54 Facts About Stan Laurel

Stan Laurel was an English comic actor, director and writer who was in the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy.

Stan Laurel appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 short films, feature films and cameo roles.

Stan Laurel was a member of "Fred Karno's London Comedians", where he was Charlie Chaplin's understudy.

Stan Laurel appeared with his comic partner Oliver Hardy in the film short The Lucky Dog in 1921, although they did not become an official team until late 1927.

Stan Laurel then appeared exclusively with Hardy until retiring after his comedy partner's death in 1957.

In 2019, Stan Laurel topped a list of the greatest British comedians compiled by a panel on the television channel Gold.

Stan Laurel's parents were very active in the theatre, frequently travelling around the country.

Consequently, Stan Laurel, who was too young to travel, lived in Ulverston with his grandparents, George and Sarah Metcalfe, for the first seven years of his life.

Stan Laurel attended services with his religious grandparents at Holy Trinity Church, which is close to Argyle Street and is where his parents were married.

Stan Laurel was fond of Beer's treacle toffee from Gillam's general store on Market Street.

Stan Laurel remembered the treat in later life, writing to family in England in January 1950:.

Stan Laurel, who had a lifelong love of fishing, used to take a rod to Ulverston's canal, learning from his uncle John Shaw.

In 1932, Stan Laurel was being interviewed by a Daily Herald reporter and as they looked up at his name in lights above a theatre in London's Leicester Square, he said:.

Stan Laurel went on frequent excursions from Ulverston railway station into the Lake District with his cousins, grandparents and sometimes his parents.

Stan Laurel had his first taste of the theatre in Ulverston.

The Hippodrome burnt down in 1910, the year Stan Laurel sailed for America with the Fred Karno troupe.

Stan Laurel visited Ulverston with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy on Tuesday 27 May 1947 at the invitation of the town's urban council.

The comedians were given a civic reception at the Coronation Hall and Stan Laurel was presented with a copy of his birth certificate on the hall's balcony, watched on by hundreds of fans.

Later, Stan Laurel spent much time living with his maternal grandmother, Sarah Metcalfe in North Shields.

Stan Laurel moved with his parents to Glasgow, Scotland, where he completed his education at Stonelaw Public School.

Stan Laurel's father managed Glasgow's Metropole Theatre, where Laurel first worked.

Chaplin and Stan Laurel arrived in the United States on the same ship from Britain with the Karno troupe and toured the country.

Stan Laurel was not called up; his registration card states his status as resident alien and his deafness as exemptions.

Stan Laurel joined with two other former Karno performers, Edgar Hurley and his wife Ethel to form "The Three Comiques".

Stan Laurel started to do his character as an imitation of Charlie Chaplin, and the Hurleys began to do their parts as silent comedians Chester Conklin and Mabel Normand.

Amongst other performers, Stan Laurel worked briefly alongside Oliver Hardy in the silent film short The Lucky Dog, before the two were a team.

Around the same time, he adopted the stage name of Laurel at Dahlberg's suggestion that his stage name Stan Jefferson was unlucky, due to it having thirteen letters.

Stan Laurel was credited for directing or co-directing ten silent shorts, but appeared in none of these.

Stan Laurel next signed with the Hal Roach studio, where he began directing films, including a 1925 production called Yes, Yes, Nanette.

The first film that Stan Laurel and Hardy made after Stan Laurel returned was A Chump at Oxford.

Stan Laurel found, to his shock, that he and Hardy were hired only as actors, and were not expected to contribute to the staging, writing, or editing of the productions.

Revisiting his music hall days, Stan Laurel returned to England in 1947 when he and Hardy went on a six-week tour of the United Kingdom performing in variety shows.

Around this time, Stan Laurel found out that he had diabetes, so he encouraged Hardy to find solo projects, which he did, taking parts in John Wayne and Bing Crosby films.

The plans were delayed after Stan Laurel had a stroke on 25 April 1955, from which he recovered.

When Oliver Hardy died on 7 August 1957, Stan Laurel was devastated and never fully recovered from the loss.

Stan Laurel was in fact too ill to attend Hardy's funeral and said, "Babe would understand".

In 1961, Stan Laurel was given an Academy Honorary Award "for his creative pioneering in the field of cinema comedy".

Stan Laurel was introduced by Bob Hope, and the award was accepted by Danny Kaye.

Stan Laurel had achieved his lifelong dream as a comedian and had been involved in nearly 190 films.

Stan Laurel lived his final years in a small flat in the Oceana Apartments in Santa Monica, California.

Stan Laurel was gracious to fans and spent much time answering fan mail.

Lewis paid tribute to Laurel by naming his main character Stanley in the film, and having Bill Richmond play a version of Laurel as well.

Stan Laurel reportedly said he did not want to be seen on screen in his old age, especially without Hardy.

Stan Laurel was one of several popular British actors in Hollywood who never became a naturalised US citizen.

Stan Laurel had four wives and married one of them a second time after their divorce.

In 1935, Stan Laurel married Virginia Ruth Rogers.

On New Year's Day 1938, Stan Laurel married Vera Ivanova Shuvalova ; Ruth accused him of bigamy, but their divorce had been finalised a couple of days before his new marriage.

In 1941, Stan Laurel remarried Virginia Ruth Rogers; they were divorced for the second time in early 1946.

Stan Laurel died on 23 February 1965, aged 74, in his apartment, four days following a heart attack.

In 1989, a statue of Stan Laurel was erected in Dockwray Square, North Shields, Tyne and Wear, England, where he lived at No 8 from 1897 to 1902.

In 2006, BBC Four showed a drama called Stan, based on Brand's radio play, in which Laurel meets Hardy on his deathbed and reminisces about their career.

In 2008, a statue of Stan Laurel was unveiled in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, on the site of the Eden Theatre.

The play, starring Holland as Stan Laurel, was taken on tour of the UK in 2014 until June 2015.

In 2019 Stan Laurel was voted the greatest ever British comedian by a panel on the British television channel Gold.