Brushwood Gulch Gazette

July - August 1997

Volume 30, Number 5


NOTE: This is an old issue of the Brushwood Gulch Gazette, which has been archived for reference purposes. Although some links have been updated, the text of this archived newsletter remains unchanged. Please keep in mind that these articles have NOT been updated to reflect changes that may have occurred since they were originally printed. Return to the index of archived issues.

Contents:

Rare L&H Documentary at Next Meeting
Remembering Rosina
Rosina: A Love Story
Robert Mitchum
Remarks by John McCabe
Previous Meeting
Sunset Cinema Film Festival
"Butch" Bond Fan Club
Fans and Stars Honor the Boys in Culver City

Edgar Kennedy Tribute in Monterey, CA
Thelma Todd Honored in Lawrence, MA
Remember When
Our Friends
Did You Know?
L&H in Cyberspace
Film Program for August 26, 1997
Looking Back
Birthdays


Rare L&H Documentary and Raffle at Next Meeting

Be sure not to miss the August 26 meeting, which will feature a rare screening of the British Laurel & Hardy documentary, Cuckoo. This will certainly be a real treat, as it has never been shown before at a Way Out West Tent meeting! As an added bonus, we will present the 60th anniversary screening of Laurel & Hardy's most popular film (and our tent's namesake), Way Out West. There will also be a special raffle at the meeting, so be prepared to buy a few tickets to support your tent. We will meet at the Mayflower Club, located at 11110 Victory Blvd. (west of Vineland Ave.) in North Hollywood. Doors open at 6:30 pm for cocktails and socializing, and the meeting will begin at 7:30 pm. The Famous Fabulous Fisher Franks will be at the ready and the Marvelous Mayflower Bar will be servin' 'em up for your pleasure. We'll look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, August 26, 1997.

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Remembering Rosina

On June 23, 1997, Sons of the Desert around the world were very saddened to learn of the passing of Rosina Lawrence McCabe. All of us knew and loved her as Mary Roberts in Laurel and Hardy's Way Out West. Members of the Way Out West Tent had the privilege of meeting Rosina and making her an honorary member of our tent, during the Second International Sons of the Desert Convention in 1980.

She was born in Canada, on December 30, 1912, to George and Annie Louise Lawrence. The family moved to California in 1921. There, her father found work as a set builder in the studios and was able to introduce his daughter to casting agents. At the age of sixteen, Rosina took up dancing, as therapy to recover from a paralysis to her left side. This led to parts as a dancer. At twenty, Miss Lawrence was employed at Fox Studios where she made a number of films with Alice Faye, Edward Everett Horton, and others before obtaining a long-term contract with Hal Roach Studios in 1936.

Her first film for the "Lot Of Fun" was entitled Kelly The Second, with Patsy Kelly. In addition to Nobody's Baby and Mr. Cinderella, she starred with Charley Chase in On the Wrong Trek, where she and Charley sang and danced to Charley's composition "Let's Make it a Big Day." She also worked with Chase in his final Hal Roach comedy, Neighborhood House.

Aside from Way Out West, Rosina may best be remembered for her role as the beautiful blonde school teacher in the Our Gang series. She appeared in General Spanky, the only Our Gang feature, and the Academy Award winning Bored Of Education. This was the only Our Gang film to receive such an honor.

Right after completing her work on Way Out West, she starred with Jack Haley and Patsy Kelly in Pick A Star, in which Laurel and Hardy also appeared. Following her work at the Roach Studios, she worked in Italian film with the fabled brother team of Eduardo and Peppino Di Filippo.

Miss Lawrence left films in 1939, when she married a distinguished Italian-American judge, Juvenal Marchisio, of Brooklyn. Judge Marchisio died in 1973. In 1976, Rosina attended her first Sons of the Desert function in New York. She attended numerous Sons of the Desert events, including those in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. On June 8, 1987, Miss Lawrence married acclaimed author and Sons of the Desert co-founder, John McCabe.

