Jan. 5th.'53.
My Dear Trixie [Wyatt]-
          First - Mrs L. joins in every good wish to you & yours for a very Happy & prosperous new Year - with lots of good Health. Sorry so long in answer to your nice letter & Xmas Card for which many, many thanks, but the holidays put me behind in my correspondence & am now just catching up with it. glad to tell you I am feeling much better - gained a lot of weight - the rest has done me a world of good & am in good shape to get going again.
          Read about the bad weather you are having - its wonderful here - just like summer - has been since we got back in Oct. Hard to get into the Xmas & New Year spirit - walking around in shorts! Had a letter last week from Jackie Harrison - said he had been sick. Yes, wish you had been with us in Manchester, it was quite a reunion.
          All for now Dear - drop me a line any old time - always nice to hear from you.
          Kind thoughts & love to all.
                    Sincerely as ever:

 

STAN LAUREL LETTERHEAD - 1111 Franklin Ave., Santa Monica, CA - TYPEWRITTEN

                    February 4th.'53.
Dear Ed [Patterson]-
          Many thanks yours of the 30th.inst.
Have just been reading of the terrible storms, sincerely hope you were not affected in Brighton & vicinity. It's really tragic in Holland, have been seeing news reels of it on TV. What next, first floods then Fog & now this, it's certainly uncanny all this on top of the Worlds crucial conditions. Poor Old England seems to be ill fated.
          Not surprised to note your request to Pathé being turned down, the Era of Kindness & Good Will has gone Ed, that's the trouble with the World to-day. No use being idealistic any more, times have changed, unfortunately for us all.
          I too had a quiet Xmas, did'nt bother to hang up my stocking, (It]s full of holes.) I guess you read re Chaplin's picture being banned on the West Coast here & several groups- American Legion etc. are trying to stop it being run in the East. Quite a controversy is going on, so it looks like the end of Chaplin in this Country. However, I guess he's not worrying, he can afford to hang up his hat & live in luxury for the rest of his life.
         Yes, I heard they were running some of our old pictures on TV. They use them here every week, have been for the last three years. The sad part is we don't get any revenue from them at all. Anyway, it keeps our name in front of the public which keeps us from dying out altogether. Note re "Crusoeland", surprised at the reports, as it is not a good picture by any means. As far as i am concerned - it stinks! All the studios here are starting to turn out 3rd.Dimension pictures, all experimental processes. No doubt they will make a lot of money for awhile till the novelty wears off, but am sure it won't affect TV in the least - that will live forever & if they get 3rd.Dimension on it, which if at all possible, will bee the last blow the Cinema ever suffered. Eventually, the Picture Theatres will have to sell their backlog of 35M film to TV or leave it on the shelf unreleased & all that money invested will be tossed. Of course they may figure, that the terrific profits they will make with 3rd.D. will more than cover the loss of the old film.
          No, we are not making any film at present - just busy taking it easy. We have offers to play in Tokio for eight weeks also a tour of Australia & Panto at the Opera House in Belfast this next Xmas for a 10 week run "Babes In The Wood" & of course a tour in Variety to follow in England again, but nothing definite to date.
          Well, all for now Ed, trust you are going along OK & taking good care of yourself.
          Kind thoughts & every good wish always,
                   As ever Sincerely:-

Gave Oliver your message - sends his kindest regards.

LAUREL AND HARDY FEATURE PRODUCTIONS LETTERHEAD - TYPEWRITTEN

                    March 12th.'53.

R.C. Brown Esq.,
STON EASTON
SOMERSET. ENG.

My Dear Craig:-
          Many thanks for your kind letter of February 3rd. forwarded on from the 20th Century Fox Studios. We very much appreciate your interest & effort in writing a sketch for us & regret to have to return same herewith, as you are aware, on our last appearance in England we had a very similar plot, that, of being forced to rob a house. So of course we don't wish to repeat a same idea on our next visit. However, if you have any other thoughts on a vehicle for us, we shall be pleased & interested to hear from you.
          With regards & best wishes always,
                    Sincerely Yours:-

                    LAUREL & HARDY.
 

