|
|
|
|
|
|
Oliver Norvell Hardy (January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American
film actor. With Stan Laurel, he formed half of perhaps the most famous
comedy partnership in film history, Laurel and Hardy.
Hardy was born in Harlem, Georgia and briefly attended Georgia Military
College in Milledgeville.
He was nicknamed 'Babe;' according to Hardy himself, from asking a barber
for a shave as a child and the barber slapping a little powder on his face
and saying, "That's it, Babe, you're clean.
***
***
His widow is credited in saying in a 1980s interview included in the
television broadcast Laurel and Hardy, Together Again, Hardy picked up his
nickname from an Italian barber patting him on the cheek and saying "That's
nice-a-bab-y!" The name stuck. Hardy was even billed as Babe Hardy in early
films. So well known was Hardy by this nickname, that in some of the duo's
first silent films, Laurel can be seen mouthing the word "Babe" when calling
out to Hardy.
Hardy's father died at a very young age and in the John McCabe biography 'Babe'
there is some suggestion that he was somewhat wayward in his youth. He was a
gifted singer when he was young and by an early age was performing with
minstrel shows. This prediliction for minstrel music was later demonstrated
by his musical number 'Lazy Moon' in the 1931 feature 'Pardon Us'.
By 1910 he ran a movie theatre, often providing the music. In 1913 he joined
the Lubin Company in Florida, making his movie debut in 'Outwitting Dad'
(1913). Hardy worked on many silent films from this period onwards,
including a brush with Stan Laurel with 'Lucky Dog'. Probably his most
famous co-star in the pre-Laurel and Hardy era was Larry Semon, a popular
but now forgotten silent comedian. Together they appeared in films such as 'Her
Boyfriend' (1924) and 'The Wizard of Oz' (1925). By 1927 Hardy's career was
in the ascendancy and Semon's declined. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
OLIVER HARDY PICTURES |
|
|
|
MOST POPULAR
Angelina Jolie
Jessica Alba
Paris Hilton
Scarlett Johansson
Jessica Simpson
Britney Spears
Christina Aguilera
Lindsay Lohan
Shakira
Beyonce
Hilary Duff
ADDITIONS
Miley Cyrus
Rihanna
Hayden Panettiere
Miranda Cosgrove
Selena Gomez
Demi Lovato
Vanessa Hudgens
Ashley Tisdale
|