PHOTO OF THE DAY: CANDID EDDIE CANTOR

Eddie Cantor has been gone now for over 55 years, but his the memory of his talent and personality should not be diminished. Not only was he a great entertainer, but he was an even better human being. Here are six candid photos of Eddie through the years...

With Eddie Fisher & Sammy Davis Jr

With Laurel & Hardy

With Jane Wyatt

                                         

With Marlene Dietrich

HOLLYWOOD URBAN LEGEND: STAN LAUREL & OLIVER HARDY

URBAN LEGEND: Did Stan Laurel refuse to work in anything after the death of his comedy partner Oliver Hardy?

STATUS: Yes, it is 100% true!

As much as they were inseparable friends and “partners in crime” in all of their mischiefs on the big screen, they were just as close in real life. In 1957, when Oliver Hardy passed away, Laurel, devastated by his best friend’s death, never fully recovered and so, retired from acting, refusing to perform on stage or act in another film without his best pal. Stan Laurel was courted by every movie director in the business to come out of retirement, including Stanley Kramer who wanted Laurel for his comedy epic It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World in 1963, but Laurel said no to all offers. Stan Laurel would die eight years after his partner on February 23, 1965...

THE WIT OF STAN LAUREL

Stan Laurel (1890-1965) not only was a part of one of the funniest comedy teams of all-time, but his quiet wit was brilliant. Here are some of his timeless quotes through the years...

Humor is the truth; wit is an exaggeration of the truth.

You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be led.

I had a dream that I was awake and I woke up to find myself asleep.

If you had a face like mine, you'd punch me right on the nose, and I'm just the fella to do it.

If any of you cry at my funeral, I'll never speak to you again!

A friend once asked me what comedy was. That floored me. What is comedy? I don't know. Does anybody? Can you define it? All I know is that I learned how to get laughs, and that's all I know about it. You have to learn what people will laugh at, then proceed accordingly.

What business do we have telling people who to vote for? They probably know more about it than we do.

Just before he died, Laurel told his nurse he would like to go skiing. The nurse said "Are you a skier, Mr Laurel?". He replied, "I'm not, but I'd rather be doing that than having these needles stuck in me". A few minutes later he died.

LAUREL AND HARDY FAN GROUP KEEPS LAUGHING

Laurel and Hardy fan group keeps laughs alive
by Susan King

They meet every Tuesday afternoon at the famous Culver Hotel in Culver City, seated at a center table in the restaurant, engaged in lively, loud luncheon conversation. They are members of the Sons of the Desert, the international Laurel and Hardy appreciation society, and a more devoted group is hard to find.

The name derives from the 1933 comedy starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. They play friends with domineering wives who hope to attend a convention of their fraternal organization, called Sons of the Desert. The film society has "tents" all over the world, including several in California, with the Way Out West tent in Hollywood.

A recent Sons gathering was particularly ebullient. The group was thrilled about the recent release of "Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection" DVD set which contains 58 comedy shorts and features starring the gangly Englishman Laurel and the portly Hardy that they made for producer Hal Roach from 1929 through 1940. Among the highlights are "Sons of the Desert," 1937's "Way Out West," 1938's "Block-Heads" and 1932's Academy Award-winning short "The Music Box," in which the boys try to deliver a piano up a massive flight of stairs.

"The reason we meet here is that the Hal Roach Studios were right down the block," offered Richard W. Bann, author of such film history books as "The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang," which he penned with Leonard Maltin. "We meet here because we can't meet there for lunch. They tore the studio down in 1963."

Bann hands over a copy of the menu from the studio's Our Gang Café — the Our Gang comedies were another Roach franchise — from the 1930s where one could get a caviar appetizer for 30 cents. "It was right in front of the studio," said Bann. "It was open to the public, and Our Gang and Laurel and Hardy would eat there with the public. It was a family studio — everyone was friendly."

Sitting across from Bann at the table is John Duff, who said he first fell in love with Laurel and Hardy as a boy of 5 when he would get up early on Saturday mornings to watch them on TV. "I made a promise to myself that one day I would have a library of their films. I started collecting 16mm films, and over the years I have got the DVDs."

Like Duff, Mike Nemeth's affection for the pair dates to TV in the 1950s. "They are the warmest, the best," he said.

"There is no question in my mind that Laurel and Hardy comes closet to representing the average American as he bumbles along in life," Nemeth said. "Despite all the messes they get into, they still stick up for one another and love each other. This warmth brings us close to them like no other comedians."

"I think that's one of the reasons why people took to them so much, because they were eternal optimists," said Randy Skretvedt, author of "Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies."

"There is a scene in the Laurel and Hardy movie 'Block-Heads" where Ollie comes to visit Stan in the old soldiers home after not seeing him for 20 years," related Skretvedt. "They make small talk, but the undercurrent of the scene is basically 'I love you and miss you." What other comedy team would do a scene like that?"

Former child star Johnny Crawford of "The Rifleman" fame, who now has a big-band orchestra, actually met Laurel before his death in 1965. "I was doing an interview for some local TV show and also being interviewed was Babe London," recalled Crawford. London had appeared in the 1931 Laurel and Hardy short "Our Wife."

