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Who was the man underneath the bowler hat and the cane?
Who was the man underneath the bowler hat and the cane?
An extraordinary reimagining of the life of one of the greatest screen comedians the world has ever known: a man who knew both adoration and humiliation; who loved, and was loved in turn; who betrayed, and was betrayed; who never sought to cause pain to others, yet left a trail of affairs and broken marriages in his wake . . .
And whose life was ultimately defined by one relationship of such tenderness and devotion that only death could sever it: his partnership with the man he knew as Babe.
he is Stan Laurel.
But he did not really exist. Stan Laurel was a fiction.
The mind is a theater. It cannot be allowed to go dark. It must be maintained”
From the ship at the Southampton docks, this is the tory of stan Laurel as he travels from Montreal to Toronto, then down to the United States across several states in numerous shows all with Charlie Chaplin at his side.
Stan first went to America in 1910, to work alongside Charlie Chaplin and then again in 1912. Hardy was known as “Babe’ and this is the name he takes on in the novel. Oliver Hardy died on 7 August 1957 and when Laurel was too ill to attend his funeral he said, “Babe would understand”. Laurel never performed again after his best friend’s death.
Back when he tried for Hollywood, Stan longed to be Chaplin but found he needed support in the form of a comedy partner – so, then came along Babe Hardy described as ‘the funniest fat comedian in the world.’ Stardom soon follows. this is the story of that stardom
He lived his final years in a small flat in the Oceana Apartments in Santa Monica and is buried high in the Hollywood Hills, a fitting tribute to a great actor.
Destination: Hollywood Author/Guide: John Connolly Departure Time: 1906 onwards
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