116-412: The Lucky Dog (1921) is the first film to include Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy together in a film before they became the famous comedy duo of Laurel and Hardy . Although they appear in scenes together, Laurel and Hardy play independently. Laurel is the star as the hero of the film and Hardy plays the main villain opposite him. The film was screened as two reels, but some versions end abruptly after
232-587: A Royal Variety Performance in front of King George VI and his consort Queen Elizabeth in London. The success of the tour led them to spend the next seven years touring the UK and Europe. Around this time, Laurel found out that he had diabetes, so he encouraged Hardy to find solo projects, which he did, taking parts in John Wayne and Bing Crosby films. In 1950, Laurel and Hardy were invited to France to make
348-481: A rag and bone man . The comedy derives from the way the characters interact in their tempestuous relationship. The series also has more heart-rending moments as the son despairs at his inability to escape his needy, selfish, grasping father. Porridge saw "an habitual criminal", Fletcher (played by Ronnie Barker , already famous for his comedy partnership with Ronnie Corbett ) and a young, naive, first-time prisoner, Lennie Godber . The two would bicker but endured
464-580: A 1925 production called Yes, Yes, Nanette (in which Oliver Hardy had a part under the name "Babe" Hardy). It had been his intention to work primarily as a writer and director. The same year, Hardy, a member of the Hal Roach Studios Comedy All Star players, was injured in a kitchen mishap and hospitalised. Because he was unable to work on the scheduled film, Get 'Em Young , Laurel was asked to return to acting to fill in. Starting early in 1927, Laurel and Hardy began sharing
580-436: A 1957 interview. Other sources dated the film to 1918 and 1919. However, on the basis of an examination of the dates on which Laurel was available for filming, and the appearance of a 1920 automobile license plate in one shot of the complete film, the filming most likely occurred during the autumn and winter of 1920 and into early 1921. The film was released for distribution in late 1921 by Reelcraft. The film's production cost
696-666: A 2005 UK poll to find the Comedians' Comedian . In 2019, Laurel topped a list of the greatest British comedians compiled by a panel on the television channel Gold . In 2009, a bronze statue of the duo was unveiled in Laurel's hometown of Ulverston . Arthur Stanley Jefferson was born on 16 June 1890 in his grandparents' house in Ulverston , Lancashire , to Arthur J. Jefferson, an actor and theatre manager from Bishop Auckland , and Margaret (née Metcalfe), an actress from Ulverston. He
812-470: A Man (1925). Laurel was credited for directing or co-directing ten silent shorts (between 1925 and 1927), but appeared in none of these. Laurel's future partner Hardy, however, did appear in three of the shorts directed by Laurel: Yes, Yes, Nanette ! (1925), Wandering Papas (1926) and Madame Mystery (1926). Laurel next signed with the Hal Roach studio, where he began directing films, including
928-413: A Pete and Dud dialogue, leaving him helpless to respond. As the partnership progressed into the often-improvised Derek and Clive dialogues, these light-hearted attempts to make Moore laugh became, as a result of Cook's growing insecurity and alcoholism, aggressive attacks on the defenseless Moore. Carrying the tradition of going against the grain of traditional double acts, when the partnership dissolved in
1044-569: A civic reception at the Coronation Hall and Laurel was presented with a copy of his birth certificate on the hall's balcony, watched on by hundreds of fans. Laurel and Hardy then visited 3 Argyle Street for a tour of Laurel's former home, posing for the North West Evening Mail 's photographer as they emerged from the house, crowded by fans and well-wishers. The comedy duo were appearing at Morecambe 's Winter Gardens at
1160-613: A comedy double act known as the Barto Bros. Their act, which involved them dressing as Romans, finished when Laurel was offered a spot in an American touring troupe. After Laurel left England for America the pair maintained a life-long friendship, sending letters and photos that documented Laurel's rise from an unknown British comedy actor in 1913 to one of the biggest names in Hollywood in the 1950s. The correspondence, spanning around 50 years and including photos of them being reunited in
1276-412: A couple of days before his new marriage. The new marriage was very volatile, and Illeana accused him of trying to bury her alive in the back yard of their San Fernando Valley home. He and Illeana separated in 1939 and divorced in 1940, with Illeana surrendering all claim to the Laurel surname on 1 February 1940 in exchange for $ 6,500. In 1941, Laurel remarried Virginia Ruth Rogers; they were divorced for
SECTION 10
#17327824166991392-538: A degree of egotism. The difference between the pair is the free-spirited, uneducated and selfishness of Jeremy and the intellectual arrogance but shyness of Mark. In the United States and Canada , the tradition was more popular in the earlier part of the 20th century with vaudeville -derived acts such as Laurel and Hardy , Abbott and Costello , Burns and Allen , Jackie Gleason and Art Carney , Wheeler & Woolsey , and Lyons and Yosco and continuing into
1508-503: A double act ( The Dangerous Brothers ) in 1991 when they created Bottom . Their characters are a pair of sad, pathetic losers forced together by their mutual hopelessness. However, unlike earlier examples of such, the characters in Bottom absolutely hate each other, exacerbating their despair. This often leads to slapstick violence, such as hitting each other with frying pans. Mayall and Edmonson have said Bottom aimed to be more than just
1624-457: A down-to-earth character while Hancock was pompous and had delusions of grandeur , and the comedy was derived from the two playing off each other's characteristics. A common trend in sitcoms is to place the double act in a situation where they are forced together through uncontrollable circumstance. In another Galton and Simpson production, Steptoe and Son , a son, with great ambition, was forced to live with his elderly, manipulative father as
1740-439: A fairly equal share of the laughs. The pair first worked together as a double act in the 1927 film Duck Soup . The first Laurel and Hardy film was called Putting Pants on Philip though their familiar characters had not yet been established. The first film they both appeared in was Lucky Dog in 1921. Laurel and Hardy adapted well to silent films, both being skilled at slapstick, and their nonverbal interplay with each other and
