Stan (Jefferson) Laurel
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Arthur Stanley (Jefferson) Laurel (1890 - 1965)

Arthur Stanley (Stan) "Stan Laurel" Laurel formerly Jefferson
Born in Ulverston, Lancashire, Englandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 13 Aug 1926 (to about Dec 1934) in Los Angeles, California, United Statesmap
Husband of — married about 2 Apr 1934 (to 1937) [location unknown]
Husband of — married 1 Jan 1938 (to May 1939) [location unknown]
Husband of — married 6 May 1946 (to 23 Feb 1965) in Yuma, Arizona, United Statesmap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 74 in Santa Monica, California, United Statesmap
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Biography

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Stan (Jefferson) Laurel is Notable.
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Stan (Jefferson) Laurel was born in Lancashire, England.

Stan Laurel, born Arthur Stanley Jefferson, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, most famous as Laurel of the comedy act Laurel and Hardy. He was born in his grandparents' house on 16 June 1890 at 3 Argyle Street, Ulverston, Lancashire (now Cumbria), England. [1] His parents, Arthur and Margaret "Madge" (Metcalfe) Jefferson, were both active in the theatre. He had three brothers and one sister. Following in his parents' footsteps Laurel gave his first professional performance on stage at the Panopticon in Glasgow, Scotland under the name of Stan Jefferson.

During these early years of his career, he travelled with a group of actors including Charlie Chaplin, who became Stan's mentor. They travelled to the United States between 1910 and 1915. In 1919, he also met his first love, Mae Charlotte Dahlberg. While they never married, they did share a relationship that was at one time recognized as a "common law marriage". Stan's contract owner, Joe Rock, felt an intervention was necessary as he believed that Mae was ruining Stan's career. In 1925. Joe paid Mae to void this agreement and return to Australia, which she accepted and was gone from his life.

Laurel & Hardy, 1930s

Laurel met Oliver Hardy in about 1920 and they briefly worked together on a short silent film. By 1927 they had become a team producing many successful films. On 7 August 1957, Oliver Hardy died. Laurel was too ill to attend his funeral and said, "Babe would understand". People who knew Laurel said he was devastated by Hardy's death and never fully recovered from it.

He appeared on the US 1930 census as Stanley Laurel, living with his wife and daughter (both called Lois) and described as an actor in motion pictures. [2]

On the US 1940 census, 49-year-old Stan Laurel was living in the same house, but was divorced. [3]

Stan Laurel was famous in his time for his numerous marriages. His biographer John McCabe [4] provides the following details about the complex timeline of his marriages and divorces:

  • Lois Neilson (first wife, mother of his two children): legal marriage - 1926; divorce - 1935
  • Virginia Rogers (2nd; Los Angeles widow): wedding ceremony - 1934; legal marriage - 1935, first marriage to Virginia declared invalid because decree from Lois was not final; divorce - 1937; legal remarriage: 1941; 2nd divorce - 1946.
  • Vera Ivanova Shuvalova (3rd wife, Russian singer, dancer, putative countess, she was known professionally as Ileana): legal marriage - 1 January 1938; 1st wedding ceremony - 28 February 1938, on groundless fear the January ceremony was not valid; 2nd wedding ceremony, Russian Orthodox - 26 April 1938; divorce - 1940.
  • Ida Kitaeva Raphael (4th wife, Russian opera singer and actress): legal marriage - 1946.
Statue of Laurel & Hardy
Ulverston, Cumbria

In 1961, Stan Laurel was given a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his pioneering work in comedy. He had achieved his lifelong dream as a comedian and had been involved in nearly 190 films. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard. In a 2005 UK poll to find The Comedians' Comedian, Laurel and Hardy ranked top among best double acts and seventh overall. In 2009, a bronze statue of the duo was unveiled in Laurel's hometown of Ulverston, Cumbria (formerly Lancashire), England.

He lived out his final years in a small flat in the Oceana Apartments in Santa Monica, California, and died in Santa Monica on 23 February 1965. [5]

Sources

  1. England & Wales birth registration: Ulverston [district], Volume 8e, Page 792, September quarter 1890, mother's maiden name METCALFE
  2. "United States Census, 1930," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCFF-7GN : accessed 3 April 2015), Stanley Laurel, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 0822, sheet 13B, family 292, line 83, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 124; FHL microfilm 2,339,859.
  3. "United States Census, 1940," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9HV-KB1 : accessed 3 April 2015), Stan Laurel, Councilmanic District 1, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Township, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 60-25, sheet 3B, family 69, NARA digital publication T627 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012), roll 374.
  4. John McCabe (1974, 1990), The Comedy World of Stan Laurel, Beverley Hills: Moonstone Press, pp. 69-70
  5. "California Death Index, 1940-1997," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPKG-D8P : accessed 3 April 2015), Stan Laurel, 23 Feb 1965; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.

See Also:

  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Laurel
  • Find a Grave, database and images (www.findagrave.com/memorial/607/stan-laurel : accessed 18 May 2021), memorial page for Stan Laurel (16 Jun 1890–23 Feb 1965), Find A Grave: Memorial #607, citing Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave Cremated.
  • http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2009/01/movie-comedian.html
  • "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KXL5-SDT : 11 December 2020), Arthur Stanley Jefferson, 1927; citing Immigration, New York, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
  • "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24JL-T9B : accessed 3 April 2015), Stan Laurel, 1932; citing Immigration, New York, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,756,953.
  • "California, Los Angeles Passenger Lists, 1907-1948," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZQ4-JHM : accessed 3 April 2015), Stan Laurel, 1937; citing Immigration, ship name President Taft, NARA microfilm publication M1764 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 75; FHL microfilm 1,734,679.
  • "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVPZ-66RR : accessed 3 April 2015), Stanley Laurel, 1948; citing Immigration, New York, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm .
  • "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24YY-47Q : accessed 3 April 2015), Stan Laurel, 1951; citing Immigration, New York City, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 2,297,490.
  • "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2HML-4J4 : accessed 3 April 2015), Stan Laurel, 1952; citing Immigration, New York City, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 2,297,742.




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Comments: 2

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Big fan of Laurel and Hardy

Visiting England for my summer holidays a few years ago, we actually took a bit of a detour to visit Ulverston. There is a sign on the place he was born. The house must have been renovated, and a family still lives in it, waving politely to all the people stepping in their front yard to take a photo :) Lovely museum in the old cinema.