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Laurel and Hardy Biography

Comedians

The comedy team of Laurel and Hardy made hundreds of movies, both shorts and features, and the two men were among Hollywood's biggest stars from the 1930s to the 1950s. Stan Laurel was born Arthur Stanley Jefferson in Ulverston, England (16 June 1890) and Oliver Hardy was born Norvell Hardy in Harlem, Georgia (18 January 1892). They both ended up in Hollywood working for Hal Roach in the 1920s. They appeared in their first feature as a team in 1931's Pardon Us and went on to make a string of classic comedies, including Sons of the Desert (1933), Babes in Toyland (1934) and Way Out West (1937). Their last film was a French production, Atoll K (1950). Easily recognizable, they almost always played themselves in the movies: Laurel was the skinny, innocent one and Hardy was the round, blustery one. Hardy died 7 August 1957 after a debilitating stroke; Laurel died 23 February 1965 after a heart attack.

Extra credit: The only Oscar they ever won together was for the short comedy The Music Box...Laurel was awarded a special Oscar for his contribution to cinema in 1960.