky Dog'' (1921), but were not teamed at the time. They first appeared together in a short film in 1926, when they signed separate contracts with the
Hal Roach film studio.
[Smith 1984, p. 24.] They officially became a team in 1927 when they appeared in the silent short ''
Putting Pants on Philip''. They remained with Roach until 1940, and then appeared in eight
B movie
A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...
comedies for
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
and
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
from 1941 to 1945.
After finishing their film commitments at the end of 1944, they concentrated on performing stage shows, and embarked on a music hall tour of the British Isles.
They made their last film in 1950, a French–Italian co-production called ''
Atoll K''. Afterward, they resumed their stage appearances until 1954.
They appeared as a team in 107 films, starring in 32 short silent films, 40 short sound films, and 23 full-length feature films. They also made 12 guest or cameo appearances, including in the ''
Galaxy of Stars'' promotional film of 1936. On December 1, 1954, they made their sole American television appearance, when they were surprised and interviewed by
Ralph Edwards on his live NBC-TV program ''
This Is Your Life''.
Since the 1930s, their works have been released in numerous theatrical reissues, television revivals, 8-mm and 16-mm home movies, feature-film compilations, and home videos. In 2005, they were voted the seventh-greatest comedy act of all time by a UK poll of professional comedians.
["Cook voted 'comedians' comedian'."](_blank)
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, January 2, 2005. Retrieved: December 3, 2013. The official Laurel and Hardy appreciation society is
The Sons of the Desert, after a fictional fraternal society in the
film of the same name.
Early careers
Stan Laurel
Stan Laurel
Stan Laurel ( ; born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, director and writer who was in the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 sh ...
(June 16, 1890 – February 23, 1965) was born Arthur Stanley Jefferson in
Ulverston
Ulverston is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few miles south of the Lake District Lake District National Park, National Park and j ...
, Lancashire, England, into a theatrical family. His father, Arthur Joseph Jefferson, was a theatrical entrepreneur and theater owner in northern England and Scotland who, with his wife, was a major force in the industry. In 1905, the Jefferson family moved to
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
to be closer to their business mainstay of the
Metropole Theatre, and Laurel made his stage debut in a Glasgow hall called the
Britannia Panopticon one month short of his 16th birthday. Arthur Jefferson secured Laurel his first acting job with the juvenile theatrical company of Levy and Cardwell, which specialized in Christmas
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...
s. In 1909, Laurel was employed by Britain's leading comedy impresario
Fred Karno as a supporting actor, and as an
understudy for
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
. Laurel said of Karno, "There was no one like him. He had no equal. His name ''was'' box-office."
In 1912, Laurel left England with the Fred Karno Troupe to tour the United States. Laurel had expected the tour to be merely a pleasant interval before returning to London; however, he decided to remain in the U.S. In 1917, Laurel was teamed with
Mae Dahlberg as a
double act for stage and film; they were living as
common-law
Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prec ...
husband and wife. The same year, Laurel made his film debut with Dahlberg in ''
Nuts in May''. While working with Mae, he began using the name "Stan Laurel" and changed his name legally in 1931. Dahlberg demanded roles in his films, but her tempestuous nature made her difficult to work with. Dressing room arguments were common between the two; it was reported that producer
Joe Rock paid her to leave Laurel and to return to her native Australia. In 1925, Laurel joined the Hal Roach film studio as a director and writer. From May 1925 to September 1926, he received credit in at least 22 films. Laurel appeared in over 50 films for various producers before teaming up with Hardy. Prior to that, he experienced only modest success. It was difficult for producers, writers, and directors to write for his character, with American audiences knowing him either as a "nutty burglar" or as a Charlie Chaplin imitator.
Oliver Hardy
Oliver Hardy (January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was born Norvell Hardy in
Harlem, Georgia, United States. By his late teens, Hardy was a popular stage singer and he operated a movie house in
Milledgeville, Georgia
Milledgeville () is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County, Georgia, Baldwin County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Founded in 1803 along the Oconee River, it served as the List of current and former capital cities in the ...
, the Palace Theater, financed in part by his mother.
For his stage name he took his father's first name, calling himself "Oliver Norvell Hardy", while offscreen his nicknames were "Ollie" and "Babe". The nickname "Babe" originated from an Italian barber near the
Lubin Studios in
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
, who would rub Hardy's face with
talcum powder and say "That's nice-a baby!" Other actors in the Lubin company mimicked this, and Hardy was billed as "Babe Hardy" in his early films.
Seeing film comedies inspired him to take up comedy himself and, in 1913, he began working with Lubin Motion Pictures in Jacksonville. He started by helping around the studio with lights, props, and other duties, gradually learning the craft as a script-clerk for the company.
It was around this time that Hardy married his first wife, Madelyn Saloshin. In 1914, Hardy was billed as "Babe Hardy" in his first film, ''
Outwitting Dad''.
Between 1914 and 1916 Hardy made 177
shorts as Babe with the
Vim Comedy Company, which were released up to the end of 1917. Exhibiting a versatility in playing heroes, villains and even female characters, Hardy was in demand for roles as a supporting actor, comic villain or
second banana. For 10 years he memorably assisted star comic and
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
imitator
Billy West, and appeared in the comedies of
Jimmy Aubrey,
Larry Semon, and
Charley Chase. In total, Hardy starred or co-starred in more than 250 silent shorts, of which roughly 150 have been lost. He was rejected for enlistment by the Army during World War I due to his large size. In 1917, following the collapse of the Florida film industry, Hardy and his wife Madelyn moved to California to seek new opportunities.
History as Laurel and Hardy
Hal Roach
Hal Roach recounted how Laurel and Hardy became a team: Hardy was already working for Roach (and others) when Roach hired Laurel, whom he had seen in vaudeville. Laurel had very light blue eyes, and Roach discovered that, due to the technology of film at that time, Laurel's eyes would not photograph properly—blue photographed as white. This problem is apparent in their first silent film together, ''
The Lucky Dog'', where an attempt was made to compensate for the problem by applying heavy makeup to Laurel's eyes. For about a year, Roach had Laurel work at the studio as a writer. Then
panchromatic film was developed; they tested Laurel, and found the problem was solved. Laurel and Hardy were then put together in a film, and they seemed to complement each other. Comedy teams were usually composed of a straight man and a funny man, but these two were both comedians; however, each knew how to play the straight man when the script required it. Roach said, "You could always cut to a close-up of either one, and their reaction was good for another laugh."
Leo McCarey
Screenwriter, director and producer for Hal Roach Studios,
Leo McCarey recounted a story on the NBC television program
This Is Your Life on December 1, 1954 of how a leg of lamb brought Laurel and Hardy together.
Style of comedy and characterizations

The humor of Laurel and Hardy was
highly visual, with
slapstick used for emphasis.
They often had physical arguments (in character) which were quite complex and involved a
cartoonish style of violence. Their ineptitude and misfortune precluded them from making any real progress, even in the simplest endeavors. Much of their comedy involves "milking" a joke, where a simple idea provides a basis for multiple, ongoing gags without following a defined narrative.
Stan Laurel was of average height and weight, but appeared comparatively small and slight next to Oliver Hardy, who was
and weighed about in his prime. Details of their hair and clothing were used to enhance this natural contrast. Laurel kept his hair short on the sides and back, growing it long on top to create a natural "fright wig". Typically, at times of shock, he simultaneously screwed up his face to appear as if crying while pulling up his hair. In contrast, Hardy's thinning hair was pasted on his forehead in spit curls and he sported 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 called for
wing collar shirts, with Hardy wearing a necktie which he would twiddle when he was particularly self-conscious; and Laurel, a
bow tie
The bow tie or dicky bow is a type of neckwear, distinguishable from a necktie because it does not drape down the shirt placket, but is tied just underneath a winged collar. A modern bow tie is tied using a common shoelace knot, which is also ...
. Hardy's
sports jacket was a little small and done up with one straining button, whereas Laurel's
double-breasted
A double-breasted garment is a coat, jacket, waistcoat, or dress with wide, overlapping front flaps which has on its front two symmetrical columns of buttons; by contrast, a single-breasted item has a narrow overlap and only one column of b ...
jacket was loose-fitting.
A popular routine was a "
tit for tat" fight with an adversary. It could be with their wives—often played by
Mae Busch,
Anita Garvin, or
Daphne Pollard—or with a neighbor, often played by
Charlie Hall or
James Finlayson. Laurel and Hardy would accidentally damage someone's property, and the injured party would retaliate by ruining something belonging to Laurel or Hardy.
[Bann, Richard W.]
"The Legacy of Mr. Laurel & Mr. Hardy."
''laurel-and-hardy.com''. Retrieved: December 8, 2013. After calmly surveying the damage, one or the other of the "offended" parties found something else to vandalize, and the conflict escalated until both sides were simultaneously destroying items in front of each other.
An early example of the routine occurs in their classic short ''
Big Business
Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly ...
'' (1929), which was added to the
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...
in 1992. Another short film which revolves around such an altercation was titled ''
Tit for Tat'' (1935).
One of their best-remembered dialogue devices was the "Tell me that again" routine. Laurel would tell Hardy a genuinely smart idea he came up with, and Hardy would reply, "Tell me that again." Laurel would then try to repeat the idea, but, having instantly forgotten it, babble utter nonsense. Hardy, who had difficulty understanding Laurel's idea when expressed clearly, would then understand the jumbled version perfectly. While much of their comedy remained visual, humorous dialogue often occurred in Laurel and Hardy's talking films as well. 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, in a style Laurel called "white magic".
For example, in the 1937 film ''Way Out West'', Laurel flicks his thumb upward as if working a
lighter. His thumb ignites and he matter-of-factly lights Hardy's pipe. Amazed at seeing this, Hardy unsuccessfully attempts to duplicate it throughout the film. Much later he finally succeeds, only to be terrified when his thumb catches fire. Laurel expands the joke in the 1938 film ''
Block-Heads
''Block-Heads'' is a 1938 American comedy film directed by John G. Blystone and starring Laurel and Hardy, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. It was produced by Hal Roach Studios for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film, a reworking of elements from the Lau ...
'' by pouring tobacco into his clenched fist and smoking it as though it were a pipe, again to Hardy's bemusement. This time, the joke ends when a match Laurel was using relights itself, Hardy throws it into the fireplace, and it explodes with a loud bang.
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 mayhem.
The 1927 film ''
Sailors, Beware!'' was a significant one for Hardy because two of his enduring trademarks were developed. The first was his "tie twiddle" to demonstrate embarrassment.
Hardy, while acting, had received 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." His second trademark was the "camera look", where he breaks the
fourth wall
The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...
and, in frustration, stares directly at the audience.
Hardy said: "I had to become exasperated, so I just stared right into the camera and registered my disgust." Offscreen, Laurel and Hardy were quite the opposite of their movie characters: Laurel was the industrious "idea man", while Hardy was more easygoing.
Catchphrases
Laurel and Hardy's best-known catchphrase is, "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!"
It was earlier used by
W. S. Gilbert in both ''
The Mikado'' (1885) and ''
The Grand Duke'' (1896). It was first used by Hardy in ''
The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case'' in 1930. In popular culture, the catchphrase is often misquoted as "Well, here's another ''fine'' mess you've gotten me into", which was never spoken by Hardy—a misunderstanding that stems from the title of their film ''
Another Fine Mess''. When Hardy said the phrase, Laurel's frequent, iconic response was to start to cry, pull his hair up, exclaim "Well, I couldn't help it...", then whimper and speak gibberish.
Some variations on the phrase occurred. For example, in ''
Chickens Come Home'', Ollie impatiently says to Stan, "Well...", and Stan continues for him: "Here's another nice mess I've gotten you into." The films ''
Thicker than Water'' and ''
The Fixer Uppers'' use the phrase "Well, here's another nice kettle of fish you've pickled me in!" In ''
Saps at Sea'', the phrase becomes "Well, here's another nice bucket of suds you've gotten me into!" The catchphrase, in its original form, was used as the last line of dialogue in the duo's last film, ''
Atoll K'' (1951).
In moments of particular distress or frustration, Hardy often exclaims, "Why don't you do something to ''help'' me?", as Laurel stands helplessly by.
"OH!" (or drawn out as "Ohhhhh-OH!") was another catchphrase used by Hardy. He uses the expression in the duo's first sound film, ''
Unaccustomed As We Are'' (1929), when his character's wife smashes a record over his head.
Mustachioed Scottish actor
James Finlayson, who appeared in 33 Laurel and Hardy films, used a variation: "D'oh!"
The phrase, expressing surprise, impatience, or incredulity, inspired the trademark "
D'oh!" of character
Homer Simpson (voiced by
Dan Castellaneta) in the long-running animated comedy ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
''.
Films
Laurel and Hardy appeared together in 107 films over three decades, beginning with separate appearances before officially teaming in 1927. Their work progressed from silent shorts to sound films and feature-length productions, while retaining their signature comedic style throughout evolving industry trends.
Silent films
Laurel's and Hardy's first film pairing, although as separate performers, was in the silent ''
The Lucky Dog''. Its production details have not survived, but film historian Bo Berglund has placed it between September 1920 and January 1921. According to interviews they gave in the 1930s, the pair's acquaintance at the time was casual, and both had forgotten their initial film entirely. The plot sees Laurel's character befriended by a stray dog which, after some lucky escapes, saves him from being blown up by dynamite. Hardy's character is a mugger attempting to rob Laurel. They later signed separate contracts with the
Hal Roach Studios, and next appeared in the 1926 film ''
45 Minutes From Hollywood''.
Hal Roach is considered the most important person in the development of Laurel's and Hardy's film careers. He brought them together, and they worked for Roach for almost 20 years. Director
Charley Rogers
Charles Rogers (15 January 1887 – 20 December 1956) was an English film actor, film director, director and screenwriter best known for his association with Laurel and Hardy. He was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, and was the so ...
, who worked closely with the three men for many years, said, "It could not have happened if Laurel, Hardy, and Roach had not met at the right place and the right time." Their first "official" film together was ''
Putting Pants on Philip'', released December 3, 1927. The plot involves Laurel as Philip, a young Scotsman who arrives in the United States in full
kilted splendor, and suffers mishaps involving the kilts. His uncle, played by Hardy, tries to put trousers on him. Also in 1927, the pair starred in ''
The Battle of the Century'', a classic pie-throwing short involving over 3,000 real pies; only a fragment of the film was known to exist until the first half resurfaced in the 1970s; a more complete print was discovered in 2015 by historian Jon Mirsalis.

Laurel said to the duo's biographer
John McCabe: "Of all the questions we're asked, the most frequent is, how did we come together? I always explain that we came together naturally." Laurel and Hardy were joined by accident and grew by indirection. In 1926, both were part of the Roach Comedy All Stars, a stock company of actors who took part in a series of films. Laurel's and Hardy's parts gradually grew larger, while those of their fellow stars diminished, because Laurel and Hardy had superior pantomime skills. Their teaming was suggested by
Leo McCarey, their supervising director from 1927 to 1930. During that period, McCarey and Laurel jointly devised the team's format. McCarey also influenced the slowing of their comedy action from the silent era's typically frantic pace to a more natural one. The formula worked so well that Laurel and Hardy played the same characters for the next 30 years.
Although Roach employed writers and directors such as
H. M. Walker,
Leo McCarey,
James Parrott, and
James W. Horne on the Laurel and Hardy films, Laurel, who had a considerable background in comedy writing, often rewrote entire sequences and scripts. He also encouraged the cast and crew to improvise, then meticulously reviewed the footage during editing.
By 1929, he was the pair's head writer, and it was reported that the writing sessions were gleefully chaotic. Stan had three or four writers who competed with him in a perpetual game of
'Can You Top This?' Hardy was quite happy to leave the writing to his partner. He said, "After all, just doing the gags was hard enough work, especially if you have taken as many falls and been dumped in as many mudholes as I have. I think I earned my money." Laurel eventually became so involved in their films' productions, many film historians and aficionados consider him an uncredited director. He ran the Laurel and Hardy set, no matter who was in the director's chair, but never asserted 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." As Laurel made so many suggestions, there was not much left for the credited director to do.
Their 1929 release ''
Big Business
Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly ...
'' is by far the most critically acclaimed of the silents. Laurel and Hardy are Christmas tree salesmen who are drawn into a classic tit-for-tat battle, with a character played by
James Finlayson, that eventually destroys his house and their car. ''Big Business'' was added to the United States
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...
as a national treasure in 1992.
Sound films
In 1929 the
silent era of film was coming to an end. Many silent-film actors failed to make the transition to "
talkies"—some, because they felt sound was irrelevant to their craft of conveying stories with body language; and others, because their spoken voices were considered inadequate for the new medium. However, the addition of spoken dialogue only enhanced Laurel's and Hardy's performances; both had extensive theatrical experience and could use their voices to great comic effect. Their films also continued to feature much visual comedy. In these ways, they made a seamless transition to their first sound film, ''
Unaccustomed As We Are'' (1929),
whose title was a play on the familiar phrase, "Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking". In the opening dialogue, Laurel and Hardy began by
spoofing the slow and self-conscious speech of the early talking actors—a routine they would use regularly.
''
The Music Box'' (1932), with the pair delivering a piano up a long flight of steps, won an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
for Best Live Action Short Subject. ''The Music Box'' remains one of the duo's most widely known films.
Laurel and Hardy were favorites around the world, and Hal Roach catered to international audiences by filming many of their early talkies in other languages. They spoke their dialogue phonetically, in Spanish, Italian, French, or German. The plots remained similar to the English versions, although the supporting actors were often changed to those fluent in the native language. ''
Pardon Us'' (1931) was reshot in all four foreign languages. ''
Blotto'', ''
Hog Wild'' and ''
Be Big!'' were remade in French and Spanish versions. ''
Night Owls'' was remade in both Spanish and Italian, and ''
Below Zero'' and ''
Chickens Come Home'' in Spanish.
Feature films
Just as Laurel and Hardy's teaming was accidental, so was their entry into the field of feature films. In the words of biographer John McCabe, "Roach planned to use the MGM set
The Big House''">The_Big_House_(1930_film).html" ;"title="uilt for ''The Big House (1930 film)">The Big House''for a simple prison-break two-reeler but MGM suddenly added a proviso: Laurel and Hardy would have to do a picture for them in exchange. Roach would not agree so he built his own prison set, a very expensive item for a two-reeler. So expensive was it indeed that he added four more reels to bring it into the feature category and, it was hoped, the bigger market." The experiment was successful, and the team continued to make features along with their established short subjects until 1935, when they converted to features exclusively.
''Sons of the Desert'' (1933) is often cited as Laurel and Hardy's best feature-length film. The situation-comedy script by actor-playwright Frank Craven and screenwriter Byron Morgan is stronger than usual for a Laurel & Hardy comedy, and versatile director
William A. Seiter, who had made light comedies with
Reginald Denny as well as outlandish ones with
Wheeler and Woolsey, handled the film with a more controlled sense of pace and style than other directors of the team's features. Stan and Ollie are henpecked husbands who want to attend a convention held by the Sons of the Desert fraternal lodge. They tell their wives that Ollie requires an ocean voyage to
Honolulu
Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
for his health, and they sneak off to the convention. They are unaware that the Honolulu-bound ship they were supposedly aboard is sinking, and the wives confront their errant husbands when they get home.
''
Babes in Toyland'' (1934) remains a perennial on American television during the Christmas season. When interviewed, Hal Roach spoke scathingly about the film and Laurel's behavior. Roach himself had written a treatment detailing the characters and storyline, only to find that Laurel considered Roach's effort totally unsuitable. Roach, affronted, tried to argue in favor of his treatment, but Laurel was adamant. Roach angrily gave up and allowed Laurel to make the film his way.
The rift damaged Roach-Laurel relations to the point that Roach said that after ''Toyland'', he did not want to produce for Laurel and Hardy. Although their association continued for another six years, Roach no longer took an active hand in Laurel and Hardy films.
''
Way Out West'' (1937) was a personal favorite of both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. A satire of the
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...
musical westerns sweeping America at the time, the film combines Laurel and Hardy's slapstick routines with songs and dances performed by the stars.
It appeared that the team would split permanently in 1938. Hal Roach had become dissatisfied with his distribution arrangement with
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
, and had begun releasing his films through
United Artists. He still owed MGM one last feature, and made the Laurel and Hardy comedy ''
Block-Heads
''Block-Heads'' is a 1938 American comedy film directed by John G. Blystone and starring Laurel and Hardy, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. It was produced by Hal Roach Studios for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film, a reworking of elements from the Lau ...
'', with the announcement that this would be Laurel and Hardy's farewell film. Stan Laurel's contract with Roach then expired, and Roach did not renew it. Oliver Hardy's contract was still in force, however, and Roach starred Hardy solo in the antebellum comedy ''
Zenobia'' (1939), with
Harry Langdon
Henry Philmore "Harry" Langdon (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an American actor and comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films (where he had his greatest fame), and talkies.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', December 27 ...
as Hardy's comic foil. This fueled rumors that Laurel and Hardy had split on bad terms.
After ''Zenobia'', Laurel rejoined Hardy and the team signed with independent producer
Boris Morros for the comedy feature ''
The Flying Deuces'' (1939). Meanwhile, Hal Roach wanted to demonstrate his new idea of making four-reel, 40-minute featurettes—twice the length of standard two-reel, 20-minute comedies—which Roach felt could fit more conveniently into double-feature programs. He referred to these extended films as
"streamliners". To test his theory, Roach rehired Laurel and Hardy. The resulting films, ''
A Chump at Oxford'' and ''
Saps at Sea'' (both 1940), were prepared as featurettes. United Artists overruled Roach and insisted that they be released as full-length features.
Hoping for greater artistic freedom, Laurel and Hardy split with Roach, and signed with
20th Century-Fox in 1941 and MGM in 1942. However, their working conditions were now completely different: they were simply hired actors, relegated to both studios' B-film units, and not initially allowed to contribute to the scripts or improvise, as they had always done. When their films proved popular, the studios allowed them more input, and they starred in eight features until the end of 1944. These films, while far from their best work, were still very successful. Budgeted between $300,000 and $450,000 each, they earned millions at the box office for Fox and MGM. The Fox films were so profitable that the studio kept making Laurel and Hardy comedies after it discontinued its other "B" series films.
The busy team decided to take a rest during 1946, but 1947 saw their first European tour in 15 years. A film based in the charters of "Robin Hood" was planned during the tour, but not realized. In 1947, Laurel and Hardy famously attended the reopening of the Dungeness loop of the
Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, where they performed improvised routines with a steam locomotive for the benefit of local crowds and dignitaries.
In 1948, on the team's return to America, Laurel was sidelined by illness and temporarily unable to work. He encouraged Hardy to take movie roles on his own. Hardy's friend
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...
hired him to co-star in ''
The Fighting Kentuckian'' for
Republic Pictures, and
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...
got him a small part in
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...
's ''
Riding High''.
In 1950–51, Laurel and Hardy made their final feature-length film together, ''
Atoll K''. A French-Italian co-production directed by
Léo Joannon, it was plagued by problems with language barriers, production issues, and both actors' serious health issues. When Laurel received the script's final draft, he felt its heavy political content overshadowed the comedy. He quickly rewrote it, with screen comic
Monte Collins
Monte Collins (also credited as Monty Collins; December 3, 1898 – June 1, 1951) was an American film actor and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1920 and 1948. He also wrote for 32 films between 1930 and 1951.
Caree ...
contributing visual gags, and hired old friend
Alfred Goulding to direct the Laurel and Hardy scenes.
During filming, Hardy developed an irregular heartbeat, while Laurel experienced painful prostate complications that caused his weight to drop to 114 pounds.
Critics were disappointed with the storyline, English dubbing, and Laurel's sickly physical appearance.
The film was not commercially successful on its first release, and brought an end to Laurel and Hardy's film careers.
''Atoll K'' did finally turn a profit when it was rereleased in other countries. In 1954, an American distributor removed 18 minutes of footage and released it as ''Utopia''; widely released on film and video, it is the film's best-known version.
After ''Atoll K'' wrapped in April 1951, Laurel and Hardy returned to America and used the remainder of the year to rest. Stan appeared, in character, in a silent TV newsreel, ''Swim Meet'', judging a local California swimming contest.
Most Laurel and Hardy films have survived and are still in circulation. Only three of their 107 films are considered
lost and have not been seen in complete form since the 1930s. The silent film ''
Hats Off'' from 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. ''The Battle of the Century'' (1927), after years of obscurity, is now almost complete but a few minutes are missing. In the 1930 operatic Technicolor musical ''
The Rogue Song'', Laurel and Hardy appeared as comedy relief in 10 sequences; only one exists. The complete soundtrack has survived.
Radio
Laurel and Hardy made at least two audition recordings for radio: a half-hour NBC series based on the skit ''Driver's License'',
and a 1944 NBC pilot for ''The Laurel and Hardy Show'', casting Stan and Ollie in different occupations each episode. The surviving audition record, "Mr. Slater's Poultry Market," has Stan and Ollie as meat-market butchers mistaken for vicious gangsters. A third attempt was commissioned by
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
in 1953: ''Laurel and Hardy Go to the Moon'', a series of science-fiction comedies. A sample script was written by Tony Hawes and
Denis Gifford, and the comedians staged a read-through, which was not recorded. The team was forced to withdraw due to Hardy's declining health, and the project was abandoned.
Final years
Following the making of ''Atoll K'', Laurel and Hardy took some months off to deal with health issues. On their return to the European stage in 1952, they undertook a well-received series of public appearances, performing a short Laurel-written sketch, "A Spot of Trouble". The following year, Laurel wrote a routine titled "Birds of a Feather".
On September 9, 1953, their boat arrived in
Cobh
Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Cobh is on the south si ...
in Ireland. Laurel recounted their reception:

On May 17, 1954, Laurel and Hardy made their last live stage performance in Plymouth, UK at the
Palace Theatre. On December 1, 1954, they made their only American television appearance when they were surprised and interviewed by
Ralph Edwards on his live NBC-TV program ''
This Is Your Life''. Lured to the Knickerbocker Hotel under the pretense of a business meeting with producer
Bernard Delfont, the doors opened to their suite, #205, flooding the room with light and Edwards' voice. The telecast was preserved on a
kinescope and later released on home video. Partly due to the broadcast's positive response, the team began renegotiating with
Hal Roach Jr. for a series of color
NBC Television specials, to be called ''Laurel and Hardy's Fabulous Fables''. However, the plans had to be shelved as the aging comedians continued to suffer from declining health.
In 1955, ''TV Guide'' ran a color spread on the team with current photos. That year, they made their final public appearance together while taking part in ''This Is Music Hall'', a
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...
program about the
Grand Order of Water Rats, a British variety organization. Laurel and Hardy provided a filmed insert where they reminisced about their friends in British variety. They made their final appearance on camera in 1956 in a private home movie, shot by a family friend at the Reseda, California home of Stan Laurel's daughter, Lois. The three-minute film has no audio.
In 1956, while following his doctor's orders to improve his health due to a heart condition, Hardy lost over , but nonetheless suffered several strokes causing reduced mobility and speech. Despite his long and successful career, Hardy's home was sold to help cover his medical expenses.
He died of a stroke on August 7, 1957, and longtime friend Bob Chatterton said Hardy weighed just at the time of his death. Hardy was laid to rest at Pierce Brothers'
Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood. Following Hardy's death, scenes from Laurel and Hardy's early films were seen again in theaters, 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, and declined
Stanley Kramer's offer of a cameo in the 1963 film ''
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World''.
In 1960, Laurel was given a special Academy Award for his contributions to film comedy, but was unable to attend the ceremony due to poor health. Actor
Danny Kaye accepted the award on his behalf. Despite not appearing on screen after Hardy's death, Laurel did contribute gags to several comedy filmmakers. His favorite TV comedy was
Leonard B. Stern's ''
I'm Dickens, He's Fenster'', co-starring
John Astin and
Marty Ingels as carpenters. Laurel enjoyed the Astin–Ingels chemistry and sent two-man gags to Stern.
During this period, most of his communication was in the form of written correspondence, and he insisted on personally answering every fan letter.
Late in life, he welcomed visitors from the new generation of comedians and celebrities, including
Dick Cavett,
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...
,
Peter Sellers,
Marcel Marceau,
Johnny Carson
John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...
, and
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. Dick Van Dyke on screen and stage, His work spans screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Dick Van Dyke, his awards includ ...
. Jerry Lewis offered Laurel a job as consultant, but he chose to help only on Lewis's 1960 feature ''
The Bellboy''.
Dick Van Dyke was a longtime fan and based his comedy and dancing styles on Laurel's. When he discovered Laurel's home number in the phone book and called him, Laurel invited him over for the afternoon. Van Dyke hosted a television tribute to Stan Laurel the year he died.
Laurel lived to see the duo's work rediscovered through television and classic film revivals. He died on February 23, 1965, in
Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
and is buried at
Forest Lawn–Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles.
Supporting cast members
Laurel and Hardy's films included a supporting cast of comic actors, some of whom appeared regularly:
*
Harry Bernard (former vaudeville partner of Charley Chase) played supporting roles as a waiter, bartender, or policeman.
*
Mae Busch often played the formidable Mrs. Hardy and other characters, particularly sultry ''femmes fatales.''
*
Charley Chase, the Hal Roach film star and brother of
James Parrott, a writer/director of several Laurel and Hardy films, made four appearances.
*
Dorothy Coburn appeared in nearly a dozen early silent shorts.
*
Baldwin Cooke (former vaudeville partner of Stan Laurel) played supporting roles as a waiter, colleague, or neighbor.
*
Richard Cramer appeared as a scowling, menacing villain or opponent.
*
Peter Cushing, well before becoming a star in
Hammer Horror films, played one of the students in ''
A Chump at Oxford''.
*
Bobby Dunn appeared as a cross-eyed bartender and telegram messenger, as well as the genial shoplifter in ''
Tit for Tat''.
*
Eddie Dunn made several appearances, notably as the belligerent taxi driver in ''
Me and My Pal''.
*
James Finlayson, a balding, mustachioed Scotsman known for displays of indignation and squinting, pop-eyed "double takes," made 33 appearances and is perhaps their most celebrated foil.
*
Anita Garvin appeared in a number of Laurel and Hardy films, often cast as Mrs. Laurel.
*
Billy Gilbert made many appearances, most notably as bombastic, blustery characters such as those in ''
The Music Box'' (1932) and ''
Block-Heads
''Block-Heads'' is a 1938 American comedy film directed by John G. Blystone and starring Laurel and Hardy, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. It was produced by Hal Roach Studios for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film, a reworking of elements from the Lau ...
''.
*
Charlie Hall, who usually played angry, diminutive adversaries, appeared nearly 50 times.
*
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
had a small role in the silent short ''
Double Whoopee'' (1929) and two other films in the early part of her career.
*
Arthur Housman made several appearances as a comic drunk.
*
Isabelle Keith was the only actress to appear as wife to both Laurel ''and'' Hardy (in ''
Perfect Day'' and ''
Be Big!'', respectively).
*
Edgar Kennedy, master of the "slow burn," often appeared as a cop, a hostile neighbor, or a relative.
*
Walter Long played grizzled, unshaven, physically threatening villains.
*
Sam Lufkin appeared several times, usually as a husky authority figure.
*
Charles Middleton made a handful of appearances, usually as a sourpuss adversary.
*
James C. Morton appeared as a bartender or exasperated policeman.
*
Vivien Oakland appeared in several early silent films, and later talkies including ''
Scram!'' and ''
Way Out West''.
*
Blanche Payson, a former policewoman, was featured in several sound shorts, including Oliver's formidable wife in ''
Helpmates''.
*
Daphne Pollard was featured as Oliver's diminutive but daunting wife.
*
Viola Richard appeared in several early silent films, most notably as the beautiful cave girl in ''
Flying Elephants'' (1928).
*
Charley Rogers
Charles Rogers (15 January 1887 – 20 December 1956) was an English film actor, film director, director and screenwriter best known for his association with Laurel and Hardy. He was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, and was the so ...
, an English actor and gag writer, appeared several times.
*
Tiny Sandford was a tall, burly, physically imposing
character actor
A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...
who played authority figures, usually policemen.
*
Thelma Todd appeared several times before her own career as a comic leading lady.
*
Ben Turpin, the
cross-eyed Mack Sennett comedy star, made two memorable appearances.
*
Ellinor Vanderveer made many appearances as a dowager, high society matron, or posh party guest.
Music
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
KFVD,
the Roach studio's radio station.
Laurel heard the tune on the station and asked Hatley if they could use it as the Laurel and Hardy theme song. The original theme, recorded by two clarinets in 1930, was recorded again with a full orchestra in 1935.
Leroy Shield composed the majority of the music used in the Laurel and Hardy short sound films.
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 number 2 in the
UK Singles Chart.
Influence and legacy

Laurel and Hardy's influence over a very broad range of comedy and other genres has been considerable.
Lou Costello of the famed duo
Abbott and Costello stated, "They were the funniest comedy team in the world." Many critics and film scholars throughout the years have agreed with this assessment;
writers, artists, and performers as diverse as
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...
,
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...
,
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...
,
Peter Sellers,
Marcel Marceau,
Steve Martin,
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
,
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...
,
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. In the BFI, British Film Institute listing of 1999 of BFI Top 100 British films, the 100 most important British films of the 20th century ...
,
J. D. Salinger,
René Magritte
René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgium, Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature ...
, and
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...
have acknowledged an artistic debt.
Starting in the 1960s, the widespread exposure of their short films on television ensured a continued influence on generations of comedians and fans.
Posthumous revivals and popular culture
Since the 1930s, the works of Laurel and Hardy have been reissued in numerous theatrical revivals, television airings (particularly on public and cable television),
16 mm and
8 mm home movies, feature-film compilations, and home video. After Stan Laurel's death in 1965, two major motion-picture tributes were released: ''Laurel and Hardy's Laughing '20s'', a compilation of the team's silent-film highlights by Robert Youngson, and ''
The Great Race'' (1965), a large-scale salute to slapstick dedicated by director
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards (born William Blake Crump; July 26, 1922 – December 15, 2010) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter.
Edwards began his career in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon began writing screenplays and radio scripts ...
to "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy". The duo were later impersonated by Jim MacGeorge (as Laurel) and
Chuck McCann (as Hardy) in children's television shows and commercials for various products.
Numerous
colorized versions of Laurel and Hardy features and shorts have been reproduced by several studios. The process was introduced in 1983 by Colorization, Inc., in partnership with
Hal Roach Studios, then a Canadian concern licensing its name and films. Early efforts included ''Helpmates'', ''Way Out West'', and ''The Music Box'', which were released to television and issued on VHS. Most of the team's sound shorts were ultimately colorized for distribution in Europe. The pixel-based color process and conversion from the American
NTSC
NTSC (from National Television System Committee) is the first American standard for analog television, published and adopted in 1941. In 1961, it was assigned the designation System M. It is also known as EIA standard 170.
In 1953, a second ...
system to the European
PAL system often affected image sharpness,
so since 2011, video distributors have issued the original black-and-white editions.

There are three Laurel and Hardy museums. One is in Laurel's birthplace of
Ulverston
Ulverston is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few miles south of the Lake District Lake District National Park, National Park and j ...
, England, another is in Hardy's birthplace of
Harlem, Georgia, United States, and the third is in
Solingen
Solingen (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr. After Wuppertal, it is the second-largest city in the Bergisches Land, and a member of ...
, Germany.
Maurice Sendak featured three Oliver Hardy-like bakers in his 1970 Caldecott Medal-winning book ''
In the Night Kitchen''. Cut-outs of the duo appear on the cover of ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (1967) by
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
. In 2005, a Channel 4 documentary, ''
The Comedian's Comedian'', ranked Laurel and Hardy the seventh-greatest comedy act of all time—the highest-ranking double act.
Larry Harmon claimed ownership of Laurel and Hardy's likenesses and issued toys, coloring books, and an animated series in 1966, co-produced with
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...
. Animated versions of Laurel and Hardy also guest-starred in a 1972 episode of ''
The New Scooby-Doo Movies''. In 1999, Harmon produced the direct-to-video feature ''
The All New Adventures of Laurel & Hardy in For Love or Mummy'', starring
Bronson Pinchot and
Gailard Sartain as the nephews of the famous duo.
The North American rights to much of the Laurel and Hardy library are now owned by
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, successor to Cabin Fever, RHI, Hallmark, and Sonar. International rights are held by the CCA, while Harmon's estate owns their trademarks and likenesses.
The Indian comedy duo
Ghory and Dixit were often called the Indian Laurel and Hardy.
In 2011,
Arte
Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...
and
ZDF co-produced a 90-minute documentary, ''Laurel & Hardy: Their Lives and Magic'', written and directed by German filmmaker Andreas Baum. The film included rare footage, interviews, and photos, and was later released as a 105-minute Director's Cut with 70 minutes of bonus material on DVD.
In 2024, Baum and co-author Michael Ehret published ''Laurel and Hardy: A True Love Story – The Pictorial History of Stan & Ollie: Their Life and Work'' (Volume 1), a 500-page illustrated book accompanied by a documentary DVD.
Appreciation society
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). It was established in New York City in 1965 by Laurel and Hardy biographer
John McCabe, with
Orson Bean,
Al Kilgore,
Chuck McCann, and John Municino as founding members, with the sanction of Stan Laurel.
[Rense, Rip]
"A fan club just for 'The Boys' : Films: The Sons of the Desert has been meeting since 1965 to honor Laurel and Hardy."
''Los Angeles Times'', November 9, 1989. Retrieved: December 7, 2013. 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''.
Around the world
Laurel and Hardy are popular around the world but are known under different names in various countries and languages.
})
, -
, Slovenia , , "Stan in Olio"
, -
, Greece , , "Hondros kai Lignos" (Χοντρός και Λιγνός) (''Fat and Skinny'')
, -
, India (Marathi) , , "जाड्या आणि रड्या" (Fatso and the Crybaby)
, -
, India (Punjabi) , , "Moota Paatla" (Laurel and Hardy) (Fat and Skinny)
, -
, India (Telugu) , , "Lamboo Jamboo" (లంబూ జంబూ) (Laurel and Hardy) (Fat and Skinny)
, -
, Finland , ,
Ohukainen ja Paksukainen (''Thin one and Thick one'')
, -
, Iceland , , , "Steini og Olli"
, -
, Israel , , , "השמן והרזה" (''ha-Shamen ve ha-Raze'', ''The Fat and the Skinny'')
, -
, Vietnam (South) , , , "Mập – Ốm" (''The Fat and the Skinny'')
, -
, Korea (South) , , "뚱뚱이와 홀쭉이" (''The Fat and the Skinny'')
, -
, Malta , , , "L-Oħxon u l-Irqiq" ("The Fat and the Thin One")
, -
, Iran , , , "چاق و لاغر" ("The Fat and the Skinny")
, -
, Thailand , , , "อ้วนผอมจอมยุ่ง" ("The Clumsy Fat and Thin")
Biopic
A biographical film titled ''
Stan & Ollie'' directed by
Jon S. Baird and starring
Steve Coogan as Stan and
John C. Reilly as Oliver was released in 2018 and chronicled the duo's 1953 tour of Great Britain and Ireland. The film received positive reviews from critics, garnering a 94% "Fresh" rating on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
. For their performances, Reilly and Coogan were nominated for a
Golden Globe and a
BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
award respectively.
Filmographies
*
Laurel and Hardy filmography
*
Oliver Hardy filmography
*
Stan Laurel filmography
See also
* ''
Pekka and Pätkä''
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
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External links
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Official The Sons of the Desert websiteThe ''Laurel and Hardy Magazine'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laurel and Hardy
American comedy duos
Comedy duos
Film duos
Silent film comedians
American male comedians
English male comedians
American male film actors
English male film actors
American male silent film actors
English male silent film actors
20th Century Studios contract players
Hal Roach Studios short film series
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
Articles containing video clips
20th-century American male actors
20th-century English male actors