John Connolly conjures the Golden Age of Hollywood in this moving, literary portrait of Laurel & Hardy--two men who found their true selves in a comedic partnership. "AMBITIOUS . . . EVOKES THE STYLE OF SAMUEL BECKETT." --NEW YORK TIMES "BRILLIANT." --SEATTLE BOOK REVIEW "EXTRAORDINARY." --LIBRARY JOURNAL (STARRED REVIEW) An unforgettable testament to the redemptive power of love, as experienced by one of the twentieth century's greatest performers. When Stan Laurel is paired with Oliver Hardy, affectionately known as Babe, the history of comedy--not to mention their personal and professional lives--is altered forever. Yet Laurel's simple screen persona masks a complex human being, one who endures rejection and intense loss; who struggles to build a character from the dying stages of vaudeville to the seedy and often volatile movie studios of Los Angeles in the early years of cinema; and who is haunted by the figure of another comic genius, the brilliant, driven, and cruel Charlie Chaplin. Eventually, Laurel becomes one of the greatest screen comedians the world has ever known: a man who enjoys both adoration and humiliation; who loves, and is loved in turn; who betrays, and is betrayed; who never seeks to cause pain to anyone else, yet leaves a trail of affairs and broken marriages in his wake. But Laurel's life is ultimately defined by one relationship of such astonishing tenderness and devotion that only death could sever this profound connection: his love for Babe.

Gainsborough’s Fred Spiksley was one of the first working class youngsters in 1887 to live ‘the dream’ of becoming a professional footballer, before later finding a role as a globe-trotting coach. He thus dodged the inevitability of industrial, poorly paid, dangerous labour. Lightning fast, Spiksley created and scored hundreds of goals including, to the great joy of the future Queen Mary who chased him down the touchline, three against Scotland in 1893. The outside left scored both Sheffield Wednesday’s goals in the 2-1 defeat of Wolves in the 1896 FA Cup Final at the Crystal palace. Forced by injury to stop playing at aged 36, Spiksley adventured out into the world. He acted with Charlie Chaplin, escaped from a German prison at the start of the First World War and later made the first ‘talking’ football training film for youngsters. As a coach/manager he won titles in Sweden, Mexico, the USA and Germany, becoming the last Englishman to coach a German title-winning team with 1FC Nuremburg in 1927. He coached in Barcelona in 1932 and it was only after his involvement had exceeded 50 years, during which time, as this book explains, the game changed dramatically, did Spiksley’s football career end. As an addicted gambler and womaniser, Spiksley had his problems away from football. However, he was beloved by his football fans, including Herbert Chapman, the greatest manager of that era in English football who, towards the end of his life, picked him in his finest XI.

A biography of Laurel and Hardy describes their original teaming in the 1927 short, "Duck Soup, " their considerable innovations, and their ongoing influence.

Before they became household names, many would-be Hollywood stars began their careers as small-time actors in regional theatres and playhouses. Few of them earned much recognition based on their time in the footlights, but often the stage provided these Hollywood hopefuls with their first break in show business. Drawing on material from the J. Willis Sayre Collection, a nearly unbroken accumulation of theatrical programs from 1865 to 1955, this book chronicles the Seattle stage engagements of more than 30 silent film personalities. Such Hollywood giants as Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Cecil B. DeMille, D.W. Griffith, and Buster Keaton, to name just a few, can trace their early careers through the Emerald City.

Contains every known stage appearance Chaplin made in the UK and, for the first time ever, the ones he made in Vaudeville, touring America with the Fred Karno Company of Comedians. Along the way, many myths and mistakes from other works on Chaplin will be corrected, and many lies and legends exposed. But, in destroying the negative, a positive picture is built up of the very medium which created the man and the screen character "Chaplin." Includes extracts from the scripts of the plays and sketches in which Chaplin appeared, complemented by reviews and plot descriptions, all of which help to complete the picture of the influences which affected Chaplin's later film work. Read and be Amazed! - 258 pages - 210 illustrations

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