Friday, February 1, 2013

A Riddle

A little something different today!  This star started in silents and became a household name:

The curtain is dusky, a desert sun red;
will Charles be performing, or will he instead?
The stage was big business back in his time
(you can ask him yourself, just drop in a dime
and call straight from the book, in the Ls, not the Js.)
He'd be happy to speak of his music hall days.


Can you guess who?

EDIT: Ruby answered correctly on the FF + SS Facebook page:  It's Stan Laurel


(photo courtesy Letters From Stan)

 His birth name was Arthur Stanley Jefferson; early in his stage career, as a member of the Karno Troupe, he was an understudy for Charles Chaplin.  His phone number was listed in the 1960s, and he was warm and friendly to any fans who called him for advice or inspiration.  (One such fan was comedian Dick Van Dyke.)  Laurel made his first film, Nuts in May, in 1917, and even did an early short with Oliver Hardy in 1920 -21.  However, it wasn't until 1927 that they were formally paired together -- and the magic began.



3 comments:

Lauren Hairston said...

I grew up watching the Laurel and Hardy shorts with my grandpa. It's kind of nice to know that someone who had a big influence on me as a kid was such a nice guy!

Artman2112 said...

you had me stumped Jennifer! i too grew up watching L&H films and tho i can really only take them in small doses now, they still can crack me the hell up and def have sentimental value to me :)
and of course the mere fact that Mrs Artman appears in Blockheads helps tremendously :D

Page said...

I missed the riddle but these quizzes are a lot of fun.
Stan looked quite dapper in his beret. So glad he met his comedic equal and gave us such wonderful films.
I hope all is well with you. I do apologize for my absence as of late. Doing my best to get caught up with your wonderful blog.
Page