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EARLY LIFE Arthur Stanley Jefferson was born in Ulverston, Cumbria, England (then in Lancashire ). His parents Arthur & Madge (Margaret) like Chaplin's, were both active in the theater, but unlike Chaplin's, Stan's home life was a happy one. In his early years, he spent much time living with his grandmother Sarah Metcafle, as his father, A. J. Jefferson, managed a number of different theaters. Stan had a natural affinity for the theater, with his first professional performance on stage at the age of sixteen. In 1910, Stan joined Fred Karno's troupe of actors, including a young man named Charlie Chaplin . For some time, Stan was Chaplin's understudy. The Karno troupe toured America, and brought both Chaplin and Stan to the United States for the first time. From 1916 to 1918, Stan teamed up with Alice and Baldwin Cooke, who become lifelong friends. It was around this time that Stan met another person who would have a major impact on his life, Mae Dahlberg . It was at this time that Stan adopted the stage name of Laurel, at Mae's suggestion. Stan and Mae were performing together when Stan was offered $75.00 per week to star in two-reel comedies. After the making of Stan's first film, ''Nuts in May'' Universal offered him a contract. The contract was short-lived, however, and was cancelled during a reorganization at the studio. In 1924, Stan had forsaken his stage career to work full time in films, now under contract with Joe Rock . The contract called for Stan to make twelve two-reel comedies. The contract also had one unusual stipulation, that Mae was not to appear in any of the films. It had become obvious to everyone who knew Stan that Mae's temperament was hindering his career. In 1925, when Mae started interfering with Stan's work, Joe Rock offered her a cash settlement and a one-way ticket back to her native Australia, which she accepted. HAL ROACH STUDIOS Stan next joined the Hal Roach studio, and began directing films, including a 1926 production called ''Yes, Yes, Nanette'', and it was his intention to work primarily as a writer and director, but fate stepped in. Oliver Hardy , another member of the Hal Roach Studios Comedy ''All Star'' players, was injured in a kitchen mishap and Stan was asked to return to the front of the cameras. It soon became obvious that the two men had a certain comic onscreen chemistry, and they ended up starring together as an incredibly popular comedy team in more than fifty films in the 1930s and early 1940s, with their 1932 three-reeler ''The Music Box'' winning an Oscar for Best Short Subject. LAUREL AND HARDY In 1918 , Laurel and Hardy appeared together briefly in a silent movie short "Lucky Dog" but not as a team. In 1927 , Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy began sharing screen time together in ''Slipping Wives'', ''Duck Soup'' and ''With Love and Hisses''. Roach Studios' supervising director Leo McCarey had realized the audience reaction to the two, and had begun intentionally teaming them together, leading to the start of the ''Laurel and Hardy'' series late that year. With Laurel and Hardy, he had created the most famous comedy team of all time. They began producing a huge body of short movies, including ''The Battle of the Century'', ''Should Married Men Go Home?'', ''Two Tars'', ''Be Big! '', and many others. In 1931 they made their first full length movie, ''Pardon Us'' although they continued to make features and shorts until 1935. Laurel and Hardy made the transition to talking films with ''Unaccustomed as We Are'' in 1929, a feat that many of their contemporaries stumbled over. TROUBLE AT ROACH STUDIO Stan kept having trouble with Hal Roach and ended up having his contract terminated. After undergoing a trial over drunk driving charges, he counter-sued the Roach studio. Eventually, the case was dropped and Stan returned to Roach. After returning to Roach studios, the first film Laurel And Hardy made was ''A Chump At Oxford''. Their followup title, ''Flying Deuces'' is one of their most famous movies. After that, they made ''Saps At Sea'', which was the last film under Roach's employ. In April 1940 , their contract expired. FOX STUDIOS In 1939 , Laurel And Hardy signed a contract at 20th Century Fox to make one motion picture and nine more over the following five months. During the war years their work became more standardised and less successful. Stan discovered he had Diabetes , so he encouraged Oliver Hardy to make two movies without him. In 1950 , they were asked to make a film in France . The film, ''Utopia'', was a disaster. The script needed a lot of fixing and they both got seriously ill during the filming. When they came home, they spent most of their time recovering. In 1952 , they did another tour of Europe . This tour was very successful. They again toured Europe in 1953 . Stan fell ill and was unable to perform for several weeks. In May 1954 , Oliver Hardy had a heart attack that made them call off the tour. In 1955 , they were planning to do a television series, ''The Fable of Laurel and Hardy'', based on children's stories. However, the plans were delayed because Stan had a stroke. He recovered and just when he was planning to get back to work, Oliver Hardy had a massive stroke on 15 September 1956 . He was paralyzed and stayed in bed for several months unable to speak or move. On August 7 , 1957 , Oliver Hardy died. Due to his own poor health, Stan could not attend Oliver Hardy’s funeral. His explanation was simply, "Babe would understand," referring to Hardy. After that, Stan realized he would never act again, but he did write gags and sketches for fellow comedians. People who knew Laurel said he was absolutely devastated by Hardy's death and never fully recovered. LIFE AFTER LAUREL AND HARDY In 1961, Laurel won a Lifetime Achievement in Los Angeles. In 1989 a statue of Laurel was erected in Dockwray Square, North Shields , where he lived from 1897 to 1902 . MARRIAGE Stan Laurel married four women (one of them twice):
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