The Comedy World of Stan Laurel (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A portrait penned with an obvious affection for a great man by one who knew him well. -- Chicago Sun-Times --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

'The Comedy World of StanLaurel' is a vivid and intimate biography of one of the all-time masters of comedy. John McCabe follows Stan Laurel's career from his early days in British variety, his arrival in the United States, the first films, to his teaming up with Oliver Hardy in 1936 and their meteoric rise to fame. Arthur Stanley Jefferson (Stan Laurel) was born on June 16, 1890 in Ulverston in North Lancashire (presently Cumbria), England. Stan's first professional theatrical engagement was as a boy-comedian at the Britannia Theater in Glasgow. He would become a film legend, and one-half of the world-famous comedy team of Laurel & Hardy. Stan Laurel's film career spanned 35 years and 182 pictures. The official teaming of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy took place in 1927 with the release of "Duck Soup." Laurel & Hardy made 117 films together between 1926 and 1952. "The Music Box" won the 1932 Oscar for "Best Live Action Short Subject." It was the only Laurel & Hardy film to win such an award. In 1961, Stan was honoured by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with an Oscar for his creative pioneering in the field of comedy. Stan's only regret was that Oliver was not there to share in the recognition. Stan Laurel passed away on February 23, 1965, after suffering a heart attack.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 221 pages
• Publisher: Robson Books Ltd (August 19, 2004)
• ISBN-10: 1861057806
• ISBN-13: 978-1861057808
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,204,997 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for all comedy fans!, September 27, 2005

By	Eric Perlin (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The comedy world of Stan Laurel (Hardcover)

The main thing that makes this book invaluable is the Stan Laurel-authored scripts to live Laurel & Hardy stage shows, and Laurel & Hardy radio performances. It also included an assortment of great gag ideas Laurel had for films that were never used.

This book also helps set the record straight that Stan Laurel was the real creative force behind his best movies, even though others always got writing and directing screen credit.

Historical interest aside, the Laurel & Hardy scripts are great reading for sheer entertainment value.

Even if you've seen every Laurel & Hardy film made, realize that the Laurel & Hardy characters had a handful of other adventures which were not filmed. This book is a priceless way to access these great scripts.

If you haven't seen many Laurel & Hardy films, rent some. I can recommend almost every Laurel & Hardy film made, with only a small handful of exceptions.

After you've seen enough Laurel & Hardy films to become a fan, read this book. You're sure to love it.

This is author/compiler John McCabe's _third_ book on the subject of Laurel and Hardy. His first book was a concise but excellent biography of Laurel and Hardy in the early 1960's, called "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy." McCabe had met Laurel & Hardy in person when he first started that project, and he wrote that meeting L&H in person, and finding them to be such nice people in real life, was "like finding out Santa Claus actually existed."

McCabe also co-authored a 1975 pictorial filmography called "Laurel and Hardy."

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for all comedy fans, August 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Comedy World of Stan Laurel/Centennial Edition (Paperback)

The main thing that makes this book invaluable is the Stan Laurel-authored scripts to live Laurel & Hardy stage shows, and Laurel & Hardy radio performances. It also included an assortment of great gag ideas Laurel had for films that were never used.

This book also helps set the record straight that Stan Laurel was the real creative force behind his best movies, even though others always got writing and directing screen credit.

Historical interest aside, the Laurel & Hardy scripts are great reading for sheer entertainment value.

Even if you've seen every Laurel & Hardy film made, realize that the Laurel & Hardy characters had a handful of other adventures which were not filmed. This book is a priceless way to access these great scripts.

If you haven't seen many Laurel & Hardy films, rent some. I can recommend almost every Laurel & Hardy film from before 1941. (Their post-1940 films were mediocre at best, mainly because Laurel had very little creative input to his films of that period.)

After you've seen enough Laurel & Hardy films to become a fan, read this book. You're sure to love it.

By the way, this is author/compiler John McCabe's _third_ book on the subject of Laurel and Hardy. His first book was a concise but excellent biography of Laurel and Hardy in the early 1960's, called "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy." McCabe had met Laurel & Hard in person when he first started that project, and he wrote that meeting L&H in person, and finding them to be such nice people in real life, was "like finding out Santa Claus actually existed."

McCabe also co-authored a 1975 pictorial filmography called "Laurel and Hardy."

5.0 out of 5 stars "Mr. Laurel Says....", November 9, 2007

By	Phil S. (USA) - See all my reviews

This book belongs on the same visible, accesible shelf as L & H - From The Forties Forward; Babe - Life of Olver Hardy (also by McCabe); The Magic Behind The Movies; and of course, The Life of Stan Laurel.
Even the casual fan will take delight and be fascinated by late career entries by Mr. Laurel, detailed here: full scripts for radio, for the stage, and believe it or not....for television! Yes, that first unproduced script for "Laurel and Hardy's Fabulous Fables", a 1956 TV Special series installment, is here. Along with scribbled notes - still inspired by a great comedy mind.
[There are amazing other writing examples by Stan on the site: Laurel and Hardy Central].