Stan Laurel And Charlie Chaplin

Northern Advocate, 22 April 1939, Page 3 (Supplement)

Stan Laurel And Charlie Chaplin

England’s' music halls, which have turned out a dazzling array of theatrical talent, were the background of Stan Laurel’s training. His parents were performers and Laurel was travelling with them whenever he could get out of going to school. This was fairly frequently and the boy became so proficient that he was engaged by Fred Kamo for a show he was bringing to America.

Another member of this organisation which reached New York in 1910 was Charlie Chaplin. Laurel and Chaplin are the only two of the company of fourteen who have remained in America and curiously, they are the only two who have achieved world-wide fame. For nearly four years the troupe toured the country. With their disbanding, Laurel went into vaudeville and attained moderate success. He continued in the two-a-day field for about three years when films beckoned. He tried his luck in the pictures of the 1917 period but decided they offered little future and returned to the footlights. For the next five years Laurel’s mind and career were torn between the advantages of the films and the stage. It was not until 1922 that he came to a decision. He bolted through the proscenium arch with make-up kit in hand and took up his stand at the Hal Roach studios where he has been ever since.

His partnership with Oliver Hardy came about in 1927 and together they have appeared in more than 60 short films and several feature length productions such as “Pardon Us,” “Pack Up Your Troubles,” “Devil’s Brother,” “Sons of the Desert,” “Babes in Toytemd,” “Bonnie Scotland,” “Way Out West,”' and the current “Swiss Miss.”