1856-512: A feature film. The film was a disaster, a Franco-Italian co-production titled Atoll K . (The film was entitled Utopia in the US and Robinson Crusoeland in the UK.) Both stars were noticeably ill during the filming. Upon returning to the United States, they spent most of their time recovering. In 1952, Laurel and Hardy toured Europe successfully, and they returned in 1953 for another tour of
1972-483: A huge body of short films, including The Battle of the Century , Should Married Men Go Home? , Two Tars , Be Big! , Big Business and many others. Laurel and Hardy successfully made the transition to talking films with the short Unaccustomed As We Are in 1929. They also appeared in their first feature in one of the revue sequences of The Hollywood Revue of 1929 , and the following year they appeared as
2088-575: A long face, I'll never speak to him again." He is interred at Forest Lawn–Hollywood Hills Cemetery . Laurel and Hardy are featured on the cover of the Beatles ' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band . In 1989, a statue of Laurel was erected in Dockwray Square, North Shields , Tyne and Wear , England, where he lived at No. 8 from 1897 to 1902. The steps down from the Square to
2204-458: A major stroke on 14 September 1956 and was unable to return to acting. When Oliver Hardy died on 7 August 1957, Laurel was devastated and never fully recovered from the loss. He was in fact too ill to attend Hardy's funeral and said, "Babe would understand". Although he continued to socialise with his fans, he refused to perform on stage or act in another film from then on, as he had no interest in working without Hardy, turning down every offer he
2320-566: A number of Antenna 3 and Fininvest television shows they took part in. In 1987 the couple split to pursue some solo projects, before briefly reuniting between 2002 and 2006 for a number of stage shows and plays. Gigi e Andrea started performing together in small theaters, cabarets and hostelries in Bologna in the second half of the 1970s. They debuted in 1978 on the Rai 1 variety show Io e la Befana . The year before they had appeared for
2436-632: A number of his standard comic devices, including the bowler hat , the deep comic gravity and the nonsensical understatement, and developed his skills in pantomime and music hall sketches. He was a member of " Fred Karno 's Army", where he was Charlie Chaplin 's understudy. He and Chaplin arrived in the United States on the same ship from the United Kingdom with the Karno troupe. Laurel began his film career in 1917 and made his final appearance in 1951. He appeared with his comic partner Oliver Hardy in
SECTION 20
#17327824166992552-501: A panel on the British television channel Gold . Double act A double act (also known as a comedy duo ) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville , in which two comedians perform together as a single act, often highlighting differences in their characters' personalities. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases for the artists' entire careers. Double acts perform on
2668-507: A peculiar comic verve, filled with paradoxical and surreal moods, their popularity increased in the early 1970s with the variety show Il poeta e il contadino and with the participation with the musical show Canzonissima . The couple began to crack in 1974, when Renato started devoting himself to a full-time film career. After a long separation, Cochi e Renato reunited in 2000s for a series of television and stage projects. Cochi e Renato were also very active as singer-songwriters (often with
2784-577: A playful rivalry—the Winters mocked the slight edge Morecambe and Wise had over them in popularity, while Morecambe, when asked what he and Wise would have been if not comedians, replied " Mike and Bernie Winters ". A series of black-and-white films based on Don Camillo and Peppone characters created by the Italian writer and journalist Giovannino Guareschi were made between 1952 and 1965. These were French-Italian coproductions, and starred Fernandel as
2900-545: A real script and where they often improvised on the set. Also are the 13 films directed by Lucio Fulci , who was the architect of the reversal of their typical roles by making Ciccio the serious one, the sidekick, and Franco the comic one. They also worked with important directors such as Pier Paolo Pasolini and the Taviani brothers . Considered at the time as protagonists of B movie , they were subsequently reevaluated by critics for their comedy and creative abilities, becoming
3016-489: A relationship of mutual respect. Barker also formed a partnership with David Jason in Open All Hours , with Jason playing Granville while Barker played Albert Arkwright. Many don't see this as a comedy duo, but the straight-man element coupled with Barker's funny-man antics on the show are still compressed into the script. Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson combined their success in sitcoms ( The Young Ones ) and as
3132-654: A resurgence in American double acts. Blazing Saddles (1974) featured a memorable performance by Mel Brooks and Harvey Korman (who later teamed up again in Brooks's 1981 follow-up History of the World, Part I ). Saturday Night Live , first broadcast in 1975, provided an outlet for comedians to appear in sketches as double acts and continues to do so. It was here that Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi honed their characters The Blues Brothers , who were soon pulled to fame in
3248-523: A rod to Ulverston's canal, learning from his uncle John Shaw. His favourite place was beyond the old North Lonsdale Iron and Steel Company Ltd, close to his home in Argyle Street. Just behind him was the viaduct carrying the railway from Carnforth . Laurel in later years would recall swinging on a pair of lock gates on the canal as he waited for a bite on his line. During these fishing expeditions, Laurel would have passed Ulverston's cemetery, where he
3364-593: A series of toilet gags—it was meant to be a cruder cousin to plays like Waiting for Godot about the pointlessness of life. Other popular double acts in British sitcoms include complex relationships involving status and superiority themes: in Dad's Army , the social climbing envy of Captain George Mainwaring , to his right-hand man (Sergeant Arthur Wilson) who is of higher status than him; and in Red Dwarf ,
3480-519: A six-week tour of the United Kingdom performing in variety shows . Mobbed wherever they went, Laurel's homecoming to Ulverston took place in May, and the duo were greeted by thousands of fans outside the Coronation Hall. The Evening Mail noted: "Oliver Hardy remarked to our reporter that Stan had talked about Ulverston for the past 22 years and he thought he had to see it." The tour included