STAN LAUREL LETTERHEAD - 1111 Franklin Ave., Santa Monica, CA - TYPEWRITTEN

                    March 14th.'53.
Chas.R.Maytum Esq.,
100,Wayne Street,
PROVIDENCE.8. R.I.

My Dear Charles:-
          Thanks for yours of the 8th.inst. with interesting enclosures. It was nice to hear from you again
& to know that all was well with you.
          I very much appreciate your loyalty as a L&H Fan, but frankly I think you are crazy to spend all the time & effort to see an old old picture when you can see them so often at home on TV. They have been running here once a week for over three years & still continue under different sponsorship. You could get information on this matter from your nearest TV Station, as I understand our series also runs quite a bit in the East.
          We had a very successful tour of the British Isles for nine months & expect to return next Oct. Pleased to tell you, my health has great1y improved & back to my normal weight again (155 LBS.) so am in good shape to carry on again.(Poor Public)
          All for now Charles, nothing exciting to tell you- just resting & taking it easy & enjoying being back home for a while.
          With kindest regards & every good wish,
                    Sincerely yours:-

                    STAN LAUREL.
 

LAUREL AND HARDY FEATURE PRODUCTIONS LETTERHEAD - 1111 Franklin Ave., Santa Monica, CA - TYPEWRITTEN EXCERPT

                    April 1st.'53.

My Dear Trixie [Wyatt]:-
          Your letter of March 26th. arrived this AM, it certainly came over in record time, it hardly seems possible. Am pleased to hear from you dear, but awfully sorry to note re Stan Andison passing on. Altho' I was not very surprised, as his health was in bad shape when I saw him last in Manchester in '52. & later he had a serious operation & was expecting to go through another one as soon as he recovered from the 1st. poor fellow.
          Strange there was no mention of his wife Evelyn Major in the obituary notice, & it was news to me that he had a daughter, I never met her, or did he ever mention her during the several visits to see me. Funny things, I wrote Jackie Harrison a couple of weeks ago & asked him if he had heard from Stan & Evelyn.
          Well, all for now Dear. Eda joins in love & kind thoughts & trust alls well & happy with you.
          Bye & God Bless.
                    As ever:-

                    x x
 

STAN LAUREL LETTERHEAD - 1111 Franklin Ave., Santa Monica, CA - TYPEWRITTEN

                    April 25th.'53.
My Dear Betty [Healy]-
          Was sure pleased to get your letter of the 20th.inst. & to read the good news re your new venture. Congratulations to you both, am sure you will be very happy there when all settled down & nothing to worry about. I think it's wonderful, practically living on your own estate & Wayne doing the work he likes best, & too, you have a nice place for your horses. Sounds like a perfect set-up. I am really very happy about it Betty, you both certainly deserve a BREAK. Lots of good luck. Your description of the ranch is very interesting, especially the Barn & the collection of old carriages etc. must be a great sight.
          I an feeling lots better, & getting the urge to get moving again. We are either going to England or Australia this year or maybe both, arrangements not completed as yet, but will be, pretty soon now, so am busy preparing a new act.
          The Masquers Club gave a dinner for Louella Parsons last Thursday night, it was quite an affair. I met Shemp Howard, but did'nt get a chance to talk to him very much, I think he re-joined the Stooges again, do'nt know what they are doing right now. The picture bus. is in uproar with the 3rd. dimension medium., studios are closed down for a few months as they are not sure which way to go, so of course there are a million & One actors idle. TV seems to be slowing down too, a lot of Sponsors are cutting out the big expensive shows as they will soon be able to get a backlog of old but good pictures from the studios, so they won't have to pay for actors or bother with productions & will be much cheaper, so things do'nt look too bright in Hollywood for a lot of Thespians. It's lucky we are able to go abroad & not be affected.
          Note you have'nt heard any more from Tonnage, think you are wise not to get mixed up in it. I guess you will be getting a TV set now, or is it difficult to get reception there due to the Mountain location? Well Betty, all here as usual, so not much to tell you, so will hang up.
          Bye bye Dear,
          Every good wish to you both,
                    As ever:-

