Oliver Hardy | |
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 Hardy in 1938 | |
| Born | Norvell Hardy (1892-01-18)January 18, 1892 Harlem, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | August 7, 1957(1957-08-07) (aged 65) North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Other names | Babe Hardy |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1914–1955 |
| Spouses | |
| Signature | |
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Oliver Norvell Hardy (bornNorvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half ofLaurel and Hardy, thedouble act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his comedy partnerStan Laurel in 107 short films, feature films, and cameo roles. He was credited with his first film,Outwitting Dad, in 1914. In most of his silent films before joining producerHal Roach, he was billed on screen asBabe Hardy.
Oliver Hardy was born Norvell Hardy on January 18, 1892,[1] inHarlem, Georgia.[2] His father, Oliver, was aConfederate States Army veteran of theAmerican Civil War who had been wounded at theBattle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, and was a recruiting officer for Company K, 16th Georgia Regiment. The elder Oliver Hardy assisted his father in running the remnants of the family's cotton plantation. He then bought a share in a retail business and was elected full-time Tax Collector forColumbia County, Georgia. Hardy's mother, Emily Norvell, was the daughter of Thomas Benjamin Norvell, who was descended fromHugh Norvell ofWilliamsburg, Virginia, and Mary Freeman. The elder Hardy and Norvell married March 12, 1890; it was her second marriage and his third.
The family moved toMadison, Georgia, in 1891, the year before Norvell's birth.[3] He was likely born in Harlem, though some sources say that his birth occurred inCovington, Georgia, his mother's hometown. His father died less than a year after his birth. Hardy was the youngest of five children. His older brother Sam drowned in theOconee River; Hardy pulled him from the river but was unable to resuscitate him.[4]
As a child, Hardy was sometimes difficult. In the fifth grade he was sent toGeorgia Military College inMilledgeville. In 1905, at age 13, he enrolled in the fall semester of the junior high school division atYoung Harris College in north Georgia, which he completed successfully in January 1906. At that time, there were no two-year junior colleges. He had little interest in formal education, although he acquired an early interest in music and theater. He joined a theatrical group and later ran away from a boarding school near Atlanta to sing with the group. His mother recognized his talent for singing and sent him to Atlanta to study music and voice with singing teacherAdolf Dahm-Petersen. He skipped some of his lessons to sing in the Alcazar Theater for $3.50 a week. In 1912, he signed up for a course or two at University of Georgia as a law major for fall semester just to play football. He never missed a game.[citation needed]
As a teenager, Hardy began styling himself "Oliver Norvell Hardy", adding the first name "Oliver" as a tribute to his father. He appeared as "Oliver N. Hardy" in the1910 U.S. census,[N 1] and he used "Oliver" as his first name in all subsequent legal records, marriage announcements, etc. Hardy was initiated intoFreemasonry at Solomon Lodge No. 20 inJacksonville, Florida which helped him with room and board when he was starting out in show business. He was inducted into theGrand Order of Water Rats along with Stan Laurel.[5]
In 1910, The Palace,[3] a motion picture theater, opened in Hardy's hometown of Milledgeville, and he became the projectionist, ticket taker, janitor and manager. He soon became obsessed with the new motion picture industry and was convinced that he could do a better job than the actors that he saw. A friend suggested that he move toJacksonville, Florida, where some films were being made, which he did in 1913. He worked in Jacksonville as a cabaret and vaudeville singer at night and at theLubin Manufacturing Company during the day. It was at this time that he met Madelyn Saloshin, a pianist, whom he married on November 17, 1913, inMacon, Georgia.
