Oliver Hardy

Oliver Norvell Hardy (January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American film actor. With Stan Laurel, he formed half of perhaps the most famous comedy partnership in film history, Laurel and Hardy.

Related Topics:
January 18 - 1892 - August 7 - 1957 - Stan Laurel - Laurel and Hardy

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Hardy was born Norvell Hardy in Harlem, Georgia. In his first film, Outwitting Dad (1914), Hardy chose to be billed as O. N. Hardy, taking his father's first name as his own. From that time, he referred to himself as "Oliver Norvell Hardy," and eventually became most commonly known as simply Oliver Hardy, despite the fact that he never legally added "Oliver" to his name.

Related Topics:
Harlem, Georgia - Outwitting Dad

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He was nicknamed 'Babe;' according to Hardy himself, from asking a barber for a shave as a child and the barber slapping a little powder on his face and saying, "That's it, Babe, you're clean." His widow is credited in saying in a 1980s interview included in the television broadcast Laurel and Hardy, Together Again, Hardy picked up his nickname from an Italian barber patting him on the cheek and saying "That's nice-a-bab-y!" The name stuck. Hardy was even billed as Babe Hardy in early films. So well known was Hardy by this nickname, that in some of the duo's first silent films, Laurel can be seen mouthing the word "Babe" when calling out to Hardy.

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For details of Hardy's career see the Laurel and Hardy article.

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