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. He was credited with his first film, Outwitting Dad, in 1914. In most of his silent films before joining producer Hal Roach, he was billed on screen as Babe Hardy.
Hardy in 1938
Historical marker in Milledgeville, Georgia, that tells the story of Hardy's time in that town
Advertisement with Hardy for A Day at School (1916), part of the Plump & Runt series
The Guilty Ones, one of ten shorts directed or co-directed by 'Babe Hardy'
Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy team during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in the silent film era, they later successfully transitioned to "talkies". From the late 1920s to the mid-1950s, they were internationally famous for their slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy, childlike friend to Hardy's pompous bully. Their signature theme song, known as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku", or "The Dance of the Cuckoos" was heard over their films' opening credits, and became as emblematic of them as their bowler hats.
Stan Laurel, c. 1930
Oliver Hardy without his trademark moustache in Yes, Yes, Nanette (1925)
Laurel and Hardy in The Lucky Dog (1921)
Laurel and Hardy with Lupe Vélez in Hollywood Party (1934)