Editing Laurel and Hardy (section)

{{Short description|British-American comedy duo}}
{{Redirect|Stan and Ollie|the 2018 biographical film|Stan & Ollie|other uses|Laurel and Hardy (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox comedian <!-- for groups – see Template:Infobox comedian for usage -->
| name         = Laurel and Hardy
| image        = Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy - 1938.jpg
| alt          = 
| caption      = Laurel and Hardy in 1938
| nationality  = British (Laurel)<br/> American (Hardy)
| active       = 1927–1955
| genre        = Slapstick, comedy
| notable_work = ''[[The Music Box]]'', ''[[Babes in Toyland (1934 film)|Babes in Toyland]]'', ''[[Way Out West (1937 film)|Way Out West]]'', ''[[Helpmates]]'', ''[[Another Fine Mess]]'', ''[[Sons of the Desert]]'', ''[[Block-Heads]]'', ''[[Busy Bodies]]'', ''[[Towed in a Hole]]'', ''[[Liberty (1929 film)|Liberty]]'', ''[[Big Business (1929 film)|Big Business]]'', ''[[The Battle of the Century]]''
| memorials    = [[Ulverston]], Cumbria, England
| past_members = {{Plainlist|
* [[Stan Laurel]]
* [[Oliver Hardy]]
}}
| website      = {{URL|http://www.laurel-and-hardy.com}}
| image_size   = 250
}}

'''Laurel and Hardy''' were a British-American [[double act|comedy duo]] during the early [[Classical Hollywood cinema|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 "[[sound film|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.<ref>[http://library.eb.co.uk/eb/article-9047353#cite "Laurel and Hardy."] ''Britannica Online Encyclopedia.'' Retrieved: June 12, 2011.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Rawlings |first=Nate |title=Top 10 Across-the-Pond Duos |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2005073_2005072_2005121,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130821083423/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2005073_2005072_2005121,00.html |archive-date=August 21, 2013 |website=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=July 20, 2010 |access-date=June 18, 2012}}</ref> Their signature theme song, known as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku", or "The Dance of the Cuckoos" (by Hollywood composer [[Marvin Hatley|T. Marvin Hatley]]) was heard over their films' opening credits, and became as emblematic of them as their [[bowler hat]]s.

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.<ref name="Roach">Smith 1984, p. 24.</ref> 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 Studios|20th Century Fox]] and [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] from 1941 to 1945.<ref name="McGarry">{{harvnb|McGarry|1992|p=67}}</ref> After finishing their film commitments at the end of 1944, they concentrated on performing stage shows, and embarked on a music hall tour of the British Isles.<ref name="McGarry" /> They made their last film in 1950, a French–Italian co-production called ''[[Atoll K]]''.  Afterward, they resumed their stage appearances until 1954.

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.<ref>Seguin, Chris. [http://www.laurelandhardy.org/galaxy.htm "Forgotten Laurel & Hardy film emerges on French DVD."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020234728/http://www.laurelandhardy.org/galaxy.htm |date=October 20, 2013 }} ''The Laurel & Hardy Magazine''. December 3, 2013.</ref> 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 (American franchise)|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.<ref name="Cook">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4141019.stm "Cook voted 'comedians' comedian'."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080823085014/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4141019.stm |date=August 23, 2008 }} [[BBC News]], January 2, 2005. Retrieved: December 3, 2013.</ref> The official Laurel and Hardy appreciation society is [[The Sons of the Desert]], after a fictional fraternal society in the [[Sons of the Desert|film of the same name]].