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NOTE: This is an old issue of the Brushwood Gulch Gazette, which has been archived for reference purposes.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. |
Mark your calendars for the Way Out West Tent's last meeting of 2002! We will wrap up our 35th year by honoring Veteran's Day, featuring films with the Boy's in uniform. The meeting will take place at the Mayflower Club on Tuesday, November 12, 2002, the day after Veteran's Day.
Our scheduled film program will begin with Laurel and Hardy on shore leave from the navy in Men O'War (1929). Next, the boys keep the streets safe as police officers in The Midnight Patrol (1933). Our feature presentation will be Pack Up Your Troubles (1932), in which ex-soldiers Laurel and Hardy become the guardians to the daughter of an army buddy.
It is our tent's tradition to take a collection for the less fortunate during the holiday season, and this year will be no exception. Please bring a donation of canned goods to the next meeting. You may also make a cash donation, if you prefer. All donations will be given to the local Maude Booth Family Center.
A book raffle is also scheduled for this upcoming meeting. Please feel free to bring any film related books that you wish to donate to this raffle.
The Mayflower Club is located at 11110 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., and the meeting will begin promptly at 7:15 p.m. Our "Fabulous Fisher Frank" hot dogs will be available, as will the Mayflower Bar. If you haven't used your guest passes for the year, be sure to bring a friend this time as all passes will expire after this meeting.
Click here for a map to the Mayflower Club...
We are very saddened to report on the death of Jay R. Smith at the age of 87. As a member of Our Gang during the silent days, Jay R. appeared in nearly forty films as "Specks" and "Freckles." He appeared with Stan Laurel in Seeing the World, with Oliver Hardy in Thundering Fleas, and in 45 Minutes from Hollywood which featured both Laurel and Hardy.
After serving in World War II, Jay R. owned a paint and picture frame store in Hawaii. It was only in recent years that he recognized his stardom as a child, and began attending autograph shows. Jay R. had attended several Way Out West banquets and a meeting. This past summer, our tent brought him to the Sons of the Desert convention in Nashville.
Tragically, a homeless man whom Jay R. had befriended took Jay R.'s life in early October. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
For the first time in many years, almost all of Laurel and Hardy's films are available on home video. While silent films have been available on VHS and DVD for a number of years, most of the sound films have been unavailable. Recently, a company called Nostalgia Family Video released a collection of ten tapes, each with four short sound films. Several feature films are also available (on additional tapes). This means that 95 of Laurel & Hardy's 106 films are readily available on video, as opposed to only 45 earlier this year! These videos are only available on VHS (no DVDs), and each volume is the same as those sold by "Nostalgia Merchant" in the 1980s. All of these tapes are available by mail from Movies Unlimited, an outfit that specializes in hard-to-find videos. Ordering information for each tape can be found here.
A limited quantity of 2003 Laurel and Hardy calendars will be available at our next meeting. They will be available on a first come, first served basis and will likely sell out quickly. Last year they were all gone before the meeting was over, so be sure to get yours early.
The 14th International Sons of the Desert Convention will be hosted by the Perfect Day Tent in Columbus, Ohio on July 15-18, 2004. More information can be found at their website: http://www.perfectdaytent.com/
On July 15, 2002, the doors opened for the first time to the Museum of Laurel and Hardy of Harlem, Georgia. This is the first museum of its kind in the country and is appropriately located in the town where Oliver Hardy was born. Over 100 delegates from the Sons of the Desert convention in Nashville made their way to the museum's grand opening. A report from the grand opening even appeared on TV in Los Angeles, on KTLA's News at Ten. The museum contains a large exhibit room in the front, featuring an assortment of collectibles, photos, books, and posters. In the back is a theater, where the local Sons of the Desert Tent shows films every Friday night. For more information, please visit the museum's website: http://webpages.charter.net/thebrain/
To Sons of the Desert member Patrick Kuster, who is recuperating from recent illness at his home in France. You were missed at the recent convention!
The Way Out West Tent hosted another wonderful banquet this year. Taix Restaurant in Hollywood was the site of our September 14th gathering. The food there is exceptional, and the beef and chicken dinners served that night were no exception. Since this location was exactly one mile from the Music Box steps, that was the theme of the evening. Thanks to a generous donation from Al Bender, Lori and Colin McCaffery were able to make wonderful Music Box Stairs centerpieces for each table. James Wiley III premiered a 20 minute documentary about this famous location.
