Laurel & Hardy
| Laurel & Hardy | |
|---|---|
 On-screen title card. | |
| Network | NBC |
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera Larry Harmon Production David L. Wolper Productions |
| Distributor | Wolper Television Sales |
| Original release | September 10, 1966–October 12, 1967 |
| Run time | 5 minutes |
| Starring | Larry Harmon Jim MacGeorge |
| Producer(s) | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Music composed by | Hoyt Curtin |
| Director(s) | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
A Laurel & Hardy Cartoon, also known as Laurel & Hardy, is an animated American television series produced by Hanna-Barbera, Larry Harmon Production and David L. Wolper Productions for NBC's Saturday morning children's programming debuting. It ran from 1966 to 1967, airing 156 episodes that spanned one season.
An animated iteration of the duo's comedy acts, the series follows cartoon versions of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy as they went out on various misadventures. The two were known famously for their slapstick routines, with Laurel acting as the innocent, childlike friend to Hardy's well-meaning but snobbish character.
Animated versions of Laurel and Hardy later guest starred for The New Scooby-Doo Movies episode "The Ghost of Bigfoot." However, it's unclear how much connection their appearance has to the cartoon HB produced years prior.
It's unknown who currently holds rights to the series after Larry Harmon's passing.
Production
Development
Larry Harmon, who received the exclusive publicity rights to Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's likenesses in 1961, approached Laurel and his wife Eda in that year on generating more income for the couple, by producing an animated series based on the film characters of the comedy pair. Harmon then negotiated with Hardy’s widow, Lucille, at the same time for the likenesses of the duo.[1]
In a United Press International press release dated May 7, 1961, Laurel said about the project that "I hope they’ll be good. Our films approached 'cartoonery' and some of the things we did in the movies could be done in cartoons", referring to some of the exaggerated physical gags in the duo's short films.[1] NBC, in an announcement in the New York Times on October 22nd, 1961, planned that the show to "be televised in color in prime time, although the weekly half-hour period has not been selected."[1] On January 11, 1962, Laurel wrote to audio engineer Richard Sloan, "I very seldom see or hear from Mr Harmon, so know little about his affairs concerning the cartoon series - I understand they have started production (I read in the trade papers here). That's all I know about it."[2] The same issue occurred repeatedly from 1962 and 1963, with Laurel's letters having no word from Harmon. In a typewriter letter on August 21, 1962, Laurel mentioned that he had not seen the potential series except for a small animation test, but found it unimpressive in his experience.[3] Laurel then learned in 1963 that the NBC deal was cancelled and Harmon was looking for a syndication deal, although he never told Laurel what happened with the network.[1]
After Laurel's death on February 25, 1965, documentary film director David L. Wolper was working with Hanna-Barbera at the time and had acquired the rights to make a cartoon version of Laurel and Hardy. After he approached the studio on making an animated series, Harmon found out and claimed that he owned the rights for a series. In a legal challenge, it was argued that while the contract may have given Harmon the rights to the characters from the films, it did not extend to the actual persons. Both parties eventually settled on a state of affairs where they agreed to disagree, with Harmon giving permission to use the characters in exchange for Wolper getting the distribution rights.[1]
Casting
Before Laurel passed away, Harmon gave him the impression that he was only signing a contract for the animated pilot and merchandising rights to only that pilot. However, the cartoon version of Laurel was portrayed by Harmon in the series, as Laurel had already passed away a year earlier.[1]
Due to Hardy's death prior on August 7, 1957, Laurel was originally planned to be paired up with Chuck McCann, a friend of Laurel's, as the voice of Hardy in the cartoon, which met with Laurel’s approval. McCann never got along with Harmon, however, and was instead replaced with Jim MacGeorge.[1]
Music
The music was composed by Hoyt Curtin.
Episodes
| Title | Original air date |
|---|---|
| 1x01 | September 10, 1966 |
1x02
|
September 10, 1966 |
| 1x03 | September 10, 1966 |