3596-428: A stooge. Sometimes considered a derogatory term, "stooge" began to fall out of use by the 1930s with The Three Stooges . Most often the humor in a double act comes from the way the two personalities play off of each other, rather than from the individual players. In many successful acts the roles are interchangeable. The model for the modern double act began in the British music halls and the American vaudeville scene of
The Lucky Dog - Misplaced Pages Continue
3712-472: A successful transition to radio and later TV via The Smothers Brothers and Rowan and Martin's Laugh In . In Britain, double acts were confined to theatres and radio until the late 1950s, when double acts such as Morecambe and Wise and Mike and Bernie Winters slowly began the transition to TV on variety shows such as Sunday Night at the London Palladium . These acts came into their own in
3828-612: A theatre in London 's Leicester Square , he said: Looks great but kind of wasteful, but you should see the lighthouse in the graveyard at Ulverston in Lancashire where I was born. They put it up when I was a kid, a tombstone with a light on top. It was the Eighth Wonder of the World to me. Ever since then it's been my ambition to have a tombstone like that. Laurel went on frequent excursions from Ulverston railway station into
3944-460: A version of Laurel as well. Dick Van Dyke told a similar story. When he was just starting his career, he looked up Laurel's phone number, called him, and then visited him at his home. Van Dyke played Laurel on "The Sam Pomerantz Scandals" episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show . Director Stanley Kramer offered Laurel a cameo role in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) alongside Buster Keaton and
4060-567: A very popular radio show and podcast . Most of the most successful double acts in the early 2000s take their inspiration from the odder strain of double-act comedy spearheaded by Reeves and Mortimer. Matt Lucas and David Walliams , who had previously worked with Reeves and Mortimer, also took inspiration from the Two Ronnies. The Mighty Boosh also played with the formula but essentially remained traditional at their roots. Another popular current light entertainment / presenting comedy act
4176-568: Is Ant & Dec , who are a very basic yet effective example of a double act. In early 2012, comedians Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele appeared in a sketch comedy TV show titled Key & Peele airing on Comedy Central . Many modern-day YouTube channels follow this format. Some examples include Smosh , Dan and Phil , the Game Grumps , and Rhett and Link of the YouTube channel Good Mythical Morning , In its British form,
4292-539: Is close to Argyle Street and is where his parents were married. He was fond of Beer's treacle toffee from Gillam's general store on Market Street. Laurel remembered the treat in later life, writing to family in England in January 1950: I used to go shopping on Market Street with Grandma Metcalfe -- that was a big treat for me. Beers Treacle toffee, it sure was good! Laurel, who had a lifelong love of fishing, used to take
4408-407: Is not always humorless, nor is it always the comic who provides the act's humor. Sometimes the straight man gets laughs through sarcastic reactions to the comic's antics, such as Stewart Lee 's deadpan , reasoned reactions to Richard Herring 's ridiculous antics in their pairing . When the straight man serves no specific comic purpose, but acts as a device to make the comic look good, he is known as
4524-416: Is witnessed by her jealous boyfriend, who meets the thief. The men plot their revenge on the young man. At the lady's house, the young man is introduced to the boyfriend and the thief, in disguise as a Swiss count. The boyfriend proposes marriage and is rejected, while the thief attempts to shoot the young man, but the gun misfires. The boyfriend chases the lady around the house while the thief tries to attack
4640-592: The Crazy Horse in Paris . Noted by film producer Angelo Rizzoli , they renamed themselves Ric e Gian in 1962 and made their film debut in Ischia operazione amore (1966). Starting from the late 1960s, the couple gained popularity thanks to their participation in several prime time RAI variety shows. In the mid-1970s they focused on theatre, and between late 1970s and early 1980s their popularity revamped thanks to
4756-625: The Lake District with his cousins, grandparents and sometimes his parents. They visited his aunt and uncle John and Nant Shaw when they ran grocery shops, first at Flookburgh , and later Sawrey . Another favourite place to visit was the lake at Windermere . Laurel had his first taste of the theatre in Ulverston. The Hippodrome theatre, known as Spencer's Gaff, was just across the road from his home, in Lightburn Park. The theatre
The Lucky Dog - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-472: The Three Stooges , but Laurel declined. He reportedly said he did not want to be seen on screen in his old age, especially without Hardy. It appears, however, his involvement reached the stage of filming a background matching shot of his old time convertible, with a stand-in seated at the wheel, donning a derby hat. The cameo appearance was then given to Jack Benny , who wore Laurel's signature derby in
4988-731: The television age with Martin and Lewis , Kenan & Kel , Bob and Ray , the Smothers Brothers , Wayne and Shuster , Allen and Rossi , Jack Burns and Avery Schreiber , Rowan and Martin , Mike Nichols and Elaine May , the Wayans Brothers , Stewie Griffin and Brian Griffin from Family Guy and Shawn and Gus in Psych . The series I Love Lucy was known for its double acts, and Lucille Ball served as foil to both her husband Desi Arnaz and to Vivian Vance . Vance could also serve as foil to William Frawley when
5104-525: The 1980 buddy movie of the same name. Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor also embarked on a string of successful buddy films in the 1970s. Cheech & Chong also gained massive popularity during this time. Occasionally, the straight-man/funny-man dynamic appeared in unexpected contexts between characters not normally thought of as comics. This often appeared in the James T. Kirk ( William Shatner )/ Mr. Spock ( Leonard Nimoy ) relationship in several episodes of
5220-471: The 2018 film Stan & Ollie , Steve Coogan portrayed Laurel (a performance which saw him nominated for the BAFTA for Best Actor in a Leading Role ) and John C. Reilly played Hardy. Developed by BBC Films , the film is set in the twilight of their careers, and focuses on their farewell tour of Britain and Ireland's variety halls in 1953. In 2019 Laurel was voted the greatest ever British comedian by
