Writer of Pop Culture

1927: Laurel and Hardy Become a Team

Long before the two met, both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy had become established actors in their own right. Working as a writer and director, Laurel had been in 50 films and Hardy 250 films before the two began working together as team. The duo actually first met on the set of 1921 film, The Lucky Dog. Even though they appear in some scenes together, their characters played independently of each other.

It was on this day in 1927 that the film short, The Second One Hundred Years was released where the two were officially billed as a team. Ollie was 35 years old, and Stanley was 37 at the time. From then on, the two appeared in 107 films created between 1921 and 1951.

Their 1932 film, The Music Box won the first Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. Despite being hugely successful, the duo only made one American TV appearance. On December 1, 1954, they were lured to the Knickerbocker Hotel for a supposed business meeting, but instead, they were surprised and interviewed by Ralph Edwards on his live NBC program This Is Your Life.

The pair had planned to perform in a number of TV specials for NBC called Laurel and Hardy’s Fabulous Fables but had to bow out due to their declining health. Hardy passed away on August 7, 1957. Laurel died on February 23, 1965. (Image: Wikimedia)