Volume 28, Number 7
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Volume 28, Number 7 Contents:
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This is an old issue of the Brushwood Gulch Gazette, which has been archived for reference purposes. Although some links have been updated, the text of this archived newsletter remains unchanged. Please keep in mind that these articles have NOT been updated to reflect changes that may have occurred since they were originally printed. Return to the index of archived issues. |
Wow, that was quick! 1995 is coming to an end and 1996 is just around the corner. The Way Out West Tent will be wrapping up its 1995 edition on Tuesday evening, December 5, 1995, at the Mayflower Club, located at 11110 Victory Boulevard (west of Vineland Avenue), in North Hollywood. The doors will open at 6:30 PM, and the meeting will begin at 7:30 PM. As always, the Famous Fabulous Fisher Franks and the Marvelous Mayflower Bar will be ready to fill you with holiday delights.
This meetings' theme will be "Silent Night." We will be showing five silent films of the boys and one Charley Chase. The films will be accompanied by Dean Mora. You will remember Dean from "The Laurel and Hardy Night" last June at the Los Angeles Theaters' screening of the Sons of the Desert. Dean led his own orchestra, Mora's Modern Rhythmists. In addition to performing concerts with his orchestra, Dean can be heard (and seen) regularly at the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles, accompanying many of the all-time great classic silent films. If you haven't heard Dean, you are truly in for a treat and if you have heard him, you know the evening will be lots of fun. So come on by the Mayflower Club on Tuesday evening, December 5, 1995, and enjoy "Silent Night."
We at the Way Out West tent would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Eugene "Pineapple" Jackson (Our Gang) and his lovely bride Sue, a very happy Golden Wedding Anniversary on December 14, 1995. It is truly a tribute to both Eugene and Sue to be able to celebrate fifty years of marriage. We wish them and their family a very special day, and may the years ahead bring them as much, if not more, happiness and good health. Congratulation Eugene and Sue!
Over the years the Way Out West Tent membership has been very generous with its support to the Maud Booth Family Center by donating canned goods at our December meetings. Once again this year, we are asking for your help with a donation of canned goods to help out those who are less fortunate than we are. If a cash donation is more convenient for you instead of canned goods, that's okay too! Your help will be very much appreciated.
The meeting of August 29, 1995, led off with the singing of the "Sons of the Desert" song and the toasts to the boys and company. Our film program for the evening began with Charley Chase in A Hasty Marriage, followed by the boys in Be Big, Berth Marks, and County Hospital. Our feature for the evening, The Bullfighters, was viewed by 20th Century Fox costumer, Jay Dare, who joined us for the evening. After having worked on that picture with the boys, Jay said, "This is the first time I've seen this film in 50 years!" Also, the Way Out West Tent wants to extend a Laurel and Hardy welcome to our new auxiliary members, Prince David Adewale Ademola and Princess Ayebimpe Adeyemo Ademola. They are from Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria. We are very honored to have them as members of our tent.
On Saturday evening, October 28, 1995, the Way Out West Tent held its' annual banquet in the Blossom Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The evening began with the singing of the "Sons of the Desert" song, accompanied by none other than Laurel and Hardy themselves, thanks to the magic of the film clip from the movie. Next, toasts and video salutes to the boys, Fin, Charlie, Mae and Al Kilgore. Followed by remembrances of T. Marvin Hatley, Hal Roach, and the late Dorothy Granger and Grady Sutton. After dining on a complete Chicken Picata dinner, the evening's program began. Celebrities joining us for the evening were Lassie Lou and Peggy Ahern (Our Gang), Billy Benedict (Great Guns), Frank "Junior" Coghlan (Our Gang), Jay Dare (L&H costumer), Dorothy "Echo" Deborba (Our Gang), Edith Fellows (Our Gang), Eugene "Pineapple" Jackson (Our Gang), Dick Jones (Our Gang), Eleanor (Mrs. Buster) Keaton, Leonard Landy (Our Gang), Trudy Marshall (The Dancing Masters), Jerry Maren (Our Gang), Bob Overbeck (Hal Roach special effects), Betty (Mrs. Alf Goulding) Goulding Saunders, and Delmar Watson (Our Gang).
A very special moment took place when the Way Out West tent honored two film legends with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Our honorees were Anita Page, one of the all time beauties of the silent screen, who worked with such greats as Buster Keaton, and appeared in The Hollywood Revue of 1929, with a cast that included Laurel and Hardy, and Ellen Corby, best known as Grandma Esther Walton, who began her career as a script girl at the Hal Roach Studios, working on such films as Swiss Miss, with the boys. After video tributes to both ladies, highlighting their careers in motion pictures and television, they were greeted with standing ovations by everyone in attendance. It was a very touching and memorable honor for these two gracious ladies.