5336-561: The Italian priest Don Camillo and Gino Cervi as Giuseppe 'Peppone' Bottazzi, the Communist Mayor of their rural town. The titles are: The Little World of Don Camillo (1952), The Return of Don Camillo (1953), Don Camillo's Last Round (1955), Don Camillo: Monsignor (1961), and Don Camillo in Moscow (1965). The movies were a huge commercial success in their native countries. In 1952, Little World of Don Camillo became
5452-731: The North Shields Fish Quay were said to have inspired the piano-moving scene in The Music Box . In a 2005 UK poll, Comedians' Comedian , Laurel and Hardy were ranked top double act and seventh overall. Along with Hardy, Laurel was inducted into the Grand Order of Water Rats . Neil Brand wrote a radio play entitled Stan , broadcast in 2004 on BBC Radio 4 and subsequently on BBC Radio 4 Extra , starring Tom Courtenay as Stan Laurel, in which Stan visits Oliver Hardy after Hardy has had his stroke and tries to say
5568-529: The Stan Jefferson Trio. Amongst other performers, Laurel worked briefly alongside Oliver Hardy in the silent film short The Lucky Dog (1921), before the two were a team. It was around this time that Laurel met actress Mae Dahlberg . Around the same time, he adopted the stage name of Laurel at Dahlberg's suggestion that his stage name Stan Jefferson was unlucky, due to it having thirteen letters. The pair were performing together when Laurel
5684-525: The US, was put up for auction by Desmond's grandson, Geoffrey Nolan, in 2018. Laurel joined Fred Karno 's troupe of actors in 1910 with the stage name of "Stan Jefferson"; the troupe also included a young Charlie Chaplin . The music hall nurtured him, and he acted as Chaplin's understudy for some time. Karno was a pioneer of slapstick , and in his biography Laurel stated, "Fred Karno didn't teach Charlie [Chaplin] and me all we know about comedy. He just taught us most of it". Chaplin and Laurel arrived in
5800-730: The United States on the same ship from Britain with the Karno troupe and toured the country. During the First World War , Laurel registered for military service in America on 5 June 1917, as required under the Selective Service Act . He was not called up; his registration card states his status as resident alien and his deafness as exemptions. The Karno troupe broke up in the spring of 1914. Stan joined with two other former Karno performers, Edgar Hurley and his wife Ethel (known as "Wren") to form "The Three Comiques". On
5916-642: The advice of booking agent Gordon Bostock, they called themselves "the Keystone Trio". Stan started to do his character as an imitation of Charlie Chaplin, and the Hurleys began to do their parts as silent comedians Chester Conklin and Mabel Normand . They played successfully from February through October 1915, until the Hurleys and Stan parted ways. Between 1916 and 1918, he teamed up with Alice Cooke and Baldwin Cooke , who became his lifelong friends, to form
SECTION 50
#17327824166996032-515: The audience became famous—Laurel's cry and Hardy's downtrodden glances to the camera whenever something went wrong—and were carried over to their later talkies . They were one of the few silent acts who made a successful transition to spoken word pictures in the 1930s, showing themselves to be equally adept at verbal wordplay. In 1940 was the release of Laurel and Hardy's Saps at Sea , their final film for long-term producer and collaborator Hal Roach . Later their popularity declined. In 1940s America
6148-530: The bemused young man who had thought that he was broke. The young man and the dog escape and the dog befriends a poodle. The poodle’s lady owner persuades the young man to enter his dog into the local dog show . When his entry is refused for not being a thoroughbred, the young man sneaks into the show but is quickly ejected, followed by all of the dogs in the show. The young man spots the poodle’s owner outside looking for her dog and offers his dog in its place. She accepts and offers to take him to her home. This scene
6264-468: The biggest ever British comedy gig at Wembley Arena . With this came tension. Newman and Baddiel fell out with Punt and Dennis, not wishing to share screen time with them, and then with each other. David Baddiel went on to form another successful double act with Frank Skinner . The 1990s also saw the introduction of one of comedy's strangest yet most successful double acts in Reeves and Mortimer . They at
6380-675: The collaboration of Enzo Jannacci ), and they had several commercial hits; their most successful song is "E la vita la vita", which reached the first place at the Italian charts in 1974. Ric e Gian met in an avanspettacolo at the Teatro Maffei in Turin, where Ric worked as a dancer and Gian was the sidekick of the actor Mario Ferrero. They then decided to performing together as Jerry e Fabio and worked in various theaters, nights and cabarets in Northern Italy as well as at
6496-472: The comic relief in the lavish all-colour (in Technicolor ) musical feature The Rogue Song . Their first starring feature Pardon Us was released in 1931. They continued to make both features and shorts until 1935, including their 1932 three-reeler The Music Box , which won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject . During the 1930s, Laurel was involved in a dispute with Hal Roach which resulted in
6612-439: The continent. During this tour, Laurel fell ill and was unable to perform for several weeks. In May 1954, Hardy had a heart attack and cancelled the tour. In 1955, they were planning to do a television series called Laurel and Hardy's Fabulous Fables based on children's stories. The plans were delayed after Laurel had a stroke on 25 April 1955, from which he recovered. But as the team was planning to get back to work, Hardy had
6728-426: The couple split in order to pursue solo projects. Ficarra e Picone started in 1993 along with Salvatore Borrello as a comedy trio, performing together on stage as "Chiamata Urbana Urgente". In 1998, the two remaining members began to use their surnames: Ficarra & Picone. In 2000, Ficarra e Picone made their film debut with Ask Me If I'm Happy by Aldo, Giovanni & Giacomo , and two years later they made
6844-551: The cult success of The Mighty Boosh . For the relationship between the two main characters this series uses a formula very similar to that between Sid and Tony in Hancock's Half Hour – that of an arrogant character whose best friend can see his faults and keeps him grounded. A similar dynamic is used in Peep Show in which the characters of Mitchell and Webb were adapted for the sitcom formula. In this case both characters have