| 1x04 | September 17, 1966 |
| 1x05 | September 17, 1966 |
| 1x06 | September 17, 1966 |
| 1x07 | September 24, 1966 |
| 1x08 | September 24, 1966 |
| 1x09 | September 24, 1966 |
| 1x10 | October 1, 1966 |
| 1x11 | October 1, 1966 |
| 1x12 | October 1, 1966 |
| 1x13 | October 8, 1966 |
| 1x14 | October 8, 1966 |
| 1x15 | October 8, 1966 |
| 1x16 | October 15, 1966 |
| 1x17 | October 15, 1966 |
| 1x18 | October 15, 1966 |
| 1x19 | October 22, 1966 |
| 1x20 | October 22, 1966 |
| 1x21 | October 22, 1966 |
| 1x22 | October 29, 1966 |
| 1x23 | October 29, 1966 |
| 1x24 | October 29, 1966 |
| 1x25 | November 5, 1966 |
| 1x26 | November 5, 1966 |
| 1x27 | November 5, 1966 |
| 1x28 | November 12, 1966 |
| 1x29 | November 12, 1966 |
| 1x30 | November 12, 1966 |
| 1x31 | November 19, 1966 |
| 1x32 | November 19, 1966 |
1x33
|
November 19, 1966 |
| 1x34 | November 26, 1966 |
| 1x35 | November 26, 1966 |
| 1x36 | November 26, 1966 |
| 1x37 | December 3, 1966 |
1x38
|
December 3, 1966 |
| 1x39 | December 3, 1966 |
| 1x40 | December 10, 1966 |
| 1x41 | December 10, 1966 |
| 1x42 | December 10, 1966 |
| 1x43 | December 10, 1966 |
| 1x44 | December 10, 1966 |
| 1x45 | December 10, 1966 |
| 1x46 | December 17, 1966 |
| 1x47 | December 17, 1966 |
| 1x48 | December 17, 1966 |
| 1x49 | December 24, 1966 |
| 1x50 | December 24, 1966 |
| 1x51 | December 24, 1966 |
| 1x52 | December 31, 1966 |
| 1x53 | December 31, 1966 |
| 1x54 | December 31, 1966 |
| 1x55 | January 7, 1967 |
| 1x56 | January 7, 1967 |
| 1x57 | January 7, 1967 |
| 1x58 | January 14, 1967 |
| 1x59 | January 14, 1967 |
| 1x60 | January 14, 1967 |
| 1x61 | January 21, 1967 |
| 1x62 | January 21, 1967 |
| 1x63 | January 21, 1967 |
| 1x64 | January 28, 1967 |
| 1x65 | January 28, 1967 |
| 1x66 | January 28, 1967 |
| 1x67 | February 4, 1967 |
| 1x68 | February 4, 1967 |
| 1x69 | February 4, 1967 |
| 1x70 | February 11, 1967 |
| 1x71 | February 11, 1967 |
| 1x72 | February 11, 1967 |
| 1x73 | February 18, 1967 |
| 1x74 | February 18, 1967 |
| 1x75 | February 18, 1967 |
| 1x76 | 1967 |
| 1x77 | 1967 |
| 1x78 | 1967 |
| 1x79 | 1967 |
| 1x80 | February 25, 1967 |
| 1x81 | February 25, 1967 |
| 1x82 | February 25, 1967 |
| 1x83 | March 4, 1967 |
| 1x84 | March 4, 1967 |
| 1x85 | March 4, 1967 |
| 1x86 | March 11, 1967 |
| 1x87 | March 11, 1967 |
| 1x88 | March 11, 1967 |
| 1x89 | March 18, 1967 |
1x90
|
March 18, 1967 |
| 1x91 | March 18, 1967 |
| 1x92 | March 25, 1967 |
| 1x93 | March 25, 1967 |
| 1x94 | March 25, 1967 |
| 1x95 | April 1, 1967 |
| 1x96 | April 1, 1967 |
| 1x97 | April 1, 1967 |
| 1x98 | April 8, 1967 |
| 1x99 | April 8, 1967 |
| 1x100 | April 8, 1967 |
| 1x101 | April 15, 1967 |
| 1x102 | April 15, 1967 |
| 1x103 | April 15, 1967 |
| 1x104 | April 22, 1967 |
| 1x105 | April 22, 1967 |
| 1x106 | April 22, 1967 |
| 1x107 | April 29, 1967 |
| 1x108 | April 29, 1967 |
| 1x109 | April 29, 1967 |
| 1x110 | May 6, 1967 |
| 1x111 | May 6, 1967 |
| 1x112 | May 6, 1967 |
| 1x113 | May 13, 1967 |
| 1x114 | May 13, 1967 |
| 1x115 | May 13, 1967 |
| 1x116 | May 23, 1967 |
| 1x117 | May 20, 1967 |
| 1x118 | May 20, 1967 |
| 1x119 | May 27, 1967 |
| 1x120 | May 27, 1967 |
| 1x121 | May 27, 1967 |
| 1x122 | June 3, 1967 |
| 1x123 | June 3, 1967 |
| 1x124 | June 3, 1967 |
| 1x125 | June 10, 1967 |
| 1x126 | June 10, 1967 |
| 1x127 | June 10, 1967 |
| 1x128 | June 17, 1967 |
| 1x129 | June 17, 1967 |
| 1x130 | June 17, 1967 |
| 1x131 | June 24, 1967 |
| 1x132 | June 24, 1967 |
| 1x133 | July 1, 1967 |
| 1x134 | July 1, 1967 |
| 1x135 | July 1, 1967 |
| 1x136 | July 8, 1967 |
| 1x137 | July 8, 1967 |
| 1x138 | July 8, 1967 |
| 1x139 | July 15, 1967 |
| 1x140 | July 15, 1967 |
| 1x141 | July 15, 1967 |
| 1x142 | July 22, 1967 |
| 1x143 | July 22, 1967 |
| 1x144 | July 22, 1967 |
| 1x145 | July 29, 1967 |
1x146
|
July 29, 1967 |
| 1x147 | July 29, 1967 |
| 1x148 | June 24, 1967 |
| 1x149 | August 5, 1967 |
| 1x150 | August 5, 1967 |
| 1x51 | August 5, 1967 |
| 1x152 | August 5, 1967 |
| 1x153 | August 5, 1967 |
| 1x154 | August 12, 1967 |
| 1x155 | August 12, 1967 |
| 1x156 | August 12, 1967 |
Cast
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Korkis, Jim (December 30, 2022). Suspended Animation #404: Larry Harmon's "Laurel and Hardy" Cartoon Research.
- ^ "Letters from Stan": January, 1961. Retrieved June 14, 2023
- ^ [...] "what they are like, I have'nt [sic] the slightest idea - have'nt [sic] seen any of the film, except a short piece of a TEST, was'nt [sic] too impressed incidently [sic] - the color looked very good indeed, but that does'nt [sic] produce laughs." - Stan Laurel (August 21, 1962). "Letters from Stan": August, 1962. Retrieved June 14, 2023