Next up, the tent awards were handed out. This year's "Good Egg" Award went to Gloria Brigante who is one of the co-creators of our tent's new banner. The "Why Don't You Do Something to Help Me?" Award went to Janet Duff for her help with typing up all of the celebrity introductions at this year's and the last couple of year's banquets, and also the Laurel and Hardy Tour directions. The "Honolulu Baby" Award went to Betty Goulding Saunders for her kindness and goodwill to out tent. The "Furthest Traveled" Award was a toss up among six gentlemen from England. We last saw them in the hotel lobby trying to settle the matter. Afterwards, the regular raffle and super raffle were handed out. The evening wrapped up with a screening of The Live Ghost, this year's banquet theme.
The morning after the banquet, two buses filled with Laurel and Hardy fans took off from the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to see some of the places the boys had been. In Hollywood, the Hotel Knickerbocker and Palace Theater brought back memories of the boys' appearance on "This Is Your Life." After a trip to "The Music Box" stairs it was off to Culver City to see the first "Big Business" house, "Hog Wild" and "Perfect Day" homes and a Main Street walking tour for the "Putting Pants on Philip," "Leave "Em Laughing," "Liberty," "We Faw Down," "Bacon Grabbers," and "Hats Off" locations. Then on to Cheviot Hills for the "Big Business" Fin home, "Bacon Grabbers" home, "The Finishing Touch" hospital, homes of Stan Laurel, and L&H title writer H.M. Walker. After driving by 20th Century Fox (the boys movie home from 1941 to 1945), and a quick lunch break, we went to Beverly Hills to see the "Busy Bodies" street and the homes of Stan, Ollie, Lupe Velez (Hollywood Party), Jackie Cooper (Our Gang), Ben Turpin (Our Wife), Walter Woolf King (Swiss Miss), and the "Pack Up Your Troubles" park. Then it was on to the final resting places of Stan, Ollie, and T. Marvin Hatley. The day concluded as we headed back to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to end our "Perfect Day."
New videos of Laurel and Hardy in Spanish have been recently released. Politiquerias (Chickens Come Home for $19.95), La Vida Nocturna (Blotto for $16.45), Noche de Duendes (Laurel-Hardy Murder Case for $19.95), and Los Calaveras (Be Big for $12.95) are available for purchase. The voices of the boys are actually their own, they are not dubbed in. The Spanish versions of these films run longer (in time) than the American versions. To order these videos call Mundial Video at 818-557-8639 or write to Mundial Video, 1118 West Magnolia Boulevard #229, Burbank, California, 91506. If you mention that you are a member of the Sons of the Desert, you can get the set of all four videos for $54.00.
All year long, and especially at banquet time, so many people give a lot of hours of their own time to keep our tent going strong. Your hard work has not gone unnoticed and I appreciate all that you have done. To Bob Satterfield&emdash;without you we would not have had the chance to meet all of the celebrities we have enjoyed so much, and see the many locations where Laurel and Hardy history was made; to Lori Jones McCaffery, for holding us all together since day one, booking banquets, tours, meetings, check-in's at the meetings, and zillions of other duties that would fill another newsletter; to Jimmy and Kris Wiley, for typing up the newsletters we send out and for being there for us whenever we need you; to Bill Patterson, our Founding Grand Sheik who "got us into this nice mess;" to Al and Sharon Fisher, whose Famous Fabulous Fisher Franks get more famous and more fabulous each year; to Scott James and Mike Rogers, who keep the films rolling flawlessly at our meetings; to Jayne Barnhart&emdash;what a scrapbook!&emdash;so many memories and news items at our fingertips thanks to you; to Dorothy Barnhart and Neal Pinyan&emdash;your help at the banquet and throughout the year is greatly appreciated; to Gloria Brigante and Debbie Pekit&emdash;the banner is wonderful and we are proud to show it off; to Jimmy Wiley III&emdash;you are a genius on that computer-the newsletter shows that and your ability at the video controls at our banquets is magic; to Colin McCaffery&emdash;your photography makes it possible for us to relive many Way Out West moments again and again; to Alan Barasorda&emdash;you were a big help at the banquet this year when we needed it most; and last, but not least, to my wife, Janet, for saying "I do" not only to me, but to Stan and Ollie as well, your love and support of the boys, the tent and me means more than anything I can ever put into words. To all of you a very happy, healthy and safe 1996!
Rosina Lawrence McCabe is recovering from recent surgery. If you wish to send her a get well card, her address is 967 74th Street, Brooklyn, New York 11228. We at the Way Out West Tent wish Rosina a speedy recovery. We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers.
Putting Pants on Philip
Released December 3, 1927. Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver
Hardy, Dorothy Coburn, Harvey Clarke, and Sam Lufkin. A young Scot
named Philip (Stan) has arrived in America. His Uncle Piedmont
Mumblethunder (Ollie) has the misfortune of meeting him at the dock
and watching over him. Philip's weakness for chasing women and
refusal to trade his kilts for pants is enough to drive Uncle
Piedmont to frustration.
Do Detectives Think?
Released November 20, 1927. Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver
Hardy, James Finlayson, and Noah Young. Detectives Ferdinand
Finkleberry (Stan) and Sherlock Pinkham (Ollie) are hired by Judge
Foozle (Fin) to protect him from the recently escaped Tipton Slasher,
who has vowed revenge on the judge for sentencing him to death. The
killer, pretending to be the judge's new butler, tries to do the
judge in. Somehow Ferdinand and Sherlock keep the killer in check.
The Finishing Touch
Released February 25, 1928. Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver
Hardy, Edgar Kennedy, Dorothy Coburn, and Sam Lufkin. $500 is all the
incentive the boys need to finish building a house by noon next
Monday. Only four things stand in their way: the nurse at the
hospital next door, Kennedy the cop, and Stan and Ollie themselves.
Big Business
Released April 20, 1929. Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy,
James Finlayson, and Tiny Sanford. Christmas tree salesmen Stan and
Ollie are not too successful in their early attempts to make a sale.
Their last attempt starts out as a simple rejection and winds up as
an all out battle.
Liberty
Released January 26, 1929. Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver
Hardy, James Finlayson, Jean Harlow, and Jack Hill. Two escaped
convicts, Stan and Ollie, dump their prison clothes for street
clothes. Realizing they have each other's pants, a change must be
made. By the time they find a private place to change, they are on
top of an unfinished skyscraper. Now all they need to do is get down.
Jean Harlow makes one of her early film appearances in this short.
Movie Night
Released May 11, 1929. Starring Charley Chase, Edith Fellows,
Spec O'Donnell, and Tiny Sanford. Charley's daughter has the hiccups
and can't get rid of them. When they get to the movie theater,
Charley and his daughter both wind up with the hiccups, to the
displeasure of the surrounding viewers. The post-movie drawing finds
Charley with the winning ticket, but his prize causes chaos in the
theater. This was Charley Chase's final silent short.
80 years ago
70 years ago
65 years ago
60 years ago
55 years ago
Sources for Looking Back are:
Laurel and Hardy-The Magic Behind the Movies by Randy Skretvedt
The Little Rascals-The Life and Times of Our Gang by Leonard Maltin
and Richard W. Bann
The Laurel and Hardy Book edited by Leonard Maltin
The Charley Chase Filmography, by Joe Moore, Robert Farr, Richard
Roberts and Steve Rydzewski
November 1 Jerry Tucker Our Gang 1 Felix Knight March of the Wooden Soldiers 2 Walter Woolf King Swiss Miss 2 Dennis King Fra Diavolo 4 Darla Hood Our Gang 6 June Marlowe Our Gang, Pardon Us 7 Joe Cobb Our Gang 9 Gertrude Astor Come Clean 14 John McCabe "Exhausted Ruler" 19 Roy Seawright L & H Optical Effects Specialist 21 Vivian Blaine Jitterbugs 21 Dorothy Granger Hog Wild, Laurel-Hardy Murder Case 23 Boris Karloff Pardon Us (French version) December 3 Ferdinand Munier Babes in Toyland (Santa Claus) 5 Walt Disney Hollywood Party 5 Gordon Douglas Zenobia (Director) 8 Norma Drew Churchill Chickens Come Home 11 Marie Windsor The Fighting Kentuckian 18 Leonard Maltin L&H/Our Gang Author 19 Al Kilgore S.O.D. Co-founder 20 Sunshine Sammy Morrison Our Gang 25 Eugene "Pineapple" Jackson Our Gang 25 Joe Rock Stan Laurel Comedies (Producer) 29 George Marshall Pack Up Your Troubles (Director, Actor) 30 Rosina Lawrence McCabe Way Out West
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