Brushwood Gultch Gazette

April/May 1996
Volume 29, Number 3

Contents:

Next Meeting
Last Meeting
Did You Know?

Film Program
Looking Back
Birthdays for March


NOTE:

This is an old issue of the Brushwood Gulch Gazette, which has been archived for reference purposes.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.


Next Meeting

By now you should have found all of your Easter eggs and wrapped them up to give out as gifts at Christmas. With that behind you, you'll have plenty of time to stop by the Mayflower Club on Tuesday evening, April 23, 1996. The doors open at 6:30 PM and the meeting will begin at 7:30 PM. The Famous Fabulous Fisher Franks will be ready to find a home in your tummies and the Marvelous Mayflower Bar will be happy to keep your "franks" company. Candy will be on hand to sweeten up your evening. So, we'll see you Tuesday evening, April 23, 1996.

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Last Meeting

Right after the singing of the Sons of the Desert song and the toast to the boys and company, the meeting of March 5, 1996 began. Featured as our special guest for the evening, Randy Skretvedt, who is the author of Laurel and Hardy-The Magic Behind the Movies, made a very informative presentation tracing the lives of Stan and Ollie. While we viewed some very rare slides of the boys, we learned about their early days before their historic teaming, the years at the Hal Roach Studios, 20th Century Fox, and their final appearance on Ralph Edwards' "This is Your Life" television program. We at the Way Out West Tent want to thank Randy for another wonderful evening of the "Magic Behind the Movies." Also joining us were Jay Dare, the boys costumer on The Dancing Masters and The Bullfighters, and Way Our West Tent Grand Sheik emeritus, Bob Satterfield, who left some of us "screaming" with laughter. The film program began with the boys in Hog Wild, followed by a birthday salute to Walter Long in Any Old Port, and wrapped up with Their First Mistake.

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Did You Know?

She was born on May 28, 1893, in Baltimore, Maryland. The daughter of a physician, her acting career began in local dramatics and then she was off with a local touring company at the age of eighteen. Her performances as a leading lady in a Cleveland stock company led to leads and supporting roles in New York Broadway productions. She made her film debut in 1929's The Great Power. Her other film credits include The Thin Man, The Merry Widow, the 1940 version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Best Years of Our Lives, and her final film, Here Comes the Groom. She was known as Nancy Garter and Winifred Lee. She died in Santa Monica, California, just short of her 80th birthday on April 14, 1973. Laurel and Hardy fans remember her best as Mrs. Hardy in Block-Heads...Minna Gombell.

Sources for Did You Know?
Hollywood Character Actors by James Robert Parish
The Film Encyclopedia by Ephraim Katz

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Film Program for April 23, 1996

Come Clean
Released September 19, 1931. Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Mae Busch, Gertude Astor, Linda Loredo, and Charlie Hall. The Laurels make an unwelcomed visit to the Hardy household. Leaving the wives at home, the boys go out to get Stan some ice cream. On the way home, they rescue a lunatic who was trying to drown herself. She threatens to frame the boys if they don't take care of her. Obviously, the boys have their hands full trying to keep this from the wives.

On the Loose
Released December 26, 1931. Starring Thelma Todd, ZaSu Pitts, Claud Allister, John Loder, Billy Gilbert, Charlie Hall, and a cameo appearance of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Thelma and ZaSu are upset because Coney Island seems to be the only place their dates ever take them. When the girls meet a couple of British gentlemen, they are excited until they also take them to Coney Island. Glad to be home and relaxing, the girls find Stan and Ollie at their door inviting them to Coney Island. In turn the boys get an unwelcome response.

Dirty Work
Released November 25, 1933. Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Lucien Littlefield, Sam Adams, and Jiggs the Chimp. Professor Noodle's chimney sweeps, Laurel and Hardy, are more successful at demolishing the professor's chimney and the inside of his home than they are at sweeping his chimney. The professor, having found success in his rejuvenation experiment, goes looking for his butler for the ultimate test. Stan accidentally forces Ollie into the experiment and makes a monkey out of him.

The Tree in a Test Tube
Released 1943. Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, and narrator Pete Smith. A documentary about products made from wood. The boys begin the film with a short comedy routine showing products made from wood. The color film was reportedly shot at 20th Century Fox on the boys' lunch hour during their filming of Jitterbugs.

Way Out West
Released April 16, 1937. Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Rosina Lawrence, Sharon Lynne, Stanley Fields, and Vivian Oakland. Posing as Mary Roberts, Finn's girlfriend, Lola Marcel, is the recipient of a valuable deed delivered by the boys. Having never seen Mary, the boys don't realize their mistake until they meet the real Mary. Eventually, the boys successfully retrieve the deed and rescue Mary from the clutches of Finn. As a result of claims by other studios, the titles You'd be Surprised, Tonight's the Night, and In the Money had to be dropped as Way Out West finally won out.

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Looking Back

80 years ago:

75 years ago

70 years ago

65 years ago

60 years ago

50 years ago

Sources for Looking Back:
Laurel and Hardy-The Magic Behind the Movies, by Randy Skretvedt
The Laurel and Hardy Book, edited by Leonard Maltin
The Little Rascals-The Life and Times of Our Gang, by Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann
The Harley Chase Filmography, by Joe Moore, Robert Farr, Richard Roberts and Steve Rydzewski

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Birthdays

April
   3   T. Marvin Hatley      Composer L & H Theme
   5   Grady Sutton          Pack Up Your Troubles
   7   Anthony Caruso        Jitterbugs
   9   Sharon Lynne          Way Out West
  13   Jay Dare              20th Fox Costumer
  16   Billy Benedict        Great Guns
  16   Charlie Chaplin       Fred Karno Troup
  20   Harold Lloyd
  23   Lucille Hardy Price
  26   Edgar Kennedy         Perfect Day, Night Owls
  28   Sidney Toler          Our Relations
 
May
   3   Myra Schatz           Mrs. Jerry Tucker
   4   Edgar Dearing         Two Tars (cop)
   5   June Lang             Bonnie Scotland
   8   Sam Lufkin            L & H supporting player
  10   Johnny Arthur         Our Gang, Pick A Star
  11   PMargaret Kerry       Our Gang
  11   Doodles Weaver        Swiss Miss
  18   Frank Capra           Our Gang writer
  20   Patricia Ellis        Block-Heads
  20   Vivien Oakland        Way Out West, Scram
  20   Edith Fellows         Our Gang	
  20   Stanley Fields        Way Out West
  23   Max Davidson          Call of the Cuckoos
  26   Peter Cushing         A Chump at Oxford
  26   Dorothy Christie      Sons of the Desert
  26   John Wayne            The Fighting Kentuckian
  28   Minna Gombell         Block-Heads
  29   Iris Adrian           Our Relations
  30   Virginia Karns        March of the Wooden Soldiers
  30   Stepin Fetchit        Zenobia, Hollywood Party

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Updated March 31, 1996

Copyright ©1996 Way Out West. All rights reserved.


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