By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
The first Laurel and Hardy film debuted in 1927, and almost a century later, the comedians still bring laughter to millions of people around the world.
While the Laurel & Hardy shorts were recorded in grainy black and white film, today the comedic pieces that defined slapstick comedy are viewed millions of times on modern streaming services, including Prime Video, Sky, Now TV, and VOD platforms like Roku and YouTube.
That enduring popularity has made Laurel & Hardy a valuable licensing brand. Now, Licensing Management International (LMI) says it’s building on its existing Laurel and Hardy licensing program, which boast a line-up of global partners including, Big Chief Studios for figurines and collectibles, The Heart of London Alliance for a life size statue commissioned in honor of the early cinema stars, and Wandering Planet Toys, who will be launching Laurel and Hardy figurines later this year.
“Laurel and Hardy’s combination of physical comedy, slapstick humour, imploring looks to camera, and general all-round, good-natured silliness has, and continues to entertain audiences of all ages,” says LMI.
While most people assume Laurel & Hardy did virtually all of their work together, the two men were in fact highly successful performers in what was then a nascent industry.
“It is difficult to even begin to imagine them ever being apart, but before teaming up, both actors were successful in their own right with well-established film careers,” LMI says. “Laurel had acted in over 50 films, and worked as a writer and director, while Hardy was in more than 250 productions.”
It was during that period when the two actors first appeared together in 1921, in the comedy ‘Lucky Dog’,but it would be another six years before they officially became a team in 1926, releasing their first Laurel and Hardy silent short ‘Putting Pants on Philip’ in 1927.
Over the next three decades, the duo would go on to release 106 films, 34 silent shorts, 45 sound shorts and 27 full-length sound feature films. As well, in 1966, Larry Harmon Pictures Corporation and Hanna-Barbera produced a dedicated series of 156 x 5-minute animated shorts which were distributed throughout the world.
“It is no wonder they are highly regarded as the most famous comedy duo in film history!,” LMI says.
For more information on licensing opportunities for the Laurel & Hardy brand, go to https://lmiuk.com/portfolio/laurel-hardy/