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 Published 1993 ISBN 9780952130802 ISBN: 0952130807 HARDBACK – Dust-Jacket 316 pages – over 100 illustrations |
The
description, 'Everywhere they went they were mobbed by thousands of
screaming,
adoring fans' might make one think that the subjects of this book are
four
mop-haired singers from Liverpool, but one would be wrong: for the
scenes
predate by some thirty years the mob hysteria which came to be known as
Beatlemania, and were caused by the appearances of a
skinny
little
English comedian and a rather large American actor who, together,
became
the funniest comedy duo of all time.
Remarkably, LAUREL & HARDY - The British Tours is the first documentary of their three post-war tours. It covers their shows in detail, including the critical reviews at the time. Every theatre engagement and every act they worked with during the two years in total spent in Britain is recorded. Readers are also given a full account of their travel arrangements, the hotels they stayed in, the people they met, and of Stan's visits to his former homes and the theatres he played as a juvenile. Television and radio appearances; previously undocumented charity shows; public appearances; the contents of rare film footage are fascinatingly disclosed. Show business celebrities Norman Wisdom, Ray Alan and Peter Goodwright, along with support acts from the Laurel and Hardy shows, give anecdotes about these two most respected of comedians; and large contributions were made by the two men responsible for introducing Laurel and Hardy to the British Variety Theatre - Lord Delfont and Billy Marsh. |
PLEASE NOTE: The above description is for the 1993 Hardback 1st Edition.
Click on this link to find details of how to purchase.
Laurel and Hardy Bookshelf
For a description of the 2019 LULU reprints go HERE
The film 'Stan & Ollie' was based on LAUREL & HARDY - The British Tours, and Marriot was a consultant for the film production company.
Buy the
full collection, or individual books,
via the author's personal page:
o-o-0-o-o
| But the book is more than just an extended
date-sheet;
it is an account of the love which the British retained for the two
Hollywood comedians after Hollywood had
turned its back on them. It is a story of two brilliant performers who had to learn to adapt from film- to stage-work, and survive through the changing modes of comedy and the changing moods of theatre audiences. It is also a story of two men, handicapped by age and illness, overcoming the exhaustion of touring and performing up to thirteen shows per week. All is brought to light in this engaging book. |
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The early chapters reveal many little-known details of the first twenty-two years of Laurel's life spent in his home country of England, especially his years touring the British music halls, when he was the unknown comedian Arthur Stanley Jefferson. Many previously unrecorded dates and theatrical reviews of his appearances including those with The Fred Karno Company of Comedians, as understudy to Charlie Chaplin are listed. |
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The short publicity tour of Britain which Laurel and Hardy made in 1932 is also featured. This whirlwind tour of public appearances between London and Glasgow is recounted so well that the reader will feel he is travelling with them. The crowds of thousands who mobbed Laurel and Hardy, and left them reeling from the onslaught, are graphically described; and the resultant feelings of the two recipients, on discovering for thefirst time that they were famous outside of America, is admirably narrated. |
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To compile LAUREL and HARDY - The British Tours the author spent hundreds of hours poring over old newspapers, and an equal amount of time in interviewing waitresses, taxi drivers, receptionists, hoteliers, theatre managers, stage staff, and Laurel's relatives. Journalists who, in turn, interviewed Laurel and Hardy, and members of the public who met them, all help to complete the picture of this missing period in the careers of the world's greatest comedy duo.
LAUREL & HARDY - The British Tours is extensively illustrated with many previously unpublished photographs, and is the book that every true fan has been waiting for.
PLEASE NOTE: The above description is for the 1993 Hardback 1st Edition.
For a description of the 2019 LULU reprints go HERE
OR
Buy the full collection, or individual books, via the LULU link below:
