Mobile Navigation
Another Fine Mess: Laurel & Hardy's Legacy
By Richard W. Bann
In 1914 Hal Roach began his career as an independent producer, specializing in comedy. Memorable series were built around star names Harold Lloyd, Our Gang, Charley Chase, Will Rogers, Thelma Todd, Harry Langdon, and Laurel & Hardy. Anyone who has seen their work is likely to agree on the importance of preserving these films for future generations to discover, study and enjoy. Read More >
Mr. Roach and Mr. Hardy—or The Boss and The Babe
by Randy Skretvedt
January 2012 brings the 120th “natal anniversaries” of two of the three most important players in the Laurel & Hardy saga—Hal Roach and Oliver Hardy. (We’ll be marking the 122nd anniversary of Stan Laurel’s birth on June 16). These two Capricorns were very determined young men. Harry Eugene Roach was born in Elmira, New York on January 14, 1892. Read more >
Stan Laurel's Life in Laughter
by Randy Skretvedt
June 16 marks the 121st anniversary of the birth of Arthur Stanley Jefferson, better known as Stan Laurel. We remember him primarily for the relatively brief time—fourteen years—in which Laurel and Hardy made their best films for the Hal Roach Studios, from 1927 to 1940, but he toiled hard to create laughter for most of his life. Read more >
Laurel & Hardy Lore
by Randy Skretvedt
Since this is the debut of UCLA’s new website devoted to Laurel and Hardy, here are some photos of the Boys soon after they made their own debuts. Young Norvell Hardy is seen at left approximately six months after his birth at 125 South Hicks Street in Harlem, Georgia on January 18, 1892 (the photo was taken at the studios of Edwards and Son in Atlanta). Read more >
Catching Up with Laurel & Hardy in Spanish
by Randy Skretvedt
On March 27, 2011, UCLA Film & Television Archive will present two rare Laurel and Hardy featurettes. La Vida Nocturna (1930) is the Spanish-language equivalent of the team’s short Blotto (1930), while Politiquerias (1930) is a greatly amplified version of Chickens Come Home (1930). Read more >
