Babe: The Life of Oliver Hardy

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: I must admit, Oliver Hardy was always my favorite of the two, and I was so pleased to find this biography of him. If you can manage to track it down, it's well worth it. Very well researched, with lots of new information and photos. Very well done.

Rating:
Summary: Solid bio on the most elusive of Laurel & Hardy
Review: Oliver "Babe" Hardy is something of a paradox: many comedians feel he is actually the funnier of the classic team of Laurel & Hardy. Yet, there is so little biographical material available on him. True, if you buy a book on the comedy team you'll find out the bare facts. But there's always a wealth on Stan Laurel...not Babe (as his friends called him). Why?

A key reason, as John McCabe's solid bio points out, is that Babe wanted it that way. He deferred all creative decisions and most press inquries to Stan. In a sense, McCabe faced a Herculean task: he wanted to write a bio about a comedian etched firmly in world film culture, yet actual sources of information (Hardy died August 6, 1957) were few. Could it be done?

Yes. Babe etches out Hardy's life. And we learn a few fascinating tidbits along the way: how throughout his life he always cringed at jokes about his weight (his weight always bothered him) but went along for the laughs (Jackie Gleason reportedly had the same attitude); how he developed his fuss-budget film-personna quirks from a relative; how he viewed himself more as an actor (or reactor) than a comedian; how his love for music pervaded his life (he does sing in some of his films). And a LOT more. The book also gives fascinating details about his sad final year where he lost a lot of weight and his health went into a downward tailspin.

This is a solid book that also recounts some of the team's best shorts, features, and details their famous tour of England. And McCabe JUST pulls off his feat. His source material on Hardy is largely culled from interviews with Stan Laurel and Hardy's last wife, Lucille. If there is a complaint it's that this is still not as well fleshed out as a typical show biz bio where more sources and information were available -- but there is enough detail to make this a solid book that'll delight Laurel & Hardy fans, show biz bio fans, and students of comedy of all ages. Babe would be pleased.

Rating:
Summary: Solid bio on the most elusive of Laurel & Hardy
Review: Oliver "Babe" Hardy is something of a paradox: many comedians feel he is actually the funnier of the classic team of Laurel & Hardy. Yet, there is so little biographical material available on him. True, if you buy a book on the comedy team you'll find out the bare facts. But there's always a wealth on Stan Laurel...not Babe (as his friends called him). Why?

A key reason, as John McCabe's solid bio points out, is that Babe wanted it that way. He deferred all creative decisions and most press inquries to Stan. In a sense, McCabe faced a Herculean task: he wanted to write a bio about a comedian etched firmly in world film culture, yet actual sources of information (Hardy died August 6, 1957) were few. Could it be done?

Yes. Babe etches out Hardy's life. And we learn a few fascinating tidbits along the way: how throughout his life he always cringed at jokes about his weight (his weight always bothered him) but went along for the laughs (Jackie Gleason reportedly had the same attitude); how he developed his fuss-budget film-personna quirks from a relative; how he viewed himself more as an actor (or reactor) than a comedian; how his love for music pervaded his life (he does sing in some of his films). And a LOT more. The book also gives fascinating details about his sad final year where he lost a lot of weight and his health went into a downward tailspin.

This is a solid book that also recounts some of the team's best shorts, features, and details their famous tour of England. And McCabe JUST pulls off his feat. His source material on Hardy is largely culled from interviews with Stan Laurel and Hardy's last wife, Lucille. If there is a complaint it's that this is still not as well fleshed out as a typical show biz bio where more sources and information were available -- but there is enough detail to make this a solid book that'll delight Laurel & Hardy fans, show biz bio fans, and students of comedy of all ages. Babe would be pleased.

Rating:
Summary: Babe: The life of Oliver Hardy
Review: This book is written with a lot of warmth attached to it that allows you, the reader, to appreciate just how Oliver Hardy worked and lived. It goes into detail of minor storiesof poeple who met him. I knew very littl of Oliver before i read this book. I now know a lot more and I feel that I almost knew him personally.