Laurel & Hardy - Shine On Harvest Moon - Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia

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Last edited Wed Mar 2, 2022, 01:43 PM - Edit history (2)

- Laurel and Hardy (Ollie & Stan) performed the song and dance routine (Hardy singing & both dancing) to the song in their 1939 film 'Flying Deuces.' "Shine on, Harvest Moon" is a popular early-1900s song credited to the married vaudeville team Nora Bayes & Jack Norworth. It was one of a series of Moon-related Tin Pan Alley songs of the era.

- Laurel & Hardy Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Movie, Laurel and Hardy: Way Out West.



-* STAN LAUREL (June 16, 1890 – Feb. 23, 1965) born in Lancashire, England, into a theatrical family. His father, Arthur Joseph Jefferson, was a theatre entrepreneur & owner in no. England & Scotland who, with his wife, was a major force in the industry. In 1905, the family moved to Glasgow & Laurel made his stage debut in a Glasgow hall one month short of his 16th birthday. Arthur Jefferson secured Laurel his first acting job with the juvenile theatrical company of Levy & Cardwell. In 1909, Laurel was employed by Britain's leading comedy impresario Fred Karno as a supporting actor, & as an understudy for Charlie Chaplin. Laurel said of Karno, "There was no one like him. He had no equal. His name was box-office." In 1912, Laurel left England with the Fred Karno Troupe to tour the US. Laurel had expected the tour to be merely a pleasant interval before returning to London; however, he decided to remain in the U.S.

In 1925, Laurel joined the Hal Roach film studio as a director & writer. From May 1925- Sept. 1926, he received credit in at least 22 films. Laurel appeared in over 50 films for various producers before teaming up with Hardy. Prior to that, he experienced only modest success. It was difficult for producers, writers, & directors to write for his character, with American audiences knowing him either as a "nutty burglar" or as a Charlie Chaplin imitator.
-* OLIVER HARDY (Jan. 18, 1892 – Aug. 7, 1957) was born Norvell Hardy in Harlem, Georgia. By his late teens, Hardy was a popular stage singer & he operated a movie house in Milledgeville, Ga., financed in part by his mother. For his stage name he took his father's 1st name, calling himself "Oliver Norvell Hardy"- offscreen his nicknames were "Ollie" & "Babe". The nickname "Babe" originated from an Italian barber near Lubin Studios in Jacksonville, Fla., who would rub Hardy's face with talcum powder & say "That's nice-a baby!" Other actors in the Lubin co. mimicked this, & Hardy was billed as "Babe Hardy" in his early films.



Seeing film comedies inspired Hardy to take up comedy himself &, in 1913, he began working with Lubin Motion Pictures in Jacksonville. He started by helping around the studio with lights, props, & other duties, gradually learning the craft as a script-clerk for the co. It was around this time that Hardy married his 1st wife, Madelyn Saloshin. In 1914, Hardy was billed as "Babe Hardy" in his 1st film, Outwitting Dad. Between 1914- 1916 Hardy made 177 shorts as Babe. Exhibiting a versatility in playing heroes, villains & even female characters, Hardy was in demand for roles as a supporting actor, comic villain or 2nd banana. For 10 years he memorably assisted star comic & Charlie Chaplin imitator Billy West, & appeared in the comedies of Jimmy Aubrey, Larry Semon, & Charley Chase. Hardy starred or co-starred in more than 250 silent shorts, of which roughly 150 have been lost. He was rejected for enlistment by the Army during World War I due to his large size. In 1917, after the collapse of the Fla. film industry, Hardy & his wife Madelyn moved to California to seek new opportunities.

- History as LAUREL & HARDY - HAL ROACH recounted how Laurel & Hardy became a team. Their comedy was highly visual, with slapstick used for emphasis. They often had physical arguments (in character) which were quite complex & involved a cartoonish style of violence. Their ineptitude & misfortune precluded them from making any real progress, even in the simplest endeavors. Stan Laurel was of average height & weight but appeared comparatively small & slight next to Oliver Hardy, who was 6 ft 1 in & weighed about 280 lbs in his prime. Details of their hair & clothing were used to enhance this natural contrast. Laurel kept his hair short on the sides & back, growing it long on top to create a natural "fright wig". Typically, at times of shock, he simultaneously screwed up his face to appear as if crying while pulling up his hair. In contrast, Hardy's thinning hair was pasted on his forehead in spit curls & he sported a toothbrush moustache. To achieve a flat-footed walk, Laurel removed the heels from his shoes. Both wore bowler hats. - More (Ed.), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_and_Hardy