Stan Laurel Letters | January 1957

THE MAGIC BEHIND
THE MOVIES
by Randy Skredvedt

MARCH OF THE
WOODEN SOLDIERS

STAN AND OLLIE
by SImon Louvish

LAUREL & HARDY
COLLECTION – VOL. 1

LAUREL & HARDY
COLLECTION – VOL. 2

FROM THE FORTIES
FORWARD
by Scott MacGillivray

RUBBER STAMP - 1111 Franklin St., Santa Monica, CA - HANDWRITTEN

                    Jan.11th.'57.
Dear Earl [Shank] Jr.:-
          Many thanks your welcome 1etter 6th.inst.
I intended writing you sooner to thank you for the nice Xmas cards, but due to Mrs L's Brother passing away a few days before Xmas everything has been quite upset around here as you can imagine. His sudden death was unexpected & naturally a great shock to us all (heart attack - 56 years old).
          A couple or days later, I got the news of a very dear friend of mine for over 40 years - killed in an auto accident, had just talked to him the night before. He wrote & directed with me on many or our pictures, you may recall his name Chas.Rogers. The oddest thing of all, he was buried right next grave to Mrs L's Brother, the irony of it, Charlie had called us to express his sympathy & 3 days later he was right along side. Well, I guess thats enough bad news for now.
          Yes,I spent one night in hospital to have my spine punctured, they found nothing there that would be causing my headache. However, I am still taking the allergy shots which seem to be helping a bit. Poor old Babe is about the same, does'nt seem to be making much improvement, still in bed unable to move or talk, its certainly distressing.
          Happy to note Cynthia is coming along so well, I know you must be very very proud of her, I imagine she is about ready to walk & talk a little by now, its really wonderful to watch them grow up.
          No, I did'nt know Paul Kelly personally. I knew D.W. Griffith very well but never worked for him, he told me one time, he would give everything to direct a L&H picture, I often wonder what type of story he had in mind.
          I do'nt know of J.E. Dodson you mention, was he a director? I think Mae Marsh & Mary Pickford both started with Griffith, he discovered more great stars than anyone & a great deal of talent in supporting roles.
          Fortunately we were not in the fire stricken area of Malibu, that really looked bad for a few days, not having rain for so long everything was dried up, big homes were destroyed in a matter of minutes, we saw right on the spot news on TV, it was frightening to look at.
          When the Marx Bros. first started out, there were 5, Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo & Zeppo, later Gummo dropped out & they became prominently known as The Four Marx Bros. frankly I never did care for any of them, Chico & Harpo played instruments & that was the only talent as far as I was concerned, this is not by any means professional jealousy, just my candid opinion.
          Never did care for the Three Ritz Bros. either, typical night club entertainers, they should have called themselves:- "Rough, Rude & Crude", to me, they are in a class with the Marx's & "The Seven Foy's" who were also one of my pet aversions in the early vaudeville days, they were at that time a Big Time act, why? I'll never know! they were worse than the famous Cherry Sisters who were billed as the Most Terrible Act in Show Bus.
          Please pardon my being so utterly frank. It would be interesting to know what they all thought about me, would'nt it?
          Well, all for now Earl, trust alls well & happy & bus. doing OK.
          Kindest regards & best to you all.
                    Sincerely always:-

                    Stan Laurel.

Charles Rogers co-directed a number of Laurel and Hardy shorts and features at Hal Roach Studios and also wrote for the team. | Paul Kelly (1899-1956) was a child actor from silent films who would become a Broadway star and major supporting player in Hollywood films of the 30s-50s, | David Llewelyn Wark Griffith (1875–1948) was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film "The Birth of a Nation" and the subsequent film "Intolerance." | J.E. Dodson was a character actor who appeared on Broadway in the early 1900s. | The Marx Brothers were a Jewish-American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950. The core of the act was the three elder brothers, Chico (1887-1961), Harpo (1888-1964) and Groucho (1890-1977). The two younger brothers, Gummo (1893-1977) and Zeppo (1901-1979), did not develop their stage characters to the same extent, and eventually left the act to pursue other careers. | The Ritz Brothers were an American comedy team who appeared in films, and as live performers from 1925 to the late 1960s. They were: Al Ritz, (1901–1965), Jimmy Ritz, (1904–1985) and Harry Ritz, (1907–1986). | Between 1910 and 1913, "Eddie Foy and The Seven Little Foys"—a family vaudeville act—quickly turned into a national institution. The Foys toured successfully for over a decade and appeared in one motion picture. | Effie, Addie, Ella, Jessie and Elizabeth, of Marion, Iowa—The Cherry Sisters—were by contemporary accounts the "worst act in vaudeville." Their show, "Something Good, Something Sad," was infamous for its quality and the vehement responses it elicited by audiences, who threw vegetables and disrupted performances. The sisters toured with the act for ten years, during which time they briefly appeared on Broadway. In 1898 they sued two Iowa newspapers for libel after they printed a scathing review of "Something Good, Something Sad." The case eventually went to the Iowa Supreme Court, which ruled in the newspapers' favor and set a precedent for the right to fair comment. —Editor

RUBBER STAMP - 1111 Franklin St., Santa Monica, CA - TYPEWRITTEN

                    Jan.28th.'57.
Dear Mrs [Marie] Hatfield:-
          Thanks your nice letter 18th.inst.
Our films on TV here have'nt been showing for quite a while, at least they have'nt been advertised as they used to be, they do run a feature length one once in a while on the Late Show, about 12-30 AM, I think thats specially for the Drunks & Delinquents!
          Sorry to say, Mae Busch & Arthur Houseman passed away quite a few years ago, poor Mae was a swell person & a great artiste, we were very fond of her, she was an Australian by the way.
          Arthur was really a character, frankly I never saw him sober, he could'nt help being good in those parts he played, many times we would have to hold him up in a scene so he would'nt fall down! funny, but a bit pitiful at times. Strange as it may seem, years ago before this, he was quite handsome & used to play romantic
leads.
          On Dec.17th. Mrs L's Brother suddenly died of a heart attack, being so unexpected you can imagine what a shock it was, well, it turned out a sad Xmas for all concerned.
          Think thats about all for now Mrs Hatfield, will look forward to the pleasure of meeting Mr H. & yourself during your visit next November - let me know in good time so I can bake a cake!
          Mrs L. joins in kind regards & best wishes to you both.
                    Sincerely always:-