Bulletin April 2008
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UK Convention
Chris Coffey points out that, as this year's convention is the 29th, it is the last of the teen and twenty years. Chris tells us that Bill Bailey and Dave Wilkinson will be there from the Chickens Come Home Tent of Lancaster, so their proposal to host the 2009 UK Convention will be aired. Chris also says that Dave Thackray from the County Hospital Tent in Bradford plans to attend and propose his tent to host the 2010 UK Convention. Their tent will probably have the largest contingent at Wigan. Laughing update We have an update on the information given in Bowler Dessert 69. The Leave 'Em Laughing Tent meets at the Ferndale Lodge, 15 Crosby Road North, Liverpool 22. Grand Sheik Tony Traynor's new e-mail address is TONYSLANDH@blueyonder.co.uk. Marathon
donation Grand
Sheik Dave Thackray ran the Loch Ness
Marathon and raised £1,100 for
charity, thanks to donations from the
County Hospital Tent and the Bradford Golf
Club. He donated the money to Manorlands
Hospice in Keighley. Well done,
Dave. Bradford International Film Festival Dave Thackray and Dave Oyston went to the Bradford International Film Festival on 4th March for the World Premiere of a score to accompany the screening of The Finishing Touch. Chris Brown wrote the score and the conductor was James Murray. The two Daves say the performance was "most enjoyable". Next cinema screening in Lanark Way Out West and shorts will be on the screen at the Regal / Vogue cinema in Lanark on Sunday 6th April. The cinema will open its doors at 3.00pm, with the films starting at 3.45pm. Admission prices are the same as before at £5.00 for adults and £3.00 for under-sixteens. The manager, Martin Carroll, can be contacted by phone at 01555662333 or by e-mail at martin@onelanark.com. Lanark railway station is directly opposite the cinema, with frequent trains from Glasgow. Periquito gone Bob Hickson tells us that the Periquito Hotel in Oldham, the venue for a UK Convention in the 1980s, has been demolished. Laurel in Ulverston While Eric Woods was in Ulverston in March, the manager of the Coronation Hall told him of a forthcoming Stan Laurel show, planned for Friday 4th July at the Coronation Hall. This is the day before the Carnival and will be appreciated by many visiting Sons. Details are awaited.  Port birthday Gino Dercola's local tent in Maryland celebrated its tenth anniversary with a lovely cake. Auction An auction of 20th century pop culture memorabilia collected by American property developer Anthony Pugliese was held in Las Vegas on 15th and 16th March. An autographed picture of Laurel and Hardy was among nearly 1,000 items going under the gavel at Guernsey's auction house, which said some of the proceeds would go to charity. Several props
used by Harry Houdini were also up for grabs and a
Tiffany cigarette case given to Clark Gable upon
completion of Gone With the Wind
Meeting in Dun Laoghaire We have managed to book Hardy's Bar once more for a tent meeting on 26th April at 7pm. If you happen to be in Dublin that weekend why not come along and join us in this fabulous tribute to Babe Hardy in the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire. Liam Muldowney Those Stooges Regarding Clowns on TV on page 45 of the current Bowler Dessert, Dave Oyston says that much, if not all, of the Three Stooges material mentioned (Kook's Tour etc) was released in the USA on videotape a few years ago under the title The Lost Stooges. Dave has the tape and says, as does our article, that it is not at all bad. Did you see? On Harry Hill's You've Been Framed (ITV1, 15.03.08.) There was a big chap running and he landed in a stream of mud. Harry then said, "Why, that's another fine mess you got me into, Stanley!" Jo Mitchell On 22nd March, on channel Five US an episode of Happy Days was screened called Mork Returns to Milwaukee, with Robin Williams guest starring as Mork. Partway through he uttered the immortal line, "This is another fine mess you've gotten me into." On 23rd March BBC1, was supposed to repeat the Elvis Impersonators edition of Weakest Link. For some reason it wasn't screened but was available on "catch up". One of the contestants was asked, "Stanley Jefferson and Oliver Norvell were better known as whom?" The contestant got it right. Tony Hillman Laughtoons Dave Oyston saw a favourable review in Journal into Melody (June 2007) for Screen Archives' CD release of Laurel and Hardy Laughtoons, Volume 1 (SAE-CRS-016), which Bowler Dessert reviewed a while ago. It said, "For those of us raised on the hilarious shorts regularly screened for many years on TV, this is a real kick. Hearing the music specially written for these small doses of hilarity is a real treat and shows the inventiveness of composers such as Fred Steiner, Ruby Raksin, Jeff Alexander and Lyn Murray, all overseen by George Korngold, son of the legendary Erich, and orchestrated by such as Tony Bremner, Christopher Palmer and John W Morgan, all names familiar to the soundtrack collector. Their music often incorporates popular tunes of the period and before, and you'll find plenty of familiar pieces to sing or tap your foot to in these specially compiled suites, as well as some great original underscoring, with plenty of pratfalls and frantic chases, alongside more whimsical scoring. A splendid booklet accompanies the CD, recalling the history of these shorts, plus a guide to each suite presented, as well as plenty of stills. Can't wait for Volume 2." No swinger Radio Times and the Radio Times website said, "Like Swingers, the first film to co-star Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau, Made [BBC1, 12.03.08.], explores the dual themes of male friendship and loyalty. Unlike Swingers, this comedy is less of a success. Containing an uncharacteristically showy performance by Vaughn, Made irritates and annoys where Swingers charmed and beguiled. Vaughn and Favreau play boxing buddies who moonlight as muscle for the local Mob. Contrasting ambitions lead to Laurel and Hardy-style humour, with Favreau underplaying it as a resigned, long-suffering Ollie and Vaughn overplaying it as a hyped-up, hyperkinetic Stan." Tony Hillman observes, "I tried watching the film, but couldn't get into it. It seemed absolute rubbish, but then Vince Vaughn is one of these recent American comedians whose comedy is like a modern day Jerry Lewis." |
 Cuckoos on the loose I was very glad to see the Call of the Cuckoos Tent's 2008 season get off to a smashing start at the Britannia Panopticon Music Hall in Glasgow. With an audience like the one we had on 5th March, one cannot fail. All six Scottish tents were represented and it was literally standing room only for a few late-comers. Present were Alex Porteous and Roger Hughes, whom I hadn't seen for over thirty years! They came to tent meetings in the 1970s. We are now back in business on the first Wednesday of each month, starting at 7.00pm. All are welcome. Come along on 2nd April.  I had a very special moment when Scott Churchill (above), on behalf of himself and his family, gave me a present to thank me for my work. Scott comes to all our meetings and it is a pleasure to have Scott as a member of the Call of the Cuckoos Tent. Willie McIntyre
Joanne Mitchell and Grand
Sheik Antony Waite will be married on 12th April at
the Mill Forge in Lockerbie. We send sincere good
wishes.