6960-576: The double act remained a cinema draw, developing into the "buddy movie " genre, with Abbott and Costello making the transition from stage to screen and the first of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby 's Road to... series in 1940. Further acts followed. For example, the first pairing of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis occurred in 1946. About the same time The Bickersons became popular on radio. Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner started their 2000 Year Old Man recordings and subsequent television appearances in 1961. The genre has continued to exist in cinema while making
7076-603: The double act, with Tamil cinema comedians Goundamani and Senthil teaming up for several films throughout the decade, similarly Kota Srinivasa Rao and Babu Mohan in Telugu cinema . The British duo Mitchell and Webb are another successful double act from the 2000s onwards, having multiple sketch shows on both radio and TV as well as starring in the award-winning sitcom Peep Show . For over 20 years, Australians Hamish Blake and Andy Lee have worked together as Hamish & Andy , having multiple successful TV shows and
SECTION 60
#17327824166997192-525: The double although it is more formulaic. Here there is a distinguished straight man ( tsukkomi ) and funny man ( boke ) and the humor consists of quick slapstick jokes, comical stories and social misunderstandings. In Germany Tünnes and Schäl (since 1803/1850s), two Cologne puppet theater characters, fit to the concept of fool and straight man. During WWII Tran and Helle appeared in a number of short films to deter Germans from actions detrimental to Germany's war effort or security. Between 1950 and 1980,
7308-417: The film Appuntamento a Ischia . They remained active until 1984 when their last film together, Kaos , was shot, although there were some interruptions in 1973 and from 1975 to 1980. Together, they appeared in 112 films. They acted in films certainly made in a short time and with few means, such as those shot with director Marcello Ciorciolini , sometimes even making a dozen films in a year, often without
7424-552: The film short The Lucky Dog in 1921, although they did not become an official team until late 1927. He then appeared exclusively with Hardy until retiring after his comedy partner's death in 1957. In April 1961, at the 33rd Academy Awards , Laurel was given an Academy Honorary Award for his pioneering work in comedy, and he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard. Laurel and Hardy were ranked top among best double acts and seventh overall in
7540-471: The first film as main actors, Nati stanchi . On 25 April 2005, Ficarra and Picone were the TV anchor-men four episodes of Striscia la notizia to which they collaborated from 27 March 2006 up to 5 December 2020. In 2007 they debuted as directors alongside Gianbattista Avellino with the film Il 7 e l'8 , for which they were nominated to David di Donatello for Best New Director and to Silver Ribbon in
7656-400: The first reel when Laurel is robbed by Hardy. A hapless hero who is evicted for not paying his rent is befriended by a stray dog. The man encounters a thief in the process of robbing someone. The thief, who has accidentally placed his victim’s money into the young man's back pocket, turns from his first victim to rob the young man. The thief then steals the money that he had already stolen from
7772-416: The first time on TV in A modo mio , directed by Memo Remigi . In the 1980s, the couple starred and co-starred in several comedy films which were usually badly received by critics but of commercial success. The same period, their presence on the small screen also became more intense, especially on Fininvest variety shows and television films. In the 1990s, having reached a more than respectable success,
7888-471: The gag-man/straight-man concept, "Stoner" duos like Cheech & Chong , Jay & Silent Bob , and Harold & Kumar have also proven quite popular with audiences. The double act format can also be used in presenting noncomedic information in an entertaining manner, such as Savage / Hyneman pair of the Discovery Channel's MythBusters (which Savage stated was unintentional when they began
8004-487: The grain as turned their double act into a complex analysis of their relationship. In many of the sketches (especially the Pete and Dud exchanges) Cook played the domineering know-it-all (who knows nothing) and Moore the put-upon dimwit (who also knows nothing). This dominance was accentuated by the difference in height between the two, and the speed of Cook's mind, which meant that he could ad lib and force Moore to corpse in
8120-483: The highest-grossing film in both Italy and France, while The Return of Don Camillo was the second most popular film of 1953 at the Italian and French box office. Franco and Ciccio were a comedy duo formed by Italian actors Franco Franchi (1928–1992) and Ciccio Ingrassia (1922–2003), particularly popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Their collaboration began in 1954 in the theater field, and ended with Franchi's death in 1992. The two made their cinema debuts in 1960 with
8236-515: The late 1970s, it was Cook whose career stalled due to boredom, alcoholism and lack of ambition, while Moore went on to become one of Hollywood's most unlikely leading men. The double act has become a popular theme in British sitcoms . One of the earliest examples of this was the relationship between Tony Hancock and Sid James in the Galton and Simpson series Hancock's Half Hour . James played
8352-434: The late 19th century. Here, the straight man was needed to repeat the lines of the comic because audiences were noisy. A dynamic soon developed in which the straight man was a more integral part of the act, setting up jokes for the comic to deliver a punch line. Popular draws included acts like George Burns and Gracie Allen (who initially operated with Burns as the comic but quickly switched roles when Gracie's greater appeal
8468-399: The mid- to late-1960s. When Morecambe and Wise teamed up with writer Eddie Braben , they began to redefine what was meant by a double act, with Wise, the straight man, being developed into a comic character in his own right. They provided the link between music hall and modern comedy for double acts. As the two leading double acts of the day, Morecambe and Wise and the Winters brothers enjoyed
