Very Rare Stan Laurel Autographed Long Letter '58 Laurel & Hardy Landslides

Description: Here is a very rare original very personal autographed letter by Stan Laurel of the great comedy team Laurel and Hardy, from 1958, to former actress Betty Brown, who appeared with Laurel and Hardy in the 1936 classic Our Relations, referencing landslides and real estate pitfalls. Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in the silent film era, they later successfully transitioned to "talkies". From the late 1920s to the mid-1950s, they were internationally famous for their slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy, childlike friend to Hardy's pompous bully. Their signature theme song, known as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku", or "The Dance of the Cuckoos" (by Hollywood composer T. Marvin Hatley) was heard over their films' opening credits, and became as emblematic of them as their bowler hats. Prior to emerging as a team, both had well-established film careers. Laurel had acted in over 50 films, and worked as a writer and director, while Hardy was in more than 250 productions. Both had appeared in The Lucky Dog (1921), but were not teamed at the time. They first appeared together in a short film in 1926, when they signed separate contracts with the Hal Roach film studio. They officially became a team in 1927 when they appeared in the silent short Putting Pants on Philip. They remained with Roach until 1940, and then appeared in eight B movie comedies for 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1941 to 1945. After finishing their film commitments at the end of 1944, they concentrated on performing stage shows, and embarked on a music hall tour of England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. They made their last film in 1950, a French–Italian co-production called Atoll K. They appeared as a team in 107 films, starring in 32 short silent films, 40 short sound films, and 23 full-length feature films. They also made 12 guest or cameo appearances, including in the Galaxy of Stars promotional film of 1936. On December 1, 1954, they made their sole American television appearance, when they were surprised and interviewed by Ralph Edwards on his live NBC-TV program This Is Your Life. Since the 1930s, their works have been released in numerous theatrical reissues, television revivals, 8-mm and 16-mm home movies, feature-film compilations, and home videos. In 2005, they were voted the seventh-greatest comedy act of all time by a UK poll of professional comedians. The official Laurel and Hardy appreciation society is The Sons of the Desert, after a fictitious fraternal society in the film of the same name. Very rare. Will ship worldwide. I always combine shipping on multiple orders. Moore was from County Meath, Ireland, emigrating to the U.S. when he was 11 years old. His family settled near Toledo. A good singer, he sang in vaudeville briefly before making his way to Biograph studios at age 22 to become a key member of D.W. Griffith’s stock company. The Guerilla (1908) was his first film. Moore acted in scores of these short early films over the next few years, including better remembered ones like Pippa Passes (1909) and A Corner in Wheat (1909). His brother Tom Moore joined the studio at around the same time, and became a movie star of roughly the same caliber. (Tom too would marry movie star wives: Alice Joyce and Renee Adoree). A few years later they were followed into the business by brothers Matt and Joe. Matt would become a star like his brothers; Joe was more of a supporting player. Their sister and mother, both named Mary Moore, were also minor silent film actresses). Pickford was hired by Biograph in 1909. Within a few months the pair were acting together in some films. They married in 1911, when she was 18. The following year, Pickford and Moore left Biograph for IMP, where Moore co-starred in films with Florence Lawrence. At Famous Players-Lasky, he played Prince Charming to Pickford’s Cinderella in an adaptation of the fairy tale in 1914. But in real life, the roles were reversed. Pickford had all the status. Moore grew frustrated, angry and abusive, and was given to strong drink. It is odd that he should be so, for he was still starring in things like Mabel Lost and Won (1915) wth Mabel Normand, and The Kiss (1916). But by that time, Pickford’s films were doing so well that she had formed a business partnership with Adolph Zukor and was co-producing her own films. In 1916 she met Fairbanks, and drifted away from Moore. In 1919 she co-founded United Artists with Fairbanks, Griffith and Charlie Chaplin. Pickford and Moore were divorced the following year, with Moore receiving a cash settlement. Almost as an editorial comment, in 1920 he starred in a comedy called The Poor Simp. But in some ways, his best years were ahead of him. In 1921 he married fellow film star Katherine Perry, with whom he had appeared in Sooner or Later (1920). He then co-founded the Owen Moore Film Company with David O. Selznick in 1922. In the ’20s he continued to be a star in his own right, turning out several features a year. Some notable ones include, Oh, Mabel Behave! (1922) with Mabel Normand; The Parasite (1925); and The Red Mill (1927). In The Bluebird (1926) and The Road to Mandalay (1926) he worked with Tod Browning and Lon Chaney. In Side Street (1929) he appeared with Perry and his brothers Tom and Matt (Joe had passed away in 1926). In the talkie era, things slowed somewhat what he he continued to work steadily through 1930. Outside the Law (1930) reunited him with Tod Browning. He had a memorable role in Mae West’s She Done Him Wrong (1933) — it is to him that she utters the immortal line “Is that a pistol in your pocket or are you happy to see me?”. Moore’s presence in the film, set in the Bowery in the 1890s, adds a bit of nostalgia, evoking his early Biograph days for those who could remember them. After this he starred in the independently produced A Man of Sentiment (1933), and then nothing for four years, when he had a supporting role as a movie director in the original version of A Star is Born (1937). He died of a heart attack two years later at age 52.

Price: 428.99 USD

Location: Marietta, Georgia

End Time: 2025-01-17T02:00:01.000Z

Shipping Cost: 4.5 USD