Laurel and Hardy

Laurel and Hardy were a comedy duo active from 1927 to 1955. Stan Laurel was English, born in 1890, and Oliver Hardy was American, born in 1892. They began working together during the silent film era, moved smoothly into sound films, and gained worldwide fame for their slapstick humor. Laurel’s character was clumsy and childlike, while Hardy’s was bossy and refined, yet the two remained inseparable friends. Their signature tune—titled "The Cuckoo Song," "Ku-Ku," or "The Dance of the Cuckoos" and composed by Hollywood’s T. Marvin Hatley—played over their opening credits and became as iconic as their derby hats.

Before they teamed up, both men had already built solid film careers. Laurel started in vaudeville across Europe and America before entering the film industry in 1917; he was mainly a comedian but also a skilled writer and director. Hardy began in movies as a theater projectionist and became an actor in 1913. They first appeared together by accident in the 1921 short *The Lucky Dog*, but did not meet again until 1925, when both were at the Hal Roach studio. They officially became a duo in 1927 with the silent short *Putting Pants on Philip*. They stayed with Roach until 1940, then made eight B-movie comedies for 20th Century-Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1941 to 1945. After finishing their film work at the end of 1944, they focused on stage shows and toured the British Isles with a music hall act. Their final film was *Atoll K*, a French-Italian co-production released in 1951. After that, they performed on stage exclusively in Europe until 1954.

As a team, they appeared in 107 films: 32 silent shorts, 40 sound shorts, and 23 feature-length films. They also made 12 guest or cameo appearances, including the 1936 promotional film *Galaxy of Stars*. On December 1, 1954, they made their only American television appearance, surprised and interviewed by Ralph Edwards on his live NBC show *This Is Your Life*.

Since the 1930s, their films have been re-released in theaters, revived on television, sold as 8 mm and 16 mm home movies, compiled into feature-length collections, and issued on home video. The official Laurel and Hardy fan club is called The Sons of the Desert, named after a fictional fraternal society from one of their films.

**Early careers**

**Stan Laurel** Stan Laurel was born Arthur Stanley Jefferson on June 16, 1890, in Ulverston, Lancashire, England, into a theatrical family. His father, A. J. Jefferson, was a theater owner and entrepreneur in northern England and Scotland who, along with his wife, was a major figure in European show business. In 1905, the family moved to Glasgow to be closer to their main venue, the Metropole Theatre. Laurel made his stage debut at the Britannia Panopticon in Glasgow just before his 16th birthday. His father got him his first acting job with Levy and Cardwell, a juvenile theatrical company that specialized in Christmas pantomimes. In 1909, Laurel worked for Britain’s top comedy impresario Fred Karno as a supporting actor and understudy for Karno’s lead comedian, Charlie Chaplin. 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 for a U.S. tour. He expected it to be a short break before returning to London, but decided to stay in America. He joined vaudevillians Baldwin and Alice Cooke as “The Keystone Trio,” where he imitated Charlie Chaplin. In 1917, he teamed up with Mae Dahlberg for stage and film; they lived as common-law husband and wife. That same year, Laurel made his film debut with Dahlberg in *Nuts in May*. While working with her, he started using the name “Stan Laurel” and legally changed it in 1931. Dahlberg demanded roles in his films, but her fiery temperament made her difficult to work with. They often argued in dressing rooms, and producer Joe Rock paid her to leave Laurel and return to Australia. In 1925, Laurel joined the Hal Roach studio as a director and writer. From May 1925 to September 1926, he received credit on at least 22 films. Before teaming with Hardy, he appeared in more than 50 films for various producers.

**Oliver Hardy** Oliver Hardy was born Norvell Hardy on January 18, 1892, in Harlem, Georgia. By his late teens, he was a popular stage singer and ran a moviehouse in Milledgeville, Georgia, called the Palace Theater, partly financed by his mother. He took his father’s first name for his stage name, calling himself “Oliver Norvell Hardy.” Offscreen, friends called him “Babe.” That nickname came from an Italian barber in Jacksonville, Florida, who would rub Hardy’s face with talcum powder and say, “That’s nice-a baby!” Co-workers copied it, and Hardy was billed as “Babe Hardy” in his early films.

Watching film comedies inspired him to try comedy himself. In 1913, he started working with Lubin Motion Pictures in Jacksonville. He began by helping with lights, props, and other tasks, gradually learning the trade as a script clerk. Around this time, he married his first wife, Madelyn Saloshin. In 1914, he was billed as “Babe Hardy” in his first film, *Outwitting Dad*. Between 1914 and 1916, he made 177 shorts with the Vim Comedy Company, which were released through the end of 1917. Showing versatility by playing heroes, villains, and even female characters, Hardy was in demand as a supporting actor, comic villain, or second banana. For ten years, he remained a busy character actor.