8584-665: The more gentle humour of Morecambe and Wise and The Two Ronnies. In fact, Smith and Jones showed blatant disregard for their predecessors, openly mocking the Two Ronnies (this may have been a factor in Ronnie Barker 's decision to retire from comedy in the late 1980s ). The early 1990s saw comedy become "the new rock and roll" in Britain and this was inherent in the work of Newman and Baddiel and Punt and Dennis on The Mary Whitehouse Experience . Newman and Baddiel, in particular, symbolized this rock and roll attitude by playing
8700-706: The most popular double act of the 1970s was the Italian duo Terence Hill and Bud Spencer . The team had already made three straight westerns together during the 1960s but turned their act towards slapstick in their fourth ( They Call Me Trinity , 1970), with massive success. Light entertainment in Britain in the 1970s was dominated by Morecambe and Wise, who enjoyed impressive ratings, especially on their Christmas specials. Although Mike and Bernie Winters's popularity declined, The Two Ronnies' success grew while Peter Cook and Dudley Moore sporadically produced acclaimed work, in particular, their controversial recordings as Derek and Clive from 1976 to 1978. The mid-to-late 1970s saw
8816-402: The most popular in the world. Humor is often derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin, and profession but drastically different in terms of personality or behavior; each one serves as a foil to the other. One member of the duo—the " straight man ", "feed", "dead wood", or stooge—is often portrayed as reasonable and serious, while
8932-429: The original Star Trek series. Morecambe and Wise had dominated British light entertainment throughout the 1970s, but their presence waned in the early 1980s. When Morecambe died moments after finishing a solo show in 1984 (his last words were 'I'm glad that's over'), the best-loved double act in British comedy came to an end, and several new acts emerged. The two distinct groups could not have been more different. In
9048-405: The other one—the funny man, "banana man", or comic—is portrayed as funny, less educated or less intelligent, silly, or unorthodox. When the audience identifies primarily with one character, the other is often referred to as a comic foil. The term "feed" comes from the way a straight man sets up jokes and then "feeds" them to his partner. Despite the names often given to the roles, the straight man
9164-429: The role of "comic" and "straight man" in a less obvious, largely interchangeable way or are dispensed with altogether. More obvious British examples of the comic-feed dynamic are Cannon and Ball , Little and Large or the children's entertainers The Chuckle Brothers , where the straight man acted largely as a humourless set up for the comic. Peter Cook and Dudley Moore were perhaps the first double act to go against
9280-500: The same category. Also in 2007 they were featured as comic characters in the story Zio Paperone e il rapimento teatrale (trad. Uncle Scrooge and the Theatrical Kidnapping ), published in the issue 2678 of Topolino . In China , xiangsheng (also known as crosstalk) is a traditional comedic performance usually in the form of a dialogue between two performers. In Japan the manzai tradition parallels that of
9396-446: The same decade introduced to the world the inimitable team of Laurel and Hardy . The pair had never worked together on stage (they did as of 1940), though both had worked in vaudeville— Stan Laurel with Charlie Chaplin as part of Fred Karno 's Army and Oliver Hardy as a singer. Laurel could loosely be described as the comic, though the pair were one of the first not to fit the mold in the way that many double acts do, with both taking
9512-414: The same time deconstructed light entertainment and paid homage to many of the classic double acts (Vic Reeves would even do an Eric Morecambe impression on Vic Reeves Big Night Out ). They simultaneously used very bizarre, idiosyncratic humour and traditional double act staples (in later years they became increasingly reliant on violent slapstick). Another double act that emerged in the mid to late 1990s
9628-437: The scene. Laurel and Mae Dahlberg never married but lived together as common-law husband and wife from 1919 to 1925, before Dahlberg accepted a one-way ticket from Joe Rock to go back to her native Australia. In November 1937, Dahlberg was back in the US and sued Laurel for financial support. At the time, Laurel's second marriage was in the process of a divorce, with Dahlberg's legal suit adding to Laurel's woes. The matter
9744-457: The screen in several short films, including Duck Soup , Slipping Wives and With Love and Hisses . The two became friends and their comic chemistry soon became obvious. Roach Studios' supervising director Leo McCarey noticed the audience reaction to them and began teaming them, leading to the creation of the Laurel and Hardy series later that year. Together, the two men began producing
9860-417: The second time in early 1946. On 6 May 1946, he married Ida Kitaeva Raphael to whom he remained married until his death. In January 1965, he underwent a series of X-rays for an infection on the roof of his mouth. He died on 23 February 1965, aged 74, in his apartment, four days following a heart attack. Minutes before his death, he told his nurse that he would not mind going skiing, and she replied that she
9976-765: The series but naturally grew into a double act as the result of their own conflicting personalities). From 2006 to 2010, Apple used the double-act formula successfully in its popular series of I'm a Mac/And I'm a PC ads with John Hodgman and Justin Long . In Italy the tradition was more popular in the late part of the 20th century with Battaglia & Miseferi , Cochi e Renato , Ficarra e Picone , Fichi d'India , Gigi e Andrea , Katia & Valeria , Lillo & Greg , Pio e Amedeo , and Ric e Gian . Cochi e Renato were childhood friends, and they grew accustomed to perform together in front of an audience of friends and relatives. Their professional debut took place in 1965 in
10092-655: The situation required. Vance and Ball would again serve as a double act in their next series The Lucy Show . More recently, the model has been largely supplanted by that of the " buddy movie " genre, which has introduced several notable comedy partnerships not formally billed as a single "act" in the traditional manner. The earliest example of such a team may have been Bob Hope and Bing Crosby ; later examples include Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor , Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise , Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi , Corey Haim and Corey Feldman , David Spade and Chris Farley and child stars Drake Bell and Josh Peck . Based on
