Stan Laurel

Stan Laurel (June 16, 1890 – February 23, 1965), born Arthur Stanley Jefferson, was a comedian and member of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy.

Fox Studios

In 1939, Laurel and Hardy signed a contract at 20th Century Fox to make one motion picture and nine more over the following five months. During the war years their work became more standardised and less successful. Stan discovered he had diabetes, so he encouraged Oliver Hardy to make two movies without him. In 1950, they were asked to make a film in France. The film, Utopia, was a disaster. The script needed a lot of fixing and they both got seriously ill during the filming. When they came home, they spent most of their time recovering. In 1952, they did another tour of Europe. This tour was very successful. They again toured Europe in 1953. Stan fell ill and was unable to perform for several weeks. In May 1954, Oliver Hardy had a heart attack that made them call off the tour. In 1955, they were planning to do a television series, The Fable of Laurel and Hardy, based on children's stories. However, the plans were delayed because Stan had a stroke. He recovered and just when he was planning to get back to work, Oliver Hardy had a serious stroke. He was paralyzed and stayed in bed for several months. On August 17, 1957, Oliver Hardy died. Due to his own poor health, Stan could not attend Oliver Hardy’s funeral. His explanation was simply, "Babe would understand," referring to Hardy. After that, Stan realized he would never act again, but he did gags and sketches for fellow comedians. People who knew Laurel said he was absolutely devastated by Hardy's death and never fully recovered for the rest of his life.

Related Topics:
1939 - Laurel and Hardy - 20th Century Fox - Diabetes - 1950 - France - 1952 - Europe - 1953 - May - 1954 - 1955 - August 17 - 1957

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