Ask Lois Laurel-Hawes
Pose inquiries to Lois Laurel-Hawes, daughter of Stan Laurel. Is there something you have always wanted to know about the lives and careers of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy? Please submit your question and we will take the best ones to Lois and reprint her answers here on the website.
As you can imagine, Lois receives so many letters from Laurel & Hardy fans all over the world. She wishes she could fulfill all the requests for information, memorabilia and appearances, but that objective would require a full time staff to manage effectively! But Lois will be happy to field the most interesting questions you send in about her dad, Stan, and her “Uncle Babe.” We will share her comments with everyone.
January 2012
Dear Mrs Laurel-Hawes,
I hope you are well.
I'd like to ask two questions, if I may. One of those is for you; the other Richard might be able to answer.
I grew up during the Sixties, so Laurel & Hardy were pretty much a childhood staple, But I also clearly remember a sharp decline in appreciation for their legacy, at some point: their comedies generally regarded as hopelessly antiquated - mere children's stuff, really.
Was your father ever aware of this, I wonder? Or were you yourself, perhaps, as a young adult?
I'd like to ask Richard how best to come by Laurel & Hardy silents. I can't find any on internet or DVD.
Thanks ever so much, both of you.
Peter de Bont (London, UK)
Lois answers, "I really do not share that point of view. The Laurel & Hardy films were made for family audiences, and if anything, when my father was still alive, he remained surprised there was so much interest in his work so long after they were made. If anything, he underestimated his place in history."
Concerning the silents, while they are not included in THE ESSENTIAL LAUREL & HARDY DVD boxed set, you can find them in the Universal set, which came out in England in 2004. Best of all is what some of us did who are old enough to have been customers of Blackhawk Films (and I used to work there) and that is to have purchased 16mm prints of the silent L&H comedies. You can still find them for sale on ebay.
Regards, Richard
Hello Lois,
My father loved your dad's films and I came to know them from him. I am a geography professor but my hobby is restoring and collecting player pianos from the 1920s. I enjoy the pianos and their music (on piano rolls)quite a bit. In several films of your father and "Babe," there are player pianos. Sometimes they are moving one up the stairs and other times a grand player piano is used for comedic effects.
My question is whether or not you father owned a player piano? Or, maybe the Hardy's owned one, too? Player pianos were pretty popular in the 1920s and 30s, both uprights and grands. Thanks and take care.
Mike Kukral (Terre Haute, Indiana, USA)
"One time Hal Roach gave my dad a player piano, but he did not use it much and I know today it resides in a home in Malibu."
Hello Lois
I love the works what your father and Oliver did. It was great! Your father must be full of ideas.
Well, my questions are:
Always when I see some pictures from your dad and you, he looks so proud and happy to have you. It opens my heart everytime. Was he mad at you sometimes? For me, its impossible to imagine. Not because of the roles he played, he looks alwasy so kind and quiet.
And in the home footage it looks, that you be scared Oliver somehow. Your father pushed you gently to Oliver but you would not stay at him and hug your father very fast again. Did you scared him?
And last question: As your parents divorced, did you moved with your mother or father?
Ok, thats enough from me. I wish you all the best and luck!
PS: Sorry for my bad english. If someone can correct me, that would be nice.
Christin (Germany)
"Yes, for a short time as a little girl I was intimidated by Babe Hardy, and for two reasons. I saw him lose his temper at my father in the movies, and also because he was so big, and I was so little! That's why they made ONE GOOD TURN, to show me how my dad could turn the tables on Babe!
There was an occasion I remember when my dad got mad at me. I've told this story several times. Whenever I'd visit the studio, he would give me some spending money. But I didn't ask for it. Once at home, however, I did ask for $10-20 in order to take my friends to the movies. Evidently while he was always happy to give me money at his discretion, he did not want me to ASK for it. So he scolded me, saying, 'Do you think money grows in trees?' Later, however, he re-thought this and was sorry he got mad. When "Tonnage" (Martin Wolfkiel) brought us all back from the movies, we saw there were dollar bills tied to all the branches of the trees outside! I wish now I had taken pictures of that scene with everyone laughing so hard at this sight!"
hi lois
it is a honor to send you a question about your father i have been to the birthplace of your father in ulverston lake district and the sunday school he went to and i stand in front of his house and i went to the museum i had a great time
what did you father do after he stop making movies did he had any kind of hobby's??
sincerly yours
paul remie (curacao dutch caribean)
"My father did not care to work after Babe died. But he had many hobbies, including fishing, although his health precluded that late in life. He was always a prolific correspondent and answered thousands of letters from fans he never met. At one point he was interested in hydroponic gardening; that's where you grow plants in water. When he had the ranch he did a lot of this and liked to be known as a gentleman farmer."
