Comedian Oliver Hardy was born on this day in 1892 (he died in 1957.) Here's a 1950 TV interview he did right as he was about to set sail for France:
The interviewer makes mention of Hardy being part of a famous comedy team, so without further ado, let's see that comedy team in action:
Uh...That's not the comedy team I had in mind.
In 1956, two of the funniest men who ever lived got together one last time to have their picture taken, though you'd be forgiven if you didn't immediately recognize the one on the right. So what accounts for Oliver Hardy's gaunt appearance? It seems the comedian, spooked by a mild heart attack he had suffered in 1954, went on a crash diet, shedding a whole 150 pounds. However, in a letter to an acquaintance, Stan Laurel speculated his longtime comedy partner had cancer. We do know that a series of strokes felled Hardy about a year after this photo was taken. At least the master of the comic reaction was able to give us one final feat of foolery for the camera.
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