Generally considered to be the most hilarious and beloved comedy team ever in the history of the cinema through the development of their endearing characters and their timeless buffoonery. A 'fat-skinny' duo, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy had lead separate but distinguished acting careers until a chance encounter at the Hal Roach studios in 1926 united them.
Their films, most of them short subject, were deceptively simple in plot. Their day began routinely enough but within minutes relatively minor confrontations had invariably escalated to complete mayhem. They exuded such a degree of child-like naiveté combined with unbelievable stupidity that even the most detached viewer felt compelled to root for their unlikely success. This formula, while tedious at times, at its best left audiences howling with laughter elevating screen comedy to the level of absolute magic.
Sadly each died in relative obscurity leaving behind a wealth of over 100 films, 27 of them features for the enjoyment of generations of viewers.