Our celebrity guests included: Dorothy deBorba (The Stolen Jools), Joan Del Mar (Nothing But Trouble), Edith Fellows (The Devil's Brother), Mildred Kornman (Thundering Fleas), Trudy Marshall (Dancing Masters), Billy Naylor (Our Gang), costumer Jay Dare, and comedian Jim MacGeorge. We were honored to have the beautiful Terry Moore in attendance. Miss Moore was the recipient of the Way Out West Tent's Lifetime Achievement Award. Besides appearances in many classic films, including an Academy Award nomination for Come Back Little Sheba, Miss Moore appeared in Laurel & Hardy's A Haunting We Will Go. As a child actor at the time, she was known as Judy Ford. Also joining us were Stan Laurel's great grandsons, Patrick and Sam Cook.
From the entertainment world, we also had a world of entertainment that night! The Sons of the Desert Pipes and Drum Band performed (see below). A clip from the television program Cheers highlighted the connection between band member John Ratzenberger (as Cliff Clavin) and George "Spanky" McFarland (as himself). Laurel and Hardy fans Ken Osmond and Frank Bank (best known as Eddie Haskell and Lumpy Rutherford from TV's Leave it to Beaver) shared their memories of the boys and were also made honorary members of our tent. The banquet concluded with the showing of The Music Box.
Guests at our recent banquet were excited to hear Laurel & Hardy's "The Cuckoo Song" performed live on the bagpipes. This marked one of the first public performances by the Sons of the Desert Pipes and Drums, a newly formed Los Angeles band. The twelve member band marched into our banquet room as a surprise to all guests, and performed classic Scottish and American numbers before dinner. They delighted us with an after dinner encore, which continued as they marched out through the crowded restaurant.
The members of the band were made honorary members of the Way Out West Tent. They are: Dave Barnett, Paul Bartholomew, Derek Bodkin, Bill Bowen, Jim McMahon, Malcolm McNab, Susan Morrison, John Ratzenberger, Bill Robertson, Saja Sokol, Scott Walton, and Phil Young. Thanks for a great performance, and we hope to hear you again!
This past summer, the Sons of the Desert held their 13th International Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. It lasted four days, not including a pre-convention trip to Elvis Presley's Graceland and a post-convention trip to the grand opening of the Laurel & Hardy Museum in Harlem, Georgia (see above). The Nashville Marriott Hotel was the site of the event, where the player piano in the lobby featured L&H music all day and night, and hotel staff dressed in convention t-shirts and fezzes. Over three hundred Laurel and Hardy fans were in attendance, including about a dozen members of the Way Out West Tent.
Competitions held during the convention included the Babe Hardy Putting Tournament, the Pee-Wee hitting competition (inspired by the film Babes in Toyland), and the challenging trivia contest. The winner of the Babe Hardy Putting Tournament was Neil Lipson (Two Tars Tent), with our own Bob Duncan coming in second. Glen Campbell (Founding Tent) was the winner of the Pee-Wee Contest for the second time. The Trivia Contest was won by Bill Cassara (Midnight Patrol Tent), Brad Farrell (A-Haunting We Will Go Tent), and Tracy Tolzmann (Block-Heads Tent). The Way Out West Tent trivia team of John Duff, Bob Duncan, and Jimmy Wiley Jr. came in third.
A sales room packed with memorabilia and merchandise opened precisely at midnight the first evening. Afterwards, films ran late into the night, as they did each and every evening. During an evening banquet, delegates recreated the classroom scene from Pardon Us live on stage. Longtime member of the Sons of the Desert Dwain Smith was "roasted" in the traditional style of a celebrity roast. Our own Lori Jones McCaffrey helped to roast Dwain. Stan Taffel was the emcee. Our own Grand Sheik Bob Satterfield was in charge of the formal business meetings, known as the Grand Council Meetings.
In addition to Laurel & Hardy fans from all around the world, there were also several special guests who worked with the Boys at the Hal Roach Studios. Those guests included: Jean Darling (Babes in Toyland and Our Gang), Dorothy deBorba (The Stolen Jools, The Devil's Brother, and Our Gang), Lois Roberts (widow of L&H prop-maker Thomas Benton Roberts), Jay R. Smith (45 Minutes from Hollywood and Our Gang), and Jerry Tucker (Babes in Toyland and Our Gang). They attended all convention events, participated in a question and answer panel, and gave autographs to numerous conventioneers. One excursion took us to a live performance of the Grand Ole Opry radio program, on which all of our celebrity guests were brought up on stage and introduced on the air.
