Laurel and Hardy's Comedy Mayhem

south west | media and culture | event notice Wednesday August 26, 2009 08:52 by Chris Daniels - Bristol Silents christopher.daniels at bristolsilents dot org dot uk 16 Summer Hill, Bristol, BS4 3BE 07974933556

with Kumar's own Sanjeev Bhaskar

A turning point in Hollywood’s history will be marked in Bristol on Wednesday 9 September at Colston Hall when comic actor and writer SANJEEV BHASKAR hosts a night of film, laughter, music and legend, celebrating the moment when LAUREL and HARDY successfully switched from silent movie-making to sound and began their journey towards comedy immortality.

Bhaskar’s guests will include veteran performer JEAN DARLING, who became a Hollywood star at four, is the last of the original Our Gang child actors and who at 87 still has vivid on and off set memories of working with Stan and Ollie.

Other attractions include a screening of the duo’s classic silent short DOUBLE WHOOPEE (1929), with the world premiere of a new score, played live by the EMERALD ENSEMBLE, and of the Oscar-winning THE MUSIC BOX (1932) – still ranked as one of the all-time funniest films.

Sanjeev will also introduce his pick of Laurel and Hardy’s best clips with some accompanied by songs from THE MATINEE IDLES, featuring actor PAUL MCGANN and ex-members of the chart-topping 1970s doo-wop band, DARTS.

Jean Darling has promised to sing, too – giving the audience a rare chance to hear a voice that made her a star on Broadway in the 1940s, in musicals like CAROUSEL.

Sanjeev says: “I’m already lobbying hard for Jean to lead a sing-along version of THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS OF VIRGINIA. I mean, how great would that be – to be able to tell your grandchildren you’d sung a Laurel and Hardy classic with a star of legendary films and shows who had sung along with guys themselves?”

LAUREL & HARDY’S COMEDY MAYHEM is taking place to raise funds for Bristol’s next SLAPSTICK festival of comedy silents ( 21-24 January 2010).

Sanjeev with Stan & Ollie 3.72 Mb