STAN LAUREL LETTERHEAD - 1111 Franklin Ave., Santa Monica, CA - TYPEWRITTEN

                    June 4th.'53.
My Dear Betty [Healy]-
          Thank you for your nice letter of May 6th. which amongst the news I got some good laughs. Would have answered sooner, but have had several visitors from the other side, so have been quite busy entertaining them here & there & needless to tell you they are all SOLD on California. I did a hell of a job for the Chamber of
Commerce!.
          The Australian trip has been postponed, we will have to wait till the Tax situation is cleared up or no use of us going. So now its back to England for a year & maybe by that time things will get straightened out for Australia. We open in London for eight weeks in Oct. then tour the provinces again.
          I know Jan Rubini very well, was on the Pantages show with him a few years ago when he was with his first wife Dianne, (A French Girl - from Spokane!) before he joined our show, he had visited Charlie Chaplin at the Studio & had some snapshots taken with him. He had them enlarged & used them for Lobby display & was showing off to the rest of the acts what a big shot he was, & everything was Charlie & I etc. He did'nt know I had come to this Country with Chaplin & was his understudy & roomed with him for a couple of years, so one day I put out in the Theatre Lobby, personal pictures that Charlie had autographed to me & photos of Charlie. I on the Boat & in the show etc. You should have seen Rubini's face! he went bloody mad! & to make matters worse, after the first week, Pantages Headlined me instead of Rubini for the rest of the trip. From then on he did everything he possibly could to have me taken off the show. Dianne even accused the Girl I was working with of stealing her pocket book out of the dressing room. However it ended up, he was taken off the show in L.A. here. I'll never forget that trip as long as I live. What an impossible little Squirt he was, it would take too long to tell you of the many other incidents with him. I would like to go over to Malibu & teach him how to DROWN!.
          I got a terrific laugh over the Chic Sales story, thats priceless, what a finish for an act! Pleased to note you are finally settled down in your new home, but can imagine it is a bit lonesome for you with nothing to do. Too bad you have'nt a TV, that certainly keeps you interested. Did you have a chance to see the Coronation? it was a wonderful sight & very impressive, of course being a Britisher I felt very proud & Thrilled with it all. I thought it was a beautiful job, especially after all poor Old England has gone through these past few years. I understand Bostock still has his school of acting & tells his clients ha was the one that discovered L & H & put them where they were - poor guy.
          That must have been a wonderful Barbeque. I can imagine Wayne's disgust at having to perform - maybe it vas because he did'nt get any billing! You'll have to look after that next time, & send his photos in early. Anyway, I'm sure he did swell, at least, he knows what that business is all about.
          I too, think you are wise in not getting too friendly with the neighbour dept. They do not understand we of the Theatre & are very apt to misconstrue our meanings & thoughts in many ways & can easily make a Mountain our of a Mole Hill.
          I am busy trying to work out a new act, have a rough idea. Babe is in the Hospital, Psychopathic Case by mistake. I come to visit him & of course become involved, finishing up, the Psychiatrist Dr. turns out to be the one that is NUTS. (His name is Dr. Beserk) It sounds like it may have some possibilities for a funny sketch, however, if it does'nt pan out, I'll have to shake my head again.
          All for now Betty. Kind thoughts & everything to Wayne & self. If anything exciting come along, will let you know.
          Bye & God Bless:-
                    As ever:-

A story I just heard:-
          Tallulah Bankhead is in the Ladies room at Ciro's. A French Dame comes in.
          FRENCH DAME. Ah, Miss Bankhead! Did'nt we                     meet in CANNES?
          BANKHEAD. You mean this one? or the one at the                     Mocambo?
                              CURTAIN.