She is survived by her husband, two daughters, a son, and five grandchildren. We, her fans, extend our deepest sympathy to her family and friends.

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Rosina: A Love Story

By John McCabe

This project could be described as a garland of memories about a lady whose whole life was a love story. For a booklet under the above title, I hope to put together a series of anecdotes about Rosina, all coming from her family and friends. I will edit these into a mosaic of stories that illustrate her intrinsic sweetness and charm. I ask you to at least think of contributing. Not a speck of literary talent is needed. Just a few lines about, say, your most vivid personal memory of her. This does not in any measure have to be dramatic or exciting. Perhaps a little encounter with her that, for you, sums up something of her warmth and kindness. The only thing that I ask you to avoid is the abstract or the vague...no "she was just wonderful" or "she was so sweet." These things are a given, already understood. I would just have to edit such things out. No rush at all. I will be sorting these things out in the Fall. Mail to me: John McCabe, Box 363, Mackinac Island, MI 49757. Thanks!

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Robert Mitchum

Acclaimed actor Robert Mitchum passed away July 1, 1997. He appeared in over a hundred films, including The Sundowners, River of No Return, Night of the Hunter, and Cape Fear. In addition to his distinguished staring roles, Robert Mitchum is best remembered among Laurel and Hardy fans for his appearance in the 1943 film, The Dancing Masters. Mitchum played one of two con men who sell the boys an insurance policy. Little did anyone know that two years later, Mitchum would rise to stardom in The Story of G.I. Joe, for which he received his first (and only) Academy Award nomination. Other highlights in his long career include El Dorado, with John Wayne, and the role of Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep. Born in Connecticut, Mitchum took to the road at the age of 16, riding freight trains to California. Along the way, he found work as a ditch digger, coal miner, and professional boxer. He even claimed to have been arrested for vagrancy, ending up on a chain gang for six days before he escaped. He married his childhood sweetheart, Dorothy Spence, in 1940. He is survived by his wife, two sons, and a daughter.

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Remarks by John McCabe
at Frank R. Campbell Funeral Parlor, New York, June 26, 1997

"Let me begin by saying that this is not a funeral service. Rosina didn't believe in funerals any more than she did in bodily burial or bad manners.

"Her theme words were 'life' and 'beauty,' and she served those two entities unceasingly all her long life.

"She could not bear to be away from those she loved, even in death. She kept through the years the ashes of those dear to her, even the ashes of her favorite dog, little Mo-Tek, who was perhaps her dearest companion outside of family. Above all, Rosina kept the ashes of her parents, Annie and George Lawrence, who taught their daughter the gentle habits of thoughtful, loving courtesy that so strongly were a part of her all her years.

"Tonight I pay a special tribute to Rosina's children. Day after long day, as we sat in her hospital room while she moved into deeper and deeper slumber, I was struck by the depth of the loving ministrations of her family, Mark, Rosina Jr. and Margaret. When I complimented Margaret on the care she and her sister were giving her mother, she said, 'With as loving a mother as we had ... who gave us so much ... that was easy. She was that kind of woman.'

"Indeed. Just what kind of woman was Rosina Mae Lawrence? What most characterized her?

"Those of you who knew her well will answer that question easily ... and in a single word ... sweetness. That was obvious. What was less seen about Rosina was her determination, and especially in these recent years, her courage. In these last months she underwent three cancer operations ... all difficult, trying and intensely painful ... and never once did she offer a word of complaint. Not once did she show a resentment of her fate. Not once did she flinch or weep. Instead, in response to her family's care and solicitude, she would say, 'Oh, you don't have to go to that bother,' or 'Please don't trouble yourself.' In her gentle, soft-spoken way, her courage was her most manifest quality. I can attest, as her husband for a decade, to this quality which I saw in her over and over again.

"And now, please, to a project that will, I believe, help keep her memory bright through the years to come for family and friends ... a written record of her as she lives in your memories of her. Shortly I will ask her grandchildren to pass among you a brief description of a booklet I am fashioning about Rosina ... words put together that will encapsulate what you, her family and friends, have felt about her.