For many lois you are the closet that many of us will ever come to the late and great stan laurel and oliver hardy.
i live not from from where your dad was born. i live in middlesbrough in cleveland -england. there is a statue of your father there as a memorial where he was born. i dont know if you know that.
i just want to say i am 40 years old this year and my 6 siblings and i with my mum and dad dont just laugh at them we have belly rolls and tears of joy.
may their memories live on forever. they truly were the great ones.
god bless them both.
Verina Horner (Middlesbrough,England,Great Britain)
"Yes, thank you, I was kept up to date on developments concerning the statue. I am happy to hear you enjoy the films."
Hi, Lois! My name is Petri Pelkonen, a 30-year old man from Finland.I'm a long time fan of Laurel and Hardy, those two had the gift to make people laugh.I would like to know who were your father's favorite comedians? Did he like the modern comedy? I've heard that Jerry Lewis wanted Stan Laurel to play himself in The Bellboy.Did Stan, even for a second, consider to do that? Did he and Charlie Chaplin meet in the latter years? Did you get to meet Mr. Chaplin?
I hope all the best for you in 2012! Thank you for sharing your memories of Stan Laurel.
Petri Pelkonen (Finland)
"No, he never would have appeared in a film with Jerry Lewis. My father idolized Charlie Chaplin. He admired Charley Chase and Jimmie Finpayson at Hal Roach Studios, too. They always made him laugh. So did Babe Hardy, for that matter. In later years he never missed THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW to see the new comedians trying to succeed in the business. The last time I saw Chaplin and my father together was when we went to Musso & Franks for lunch and Chaplin was dining at the booth he always took. They talked across the aisle with news for one another about things going on back home in London."
Hello Lois,
I've already written several days ago and thank you for your kind reply.
I have, if I may, some additional questions for you.
How was his relationship with other actors of his time? Did he have frequent contact with them or was he a 'lonesome' man?
Thanks to you in advance for your response and keep well.
Emmanuel Wylock (Belgium)
"My father was hardly lonesome. He had many friends, all over the world, from the stage, from movies, from his hobbies. Mostly he enjoyed industry people, and he kept in touch with them through correspondence. He was one of the best correspondents ever, anywhere. During his film career, I would say his closest friends were Jimmie Finlayson and Charley Rogers, plus Buster Keaton, Frank Fouce, Charlie Hall and his wife, Wee Mary Callahan and her husband, Art and Venice Lloyd. He enjoyed boating and fishing in Catalina and was good friends with Zane Grey. He had many friends. Booth Colman was his closest friend at the end of his life."
hey i cant believe you answer questions i think its amazing you are very very helpful to all l&h fans im only 12 but i love all of there episodes and movies they were two true comedians i'd love to ask you did you get a lot of things like clothes,toys and did you have a big house because your dad was famous? love to you and your family here from Scotland xxx
melissa mcmunn (scotland)
"I lived in large homes and I was a privileged child, but it was all low key. I did not have the kind of birthday parties some of my friends did. My mother would quietly give me a myriad of toys, and my father brought home endless gifts from the studio he thought I would like to play with, even a set of stilts!"
Hello Lois - With all of the technology today that allows anyone to watch pretty much anything at anytime, I'm wondering - what would your father and Mr. Hardy think about their work being so freely available for everyone to see? Would they be happy that people want to watch L&H films on new technology devices (like cell phones, ipods, computers, etc)? Were they interested in technology during their lifetimes? Thank you so much, your father's work has brought a lot of happiness and laughter to me!
Erin (Indiana, USA)
"I think all he could handle was the typewriter! He did love when the electric typewriter came in. Of course he would have learned how to operate a computer, even as I am trying to do now! He would have been in seventh heaven had he been able to do his correspondence on the computer the way people use e-mail today. As for your other question, I think both men would be stunned to see their continuing popularity, you know, that fans still love these films. They would be stunned at the response."
Bonjour Lois,
I live in France, we like very much as of persons the movies of your father. I shall like knowing if he liked France?
Spoke he about French?
I know that he liked very much the mime Marceau!
Excusez moi pour les fautes!
