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Oliver Hardy 1892 - 1957

Oliver Hardy of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California United States was born on January 18, 1892 at Harlem, GA., and died at age 65 years old on August 7, 1957 at North Hollywood in Los Angeles. Oliver Hardy was buried on August 10, 1957 at Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park and Mortuary 10621 Victory Blvd, in Los Angeles.

Oliver Hardy

Norvell Oliver Hardy - at birth only.

Hollywood in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California United States

January 18, 1892

Harlem, GA.

August 7, 1957

North Hollywood in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States

Male

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Oliver Hardy Oliver Hardy (1892 - 1957)

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Oliver Hardy's History: 1892 - 1957

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Introduction

Oliver Norvell Hardy was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his comedy partner Stan Laurel in 107 short films, feature films, and cameo roles. Born: January 18, 1892, Harlem, GA Died: August 7, 1957, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA Spouse: Virginia Lucille Jones (m. 1940–1957), Myrtle Reeves (m. 1921–1937), Madelyn Saloshin (m. 1913–1921) Place of burial: Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park and Mortuary, Los Angeles, CA Parents: Emily Norvell, Oliver Hardy Siblings: Sam Hardy
01/18

1892

Birthday

January 18, 1892

Birthdate

Harlem, GA.

Birthplace

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Early Life & Education

Early life and education Oliver Hardy was born Norvell Hardy in Harlem, Georgia. His father, Oliver, was a Confederate States Army veteran of the American Civil War who had been wounded at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, and was a recruiting officer for Company K, 16th Georgia Regiment. The elder Oliver Hardy assisted his father in running the remnants of the family's cotton plantation. He then bought a share in a retail business and was elected full-time Tax Collector for Columbia County, Georgia. Hardy's mother, Emily Norvell, was the daughter of Thomas Benjamin Norvell, who was descended from Hugh Norvell of Williamsburg, Virginia, and Mary Freeman. The elder Hardy and Norvell married on March 12, 1890; it was her second marriage and his third. The family moved to Madison, Georgia, in 1891, the year before Norvell's birth. He was likely born in Harlem, though some sources say that his birth occurred in Covington, Georgia, his mother's hometown. His father died less than a year after his birth. Hardy was the youngest of five children. His older brother Sam drowned in the Oconee River; Hardy pulled him from the river but was unable to resuscitate him. Historical marker in Milledgeville, Georgia, that tells the story of Hardy's time in that town. As a child, Hardy was sometimes difficult. In the fifth grade, he was sent to Georgia Military College in Milledgeville. In 1905, when he was 13, he was sent to Young Harris College in north Georgia for the fall semester which he completed successfully in January 1906, however, he was in the junior high component of that institution what is today known as an Academy. At that time there were no two-year junior colleges. He had little interest in formal education, although he acquired an early interest in music and theater. He joined a theatrical group and later ran away from a boarding school near Atlanta to sing with the group. His mother recognized his talent for singing and sent him to Atlanta to study music and voice with singing teacher Adolf Dahm-Petersen. He skipped some of his lessons to sing in the Alcazar Theater for $3.50 a week. In 1912, he signed up for a course or two at the University of Georgia as a law major for the fall semester just to play football. He never missed a game. As a teenager, Hardy began styling himself "Oliver Norvell Hardy", adding the first name "Oliver" as a tribute to his father. He appeared as "Oliver N. Hardy" in the 1910 U.S. census,[N 1] and he used "Oliver" as his first name in all subsequent legal records, marriage announcements, etc. Hardy was initiated into Freemasonry at Solomon Lodge No. 20 in Jacksonville, Florida which helped him with room and board when he was starting out in show business. He was inducted into the Grand Order of Water Rats along with Stan Laurel. Career Early career Advertisement with Hardy for A Day at School (1916), part of the Plump & Runt series In 1910, The Palace, a motion picture theater, opened in Hardy's hometown of Milledgeville, and he became the projectionist, ticket taker, janitor, and manager. He soon became obsessed with the new motion picture industry and was convinced that he could do a better job than the actors that he saw. A friend suggested that he move to Jacksonville, Florida, where some films were being made, which he did in 1913. He worked in Jacksonville as a cabaret and vaudeville singer at night and at the Lubin Manufacturing Company during the day. It was at this time that he met Madelyn Saloshin, a pianist, whom he married on November 17, 1913, in Macon, Georgia. The next year, he made his first movie, Outwitting Dad (1914), for the Lubin studio, billed as O. N. Hardy. In his personal life, he was known as "Babe" Hardy and was billed as "Babe Hardy" in many of his later films at Lubin, such as Back to the Farm (1914). He was a big man, standing 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) and weighing up to 300 pounds (c. 136 kg), and his size placed limits on the roles that he could play. He was most often cast as the villain, but he also had roles in comedy shorts, his size complementing the character. By 1915, Hardy had made 50 short one-reel films at Lubin. He moved to New York and made films for the Pathé, Casino, and Edison Studios. He returned to Jacksonville, where he made films for the Vim Comedy Company. That studio closed after Hardy discovered that the owners were stealing from the payroll. He then worked for the King Bee studio, which bought Vim and worked with Billy Ruge, Billy West (a Charlie Chaplin imitator), and comedic actress Ethel Burton Palmer. He continued playing the villains for West well into the early 1920s, often imitating Eric Campbell to West's Chaplin.
Professional Career

Actor Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel in Utopia (1950) Utopia 5.5 Stan (as Laurel) 1950 The Bullfighters (1945) The Bullfighters 6.2 Stan Don Sebastian 1945 Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel in Nothing But Trouble (1944) Nothing But Trouble 6.3 Stan Laurel 1944 Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, and Doris Merrick in The Big Noise (1944) The Big Noise 6.3 Stan 1944 Oliver Hardy, Robert Bailey, Stan Laurel, and Trudy Marshall in The Dancing Masters (1943) The Dancing Masters 6.1 Stan 1943 Oliver Hardy, Vivian Blaine, and Stan Laurel in Jitterbugs (1943) Jitterbugs 6.2 Stan 1943 Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel in Air Raid Wardens (1943) Air Raid Wardens 6.1 Stanley 1943 The Tree in a Test Tube (1942) The Tree in a Test Tube 4.6 Short Stan (as Laurel) 1942 A-Haunting We Will Go (1942) A-Haunting We Will Go 6.2 Stan (as Laurel) 1942 Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel in Great Guns (1941) Great Guns 6.1 Stan 1941 Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel in Saps at Sea (1940) Saps at Sea 7.1 Stan 1940 A Chump at Oxford (1940) A Chump at Oxford 7.2 Stan Laurel Lord Paddington 1940 Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel in The Flying Deuces (1939) The Flying Deuces 6.8 Stan 1939 Oliver Hardy, Patricia Ellis, Billy Gilbert, Minna Gombell, and Stan Laurel in Block-Heads (1938) Block-Heads 7.5 Stan 1938 That's That! (1938) That's That! 4.6 Short Stan 1938
Personal Life & Family

Comedian, actor
08/7

1957

Death

August 7, 1957

Death date

Heart Failure.

Cause of death

North Hollywood in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California United States
Death location

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08/10

1957

Gravesite & Burial

August 10, 1957

Funeral date
Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park and Mortuary 10621 Victory Blvd, in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California 91606, United States
Burial location
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