"Finally, the words of Shakespeare that have been traditionally spoken at memorials by actors about fellow actors, about their deceased comrades. In England, from where Rosina ultimately came, there is a tradition among actors that at St. Paul's, the small Actors Church in Covent Garden, one actor closest to the deceased will speak the elegy from Shakespeare's play, Cymbeline. This is now a tradition centuries old among actors ... the reading of this lovely farewell to life ... so richly human, and as always when Shakespeare is serious, with its one darting flash of wit. I am glad that it is uniquely fitting I speak these words. One of the things Rosina and I shared is that we were both child actors, beginning our professional lives at the age of eight.

"In looking again at the Elegy from Cymbeline two things struck me about it in respect to Rosina. First is Shakespeare's references to 'dust' ... evocative of the high regard Rosina has for the ashes of her dear departed ... and, second, the terminal reference in the Elegy to the grave.

"Rosina's grave is not of the-earth, earthy ... it has nothing to do with being under grassy sod. Her grave is the brave and stirring memory of her sweet and gallant spirit that will always live on in all our memories of her."

The Elegy from Cymbeline

Fear no more the heat o' the sun
Nor the furious winter's rages;
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone and ta'en thy wages.
Golden lads and girls all must
As chimney sweepers, come to dust.

Fear no more the frown o' th' great;
Thou art past the tyrant's stroke.
Care no more to clothe and eat;
To Thee the reed is as the oak.
The scepter, learning, physic, must
All follow this and come to dust.

No exorciser harm thee,
Nor no witchcraft charm thee.
Ghost unlaid forbear thee;
Nothing ill come near thee.
Quiet consummation have.
And renowned be thy grave.

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Previous Meeting

Because of our anniversary celebration in June, our last regular meeting was all the way back in May! But it was a truly memorable evening. Author Richard Bann recreated Laurel and Hardy's lost two-reeler, Hats Off. Using slides from the Hal Roach advertising campaign, from the front of the theater in Los Angeles where the film was shown, and from the film itself, Mr. Bann gave a detailed narration of the opening credits, title cards, and a description of all the scenes. This was quite a treat, especially because it was the closest we have ever gotten to seeing this lost treasure. A tip of the derby and many thanks to Richard Bann for a fantastic job!

We were also joined by Lois Laurel Hawes, Jay Dare, Edgar Kennedy's grandson Glenn Kennedy, and Glenn's daughter Dana (Edgar Kennedy's great granddaughter). Bill Cassara, the "Sheik Of Police" of the Midnight Patrol Tent, was also in attendance to update us on plans for the Edgar Kennedy Celebration in July. WOW Vice-Sheik Jimmy Wiley presented Steven Smith with an autographed celebrity photo for winning Way Out West's Internet trivia contest.

The film program for the evening included Charley Chase in Limousine Love, followed by the boys in Going Bye-Bye! After a short break, the Robert Youngson feature, The Golden Age Of Comedy was screened.

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Sunset Cinema Film Festival

On August 30, 1997, the Sunset Cinema Film Festival in San Diego will pay tribute to Laurel & Hardy, Buster Keaton, and Charlie Chaplin as part of their eighth annual event. These silent films will be accompanied by a live orchestra and will last approximately two hours. The entire event will take place outdoors; films will be projected onto an offshore barge and spectators will sit onshore, in the park. The event will take place at Tidelands Park, in Coronado. Pre-film festivities begin at 6 pm and the films begin at 8 pm. Admission is free, but it is advised that you bring beach chairs, blankets, pillows, and picnic items to enhance the enjoyment of the films. Arrangements are being made to cordon off an area of the park for "Sons of the Desert," so that we may all sit together. So arrive early and look for the rest of the Sons...they'll probably be the ones wearing the fezzes.

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"Butch" Bond Fan Club

The new "Darn Right It's Butch" fan club has been formed to honor Our Gang star, Tommy "Butch" Bond. Membership is $20.00 for one year, which includes a membership card and a quarterly newsletter detailing all the news about Butch's career and forthcoming appearances. To join, please contact: "Darn Right It's Butch" fan club, P.O. Box 588, Selma, CA 93662.