STAN LAUREL LETTERHEAD - 1111 Franklin Ave., Santa Monica, CA - TYPEWRITTEN

                    June 26th.'53.
My Dear Ed [Patterson]:-
          Thanks yours of the 20th.inst.
Sorry to note you weren't feeling so good, but hope you are doing something about it, remember the old landladies used to say "I'll 'ave none of that in my 'ouse"! trust you have recovered by now Ed. Can imagine the money that Rank will make on the Coronation film, it should be terrific in 16mm. sales, as I am sure, those that are buying it will want more than fifty feet & mostly all of it. A great break for Rank, he got his production for nothing, & what a production! I don't recall the picture you mention "Sloppiest Days", was it with Hardy or me alone?
           I made a drunk film (Silent) years ago before I met Hardy, was wondering if that was it. If it was, the title has been changed, but hardly think it possible. Funny you should mention about us doing a picture in Eng. for Balcon, he sent a fellow to see us when we played in Brighton, his name was W. P. Lipscomb, he came back to see us after he had seen the show & seemed very interested, but nothing has developed to date. What date was the issue of "Illustrated" that published the Chaplin life story? will appreciate if you will let me know, also the name & issue of the publication which included the picture of Mrs Laurel & myself. Yes, I am still a British Subject. What Ho & a bottle of rum! Never did see or hear of the script "ALL AT SEA" that was sent to the Roach Studio, otherwise it certainly would have been acknowledged.
          All for now Ed. Take care of yourself.
          All here join in the very best.
                    As ever:

                    Stan Laurel.

STAN LAUREL LETTERHEAD - 1111 Franklin Ave., Santa Monica, CA - TYPEWRITTEN EXCERPT

                    July 1st.'53.
Dear Nellie [Bushby]-
          Eda & I saw the Coronation film at home here on our Television, just eight hours after the ceremony! was'nt that amazing? what an age we are living in. We thought it was wonderful, needless to tell you I felt very proud & thrilled. A credit to Dear Old England, it was magnificent.
 

STAN LAUREL LETTERHEAD - 1111 Franklin Ave., Santa Monica, CA - TYPEWRITTEN

                    July 3rd.'53.
My Dear Betty [Healy]-
          Thanks yours of June 29th.
Nice to hear from you again, but sorry to hear that you had been so ill & the unhappy visit with Marcia. That was terrible, can imagine how much it upset you, being in that awful surrounding, & fully understand your not wanting to ever visit there again. Enough to make anyone ill, it must have been a shock to see her in such a condition after knowing her to have been a nice looking girl, just shows you what that booze can do to some people, especially if they are weak minded. Its too bad - poor soul, what a life!
          I was pleased that you met Eda on the phone, she enjoyed talking with you & sends her best hopes you are feeling better by now. Glad to note you are having your teeth attended to, thats very important for the health dept. if you let them go, they can cause you a lot of trouble & plenty of Doctors bills!
          Thanks for the suggestions of ideas for an act Betty, in a haunted castle could be very funny, but would have more scope the screen than a stage. The Customs Idea I saw done in England last year in a pantomime, & went very well. Incidently , Daphne Pollard did the same thing in vaudeville for several years, she did a little Cockney dame arriving in New York from England, I saw her at the Palace N.Y. I have'nt seen or heard from her for over five years, I called her on the phone when I returned from England in '47. She balled me out for not sending her a post card from over there, said she would'nt talk to me again & hung up. so that is that. Her boy friend Jack Hanley, married Lucille (The girl you took up to your house to take care of, remember?) Maybe you knew. Jack has done very well at Columbia for several years in the writing dept. before that at Universal international for quite a long time.
          Glad to know you are comfortable & Happy in your new home, altho' can imagine you are pretty lonesome when Wayne is away. All here as usual, but will have to start thinking about getting ready to leave in the middle of Sept. Time passes so quickly & I hate to rush at the last minute. All for now Betty, Eda joins in kind thoughts & every good wish to Wayne & self. Will keep you posted once in a while.
          Bye now.