I wish you a soft and happy year,
Martine (France)
"My father did not really speak French, but he could understand some of what he heard -- enough of what he heard to get the general idea of what was being said. He went to Paris many times and of course loved it. Once (laughs) he took his sister there, and they visited The Eiffel Tower. But she was afraid of heights and did not want to come down, which seems like a contradiction, but that's what happened! This was why she never came over to appear on the THIS IS YOUR LIFE PROGRAM: she was afraid to fly."
Hello Lois,
I am curious if there are any photos of Fort Laurel that have been published. I lived on Strathern Street during my childhood (many years after Stan moved) and I remember playing with neighborhood kids riding trikes around the paths and walkways and long driveway and picking/eating pomegranates. I loved the place.
GP Warren (Santa Cruz, CA by way of Canoga Park, CA)
"Not many photos of Fort Laurel have been published, that I know of."
Dear Lois,
I hope this e-mail finds you well and you enjoy a happy new year!
It is an honor for me to be able to get into contact with you this way.
As a great fan of your father's and Babe's work since my childhood days, I have also read lots of books and watched nearly every TV documentary about them. What I would like to know: What was your father's favorite food? Did he like music as well, and what kind of in particular? How did he think about Rock'n'Roll and The Beatles for instance?
Thank you in advance for your reply.
Best wishes from Germany,
Stephan Memmesheimer
"My father was not fond of rock 'n' roll. His favorite dinners included liver and onions or the Cobb salad, but most of all roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. And he liked ice cream."
Hello Mrs Hawes , I have never sort of sent an Email to somebody I have never met, yet Laurel & Hardy have always been close to my heart , I was born 1963 so have only seen them in their films. Something about them just stays with you timeless I suppose.My question is did your father miss the UK when elsewhere and did he have any favourite places beaches , public houses , hotels , cities...
Your father seemed a very happy Character, and it's nice to know he had a daughter who lives on, I have only discovered this in recent years through the Internet .
As I said I have never sent an email like this before, so I hope you don't mind if I sent my address would you send me your autograph I will pay any postal costs.
Kind Regards Andrew Pomphrey (England..... Manchester)
"I have arthritis in my hands so I cannot accommodate requests for autographs, sorry. I can tell you my father loved The Palladium in London, and the West End, and everything related to the theatre there."
Hi Lois,
Thanks for taking the time to answer questions from Laurel & Hardy fans. As many here I have been a fan since my childhood, especially of your father, whom I would have loved to have met. I have two questions if you have time. I was wondering about your father's relationship with Hal Roach. Was it just business or were they friends? Also did you meet James Finlayson as a child or later? What was he like? Thanks again and I hope you had a good Christmas and that you are in good health.
George Powell (United Kingdom/Liverpool)
"Both my father and mother were friends of Hal Roach, my mother always, but my father had some professional disagreements beginning with BABES IN TOYLAND. And I did know Jimmie Finlayson when I was a child and he was so very funny to be around."
Dear Madame. I hope you are well.
I write from Belgium. I am a big fan of Laurel and Hardy since my childhood. Before television, we watched films of the tandem with an uncle who owned a projection equipment and coils of some short films. Since then, life has evolved. I myself have children to whom I sent the love of Laurel and Hardy. We have a dozen DVDs. The gags make us all laugh and are always, in my opinion, timeless! As the daughter of Laurel, you must be very proud to have had a father like him! But I guess he was not always in real life as in his films... The great comedians are sometimes difficult to live everyday ... You probably had to suffer a little of his passion for women and his penchant for alcohol ... Next year I will be going on holiday in the United States and via Los Angeles. To my knowledge, there is no museum in LA. Can you tell me if there a place in California where you can find personal items that belonged to the companions, objects and props used for filming, manuscripts, photos, .! ... ?
Also, can you tell me if your dad has reconciled with Hal Roach after their disagreement and their separation ?
Thank you for sharing your memories. I wish you all the best for 2012 and especially a good health.
Emmanuel Wylock (Belgium)
"There is no museum, but the business papers of the Hal Roach Studios are at USC, and the nitrate film material is at UCLA. What most fans do is to visit the filming locations. If you hook up with members of the SONS OF THE DESERT organization they can guide you. I do see photos and scripts for sale, or hear about them, and these are not hard to obtain. After leaving the studio, my father was never again close to Hal Roach, but they were always cordial. My mother remained a good friend of Mr. Roach."
hi lois, and happy new year 2012 , as i `m austrian it`s interesting if you know yoiur father ever has been in austria, because stan and oliver has been touring in some european countries like germany , italy, denmark ...
thanks for your answer
brgds franz
"The best source of that information is the website or book about the European tours by A.J. Marriot. He has made a study of all the places where they visited."