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Fans and Stars Honor the Boys in Culver City

The Way Out West Tent's 30th Anniversary Celebration proved to be a very successful and exciting event. We were elated to see just how many people still love Laurel and Hardy, and a little surprised by the lengths at which some people went in order to join us. Guests included many of our very own members, as well as those from as far away as Canada, France, England, and Germany!

The festivities took place June 28-29, in Culver City and around the Los Angeles area. Highlights included Saturday and Sunday tours, with visits to locations from such films as Bacon Grabbers, The Bohemian Girl, County Hospital, The Finishing Touch, Going Bye-Bye!, Hats Off, Hog Wild, Liberty, Putting Pants on Philip, and We Faw Down. A piano crate was located at the Music Box stairs, making for a perfect photo opportunity. There was a stop at Hal Roach Park, the former site of the Hal Roach Studios. And, for the first time ever, we visited the Pottsville train station from Berth Marks. Other firsts included stops at the graves of Edgar Kennedy, L&H cameraman Art Lloyd, Our Gang director Robert McGowan, and L&H director Leo McCarey. We also paid our respects at the graves of Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, and T. Marvin Hatley. Screenings during the weekend included Leave 'Em Laughing, The Perfect Day, Putting Pants On Philip, and County Hospital.

Sunday morning in downtown Culver City, in front of the Stellar Hardware store on Main Street, Stan's daughter Lois unveiled a plaque which read, "On this site, in October of 1927, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy filmed scenes from their comedy classic, Leave 'Em Laughing." Stan Laurel's great-grandchildren, Cassidy and Patrick, were also on hand for the occasion. Also present was Bart Williams, who brought Stan Laurel's 1947 Chrysler for all to see. A pair of Laurel and Hardy impersonators were also on the scene. A special thank you to Wayne Yorke (Ollie) and B. Arthur Mulligan (Stan) for sharing their natural talents and giving a first rate performance as the Boys. They made very special photo opportunities at the homes from Big Business and The Perfect Day. The owner of the Big Business house even greeted us with a copy of a Laurel and Hardy film in hand. Fortunately for him, we had no Christmas trees for sale!

This year's annual banquet took place at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Culver City. Acclaimed impressionists Chuck McCann and Jim MacGeorge had the audience roaring with laughter as they brought the humor of Laurel and Hardy to life on stage. Ventriloquist Joe Gandelman also got big laughs with his original comedy performance honoring the boys. A look back at the history of the WOW tent was presented through a series of slides, as was a tribute to over 100 celebrity guests who have been a part of the life of the Way Out West Tent.

Special toasts were presented to honor WOW Tent Founding Grand Sheik, Bill Patterson, to the memory of Rosina Lawrence McCabe, and to the memory of Tony Hawes. Celebrity guests in attendance included Billy Benedict (Great Guns), Anthony Caruso (Jitterbugs), Jay Dare (L&H costumer), Betty Goulding Saunders (widow of director Alf Goulding), Lois Laurel Hawes, Glenn and Mark Kennedy (grandsons of Edgar Kennedy), Jim MacGeorge (Stan Laurel impressionist), Chuck McCann (Oliver Hardy impressionist), Trudy Marshall (The Dancing Masters), and Bob Overbeck (special effects artist at Hal Roach Studios). Also joining us from Our Gang were Peggy Ahern, Lassie Lou Ahern, Tommy "Butch" Bond, Frank "Junior" Coghlan, Dorothy "Echo" Deborba, Edith Fellows, Eugene "Pineapple" Jackson, Leonard Landy, Peggy Lynch (Margaret Kerry), Bobs Watson, and Delmar Watson.

