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Babe: The Life of Oliver Hardy

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Although Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy had solo careers prior to their teaming in the late '20s, the films were unremarkable. Something happened when they got together: they complemented each other perfectly on screen, visually, and by 1929, in sound talkies. Stan, ofcourse was the behind-the-scenes man; Ollie took direction but was brilliant improviser.
It's interesting that most folks do not seem to have a "favorite", though, I do not feel it would be difficult for them to admit that most of the laughs come from Hardy - his reactions, his mannerisms were priceless.
This book does not focus on his art, however, it is mainly a character study (of perhaps the greatest film comedy character of them all).
Of particular interest is the final decade, the '50s, when following many disheartening and depressing post-Half Roach B-movies and one amusing but disjointed effort made overseas, they discovered that they were as popular as ever: many European tours and televised two-reelers (generally more successful than their features) brought forth a new generation of fans. The terribly sad reality was that due to health problems they simply couldn't mount a real comeback.
This book describes how "the boys" delt with such issues; and more importantly, how Hardy ultimately reconciled a lifelong "image" conflict.
For fans and historians this is quite valuable. For anyone who just likes to read about and be reminded of joyous mayhem from two lost souls.
I'm reminded that a while back, at a well-known book chain, I inquired about this book. The person behind the counter broke into a smile and laughed; so did I.

Oliver "Babe" Hardy is something of a paradox: many comedians feel he is actually the funnier of the classic team of Laurel & Hardy. Yet, there is so little biographical material available on him. True, if you buy a book on the comedy team you'll find out the bare facts. But there's always a wealth on Stan Laurel...not Babe (as his friends called him). Why?

A key reason, as John McCabe's solid bio points out, is that Babe wanted it that way. He deferred all creative decisions and most press inquries to Stan. In a sense, McCabe faced a Herculean task: he wanted to write a bio about a comedian etched firmly in world film culture, yet actual sources of information (Hardy died August 6, 1957) were few. Could it be done?

Yes. Babe etches out Hardy's life. And we learn a few fascinating tidbits along the way: how throughout his life he always cringed at jokes about his weight (his weight always bothered him) but went along for the laughs (Jackie Gleason reportedly had the same attitude); how he developed his fuss-budget film-personna quirks from a relative; how he viewed himself more as an actor (or reactor) than a comedian; how his love for music pervaded his life (he does sing in some of his films). And a LOT more. The book also gives fascinating details about his sad final year where he lost a lot of weight and his health went into a downward tailspin.

This is a solid book that also recounts some of the team's best shorts, features, and details their famous tour of England. And McCabe JUST pulls off his feat. His source material on Hardy is largely culled from interviews with Stan Laurel and Hardy's last wife, Lucille. If there is a complaint it's that this is still not as well fleshed out as a typical show biz bio where more sources and information were available -- but there is enough detail to make this a solid book that'll delight Laurel & Hardy fans, show biz bio fans, and students of comedy of all ages. Babe would be pleased.

Although, it is, I believe,the only stand alone biography of Oliver Hardy to date, the book is somewhat lacking. I wanted to learn more about Hardy than what this book told me. I'm assuming that the fact Hardy was long dead when this book was written is one of the reasons it is not as thorough as it otherwise might have been. First hand accounts, at the time of writing, must have been rather slim. It is an easy read and is always worth while for the avid Laurel and Hardy fan. Lets hope a more in-depth look at Hardy's life will be published soon. Although Hardy was less on the creative side on their films together, he was an excellent actor and comedian. You could never have had Laurel and Hardy without him!

I must admit, Oliver Hardy was always my favorite of the two, and I was so pleased to find this biography of him. If you can manage to track it down, it's well worth it. Very well researched, with lots of new information and photos. Very well done.

This book is written with a lot of warmth attached to it that allows you, the reader, to appreciate just how Oliver Hardy worked and lived. It goes into detail of minor storiesof poeple who met him. I knew very littl of Oliver before i read this book. I now know a lot more and I feel that I almost knew him personally.

Babe:The Life Of Oliver Hardy, is the only biography available on he legendary movie comedian. It is written by world renown Laurel and Hardy expert John McCabe, who has authored several books on subject of Laurel and Hardy. Although out of print, I highly recommend that you get this book on the secondary market, if you were a fan of the iconic tandem of Laurel and Hardy. Babe, as he was affectionately known, was a warm and quiet man, who shunned the limelight, when not working on his movies. Oliver Hardy started out in silent films, as did Stan Laurel, as a duo, they created comic magic that lifted them to heights of stardom that they could never imagine. Once the talking picture became the mainstream in local theaters, their comedy shorts were seen all over the country, creating laughter not seen before in the cinema. Their 1931 classic short "The Music Box", won an Academy Award. Then full length features were going to be a natural progression, and movie fans, were treated to some of the greatest movie comedy films ever made, like "Way Out West", "Sons Of The Desert", and of course the the classic "Babes In Toyland", also known as "The March Of The Wooden Soldiers", which till this day is seen every holiday on TV, and serves as a reminder, how wonderful Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel were. Having said that, the book deals with Oliver's private life, Which wasn't always as smooth as his movies. The book deals with his first marriage, which took a mental toll on Mr. Hardy, and of course his weight, which he was well aware was his trademark, as an opposite to Stan, but his health suffered greatly as he aged because of it. His second wife Lucille, brought much happiness to Oliver, and they stayed happily married for 17 years until Oliver died in August of 1957, from complications following a severe stroke. Stan Laurel devasated by Oliver's death, never performed in the movies again, but continued to promote the Laurel and Hardy brand. Stan died in 1965, ending a 38 year career he had with Oliver Hardy. It is fair to say, that both Oliver Hardy, and Stan Laurel, never would have reached the level of stardom without each other, as they had an on screen chemistry that came natural to them, and even more satisfying, is these two giants of movie comedy remained close friends off the screen, as opposed to such teams as Martin and Lewis, and Abbott and Costello, who had bad falling outs. Oliver Hardy was known as "Babe", and if you could classify him, he would be known as the Babe Ruth of comedy.