Harmon record Dean Carroll sent us a review of Larry Harmon's Laurel & Hardy record of 1963, from Record Collector magazine (April 2008). In it David Noades says, "The brainchild of comedy actor Larry Harmon, the [Hanna-Barbera] animated series ran [on TV] for an incredible 156 episodes and, despite protestations from Laurel and Hardy purists, proved very popular indeed. Gala Records released the theme song as part of their coloured vinyl Goldentone Series. Basically a cheeky rewrite of Laurel and Hardy's famous Dance of the Cuckoos theme tune (aka Ku-Ku), this was penned by successful Broadway songwriting duo Leonard Adelson and Jerry Livingston. The music is pleasant, jaunty stomp with a call-and-response motif representing the two characters, while the B-side features Larry Harmon as Stan and Henry Calvin as Hardy performing a vocal version. It is all good fun, but no substitute for the real thing. The real Laurel and Hardy only ever made one record (not counting the posthumously released The Trail of the Lonesome Pine), which was recorded in the UK for Columbia in 1932. It's a highly prized collector's item today, commanding prices of up to £100. This orange vinyl oddity is less in demand, but can still fetch a tie-twiddling tenner on a good day. |
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 No joke A cartoon (above) by Donato was spotted by Jeannie Lindsay in the Toronto Sun (24th February). Flaherty is the Finance Minister and McGuinty is the Premier of Ontario. Bowler 2008 sees the 200th anniversary of the birth of William Bowler, creator of the bowler hat. He was born in Denton, Lancashire, on 25th January, 1808. Felt hat-making was recorded in Denton as early as 1702. Denton, along with neighbouring Stockport, was famous for its hat-making industry towards the end of the 19th century. Denton was also the birthplace of Jimmy Armfield (footballer and radio commentator), Brian Statham (cricketer) and Mick Hucknall (lead singer of Simply Red). World Cup hero Geoff Hurst lived in the town until he was eight years old and it is also where I lived up to being four years of age. Dean Carroll Abbott and Costello Dave Oyston was a member of the Abbott and Costello Fan Club in the early 1990s and he sent us a couple of snippets from one of their quarterly magazines, from 1992. . . .
Abbott and Costello will be featured in a segment tentatively titled "Famous Duos of This Century". Interviews were conducted with Bud Jr., Vickie, Chris and Paddy, as well as Olive Abbott, Bud's spry 96-year-old sister. Olive vibrantly recalled her brother's career and off-camera life. Olive's son, Emmy Award-winning director Norman Abbott, also participated. It marked the first time that the entire Abbott and Costello families joined forces for an interview.
The Golden Age series consists of clips from these broadcasts and interviews with Jerry but not Dean. Jerry discussed the influence of other teams on his work with Dean. "What I learned from [other] teams that aided Dean and I was stuff that you don't begin to know but you've learned. When I was discussing things that Dean and I should do, I didn't know I was calling on Laurel and Hardy, who were the premiere team for reaction, as opposed to Abbott and Costello, who were magnificent in timing - brilliant in timing." |
Mark is a granddad Mark Burns's oldest daughter Kayleigh gave birth on 13th March. Mark says, "Olivia joined our world at 8.36am, is 6lb 3oz, and is beautiful and healthy. Everyone is well. Everyone is happy. This is what life and existing is all about!" This is splendid news, Mark.
How did it start? With Sheffield being the "Steel City", Bill Cubin, who attended our inaugural meeting in 1988, tentatively (excuse the pun) suggested that the tent be named Liberty. After all, most of that film is based around steel girders. However, on the night, with over one hundred in attendance, following a vote of all members, the tent name Brats was chosen from a short list of five. Brats had been the first film to be screened that night, although this was co-incidental as it was the first film on the video tape! The choice of name also reflected the fact that the majority of members were aged twenty-five or below. Twenty years on and most of us still are (in the head, that is!). John Burton Shield site There is a new website dedicated to Leroy Shield, who wrote (among many other things) most of the music for the films made at the Hal Roach studios. Steve Cloutier and Piet Schreuders are the webmasters. Visit http://www.leroyshield.com. |
In July, producers from the British Broadcasting
Company were in the United States to film
interviews for a six-part documentary on comedy to
air world-wide at the end of the year.