The next year, he made his first movie,Outwitting Dad (1914), for the Lubin studio, billed as O. N. Hardy. In his personal life, he was known as "Babe" Hardy and was billed as "Babe Hardy" in many of his later films at Lubin, such asBack to the Farm (1914). He was a big man, standing 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) and weighing up to 300 pounds (c. 136 kg), and his size placed limits on the roles that he could play. He was most often cast as the villain, but he also had roles in comedy shorts, his size complementing the character. By 1915, Hardy had made 50 short one-reel films at Lubin. He moved to New York and made films for thePathé, Casino andEdison Studios. He returned to Jacksonville, where he made films for theVim Comedy Company. That studio closed after Hardy discovered that the owners were stealing from the payroll.[6] He then worked for the King Bee studio, which bought Vim, and worked withBilly Ruge,Billy West (aCharlie Chaplin imitator), and comedic actress Ethel Burton. He continued playing the villains for West well into the early 1920s, often imitatingEric Campbell to West's Chaplin.
Between 1916 and 1917, Hardy experienced a brief directorial career. He is credited for directing or co-directing ten shorts, all played by him.
In 1917, Hardy moved to Los Angeles, working freelance for several Hollywood studios. He made more than 40 films forVitagraph between 1918 and 1923, mostly playing the "heavy" forLarry Semon. In 1919, he separated from his wife, ending with a provisional divorce in November 1920 that was finalized on November 17, 1921. On November 24, 1921, he married actress Myrtle Reeves. This marriage was also unhappy, and Reeves was said to have become an alcoholic.[7][8]
In 1921, he appeared in the movieThe Lucky Dog, produced byBroncho Billy Anderson and starringStan Laurel.[9] Hardy played the part of a robber trying to hold up Stan's character. They did not work together again for several years.
In 1924, Hardy began working atHal Roach Studios with theOur Gang films andCharley Chase. In 1925, his old boss Larry Semon hired him to play the Tin Man in Semon's feature-film adaptation ofThe Wizard of Oz. That same year another former colleague, Billy West, recruited Hardy to appear opposite mild-mannered comicBobby Ray in four slapstick comedies. These shorts, with Hardy and Ray as fat-and-skinny characters in derbies, were prototypes for the later Laurel and Hardy comedies. As Hardy recalled in 1954, "Bobby was always the fall guy; I was the wise guy just as I am in Laurel and Hardy, only in Laurel and Hardy,I always am the fall guy. I think of [those pictures] once in a while as being the start of the Laurel and Hardy idea as far as I was concerned."[10]
He continued to work in the Hal Roach comedies, likeYes, Yes, Nanette!, starringJimmy Finlayson and directed by Stan Laurel. (In later years, Finlayson frequently was a supporting actor in the Laurel and Hardy film series.)[11] He also continued playing supporting roles in films featuringClyde Cook, includingWandering Papas (1925, directed by Laurel).
In 1926, Hardy was to appear inGet 'Em Young, but he was unexpectedly hospitalized after being burned by a hot leg of lamb. Laurel had been working as a gag man and a director at Roach Studios, so he was recruited to fill in. Laurel continued to act and appeared in45 Minutes from Hollywood with Hardy, although they did not share any scenes together.
In 1927, Laurel and Hardy began sharing screen time together inSlipping Wives,Duck Soup (no relation to the 1933Marx Brothers'film), andWith Love and Hisses. Roach Studios' supervising directorLeo McCarey recognized the audience reaction to the two and began teaming them together, which led to the start of a Laurel and Hardy series later that year.
They began producing a huge body of short comedies, includingThe Battle of the Century (1927) (with one of the greatest pie fights ever filmed),[12]Should Married Men Go Home? (1928),Two Tars (1928),Unaccustomed As We Are (1929, marking their transition to talking pictures)Berth Marks (1929),Blotto (1930),Brats (1930),Another Fine Mess (1930), andBe Big! (1931). In 1929, they appeared in their first feature, in one of the revue sequences ofHollywood Revue of 1929, and the following year they appeared as the comic relief in a lavishTechnicolor musical feature entitledThe Rogue Song. This film marked their first appearance in color, yet only a few fragments of this film survive. In 1931, they starred in their first full-length moviePardon Us, and they continued to make features and shorts until 1935. The 1932 filmThe Music Box won an Academy Award for best short film, their only effort to receive such an award.[13]
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In 1937, Hardy and Myrtle Reeves divorced. He madeZenobia withHarry Langdon in 1939 while waiting for a contractual issue to be resolved between Laurel and Hal Roach. Eventually, however, new contracts were agreed upon and the team was lent to producerBoris Morros at General Service Studios to makeThe Flying Deuces (1939). While on the lot, Hardy fell in love with Virginia Lucille Jones, ascript girl whom he married the next year. They enjoyed a happy marriage for the rest of his life.
