August 7: On This Day in World History … briefly
The duo's signature tune is known variously as 'The Cuckoo Song', 'Ku-Ku', or 'The Dance of the Cuckoos'. It was played over the opening credits of their films and has become as emblematic of the duo as their bowler hats.
1957: No more ‘fine messes’
Oliver Hardy, the fat one in the Laurel and Hardy comic duo, dies of a stroke aged 65. Born in Harlem, Georgia, Ollie (real name Norvell) stumbled into films by chance after a series of career failures, including law and medicine.
He made little headway in Hollywood until producer Hal Roach teamed with British-born ex-Vaudeville trooper Stan Laurel (Arthur Stanley Jefferson) in a comedy short ‘Putting Pants on Phillip’.
From the start there was never any argument between the two men, despite Laurel’s insistence on earning twice as much as his partner. While Laurel would spend hours rewriting scripts and involving himself in directing their films, the easygoing Hardy would head for the race track or golf course.
The creativity that Laurel brought to the partnership was matched by Hardy’s ineffable presence on screen, however, Laurel was devastated by the news of Hardy’s death.
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
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