The Way Out West Tent's 31st Annual Banquet marked our 35th Anniversary in Los Angeles. Our program for the evening was a tribute to one of the best loved Laurel & Hardy landmarks in Los Angeles...the Music Box Steps.
Following the traditional toasts, we welcomed the "Sons of the Desert Pipes and Drums" who marched into the banquet room playing the Coo-Coo Song. They performed several additional songs on the bagpipes and drums before dinner, and returned for a final set immediately after dinner. (Band-members pictured at left)
The evening's regular program then got underway, with the screening of an original documentary on the Music Box Steps (produced for this banquet). The video detailed the history of the steps, their rediscovery by the Sons of the Desert, and then-and-now comparisons between the film and today.
The evening's
regular program then got underway, with the
screening of an original documentary on the Music
Box Steps (produced for this banquet). The video
detailed the history of the steps, their
rediscovery by the Sons of the Desert, and
then-and-now comparisons between the film and
today.
The
Way Out West Lifetime Achievement award was
presented to Terry Moore (pictured left), who
appeared early in her career with Laurel and Hardy
in A-Haunting We Will
Go. Also
joining us for the evening were: Trudy Marshall
(The Dancing Masters, pictured right), Edith
Fellows (The Devil's Brother, Our Gang), Dorothy
deBorba (The Stolen Jools, The Devil's Brother,Our Gang), Mildred
Kornman (Thundering Fleas), Billy Naylor (Our
Gang), Joan Del Mar (Nothing But Trouble), and Jim MacGeorge
(Stan Laurel Impersonator/Comedian). Also in
attendance were Frank Bank and Ken Osmond, who were
television's Lumpy Rutherford and Eddie Haskel on
Leave it to Beaver. They shared a few of their own
memories about Laurel and Hardy.
The evening
concluded with the screening of The Music Box.
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