Latest news with #SonsoftheDesert
BBC News
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Superfans gather in Harrogate for Laurel and Hardy convention
If you see hundreds of people wearing fez hats in Harrogate this weekend, don't be town, better known for quaint coffee shops and Turkish baths, is hosting the 43rd Sons of the Desert Laurel and Hardy fan duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy made more than 100 films together between 1921 and 1950, and their slapstick humour remains popular a century on. Super fans have gathered for an international celebration at the Cairn Hotel, running across the bank holiday weekend. John Burton and John Burton, father and son, are members of Sheffield fan branch The Brats, named after the 1930 short were involved in setting up the weekend, which is jointly hosted by the Sheffield group and Bradford group County Hospital."The idea was to get everybody together once a year from all over the country because all the branches meet regularly, but we had never met together," said Mr Burton Snr."The one thing about these conventions is all about becoming family. "If anyone comes away from a Laurel and Hardy convention and they're unhappy, they've not been to a Laurel and Hardy convention." Sons of the Desert is a Laurel and Hardy appreciation society with branches across the fan group is named after one of the duo's conventions are held in a different location every year and began in Ulverston, Cumbria - the birthplace of Laurel - in fans promise "never to talk about football or politics" and spend three days watching their favourite films, discussing the best jokes and holding costume have flown in from all over the world to be at the event - including Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the US. David Webb, who flew in from San Diego, California, said he had been to the UK for two previous conventions. He said: "I've been a Sons of the Desert member for many, many years."I love Laurel and Hardy and the Sons of the Desert. It's a lot of fun to watch the movies and be among other fans."There is a humanity about them. They cared about each other. They made 106 films together and toured the US and Europe and their legacy lasted 38 years. "I love them because as a child my dad introduced them to me. I laugh now, years after seeing them the first time 50 years ago." Samantha Bell is "Grand Sheikh" of Liverpool fan group Leave Em Laughing."I was very young when I joined, aged three, my dad took me in and it stuck," she first international convention was in 1983 when it came to Liverpool. And the family's love for the comedy pair has continued down the generations."My two daughters are 20 and 16 and whenever they were in grandad's house they were watching Laurel and Hardy," she said."It's lovely to be with people who like the same thing."Laurel and Hardy are timeless. Other comedians have come and gone because they're no longer funny, but even if you show a child a silent Laurel and Hardy film they know when to laugh because of the slapstick." Laurel and Hardy lookalikes Rob Graham and Garry Slade tour the UK entertaining and doing close-up magic tricks. The pair have been performing together for 22 years. They will be entertaining at the conference as well as enjoying meeting other Slade has been a member of Sons of the Desert since Graham said he loved impersonating Hardy and performing slapstick comedy because they always got a "great response from crowds". "We're also strippers," said Mr Slade. "We can do a full wall in half an hour." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
James Finlayson: The actor who inspired Homer Simpson's 'D'oh!'
James Finlayson failed to make it as a lead man in Holywood but become one of the most memorable comic foils ever to grace the silver Scottish actor performed in more than 100 films but was best known for being the "third man" to Laurel and Hardy. With his distinctive fake moustache, he starred with the iconic duo in 33 of their films and later became the inspiration for Homer Simpson's "D'oh!" Finlayson has been memorialised with a new portrait in the Scottish theatre where he first tread the boards more than a century ago. Dobbie Hall in his hometown of Larbert, Stirling, commissioned the oil painting to celebrate the actor's career and rise to international fame in the early days of cinema. The portrait by young artist Connor Draycott was unveiled by Finlayson's family, some of whom had travelled from the US for the were joined by fans of the black and white movies and "talkies" from the UK chapters of Sons of the Desert, named after the fictional lodge that Laurel and Hardy belonged to in the 1933 film of the same name. Finlayson, known as Fin to his fans and as Jimmy to his good friend Stan Laurel, was born in Larbert in worked for a while as a tinsmith in his father's foundry before moving to Edinburgh to study and then pursue an acting career. At the age of 23 he was performing at the Theatre Royal, but his ambitions were not satisfied. After the death of his parents he moved to New York with his the year he had landed a role on Broadway in The Great Game, for which reviews offered "nothing but praise". In May 1912, the New York Dramatic Mirror said Finlayson had "an excellent opportunity, which he did not miss, for developing two characters in his one role - the simple, naive Scotsman and the artful, determined detective". It added: "The remarkable thing is that he managed to do them both at the same time."He took on another Scottish character in the Broadway production of Bunty Pulls the Strings, but pulled out of the national tour in 1916 when Holywood beckoned. By 1919 he was signed with the "King of Comedy" Mack Sennet, appearing as a Keystone Cop and lauded as a "legitimate and screen player of international celebrity".After a move to Hal Roach at Culver City in 1923, Finlayson was tested in different billings, sometimes in a lead role or as one of a comic trio with up-and-coming comics Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. He eventually found his niche as their established comic support or antagonist. By the time he died aged 66 in 1953, he had more than 100 film credits to his name and his eccentric mannerisms were internationally recognised. The double-take, the squint then a one-eyed stare and raised eyebrow - Finlayson's madcap facial expressions became his trademark, along with the drawn-out "dohhhh".It inspired Dan Castellaneta when he voiced Homer in The Simpsons, which first aired in 1989. It is also said Finlayson's fake walrus moustache allowed him a degree of anonymity even in his heyday in Holywood. The artist who created his new portrait said he toyed with the idea of picturing the actor without his famous facial hair. Draycott, who is studying fine art at Glasgow School of Art, was commissioned to produce the artwork by the Dobbie Hall wanted to commemorate the Larbert man's global success and inspire young performers who appear in shows at the 20, said it was an honour to be asked to create the portrait for the he revealed he spent hours watching Finlayson's films to "recreate his trademark facial expression". Draycott said: "James is such a well-known face among fans of black and white movies and I wanted to capture the distinctive look that made him a real superstar of his day." The award-winning artist said he was fascinated by Finlayson's look and added: "There was initially some debate as to whether I should include his moustache in the portrait, as it was actually a false moustache that he wore specially for filming, but we decided that his moustache was such an integral part of his unique look that it should feature in the painting.""I like the fact that despite his face being so well-known during the 19040s and 50's he could apparently remove the moustache and walk around Hollywood without being recognised by members of the public."But now, thanks to his portrait, new generations in his hometown will recognise the young man from Larbert who followed his dream all the way to Holywood.