Thank you to the Nashville Scram Tent for planning a great convention. Congratulations to Grand Sheik Rick Linder and his Perfect Day Tent of Columbus, Ohio, who will host the next International Convention. More news and photos from the Nashville convention can be found in the latest edition of the Intra-Tent Journal. For additional information, please see our detailed daily report from the convention.
Our last meeting took place back in June, but it will not soon be forgotten. Joining us was special guest Bud MacDonald, who reminisced about his work with Laurel & Hardy and Our Gang at the Hal Roach Studios. Buddy was featured in the Todd-Pitts short On the Loose, which featured a cameo appearance by the Boys. And although his scene was ultimately cut, Buddy also shot an alternate ending for Pardon Us with Laurel and Hardy. We screened both of the aforementioned films, as well as Our Gang's Teacher's Pet. Thanks to Richard Bann for bringing Buddy MacDonald to our attention and for conducting the interview with the evening's guest of honor.
Happy birthday wishes to longtime member Lois Roberts. Lois is the widow of Thomas Benton Roberts, best remembered as the motorist who received a tomato in his face in Two Tars. Before moving to Northern California, Lois often attended meetings and banquets. But even the long distance hasn't stopped her from joining us for many recent banquets and conventions.
The Way Out West Tent would also like to wish a big happy birthday to celebrity member Jerome H. Schatz, better known as Jerry Tucker. Jerry appeared in 17 Our Gang Comedies, starting at the tender age of five. One of those shorts included Wild Poses, which also featured an appearance by the Boys. Jerry was also in the Laurel and Hardy classic Babes in Toyland. During the golden age of Hollywood, Jerry appeared with such greats as Gable, Tracy, Shearer, Dietrich, Crosby, Temple, and even got to sit on Carole Lombard's lap! He is now retired and lives with his wife in New York State. Most recently, he and his lovely wife Myra attend the International Sons Convention this summer in Nashville. Our tent has had the pleasure of their company several times over the years. We wish Jerry the very best on this special day!
And last, but certainly not least, we would like to extend birthday wishes to Lois Laurel Hawes. As the daughter of Stan Laurel, Lois has shared with our tent unique, firsthand memories of her father. She even appeared as an extra in her father's film Swiss Miss. We thank Lois for her continued support for all our tent's endeavors, and hope she has a wonderful birthday.
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October | ||
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2 |
Wild Poses, Our Gang | |
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2 |
Lois Roberts |
Mrs. Thomas Benton Roberts |
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Composer | |
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3 |
Director | |
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3 | ||
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4 |
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4 |
Our Gang | |
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9 |
Stan Laurel Impresionest | |
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10 | ||
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10 |
Our Gang | |
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11 |
Our Gang | |
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17 |
Cameraman | |
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19 | ||
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20 | ||
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22 |
Madge Jefferson |
Stan's Mother |
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25 |
Our Gang | |
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November | ||
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1 |
Jerry Tucker (Jerry Schatz) |
Stolen Jools, Our Gang |
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1 | ||
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2 | ||
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2 | ||
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4 |
Our Gang | |
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6 | ||
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7 |
Our Gang | |
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9 | ||
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14 |
John McCabe |
Sons of the Desert founder & author |
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16 | ||
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17 | ||
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19 |
Roach Studios Special Effects | |
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21 | ||
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21 | ||
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23 |
French version of Pardon Us | |
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December | ||
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3 | ||
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5 | ||
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5 | ||
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8 | ||
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8 | ||
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10 |
Lois Laurel Hawes |
Stan's Daughter |
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11 | ||
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14 |
Director | |
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16 |
Our Gang | |
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18 |
Cameraman and Director | |
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18 |
Author | |
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19 |
Al Kilgore |
Sons of the Desert founding member |
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20 |
Our Gang | |
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25 |
Producer | |
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25 |
Our Gang | |
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26 | ||
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29 | ||
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30 |
Director (Fox) | |
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30 | ||
L&H in Uniform at November 12 Meeting