Volume 29, Number 3
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Volume 29, Number 3 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This is an old issue of the Brushwood Gulch Gazette, which has been archived for reference purposes.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. |
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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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