The Way Out West Tent's annual awards went to Peggy Ahern and Lassie Lou Ahern ("Honolulu Baby" award), longtime WOW member Dorothy Barnhart ("The Good Egg" award), and Saps At Sea Grand Sheik Rick Greene ("Why Don't You Do Something To Help Me?" award). Billy Benedict was awarded the 1997 "Lifetime Achievement" award for his wonderful career in motion pictures. Lori McCaffery, Bob Satterfield, and John Duff were also given awards for their years of service to the Way Out West Tent. A special thank you to Rick Greene for creating our special anniversary logo.

Thank you to all who attended for making it such a great event!

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Monterey Hosts Edgar Kennedy Tribute

The first-ever celebration in honor of Edgar Kennedy was held this past July 3-6. Fans gathered in Monterey, California, not far from where this popular comedian was born.

Dozens of members from the Kennedy-Deach family were in attendance, including Edgar's daughter Colleen and his grandsons Glenn and Mark. Stan Laurel's family was represented by his daughter Lois, his great grandchildren Patrick and Cassidy, and long-time family friend Lolo Owens. Other celebrity guests in attendance included Tommy "Butch" Bond, Dorothy "Echo" Deborba, Lois Roberts (widow of Thomas Benton Roberts), and television's first Lois Lane, Phyllis Coates.

One of the many highlights of the weekend included a visit to Carmel's outdoor "Theater In The Forest," to see Edgar Kennedy in The Perfect Day with Stan and Ollie and In Old California with John Wayne. Lois Laurel Hawes and Colleen Kennedy Deach were brought up on stage to share some memories and to answer questions from the audience.

A vaudeville night, at the California First Theater, found our own "Mama Hen" (Lori McCaffery) and her look-a-like (the Midnight Patrol's Gloria Hughes) introducing the evening as the Crane sisters did in the Hal Roach days. The following day, 35mm prints of Fra Diavolo, Two Tars, and Block-Heads, were screened at the Dream Theater on Cannery Row. Every evening, the film room was running Edgar Kennedy films. For one late night screening, the audience was required to dress in their pajamas and nightgowns!

Many "Sons" and celebrities joined in the marching of Monterey's annual Fourth of July parade. Glenn and Mark Kennedy were there, disguised as Keystone Kops, along with Pete the Pup and Laurel & Hardy look-a-likes. After a banquet that evening, a fireworks display finished off the holiday with a bang.

There was also a test of the athletic skills with the "Edgar Kennedy Gouty Foot Race" and "The Battle Of The Century Softball Game" - featuring the Laurels versus the Hardys. For the first time ever, the Way Out West Tent was "suspiciously" defeated in the traditional Gouty Foot Race (after a clean sweep of events at the 1994 International Convention). The softball game was won by the Laurels. "A Pair of Tights" ice cream catching contest was by far the messiest event since the Hollywood '80 pie fight.

The celebration ended with a Policeman's Ball Banquet. The "Wedding Party" radio sketch was recreated, with Mark Kennedy in the role originally played by his grandfather. Phyllis Coates played Patsy Moran's role and Bevis Faversham and Jeffrey Weissman played Ollie and Stan, respectively. Sound effects for this "live radio drama" were created by the show's director, Bart Williams.

Throughout the weekend, the dealer's room displayed the fabulous artwork of the late Tony Hawes and the golf clubs that Stan Laurel used in Should Married Men Go Home? Congratulations and a tip of the derby to weekend co-hosts Bill Cassara, Lois Laurel Hawes, Bob & Duan Zeroun, and the rest of the Midnight Patrol Tent for putting on a very memorable celebration.

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Thelma Todd Honored

The On the Loose Tent of Massachusetts, recently hosted a tribute to Thelma Todd, in her home town of Lawrence. The event commemorated her birthday, on the weekend of July 29. Her cousin William and her cousin Edna were in attendance.

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Remember When: When WOW Was a Baby

The first few years of the Way Out West Tent were very exciting, in that we were constantly finding new people and new information. Bill Patterson started the tent after writing to Jack McCabe to find the address of a tent in L.A. After being told there was none, he decided to take a shot at it. As his "Girl Friday," I was involved from the start doing the paperwork. Jack sent a list of other people in L.A. who had written looking for a tent. That was the basis of the first meeting. There were about a dozen people at that first meeting, many from Jay Ward Productions (the creator of Bullwinkle Moose). They were a zany and relaxed bunch and great fun to have around. There was also a young actor named Hank Jones, whose name I later took (borrowed, actually, for 17 years and never really gave it back) and several others.