In 1939, Laurel and Hardy madeA Chump at Oxford andSaps at Sea before leaving the Roach Studios. They began performing for theUSO, supporting the Allied troops duringWorld War II.
In 1941, Laurel and Hardy were signed by20th Century-Fox (as well asMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1942). These studios produced films on a larger scale, and initially the comedians were hired only as actors in theB-picture division, forced to leave the writing and editing decisions to the production teams. The films proved very successful, and gradually both Laurel and Hardy were allowed more creative input. Laurel and Hardy completed eight features during the war years, with no loss of popularity. M-G-M's two-picture pact expired in August 1944, and Fox's series of six Laurel & Hardy pictures ended when the studio discontinued B-picture production in December 1944.[14]
In 1947, Laurel and Hardy went on a six-week tour of the United Kingdom. They were initially unsure of how they would be received, but they were mobbed wherever they went. The tour was lengthened to include engagements in Scandinavia, Belgium, France, and aRoyal Command Performance forKing George VI andQueen Elizabeth. Biographer John McCabe writes that they continued to make live appearances in the United Kingdom and France until 1954, often using new sketches and material that Laurel had written for them.
In 1949, Hardy's friendJohn Wayne asked him to play a supporting role inThe Fighting Kentuckian. Hardy had previously worked with Wayne andJohn Ford in a charity production of the playWhat Price Glory? while Laurel began treatment for his diabetes a few years previously. He was initially hesitant, but he accepted the role at Laurel's insistence.Frank Capra invited him to play a cameo role inRiding High withBing Crosby in 1950.
During 1950–1951, Laurel and Hardy made their final filmAtoll K (also known asUtopia). It was a simple concept; Laurel inherits an island, and the boys set out to sea where they encounter a storm and discover a brand new island, rich inuranium, making them powerful and wealthy. However, the film was produced by a consortium of European interests, with an international cast and crew that could not speak to each other.[15] In addition, Laurel had to rewrite the script to make it fit the comedy team's style, and both suffered serious physical illness during the filming.
Laurel and Hardy made two live television appearances: in 1953 on a live broadcast of the BBC showFace the Music, and in December 1954 on NBC'sThis Is Your Life. They also appeared in a filmed insert for the BBC showThis Is Music Hall in 1955, their final appearance together. The pair contracted with Hal Roach Jr. to produce a series of TV shows based on theMother Goose fables in 1955. According to biographer John McCabe, they were to be filmed in color for NBC, but the series was postponed when Laurel had a stroke and required a lengthy convalescence. Later that year while Laurel was recovering, Hardy had a heart attack and stroke from which he never recovered.
Hardy had a mild heart attack in May 1954 and he began looking after his health for the first time in his life. He lost more than 150 pounds (68 kg) within a few months which completely changed his appearance. Letters written by Laurel refer to Hardy having terminal cancer[16] and it was speculated that this was the reason for Hardy's rapid weight loss.[17] Both men were smokers;Hal Roach said that they were a couple of "freight train smoke stacks".[18]
Hardy had a major stroke on September 14, 1956, that left him confined to bed and unable to speak for several months. He remained at home in the care of his wife Lucille. Following two more strokes in early August 1957, he slipped into a coma and died fromcerebral thrombosis on August 7, 1957, at age 65.[19][N 2] After he was cremated, his ashes were interred in the Masonic Garden ofValhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood.[20] Laurel was inconsolable at the loss of his "dear pal and partner"; his doctor advised Laurel against attending the funeral, due to his own poor health,[21] and Laurel agreed stating that "Babe would understand".[22]
