A ROYAL FATHER'S DAY, 2024

Yes! I spent Father's Day in a lavish way, like true royalty! 

And today is Stan Laurel's birthday too, so double the fun and celebration!

CHRISTMAS WISHES FROM LAUREL & HARDY

Happy Fourth of July!

Stan Laurel - Born on this day, 133 years ago.

OLIVER HARDY'S BIRTHDAY

IN MEMORIAM : My Friend Marshall.

 Very sad to hear the news about Marshall Korby, former Grand Sheik of the Detroit Dancing Cuckoos Tent of the Laurel & Hardy International Organization, The Sons of the Desert; who passed away at 79 on November 1st.

                 

                   I subscribed to his Laurel & Hardy Catalogue and bought many items from him.

 

We met at the Sons of the Desert 1978 Convention in Chicago and became good friends. We kept in touch for many years after that and I last saw him in Florida where we had dinner and exchanged our life stories up to that point. He presented me with a booklet he compiled himself of all my Laurel & Hardy artwork as a gift.

 

Here are some of the vignettes featured in the booklet:

Rest in Peace, my Friend!

COMEDIANS OF THE WORLD.

Somewhere in the Mexican town of San Miguel Allende you could find this painting, which was donated by Mario Moreno Foundation to the National Association of Actors in 1993. The painting by Antonio Navarrete was created many years before and it features Buster Keaton playing the harp, Red Skelton, guitar, Danny Kaye, violin, Bob Hope, guitar, Charles Chaplin, conductor, Cantinflas, guitar, Fernandel, trumpet, Luis Sandrini, french horn and Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy at the vibraphone.

Try to Google it and you'll find zilch!

THE SONS OF THE DESERT 22nd INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION!

The 22nd International Convention of the Sons of the Desert is being held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from August 17th to the 22nd, hosted by the Albuquerque Busy Bodies Tent, Oasis 29.

All participating delegates are already having the time of their lives at the Hotel Albuquerque and most of their wives think they are in Honolulu. That's a darb!

Hosted by the Albuquerque Busy Bodies - Oasis 29

Some personal affairs precluded me from attending the festivities this year but I am crossing my fingers hoping I will be able to partake of the forthcoming event a couple of years from now, wherever and whenever it may be held. (As long as I don't have to take the Oath from our Exhausted Ruler).

This was the logo of the now defunct BULLFIGHTERS TENT of MEXICO CITY.

"Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!"

 

Of course, that was one of Oliver Hardy's most familiar catchphrases along with "Why don't you do something to help me?" and "Hard boiled eggs and nuts! Hmmh!"  Unforgettable words, always directed at his slow-witted partner Stan Laurel in their many short films from the 1930s. Unlike most comedy double acts who consisted of a funny guy paired with a straight man, Laurel and Hardy were a comedy team formed by two equally funny comedians, each one in his own particular style which complemented and counterbalanced the other.  Considered by many film scholars as being the greatest comedy team ever, Laurel & Hardy have always remained a very important and recurring part of my life. Every mistake, downfall, calamity, disaster, stupid move, wrong turn or spill I've experienced in my daily existence, always remind me of something that happened to The Boys. And then I realize I am not alone, for Laurel & Hardy were echoing all humanity with its many shortcomings and foibles. Therefore, I will always remain grateful that Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy existed and even though they are gone now, their influence still remains with me and those like me who remember them fondly.

'Twas Ever Thus!

I was 6 years old when Ollie passed away and I vaguely remember my grandfather making some comments about it. I guess I was much too young to be really impressed mainly because most of the comedians I watched on TV from the silent era and early talkies had almost all died by then, a fact my parents were quick to provide whenever they saw me watching those films.

“Hey, ma! Look at this funny guy here! Who’s he?”

“Oh, he’s Harry Langdon. He’s dead now!”