10208-592: The small cabaret club Cab 64 in Milan , where they performed along with Lino Toffolo and Bruno Lauzi . They were also joined by Enzo Jannacci and Felice Andreasi with whom they formed the comedy ensemble Motore, who had a good success in Milan. The couple became first known in the late 1960s thanks to the RAI innovative variety shows Quelli della domenica (1968) and È domenica, ma senza impegno (1969). Characterized by
10324-525: The stage, television and film. The format is particularly popular in the UK where successful acts have included Peter Cook and Dudley Moore (Cook's deadpan delivery contrasted with Moore's buffoonery), Flanagan and Allen , Morecambe and Wise and The Two Ronnies . The tradition is also present in the US with acts like Wheeler and Woolsey , Abbott and Costello , Gallagher and Shean , Burns and Allen , and Lyons and Yosco . The British-American comedy double act Laurel and Hardy has been described as
10440-544: The staging, writing, or editing of the productions. When the films proved very successful, Laurel and Hardy were granted more freedom and gradually added more of their own material. They had made six Fox features when the studio suddenly abandoned B-picture production in December 1944. The team signed another contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1942, resulting in two more features. Revisiting his music hall days, Laurel returned to England in 1947 when he and Hardy went on
10556-518: The subject of study. The huge success with the public is evidenced by the box office earnings, which in the 1960s, represented 10% of the annual earnings in Italy. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the traditional formula was shunned by The Two Ronnies , who completely dispensed with the need for a straight man, and Peter Cook and Dudley Moore , two Oxbridge -educated comedians who used the double act to deliver satire and edgy comedy. Internationally
10672-402: The termination of his contract. Roach maintained separate contracts for Laurel and Hardy that expired at different times, so Hardy remained at the studio and was "teamed" with Harry Langdon for the 1939 film Zenobia . The studio discussed a series of films co-starring Hardy with Patsy Kelly to be called "The Hardy Family". But Laurel sued Roach over the contract dispute. Eventually, the case
10788-540: The things to his dying friend and partner that have been left unsaid. In 2006, BBC Four showed a drama called Stan , based on Brand's radio play, in which Laurel meets Hardy on his deathbed and reminisces about their career. A plaque on the Bull Inn, Bottesford, Leicestershire , England, marks Laurel and Hardy appearing in Nottingham over Easter 1952 and Christmas 1953, and staying with Laurel's sister, Olga, who
10904-708: The time. Later, Laurel spent much time living with his maternal grandmother, Sarah Metcalfe in North Shields . He attended school at King James I Grammar School in Bishop Auckland , County Durham , and the King's School in Tynemouth , Northumberland . He moved with his parents to Glasgow , Scotland, where he completed his education at Stonelaw Public School . His father managed Glasgow's Metropole Theatre , where Laurel first worked. His boyhood hero
11020-463: The town of Harlem, and the other is a private museum owned and operated by Gary Russeth, a Harlem resident. Jefferson Drive in Ulverston is named after Laurel. In 2013 Gail Louw and Jeffrey Holland debuted a short one-man play "...And this is my friend Mr Laurel" at the Camden Fringe festival. The play, starring Holland as Laurel, was taken on tour of the UK in 2014 until June 2015. In
11136-500: The transition to movies and disappeared. By the 1920s, double acts were beginning to attract worldwide fame more readily through the silent era . The comedy was not derived from "cross-talk" or clever verbal exchanges, but through slapstick routines and the actions of the characters. The first double act to gain worldwide fame through film was the Danish duo Ole & Axel , who made their first film together in 1921. The latter half of
11252-629: The two actors would usually be composed of a "straight man" or "feed" and a "comic", the purpose of the feed is to set up jokes for the comic. This would rely heavily on comic timing. Morecambe and Wise are arguably the quintessential British double act. They followed the traditional formula with Eric Morecambe as the comic and Ernie Wise as the feed. Other British acts such as The Two Ronnies , Hale and Pace , Vic and Bob , French and Saunders , Mitchell and Webb , Fry and Laurie , Ant & Dec , Punt and Dennis , Lee and Herring , Armstrong and Miller , Peacock and Gamble and Dick and Dom display
11368-454: The wake of Not the Nine O'Clock News , The Young Ones and the breakthrough onto television of " alternative comedy " came French and Saunders ; Fry and Laurie ; Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson ; Hale and Pace ; and Smith and Jones . These edgier comics were brasher and crude—comedy's answer to punk rock . They developed the satire and vulgarity of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore rather than
11484-493: The working class everyman Dave Lister to the middle class but socially-awkward Arnold Rimmer . However, the most prominent double act is that of an intelligent person and his inferior sidekick, such as Basil and Manuel of Fawlty Towers , Blackadder and Baldrick of Blackadder , or Ted and Father Dougal of the Irish sitcom Father Ted . In recent years, double acts as sitcoms appear to have gone full circle, as illustrated by
11600-447: The young man with a stick of dynamite. The dog picks up the dynamite as if it were a stick, chasing the thief and the boyfriend into the garden. When beckoned, the dog drops the dynamite and returns to Laurel and the girl, leaving the two men to be victims of the exploding dynamite. The precise date on which the film was shot is unknown. It had long been believed that the film was produced in 1917, partially because of comments by Laurel in
11716-691: Was Dan Leno , considered one of the greatest English music hall comedians. With a natural affinity for the theatre, Laurel gave his first professional performance on stage at the Panopticon in Glasgow at the age of sixteen, where he polished his skills at pantomime and music hall sketches. It was the music hall from where he drew his standard comic devices, including his bowler hat and nonsensical understatement. In 1912 Laurel worked together with Ted Desmond on tour in Netherlands and Belgium as
11832-485: Was Lee & Herring , who combined a classic clash of personalities (downbeat and rational Lee contrasting with energetic, childish Herring) with very ironic, often satirical humour. Also appearing in the latter half of the decade were Adam and Joe , whose low-budget, self-produced Channel 4 series The Adam and Joe Show was a very sharp combination of TV and movie parodies and satirical looks at various elements of youth culture. Indian cinema also had its share of