We met in Bill's large office/den, which had a hidden projection booth and pull down screen hidden in the curtain valance. Bill had a large collection of old time films, and many L&H. He had a lot of memorabilia scattered around his large Toluca Lake home. He had a wet bar in another recreation room, so he was well set up to host the meetings. We met in his home for several years, until we outgrew the room and memorabilia started disappearing off the walls. Then we moved to a series of rented halls, culminating with the Mayflower Club, located for us by our beloved Tony Hawes.

Some say the best times of all were those at Bill's house, and in a way they were. In the same way that a small party is always more fun than a big rally. As the tent grew, there formed a core of loyal year-after-year members surrounded by an ever-changing array of members who came and went. Right after Hollywood '80, our convention, the mailing list was almost 500 people. We have many loyal members from people who discovered us at that time.

Rip Rense, a long time member, is a journalist and every time he does a write-up on the tent, we gain another hundred or so new members. We should put him on the payroll!

In the early days, we ran an ad in the Hollywood trade papers looking for people who worked with or knew Stan and Babe. From them, we located Babe London, Murray and Joe Rock, all long time members until their passing.

Babe London provided a memorable meeting when she again squeezed herself into a mini-car provided just for the occasion. (Getting her back out was a feat of technical wizardry. Getting her back to her cottage at the Motion Picture Country House was an even bigger feat after she had one too many 'martoonies,' but that's another story.)

Over the years, the tent has served as a clearing house for people all over the country searching for local tents and also for people hoping to put together a media project featuring the boys. It was easy in the early days, some 'clown' makes it much more difficult now, sad to say.

All the "firsts" were very exciting, but the "latelys" haven't been too bad either! Long live the Way Out West Tent!

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Our Friends

You won't find these people in a film with Laurel & Hardy. They did not work at the Hal Roach Studios or 20th Century Fox with the boys behind the camera or on film either. These people are two of the few members in our tent, other than family and friends, who had the opportunity to meet and speak with Stan Laurel. Al and Sharron Fisher have been members of the Way Out West Tent for over twenty years. In addition to their ever-popular Famous Fabulous Fisher Franks, they have been loyal members to the tent helping out with our events, including the big celebration at Hollywood '80. We just wanted to take this 30th anniversary opportunity to say thank you for all of your help throughout the years and tip our derbies to you both to let you know how much you mean to the WOW tent.

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Did You Know?

He was born on July 3, 1889, in Bryan, Ohio. After graduating from Ohio State University, he pursued an acting career that lasted twenty years on the stage. In 1929, he made his film debut in Kid Gloves. Some of his other credits include An American Tragedy, with Sylvia Sidney, The Tenderfoot, with Joe E. Brown and Ginger Rogers, and Northwest Passage, with Spencer Tracy. His final film was Santa Fe, with Randolph Scott, in 1951. He was known to play heavies in dramas, westerns, and comedies. His rough and ugly appearance combined with a very mean sounding voice brought fear to all of his on screen stars. He died on August 9, 1960, in Los Angeles at the age of 71. Laurel and Hardy fans remember him best as the judge in Scram and as Nick Granger in Saps At Sea...Rychard Cramer

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L&H in Cyberspace

The Way Out West Tent's activities on the Internet continue to move forward. We have had over a quarter of a million "hits" since the site debuted September 19, 1996, making us one of the Internet's most popular Laurel & Hardy resources. Most recently, we were recognized by the Los Angeles Times for having a "cutting edge" site.

We have expanded beyond our original site, by making some special "mini-sites" dedicated to particular films and people that are exceptionally popular. The first such site was the "Babes in Toyland" Site, which debuted during last year's holiday season to a record response. The late Tony Hawes also helped us to create the popular "Edgar Kennedy: Master of the Slow Burn" Site.

