LAUREL AND HARDY FEATURE PRODUCTIONS LETTERHEAD - TYPEWRITTEN

I guess you read about poor old Jimmy Finlayson passing on, also Baldy Cooke.

Stan Laurel

                July 17th.'54.
My Dear Betty [Healy]:-
    So nice to hear from you & to know that alls well & happy with you. We arrived back home June 26th. about three months earlier than expected, due to Babe taking ill at Plymouth Eng. we had to. cancel the balance of our tour. However, am glad to be back to take a rest for a while.
    I can't understand you not receiving the letter I wrote you just after the opening of the new act last October, I enclosed the reviews & program & as it had not being returned, have wondered why you had'nt acknowledged it. As a rule I left my letters to be stamped & mailed at the Hotel desk (the postage charged on my bill) so its very possible it might have been mislaid & is still laying somewhere. I had an experience in Dublin - I had sent some suits out to be cleaned & when I left, I thought I had gotten them all back. Six months later I discovered one missing, so took a chance & wrote the Hotel in Dublin about it - sure enough they had & had'nt bothered to forward it on to me to the London office address which they knew would find me - can you imagine! anyway, you can feel assured, that not hearing from me is not due to any offense whatsoever, & re the clippings of L&H for your book, I'll send you some under seperate cover in the next few days or as soon as we get straightened here - We are having the house papered & painted inside & out, rugs cleaned, lot of furniture re-upholstered etc. so right now everything is in a big mess.
    Am delighted to note you have got a TV set - I told you last year you should'nt be without one. I think they are wonderful, keeps you in touch with the whole World & whats going on in every sphere.
    We sailed from Hull Eng. June 3rd. on a Danish Cargo ship, the voyage took 23 days, stopped in at St. Thomas (Virgin Islands) Curaco Christobal & through the Panama Canal it was very interesting, especially the Canal. The accommodations were very nice - good food & calm sea all the way, I really prefer traveling this way as you do'nt have to dress up for meals etc. as you do on the big passenger ships. There was only 10 passengers on this trip (12 is the limit they carry) so its practically like being on a private yacht.
    I can imagine how thrilled you are re the new home & know how much you will enjoy fixing it up - wish you lots of good luck & happiness in it, & appreciate your kind invitation for Eda & I to visit.
    Wonderful news re Marcia, she certainly deserves a lot of credit & is to be admired for her will power , my congratulations to her.
    I guess you read about poor old Jimmy Finlayson passing on, also Baldy Cooke. Charlie Rogers dropped in to see me last week, he has two kids now! My daughter Lois is expecting in December - sounds like a Louella Parsons column!
    All for now Betty. My best to Wayne, trust he is feeling OK.
    Kind thoughts to you both.
                As ever:-
Stan Signature

Note from the Editor

James Henderson “Jimmy” Finlayson (1887-1953) was a Scottish-American actor who worked in both silent and sound comedies. Bald, with a fake moustache, Finlayson had many trademark comic mannerisms and is famous for his squinting, outrageous “double-take, fade away” head reaction, and characteristic expression, “D’oh!”

Baldwin “Baldy” Cooke (1888-1953) and his wife Alice, toured in vaudeville with Stan Laurel, remaining close friends over the years. He appeared in some thirty Laurel and Hardy comedies. Cooke also appeared in the Our Gang series, and supported Charley Chase.



Stan Watermark