11948-518: Was born two months premature in May 1930, but died after nine days. Laurel and Neilson divorced in December 1934. Their daughter Lois died on ( 2017-07-27 ) 27 July 2017 aged 89. In 1935, Laurel married Virginia Ruth Rogers (known as Ruth). In 1937, he filed for divorce, confessing that he was not over his ex-wife Lois, but Lois decided against a reconciliation. On New Year's Day 1938, Laurel married Vera Ivanova Shuvalova (known as Illeana); Ruth accused him of bigamy, but their divorce had been finalised
12064-429: Was dropped and Laurel returned to Roach. The first film that Laurel and Hardy made after Laurel returned was A Chump at Oxford . Subsequently, they made Saps at Sea , which was their last film for Roach. In 1941, Laurel and Hardy signed a contract at 20th Century-Fox to make ten films over five years. Laurel found, to his shock, that he and Hardy were hired only as actors, and were not expected to contribute to
12180-456: Was estimated at approximately $ 3,000. Stan Laurel Stan Laurel ( / ˈ l ɒr ə l / , LORR -əl ; born Arthur Stanley Jefferson ; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, director and writer who was one half of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy . He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 short films, feature films and cameo roles. Laurel began his career in music hall , where he developed
12296-564: Was given for a public appearance. In 1961, Stan Laurel was given an Academy Honorary Award "for his creative pioneering in the field of cinema comedy". Laurel was introduced by Bob Hope, and the award was accepted by Danny Kaye . Laurel had achieved his lifelong dream as a comedian and had been involved in nearly 190 films. He lived his final years in a small flat in the Oceana Apartments in Santa Monica, California . Laurel
12412-412: Was gracious to fans and spent much time answering fan mail. His phone number was also listed in the telephone directory and he would take calls from fans. Jerry Lewis was among the comedians to visit Laurel, and Lewis received suggestions from him for the production of The Bellboy (1960). Lewis paid tribute to Laurel by naming his main character Stanley in the film, and having Bill Richmond play
12528-403: Was impressed by a miniature lighthouse memorial built in memory of Dr Thomas Watkins Wilson. The lighthouse memorial, which is still there today, had a light at the top that was once lit 24 hours a day. The lighthouse memorial was designated as a Grade II listed building in 1996. In 1932, Laurel was being interviewed by a Daily Herald reporter and as they looked up at his name in lights above
12644-505: Was like a giant tent, made from wood with a canvas roof. Laurel's parents both trod the boards here and his father A. J. developed some of the plays he would later become known for here. The Hippodrome burnt down in 1910, the year Laurel sailed for America with the Fred Karno troupe. Laurel visited Ulverston with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy on Tuesday 27 May 1947 at the invitation of the town's urban council. The comedians were given
12760-586: Was not aware that he was a skier. "I'm not," said Laurel, "I'd rather be doing that than getting all these needles stuck in me!" A few minutes later he died quietly in his armchair. At his funeral service at Church of the Hills, Buster Keaton said, " Chaplin wasn't the funniest. I wasn't the funniest; this man was the funniest." Dick Van Dyke gave the eulogy as a friend, protégé and occasional impressionist of Laurel during his later years; he read The Clown's Prayer . Laurel had quipped, "If anyone at my funeral has
12876-705: Was not to appear in any of the films. Rock thought that her temperament was hindering Laurel's career. In 1925, she started interfering with Laurel's work, so Rock offered her a cash settlement and a one-way ticket back to her native Australia , which she accepted. The 12 two-reel comedies were Mandarin Mix-Up (1924), Detained (1924), Monsieur Don't Care (1924), West of Hot Dog (1924), Somewhere in Wrong (1925), Twins (1925), Pie-Eyed (1925), The Snow Hawk (1925), Navy Blue Days (1925), The Sleuth (1925), Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde (1925) and Half
12992-484: Was offered $ 75 a week to star in two-reel comedies. After making his first film Nuts in May , Universal offered him a contract. The contract was soon cancelled during a reorganisation at the studio. Among the films in which Dahlberg and Laurel appeared together was the 1922 parody Mud and Sand . By 1924, Laurel had given up the stage for full-time film work, under contract with Joe Rock for 12 two-reel comedies. The contract had one unusual stipulation: that Dahlberg
13108-470: Was one of five children. One of them was Edward, an actor who appeared in four of Stan's shorts. His parents were very active in the theatre, frequently travelling around the country. Consequently, Laurel, who was too young to travel, lived in Ulverston with his grandparents, George and Sarah Metcalfe, for the first seven years of his life. He became very familiar with Ulverston. He attended services with his religious grandparents at Holy Trinity Church, which
13224-435: Was recognized), Abbott and Costello, Flanagan and Allen , Gallagher and Shean , Smith and Dale , and Lyons and Yosco . The dynamic evolved, with Abbott and Costello using a modern and recognizable formula in routines such as Who's on First? in the 1930s and Flanagan and Allen using "cross talking". Though vaudeville lasted into the 1930s, its popularity waned because of the rise of motion pictures . Some failed to survive
13340-468: Was settled out of court. Dahlberg was described as a "relief project worker" by the court. Laurel was one of several popular British actors in Hollywood who never became a naturalised US citizen. Laurel had four wives and married one of them a second time after their divorce. His first wife was Lois Neilson , whom he married on 13 August 1926. Together they had a daughter, Lois, who was born on ( 1927-12-10 ) 10 December 1927. Their second child, Stanley,
13456-564: Was the landlady of the pub. In 2008, a statue of Stan Laurel was unveiled in Bishop Auckland , County Durham , on the site of the Eden Theatre. In April 2009, a bronze statue of Laurel and Hardy was unveiled in Ulverston. There is a Laurel and Hardy Museum in Stan's hometown of Ulverston. There are two Laurel and Hardy museums in Hardy's hometown of Harlem , Georgia . One is operated by
#698301