Stan: The Life of Stan Laurel

by Fred lawrence Guiles

Overview

Stan, surprisingly, is the first full-length biography of the legendary comic who was the creative half of the universally loved duo, Laurel and Hardy. Based upon scores of interviews with family and friends (including the intimate diaries of Virginia Ruth Laurel, whom Stan married three times) and enhanced by a magnificent collection of previously unpublished photographs, Stan tells the very human story of Laurel’s struggle to survive against difficult odds, personal and professional.

From precarious beginnings in vaudeville with Charlie Chaplin, skinny Stan changed his name and rose to enjoy success and universal acclaim with his big-bellied partner Oliver Hardy. Yet beneath the exterior of the wistful comic whose sense of humor gave pleasure to so many millions was a man beset by financial worries, alcohol, and unhappy personal relationships that encompassed many dalliances and six marriages. This superb biography provides new insight into the supremely talented man behind the screen image and a fascinating panorama of show business in the first half of this century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684424771
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	04/28/2020
Series:	Fred Lawrence Guiles Old Hollywood Collection
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Fred Lawrence Guiles is best known for his biography of Marilyn Monroe, Norma Jean. This was followed byMarion Davies, Hanging on in Paradise, Tyrone Power: The Last Idol and Stan: The Life of Stand Laurel. An educator as well, he taught film history at Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania.