Published by: Easthawk9

Uploaded on: 2007-10-01 23:15:15

Video Status: down:copyright:Cinematographische Commerz Anstalt.

Down Since: 2009-12-25 22:00:17

Description: Among the many, many examples in their movies of the pure genius of these two men. The dancing scene takes place at the end of this clip, but I provided a little context. The donkey they bring along (for boring factual notation here) was tied to the back of stagecoach... just for understanding continuity. Also, it's easy to miss the first moment when Stan Laurel smiles then nods to Olly when he sees the donkey they've just tied up tapping its foot to the music. Seemingly that's what first inspires them to dance.<br /><br />These are two of the most brilliant of comics in American history.<br /><br />STAN LAUREL<br />His father was an actor and theatre manager. He made his stage debut at the age of 16 at Pickard's Museum, Glasgow. He traveled with Fred Karno's vaudeville company to the United States in 1910 and again in 1913. While with that company he was Charles Chaplin's understudy, and performed imitations of Chaplin. On a later trip he remained in the United States having been cast in a two-reel comedy, Nuts in May (1917) (released in 1918). There followed a number of shorts for Metro, Hal Roach Studios, then Universal, then back to Roach in 1926. His first two-reeler with Oliver Hardy was 45 Minutes from Hollywood (1926) . Their first release through MGM was Sugar Daddies (1927) and the first with star billing was From Soup to Nuts (1928). Their first feature-length starring roles were in Pardon Us (1931). Their work became more production-line and less popular during the war years, mostly producing for Twentieth Century-Fox. Their last movie together was The Bullfighters (1945) except for a French failure ("Atoll K", 1951). In 1960 he was given a special Oscar "for his creative pioneering in the field of cinema comedy". Five years later he died.<br /><br />INTERESTING OTHER THINGS...<br />He was married 5 times. One of his wives he married and divorced twice (with a three year interlude while he was married to someone else.<br /><br />When Oliver Hardy died he had a nervous breakdown, and swore he would never perform again. He didn't.<br /><br />OLIVER HARDY<br />His Scottish-English parents were never in show business. As a young boy, he was a gifted singer and, by age eight, was performing with minstrel shows. In 1910, he ran a movie theatre, which he preferred to studying law. In 1913, he became a comedy actor with the Lubin Company in Florida and began appearing in a long series of shorts; his debut film was Outwitting Dad (1914); 1914-5 was the "Pokes and Jabbs" series; 1916-8 saw the "Plump and Runt" series, 1919-21 the "Jimmy Aubrey" series, and from 1921-5 he worked as an actor and co-director of comedy shorts for Larry Semon. In 1917, he had played a bit part in The Lucky Dog (1921), starring Stan Laurel. His first two-reeler with Laurel was Forty-five Minutes from Hollywood (1926). Their first release through MGM was Sugar Daddies (1927) and the first with star billing was From Soup to Nuts (1928). Their first feature-length starring roles were in Pardon Us (1931). Their work became more production-line and less popular during the war years, mostly working for Twentieth Century-Fox. Their last movie together was The Bullfighters (1945) except for a French failure (Atoll K (1951)). He appeared without Laurel in The Fighting Kentuckian (1949) and Riding High (1950) and died seven years later.<br /><br />INTERESTING OTHER THINGS...<br />Explaining their success at some point in the 1930s, Oliver Hardy said: "The world is full of Laurel and Hardys. I saw them all the time as a boy at my mother's hotel. There's always the dumb, dumb guy, who never has anything bad happen to him, and the smart guy who's even dumber than the dumb guy, only he doesn't know it."<br /><br />Despite rumors over the years, he did not die from the effects of obesity--quite the contrary. Dieting on doctor's orders, he took off too much weight too fast, going from 300+ pounds to 150 in a matter of a few weeks, weakening his constitution well past the danger point. It was becoming dangerously underweight in this manner that brought about his final illness and death.<br /><br />Used Babe Hardy for a screen name until convinced by a numerologist that the longer screen name, Oliver Hardy, would bring him success.

Tags: Hal 30s American Roach Vaudeville Hardy Laurel Comedy 1930s