Laurel and Hardy and the Sons of the Desert are at the heart of Bowler Dessert magazine and Bowler Dessert Online
Bulletin
19.01.12.
 Last Take A new play called Last Take will be staged in several theatres in the Netherlands. Gino Dercola says, "I received the information in Dutch, so here's what I think it says. . . It will star actors Bruun Kuijt (as Stan) and Rik Hoogendoorn (as Ollie). These actors have been working together for the last nine years and have appeared in nine other plays. The play will be showing from 23rd February through 24th May, 2012. The premiere will take place on Saturday, 17th March, in Zaandam. It is directed by Servaes Nelissen. The story involves a visit Stan makes to Ollie, who is in the last phases of his life, unable to speak; Stan and Ollie make the best of this visit, as they manage to communicate with pantomime and other gestures. The advertising for this play says that these actors combine the best use of stage and cabaret." For the website, with dates and locations, click here.
Television makers Philips and Sharp have been very mean over the last few years, by omitting the ability to render 4:3 ratio sitcoms etc as true 4:3 pictures. In other words the old shows are artificially "pulled" to look like widescreen. This is lousy! If you have seen Stan and Ollie "pulled" in this way, you will know what I mean. After much writing and complaining, my mind is settled that Panasonic say they will continue to provide a button for 4:3 ratio. I think Sony and Samsung still honour it too. Let's hope they will keep to this, or things will be awful for those of us who truly appreciate the worth of the older shows. Paul Aungiers
 The Perry Winkle The latest issue of The Perry Winkle leads off with a four-page account by Dave Simpson of his trip with Roger Robinson to the USA. . . December 1931, the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles, between 923 and 937 Vendome Street: While Stan confers with director James Parrott and cameramen Walter Lundin and Len Powers, Ollie paces around impatiently, anxious to finish work and get on the golf course. Finally, after what seems an age, Stan calls him over, and they lug that crate, which really does contain a piano, up the 131 steps one more time. . . Elsewhere Dave Wyatt writes: Recemember how I mentioned hoping to find a long lost Oliver Hardy film last issue? Well, success! An Expensive Visit was one of seventy comedies Babe made for Lubin at the beginning of his film career. Around 1986 I heard of a 35mm nitrate copy for sale, and then ignored it. Later when I was helping Rob Stone with the Laurel Or Hardy book, we couldn't find a copy anywhere. (Only six or seven of the Lubins are known to exist before this one.) Fade out - fade in, and just before the last Perry Winkle I got a call that a copy had turned up in Suffolk. What's more, it was the same copy! The Library of Congress have offered money to restore it (thanks to Rob). All I have to do now is collect the nitrate film (no jokes about fires please!) and hope that (a) it's complete, and (b) it's funny. Incidentally, if a 1915 nitrate print kept in a shed can survive until now - nearly 100 years - surely there's still hope for finding Hats Off. Bill Cubin
Archive Each of Bill
Cubin's VHS and audio cassettes is being
copied onto DVDs by Chris Coffey. The DVDs
will be held in the Bacon Grabbers
Archive, to whom all enquiries should be
addressed. A duplicate copy is with the
Laurel and Hardy Museum in
Ulverston. Chris
Coffey They were not there David Oyston sent us a passage from a local nostalgic magazine called Down Your Way. In an article called Castleford's Landlady to the Stars, Roy Hampson wrote: Colin Dibb, one of Audrey's brothers, is convinced that both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy once found digs at Perserverance Street. His mum used to frequently comment on how charming they were, they didn't talk much, and wore the very same suits and bowler hats all day, just like in the movies. Colin recalls that about the time of the stay in 1947, Laurel and Hardy were touring some of the smaller theatres in Britain as their "Hollywood" film career had ended. Well, really it's a nice story; however, I can't really imagine Stan and Ollie having a casual stroll down Castleford's Carlton Street before the "first house" began at the Royal. David says he thinks, "This has to be a figment of someone's imagination as they never appeared in Castleford." He points out that Stan is believed to have been at Castleford's Royal Theatre in 1907 and 1908. |
Bacon Grabbers Tent At the moment meetings of the Bacon Grabbers Tent are bimonthly. Dates to note are the third Thursday in January, March, May, July, September and November. The meetings last from 7pm till 9pm at the Lecture Theatre of the United Reform Church, King Street, St Helens. |
In a poll on the DVDBeaver website, to
determine the top DVDs of 2011, Laurel
& Hardy: The Essential Collection
is in second place. An enormous
achievement in view of very stiff
competition.