Although his Scottish-English parents were never in show business, as a young boy Oliver Hardy was a gifted singer and, by age eight, was performing with minstrel shows. In 1910 he ran a movie theatre, which he preferred to studying law. In 1913 he became a comedy actor with the Lubin Company in Florida and began appearing in a long series of shorts; his debut film was
Outwitting Dad...See full bio »
1939Zenobia
(performer: "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls" 1843 - uncredited)
1938Swiss Miss
(performer: "The Mousetrap Song" 1938 - uncredited, "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" 1910 - uncredited)
1937Pick a Star
(performer: "Listen to the Mockingbird" 1855 - uncredited, "Yankee Doodle" ca. 1755 - uncredited)
1937Way Out West
(performer: "At the Ball, That's All" 1913 - uncredited, "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" 1913 - uncredited, "I Want to Be in Dixie" 1912 - uncredited)
1935Tit for Tat
(short)
(performer: "Bonnie Banks O' Loch Lomond" - uncredited)
1934Them Thar Hills
(short)
("The Old Spinning Wheel" 1933 - uncredited)
1934Oliver the Eighth
(short)
(performer: "I'm Sitting on Top of the World" 1925 - uncredited)
[on his physical grace and athleticism]: I hate to see big men lurching around all over the place.
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Trivia:
Shared the nickname "Babe" with another beloved comedian of his time - Jerome "Curly" Howard. Hardy was named by a Florida barber because of his "baby" face; Howard by his family because he was the youngest, or "baby".
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Trademark:
To Stan: "Why don't you do something to *help* me?"
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company.