Rowby's Blog Stan Laurel
For those too young to know, Stan Laurel was the “dumb” half of what I consider the greatest comedy team of all times, Laurel & Hardy. They were extremely popular in the 1920’s through 1940’s. Their best comedies were made long before I was born, however their movies were shown over and over on television. As a young child I would roll on the floor in laughter watching their movies.
When I was about 16 I decided I would try to meet Stan Laurel. I contacted the Screen Actor’s Guild and they put me in touch with his agent, who somehow got in touch with Stan. Then one day I received a postcard from Stan welcoming me to visit him. I made my first visit with my school friend, Ellen Banks. Stan lived in a nice apartment in Santa Monica on Ocean Avenue. When I visited him he was much older than the movies that I enjoyed. However his famous smile remained the same. He was very gracious talking with his young fan. He patiently and friendly answered all of my questions. Among the items I remember about his apartment was his little typewriter, his Oscar, a movie projector that was given to him for his appearance on “This Is Your Life”. I also think he had some Laurel and Hardy string puppets, but my memory may be incorrect there.
I had one more visit with Stan. It was about 1964. Again he welcomed me into his apartment. I had a feeling his wife was there, but in another room, patently waiting for my visit to be over. He seemed to be happy and content and once again answered all of my many questions. I remember either at that visit or my previous visit he showed me that he was still writing “skits” for him and Ollie, who passed away several years before.
Then in 1965 Stan Laurel died. I went to his funeral in Burbank. The funeral was at Forest Lawn in Burbank, at a newly built chapel. There was a large crowd and newsreel cameras. Many celebrities were present, including the very popular Dick Van Dyke, as well as comedy great Buster Keaton. Inside the chapel, during the ceremonies, they played the Laurel & Hardy theme song. I have some mementos of the event, which I will sometime post on the site.
Laurel and Hardy are my favorites. And I feel privileged to have met Stan Laurel, one of my comedy heroes.
