Laurel and Hardy Fun Facts

NOTE FROM THE WEBMASTERS: The Fun Facts Page was one of the original elements of Laurel and Hardy Central, created way back in 1998. Over the years, other people have taken these twenty fun facts and have used them on their own pages, often without crediting Laurel and Hardy Central. While the facts in question are public record, the wording of the facts are copyrighted and cannot be copied and pasted into other pages without our permission. Please email us for further clarification. - The Webmasters of Laurel and Hardy Central.

Stan's favorite pastime was fishing, especially salmon fishing in northern California. He would often have his day's catch cleaned and canned at a local cannery for ease in transporting it home. As his daughter Lois put it, "He loved it when the fish would put up a bit of a fight with him."	Babe was an avid sports fan. He played football in his younger years for the Lubin company's team in Jacksonville, and played baseball for 20th Century Fox's team in the 1940's. He attended baseball and football games whenever he could, and his favorite team was the old Brooklyn Dodgers.
In addition to fishing, Stan's other interests included raising ducks and hydroponic gardening (a process in which plants are grown in chemical solutions rather than soil). He once successfully cross-bred a potato and an onion, but couldn't get anyone to sample the results.	Babe's favorite pastime was golf. It has been said that the annual Roach Studios golf tournament was an unnecessary event, as the winner was a foregone conclusion. Among Babe's frequent golfing partners were Bing Crosby, W.C. Fields, Babe Ruth and Chico Marx. He learned the game from comic Larry Semon.
Stan's father, A.J. Jefferson, had written the music-hall sketch upon which the film Another Fine Mess was based. The title of this film, incidentally, is a misquote of Hardy's signature line, "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten us into."	Babe also loved horse racing. He owned a stable of race horses for a time, a venture in which he lost a great deal of money.
Stan was married four times. His marriage to actress Lois Neilson (1926 - 1934) produced a daughter, Lois Jr., in 1927. Stan's first wife was also his agent who handled all of his business dealings with Roach. Stan made two attempts at marriage with his next wife, Ruth Rogers, from 1934 to 1936, and again, briefly, in 1941. His marriage to Illiana Shuvalova, a Russian opera singer, was by far the stormiest of his relationships, and was to last from 1938 to 1939. He found happiness with his marriage to Ida Raphael in 1947, a union which lasted until Stan's death in 1965.	Babe was married three times. Madelyn Saloshin was a pianist he met during his Jacksonville days; they were married from 1913 until 1920. His second marriage to Myrtle Lee Reeves (1921 - 1937), was emotionally trying for Babe, due to Myrtle's battle with the bottle and his many attempts at reconciliation. His marriage to Lucille Jones, a script girl he had met during the filming of The Flying Deuces, proved happy and enduring. It lasted from 1940 until Babe's death in 1957.

Laurel and Hardy performed in several USO shows for servicemen during World War II. On the road, their roommate was often Groucho Marx.

Babe played the Tin Man in a 1925 silent version of The Wizard of Oz. His frequent on-screen partner, Larry Semon, played the scarecrow.

The flight of steps seen in the films Hats Off and The Music Box is located between 923 and 937 Vendome Street in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles. To this day, fans trek to the site to climb its 131 steps.	Most fans know that the team's 1932 short The Music Box was honored with an Academy Award for "Best Short Subject." What some don't know is that 1935's Tit for Tat also received a nomination in the same category. It lost to Robert Benchley's How to Sleep
Stan's daughter, Lois, was slated to play the role of the orphan girl in Pack Up Your Troubles. By the time of filming, it was determined that Lois looked too old for the role, and it went to Jacquie Lyn. After a brief stint in films as a child actress in the 1930's, Jacquie Lyn's whereabouts remained a mystery for many years. She resurfaced in 1992 after hearing of Lois Laurel Hawes' desire to re-unite with her. Ironically, it turned out that they lived only 12 miles from one another.	"Name" actors who appeared in Laurel and Hardy films: Jean Harlow, Robert Mitchum, Alan Hale Sr., Sidney Toler, Peter Cushing, Elisha Cook, Jr., Vivian Blaine, Margaret Dumont and Jean Parker.
Charles Gemora was a diminutive actor, known throughout Hollywood in the 30's for his ability to essay roles with a decided simian bent. He played apes in both The Chimp and Swiss Miss, as well as the Marx Brothers' At the Circus.	Jerry Lewis once offered Stan $100,000 to write for him on a part-time basis. Stan declined the offer.
Speaking of monkeys, it is a monkey who plays the role of Mickey Mouse in Babes in Toyland -- one of the few times you're likely to see an appearance by a Disney character in a non-Disney film. Walt Disney himself was a Laurel and Hardy fan, as well as a close friend to Hal Roach. The animated likenesses of Stan and Ollie appeared a few times in Disney cartoons.	Stan was instrumental in the career of the young Marcel Marceau. After seeing Marceau perform in Paris in 1950, Stan's praised him as an unsung genius and helped Marceau gain attention in the French press.
Many writers, artists and filmmakers have bestowed words of praise upon Laurel and Hardy through the years, but Blake Edwards and Kurt Vonnegut went one better. Edwards, known for his PINK PANTHER films, dedicated his 1965 THE GREAT RACE to "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy", while Vonnegut dedicated his novel SLAPSTICK to "Arthur Stanley Jefferson and Norvell Hardy, those two angels of my time."	The original preview prints of The Bohemian Girl featured Thelma Todd in the prominent role of the Gypsy Queen. After Thelma's mysterious death in December, 1935, her scenes were scrapped and new footage was shot. Her character was virtually eliminated, and most of her lines and business were given to Mae Busch.

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