"She talked about her past with Laurel and Hardy. We became friends, and I was determined to get to meet Stan Laurel," Crawford said. "One day we arranged a time to go to his apartment in Santa Monica. My father, my mother and my younger brother and myself all drove there. He was a wonderful, gracious host, very sweet."

Veteran comic Jim MacGeorge not only knew Laurel, he also played him in a series of commercials more than 40 years ago with Chuck McCann as Hardy and also on the 1966 Laurel and Hardy cartoon series, which featured Larry Harmon as the voice of Hardy. Scratching his head like Laurel, MacGeorge gets a perplexed grin on his face and suddenly transforms into the comic actor.

MacGeorge recalled that he had gotten Laurel's phone number from his agent. Standing outside his apartment, MacGeorge wondered if he should call Laurel. "I said to myself, 'Do it.'"

Not only was Laurel pleased to hear from a fan, he asked him to come to lunch the following week. "So I used to go there and visit him. I would knock on the door, and he would open it. He would say, 'How are you, lad?' He called everyone lad. I said, 'How are you? He said, 'My life is over. Come on in. He said the same thing every time."

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TCM IN SEPTEMBER: MY TOP PICKS

Here is a new monthly feature where I spotlight what I think are some of the top picks Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is showing in a particular month.

This first edition will include my top ten picks for September 2011:

SEPTEMBER 3RD - 9AM
The Music Box (1932) - comedy short

Two men running a moving company have to get a large piano up a daunting flight of stairs. This is a Laurel and Hardy classic!!! (length:29 min)

SEPTEMBER 7TH - 8PM
Follow The Fleet (1936) - musical

Two sailors on leave romance a dance-hall hostess and her prim sister. I personally think this is one of the best Astaire and Rogers pairings. The stand out number in this movie is "Let's Face The Music And Dance". The Irving Berlin musical score is among his best too! (length:110 min)

SEPTEMBER 9TH - 10PM
The Jazz Singer (1953) - musical

A cantor's son goes against family tradition to become a popular singer. This is the first remake of the Jolson classic. The movie is so-so, but it is hardly seen so it is worth the viewing. Danny Thomas and Peggy Lee make a enjoyable onscreen pair. (length:107 min)

SEPTEMBER 11TH - 2:30 PM
The Clock(1945) - drama

A G.I. en route to Europe falls in love during a whirlwind two-day leave in New York City. This is an unusual and underrated role for Judy Garland. Robert Walker and character actor round out this charming love story. (length:90 min)

SEPTEMBER 14TH - 11PM
Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943) - musical

An Eddie Cantor look-alike organizes an all-star show to help the war effort. Eddie Cantor and almost everyone at Warner Brothers participates in this great war-time musical. The best number is Bette Davis singing and dancing to "They're Either Too Young Or Too Old". (length:127 min)

SEPTEMBER 18TH - 12:00 AM
Metropolis(1927) - science fiction

In this silent film, a city of the future is threatened with destruction when a wealthy corporate leader enlists a mad scientist to put down labor reformers. (length:149 min)

SEPTEMBER 22ND - 6PM
White Heat(1949) - drama

A government agent infiltrates a gang run by a mother-fixated psychotic. This is not really a rare movie, but it is one of my third favorite movie of all time. There was no better gangster than Jimmy Cagney! (length:114 min)

SEPTEMBER 24TH - 5:30 PM
The Spirit of St. Louis(1957) - drama

Charles Lindbergh risks his life to complete his historic flight from New York to Paris. I saw this movie when I was a young kid, and I have not had the opportunity to see it since. James Stewart as Lindbergh was perfect casting, and I always forget Billy Wilder directed this bio. (length:135 min)

SEPTEMBER 25TH - 12:00 AM
The Circus(1928) - comedy

In this silent film, the Little Tramp joins a circus to hide from the police. I am a huge fan of Charlie Chaplin but I have never seen this movie all the way through. I am excited for this one! (length:72 mins)

SEPTEMBER 29TH - 1:15 PM
The Killers(1946) - drama

An insurance investigator uncovers a string of crimes when he tries to find a murdered boxer's beneficiary. I believe this movie to be one of the classic film noir movies, and it defined the genre. Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner made the movie what it was! (length:102 min)

There are a lot of other great movies and festivals going on in September on TCM, but those were my ten picks of the month...

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STAN LAUREL'S HOUSE FOR SALE

The childhood home of Stan Laurel, the British funnyman of the Laurel and Hardy fame, is all set to go under the hammer this month. Bids start at 40,000 pounds for the two bedroom property in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, where the star comedian, famous for his double acts with Oliver Hardy, lived with his parents.

The empty house, home to Laurel and his actor parents when he was a baby, is up for sale through Keith Pattinson estate agents, reported the Daily Express.

Although Laurel was born in Cumbria, he spent much of his childhood in Bishop Auckland and was educated at the town's King James Grammar School. Above the front door of the mid-terraced house, a blue commemorative plaque reads, "Stan Laurel (Arthur Stanley Jefferson) of Laurel and Hardy lived in this house with his parents. He was baptised in St Peter's Church on 21st October 1891."

A spokeswoman for the estate agents said she hoped the property would attract Laurel and Hardy fans.

The auction will take place at the Newcastle Falcons Rugby Club ground on March 29.

Laurel, whose career stretched from the silent films of the early 20th century until after World War II, died at age 74 in the US in 1965.

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