I recently watched Laurel and Hardy in the 1931 movie “Pardon Us.” They were very, very good. Could you please tell about them?
—Julius Putnam, Gastonia, N.C.
Laurel and Hardy remain one of Hollywood’s great slapstick comedy duos. They appeared on screen together more than 100 times in silent movies, short sound films and full-length features. Englishman Stan Laurel and Harlem, Ga., native Oliver “Babe” Hardy first worked together in 1921 but didn’t officially perform as a team until 1927. Among their comedies were “The Music Box,” an Oscar-winning short, and the films “Sons of the Desert,” “Babes in Toyland” and “Way Out West.” Hardy died in 1957 at age 65, and Laurel died in 1965 at 74.