On the 60th anniversary of the release of Way Out West, we launched a site in honor of that film. This has been dedicated in memory of Rosina Lawrence McCabe, the only leading cast member of Way Out West to be an honorary member of our tent. Our most recent development has been the creation of a web site dedicated to James Finlayson. It contains photos, a biography, an extensive filmography, and other interesting tidbits.

The Way Out West Tent Home Page is located at: http://www.wayoutwest.org/

Babes in Toyland Feature Film Site is at: http://www.wayoutwest.org/toyland/

Way Out West Feature Film Site is at: http://www.wayoutwest.org/wowfeature/

Edgar Kennedy: Master of the Slow Burn is at: http://www.wayoutwest.org/kennedy/

James Finlayson: Mr. Double Take is located at: http://www.wayoutwest.org/finlayson/

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Film Program for August 26, 1997

Cuckoo - A Celebration of Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy

(1974) 67 minutes. A rare documentary, produced by the BBC, tracing the lives and film careers of Stan and Ollie. Highlights include interviews with Hal Roach, Lucille Hardy Price, John McCabe, Babe London (Our Wife), Dorothy Granger, T. Marvin Hatley, and many more. It includes film clips from over thirty of their films, plus a look at Leave 'Em Laughing's Main Street, in 1974. The film also features home movies of Stan in his apartment in Santa Monica, and Babe London watching a Laurel and Hardy movie on television with Stan. This is a great documentary for any Laurel & Hardy devotee.

Way Out West

Released April 16, 1937. Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Rosina Lawrence, James Finlayson, Sharon Lynne, Stanley Fields, and Vivien Oakland. The boys arrive at Brushwood Gulch to deliver a deed to a gold mine to Mary Roberts, a lady whom they have never met. After mistakenly delivering the deed to a Mary Roberts impostor, they somehow manage to reclaim the deed and give it to the correct Mary Roberts. T. Marvin Hatley was nominated for an Academy Award for the Best Musical Score of 1937 for his work on this film. This film will be presented as a special tribute to Rosina Lawrence McCabe.

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Looking Back

80 years ago

75 years ago

70 years ago

65 years ago

55 years ago

50 years ago

45 years ago

40 years ago

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Birthdays

July

   2    Rychard Cramer                    Scram, Saps at Sea
   2    Sidney "Woim" Kibrick             Our Gang
   4    Henry Armetta                     Fra Diavolo
   5    John Elliott                      Sons of the Desert
   5    Del Henderson                     Laurel-Hardy Murder Case
   5    Billy "Froggy" Laughlin           Our Gang
  12    Alice Cooke                       The Stan Jefferson Trio
  18    Lupe Velez                        Hollywood Party
  18    Chill Wills                       Way Out West
  18    Bill Patterson                    WOW Tent Founding Grand Sheik
  19    Vera Ralston                      The Fighting Kentuckian
  19    Harvey Wasden                     L&H Soundman
  20    Muriel Evans                      Pack Up Your Troubles
  22    Orson Bean                        Sons of the Desert Co-founder
  29    Thelma Todd                       Another Fine Mess, On the Loose

August

   5    Ellinor Vanderveer                The Hoose-Gow
   6    Robert Mitchum                    The Dancing Masters
   8    Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer            Our Gang
   9    Allen "Farina" Hoskins            Our Gang
  10    Jack Haley                        Pick a Star
  15    Charles Gemora                    The Chimp
  16    Lucien Littlefield                Sons of the Desert, Dirty Work
  19    Charlie Hall                      Tit For Tat, Come Clean
  23    Jean Darling                      Our Gang
  26    Richard Currier                   L&H Film Editor
  27    James Finlayson                   Big Business, Our Relations
  27    Thomas Benton Roberts             Two Tars
  30    Julie Bishop (Jacqueline Wells)   The Bohemian Girl

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Updated August 14, 1997

Copyright ©1997 Way Out West. All rights reserved.


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