LAUREL & HARDY - The British Tours

by "A.J" Marriot

with a foreword by Lord Delfont

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 that 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.

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. 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.

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 the first time that they were famous outside of America, is admirably narrated.

To compile LAUREL & 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.

What fans said:

You have done what I did not think possible, you have enhanced and increased my love for Laurel and Hardy - and for that you have my thanks. (JOHN ROCHE - Pembroke)

Your book made me laugh and made me cry. How strange it is to have such strong feelings about two people I never met, but then your book brought them alive. What more could one wish for? (TANIA M. EDWARDS - London W14)

Unlike most recent books, your book documents much that was not known by Sons. It's truly outstanding. (GINO DERCOLA - Columbia, USA)

Words fail me in adequately expressing my heartfelt appreciation to you for writing this important history in the lives of Laurel and Hardy. (MARK A. MILLER - Columbus, Ohio)

I don't think I have ever enjoyed a book so much as Laurel & Hardy - The British Tours. (DAVID KING - New Milton)

I read your book in one go, and felt I was actually there. Every Son should have a copy. (ARTHUR WESTWOOD - Atherton)

Click here to email me: "A.J" Marriot

SPECIAL OFFER

Buy a copy on or before
31st October and get
FREE POSTAGE
within UK
and £2.50p anywhere in the world
Book, will be signed by author.

Postage within UK = First Class

To pay  £19.95p by PAYPAL for orders within UK
click on the link below:-

To Europe = Air Mail
To US and Rest of the World
= Surface Mail [takes 6-8 weeks]

To pay £22.45p by PAYPAL for orders from
Ireland, Europe, US and Rest of the World,
click on the link below

OR
For Orders within UK send Sterling Cheque, Postal Orders
or Cash payment of £19.95p only.
For Orders to Ireland, Europe, US and Rest of the World,
send Sterling Cheque, Postal Orders
or Cash payment of £22.45p only, to
"A.J" Marriot. 20, Oughton Close, Hitchin. Herts. SG5 2QY (no visitors)
 

HOME       LAUREL & HARDY the BRITISH LOCATIONS