HARLEY M. WALKER b. 1884 (?); d. June 22, 1937      H.M. "Beanie" Walker was the man responsible for the witty title cards on virtually every Laurel and Hardy short until 1932. A former sports writer who joined Roach in 1916, Walker continued to write title cards even after he was promoted to head of the Roach editorial department. Worked for Universal and Paramount upon leaving Roach in 1932.

HARRY LANGDON
b. June 15, 1884; d. December 22, 1944

     As a young man, Langdon worked in such varied trades as circus performer, prop boy, cartoonist, barber, and patent medicine salesman before joining Mack Sennett's studio in 1923. Working with directors Frank Capra and Harry Edwards, Langdon eventually earned a reputation as one of the Big Four among American silent screen comics, along with Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd. The three features he made for Warner Brothers in 1926 - TRAMP, TRAMP, TRAMP, THE STRONG MAN and LONG PANTS -- represented the peak of his career.

     After that, he suffered a rapid decline in popularity. Rumored to be as innocent and childlike offscreen as he was on, he sealed his own fate when he demanded a degree of artistic control over his productions of which he was not capable. He found some steady work in the late 30's as a gag writer and contributed to the scripts of four Laurel and Hardy films. He also appeared opposite Babe Hardy in the 1939 feature ZENOBIA.

     Stevens signed with Roach in 1924 as and assistant cameraman, and was Laurel and Hardy's principal cameraman from 1927 to 1931. Stevens later went on to become one of Hollywood's most reknown directors, responsible for such enduring classics as ALICE ADAMS, SWING TIME, GUNGA DIN, PENNY SERENADE, WOMAN OF THE YEAR, I REMEMBER MAMA, A PLACE IN THE SUN, SHANE, GIANT, and THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK. Known as a meticulous perfectionist who would spend years on pre- and post-production of his films, his work was as successful with the general public as it was respected by critics.

ART LLOYD
b. October, 1896; d. November 25, 1954

     Stan Laurel's favorite cameraman began his career as an assistant photographer at the age of 13. Worked for Paramount before joining Roach in 1923. He specialized in getting "the look" that Laurel desired for his films: evenly lit and deeply focused. He instructed soldiers in the art of motion picture photography during World War II, and may or may not have been the victim of radiation poisoning as he photographed the atomic bomb explosion at the Bikini Atoll.

RUDOLPH MATÉ
b. January 21, 1898; d. October 27, 1964

     Highly respected Hungarian-born cinematographer who was brought in to the production of OUR RELATIONS by director Harry Lachman. Maté was also technical advisor for Laurel and Hardy's THE FLYING DEUCES. Other films that benefited from his cinematography were the Jack Benny classic TO BE OR NOT TO BE and the beloved Lou Gehrig bio-pic PRIDE OF THE YANKEES. His most notable films as a director were WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE and the dark thriller D.O.A.,

     The importance of editing in films, particulary comedy films, cannot be overemphasized. It is often the editor who is chiefly responsible not only for determining which shots may be used, but also for the tempo of the film itself. While Stan Laurel may have been the de facto director/editor of the L&H films, it is Jordan who did the actual work and often made his own decisions independant of Stan (who trusted him implicitly). Jordan, however, usually did not receive credit on the films; this distinction often going to Richard Currier who served as head of the editing department at Roach until 1932. Currier went on to work for Paramount and Monogram during the 30's and 40's, while Jordan remained with Roach throughout the 1950's and later worked on many Desilu-produced TV shows.

     Stan always said that in his films, he wanted fast, lively music everywhere. As a house composer at Hal Roach Studios, Leroy Shield fulfilled that request, not only for Laurel and Hardy, but for Charley Chase, Our Gang and the other Roach series. He came to Hal Roach Studio at the beginning of the sound era and worked on and off for Roach until 1936. Shield's music became ubiquitous in Roach films in the 1930s, and his "Greatest Hits" would include "On To The Show" (opening theme for Busy Bodies and other shorts), "Rocking Chair" (a slow theme often used to punctuate Stan Laurel closeups) and "Good Old Days", the Our Gang theme.  He also composed a full score for OUR RELATIONS (much of it unused in the film) and was the musical director for FRA DIAVOLO.

MARVIN HATLEY
b. April 3, 1905;  d. August 23, 1986

    Best known as the man who wrote "Ku-Ku", the Laurel and Hardy theme song, Thomas Marvin Hatley was the official Music Director at Roach, a master musician and a composer of background music and novelty songs. He wrote the immortal "Honolulu Baby" for SONS OF THE DESERT, "Won't You Be My Lovey-Dovey?" for WAY OUT WEST (as well as the rest of that film's score) and composed the background scores for many of Roach's feature films, including BLOCK-HEADS, A CHUMP AT OXFORD, THERE GOES MY HEART, GENERAL SPANKY and TOPPER.

     For more information on Shield and Hatley, see "Steppin' Along With a Song" in the ESSAYS Dept.