Back in the 1960s and 70s, silent film-era nostalgia was very popular, which I suppose is why Larry "Bozo the Clown" Harmon bought the licensing rights to early comedy duo Laurel and Hardy immediately after both Laurel and Hardy were dead in the mid 60s. Children of that era were therefore aware of Stan and Ollie's antics, as they occupied the same nostalgia landscape that would eventually bring us abominations like this:


But just today I found myself wondering out of the blue, does today's generation know anything about Laurel and Hardy, or have they been memory-holed along with Morris the Cat and Nanny and the Professor? Which is when I came across this British annual collecting Laurel and Hardy comics and stories from 1974.

And now I'm not sure we should un-memory hole them, or just let the shark get them, but here goes!


This might be the reason Laurel and Hardy were better known for physical comedy.


Like in this story, where Ollie tries to help Stan's memory by whacking him on the head with a club, then whacks him again to make him forget. This may not compare to the classic slapstick the real-life duo were known for, but it DID inspire Christopher Nolan's classic "Memento".


Ollie loves stories about looking for sausage.


You can tell this is a British comic because the characters can get passed-out drunk. Or maybe Ollie roofied Stan, they're pretty vague what's in that bottle.


Now before you start to feel TOO sympathetic for poor Stanley, keep in mind he's kind of a dick too.


It's funny because fine art people don't really understand art even though they think they do!


See? Funny!


As a reminder, this book is from 1974.


Oo er!

In summary, the moral of this lesson is: if you're famous, make sure your image and legacy will be well taken care of after you've passed on or you might end up another Larry Harmon property. Luckily, since it's the 100th anniversary of Laurel and Hardy's first film appearance together, you can enjoy restored versions of some of their (actually funny) films together at their Centenary tour! If you're in the UK.

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