Laurel and Hardy Society Sons of the Desert Way Out West Tent Los Angeles
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The Brushwood Gulch Gazette is the newsletter of the Way Out West Tent. It is published six times a year, shortly before regular tent meetings. Members receive the complete printed edition in the mail. The online edition features most of the articles found in the printed version, minus photos.


Stan Laurel Birthday Celebration at Next Meeting

On June 13th, the Way Out West Tent will meet to celebrate Stan Laurel's birthday at the Mayflower Club, located at 11110 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood. The doors will open at 6:30 pm and the meeting will start at 7:15. "Fabulous Fisher Franks" will be on sale at the Mayflower Kitchen and drinks will on sale at the Mayflower Bar. Chocolate Birthday cake will be served at the second intermission.

The film program will include some great short comedies. We'll start off with Frauds and Frenzies (1918), a silent short that hasn't been shown before at a Way Out West meeting. In Frauds and Frenzies (a comedy without Hardy), Stan Laurel and Larry Semon are escaped convicts on the lam. Perfect Day (1929) is about Laurel & Hardy attempting to leave home with their wives and Hardy's in-law Edgar Kennedy for a quiet Sunday picnic. Blotto (1930) shows the consequences of Laurel lying to his wife and sneaking out with Hardy to a nightclub. And finally, Scram (1932) shows what happens when Laurel & Hardy as vagrants are ordered by a judge to leave town, but just can't seem to do it. There will be plenty of laughs that evening in honor of Stan Laurel. See you Tuesday, June 13th!

Click here for a map to the Mayflower Club...


New Books and DVDs

In April, two sets of Laurel & Hardy films were released on DVD. As mentioned in our January newsletter, TCM Archives: The Laurel and Hardy Collection includes The Devil's Brother and Bonnie Scotland, with commentary by Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann. Also new to stores is the Laurel and Hardy Giftset, which features Great Guns, Jitterbugs, and The Big Noise. Adding to these later Laurel & Hardy features is audio commentary by author Randy Skretvedt (Laurel & Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies).

Richard Lamparski, who authored the very popular Whatever Became of...? series of books that gave readers updates on former movie and television stars, has just released a new book. It is titled Hollywood Diary, and includes stories on Our Gang's Darla Hood and Laurel & Hardy costar Patsy Kelly.

Click here to order TCM Archives DVD from Amazon.com...

Click here to order L&H Giftset DVD from Amazon.com...

Click here to order Hollywood Diary book from Amazon.com...


April Meeting Notes

After Grand Sheik Jimmy Wiley Jr. welcomed everyone to our April 24th meeting, Vice-Shiek Bob Duncan gave the traditional Sons of the Desert toasts. Then Jimmy Wiley Jr., Bob Duncan, Stan Taffel, Glen Kennedy, and Bill Cassara joined together to lead the singing of the Sons of the Desert Song.

After screening Two Tars featuring Edgar Kennedy, Bill Cassara (Sheik of Police for Monterey's Midnight Patrol Tent) joined Jimmy on stage to talk about his new book Edgar Kennedy: Master of the Slow Burn. Jimmy and Bill were later joined by Glen Kennedy (Edgar Kennedy's grandson) and former Way Out West Grand Sheik John Duff. Questions were then taken from the audience and a good time was had by all. After Towed in a Hole was shown, the meeting ending with the screening of Saps at Sea.

Special thanks to Bill Cassara and his girlfriend Michelle Benton for traveling all the way from Monterey to attend our meeting.

Click here to order Edgar Kennedy book from Amazon.com...


From the Grand Sheik

After our last meeting, at my prompting, about twenty five members stayed with Bob Duncan and myself to talk about the films that were screened at the meeting. For about twenty minutes we talked about all of the films that we had seen that night and about films and things we could do at future meetings. Bob and I were both very happy with how things turned out, and we would like to do it again at our June 13th meeting. So please join us with your critiques, comments, and questions.


News From the Mayflower Kitchen

Thank you to Marjorie Campbell and daughter Robin for their help in the Mayflower Kitchen at our last meeting. Along with Bob Satterfield, they served hot dogs to a full house of hungry members. We couldn't have done it without your help! We also offer our best wishes to Elaine Schulman who was recovering from shoulder surgery and wasn't able to join them in the kitchen at the last meeting. Hope you're feeling better Elaine, and we'll see you in the kitchen again on June 13th.

We also bring you greetings from Sharron Fisher, who ran things in the Mayflower Kitchen for decades. It is for Sharron and her late husband, Al, for which the "Fabulous Fisher Franks" got their name. Sharron recently moved to Rancho Cordova to be near her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughters. She and her daughter have joined the Sacramento's Another Fine Mess Tent and look forward to being involved with them. We all miss Sharron, but will look forward to some surprise visits from her in the future. Thanks Sharron for all the many, many years of devoted service to our tent.


July 2006 International Convention

The 2006 International Convention of the Sons of the Desert to be held in Augusta, Georgia is quickly approaching. If you're still interested in going, it is not too late. Information will be available at the next meeting or you may find more information at www.berthmarks.com


2006 Membership Information

The Way Out West Tent will meet five times in 2006, not including the annual banquet in October. Members receive free admission to all regular meetings and discounted admission to our annual banquet.

Remaining Meeting Schedule

April 11, 2006...........................................Meeting
June 13, 2006............................................Meeting
August 22, 2006..........................................Meeting
October 21, 2006..................................Annual Banquet
December 12, 2006........................................Meeting

Annual Dues

Single..................................................$28/year
Couple..................................................$44/year
Family..................................................$48/year
Non-members..........................................$10/meeting

Membership is open to everyone; there are no special requirements (other than all members must live at the same address for the family rate). Dues are prorated quarterly when you join during the year and are primarily used to cover postage and to rent our meeting hall. All Way Out West Tent officers work strictly on a volunteer basis.


Birthdays

We will no longer be including celebrity birthdays in the online version of our newsletter. If you wish to see the full listing of celebrity birthdays, please visit our separate birthdays web page.

Click here to see our birthday listings