STAN LAUREL LETTERHEAD - 1111 Franklin Ave., Santa Monica, CA - TYPEWRITTEN

                    July 10th.'53.
W.H.Weaver Esq.,
33,Caldwell Road,
ALLERTON.LIVERPOOL.ENG.

My Dear Jock [Weaver]:-
          Just recd. the Coronation souvenir edition of the "Daily Express". It was certainly nice of you & I appreciate your kind thought very much. Thank you Jock.
          We saw the Coronation film at home here, just eight hours after the ceremony, is'nt that amazing - what an age we are living in! We thought it a wonderful & beautiful sight & needless to tell you I felt very proud & thrilled, a great credit to Dear Old England. It was magnificent!
          We are returning to England again sometime in September, so will probably sail on one of the "QUEENS" Which one is Jack Alderson on now? hope we get on the same ship. Jimmy Murphy was out here a few months ago & as usual a million laughs - what a guy!
          Glad to tell you I am feeling much better in the health dept. gained back a lot of weight & all ready to GO again. The nice long rest did wonders for me.
          Mrs L. joins in kind regards & every good wish to your Mother & self - trust alls well & happy.
          Bye Jock, hope to be seeing you again.
                    Sincerely always::-

                    STAN LAUREL.
 

OUTSIDE THE ROYAL MARINE HOTEL, DUN LAOGHAIRE, DUBLIN IN SEPTEMBER 1953

LAUREL AND HARDY FEATURE PRODUCTIONS LETTERHEAD - TYPEWRITTEN

                    Royal Marine Hotel
                    DUN LAOGHAIRE.Co.DUBLIN.
                    EIRE. SEPT. 22nd.'53.

Gordon Craig Esq.,
92,Ivor Court,
Gloucester Place,
LONDON. N.W.1.ENG.

My Dear Craig:-
          Many thanks yours of the 19th.inst.
We would like you to join us here for rehearsals on Monday next (28th) kindly contact the Delfont office re transportation matters.
          Suggest that you arrange to live in Dublin, as we shall be rehearsing at the Olympia Theatre about Wednesday of next week. In the meantime we shall have a few run throughs at the Hotel here with the cast, to get familiar with the sketch. It is about six miles from here to Dublin & there is bus or train service.
          Re the costumes & wig, we prefer to have them purchased, regulation Nurses outfit, blue with white collar & cuffs & white cap. The wig I will leave up to you, whatever you are accustomed to working in. Get two outfits & have charged to L&H, Delfont office. Will appreciate if you will bring them with you.
          Thank you for your kind wishes.
                    Sincerely always:-

                    LAUREL & HARDY
 

LAUREL AND HARDY FEATURE PRODUCTIONS LETTERHEAD - TYPEWRITTEN

                    Royal Station Hotel.
                    NEWCASTLE-ON-TYRE.
                    NOV.24th.'53.

Mr & Mrs Short,
16,River View,
BEDLINGTON.N'umberland.

Dear Mr & Mrs Short-
           Many thanks for the lovely flowers, your sweet thought is deeply appreciated. We very well remember the same pleasure in 1952.
          Note you are coming to see the show on Saturday evening, if you would care to come back-stage, we would indeed be very happy to meet you.
          Our kind regards & every good wish.
                    Sincerely always:-

                    LAUREL & HARDY
 

BABE BEING INTERVIEWED BY JOHN McCABE- Birmingham, England- NOVEMBER 1953

HOTEL LETTERHEAD - Hull, England- HANDWRITTEN

                    Dec.21st.'53.
Dear Jack [McCabe]:
          I think the idea of a book is a very good one, and I shall do everything in my power to help you, of course. I especially like the idea that it will be about our way of making the pictures, rather than about our lives. When we return to Birmingham, you can spend all the time you like interviewing us together or separately, as you like. Probably I can be of more help to you in that department than Babe. He usually doesn't care to talk too much about the making of the pictures.
                    Sincerely always,