Bonus - Harold & Hal & Stan & Ollie: The Laurel and Hardy Silents with Patrick Vasey

Hal Roach Studios was built on the comedy of Harold Lloyd and sustained by Our Gang and Laurel & Hardy. And Harold and Stan stayed friends throughout their lives.

As Bruce Goldstein launches a massive Laurel & Hardy retrospective at Film Forum this week, we take a few minutes to talk about the most famous duo to come out of Hal Roach Studios with Patrick Vasey, host of The Laurel & Hardy Podcast and author of the upcoming two-volume limited edition book, "Laurel & Hardy: Silents" available now through the end of July.

Patrick and I talk about his Harold Lloyd fandom, the culture around Hal Roach Studios, how the company known by its employees as the “Lot of Fun” evolved over the 1920s through Harold's departure and Stan and Ollie's growing partnership, and why the story of Lloyd's career is where Patrick's new book begins.

The book written by Patrick and designed by Russell Babbage, tells their history chronologically day to day from 1920 through 1929 with over a thousand rare photos from Hal Roach Studios scanned by Russell. It's available through Kickstarter, and it surpassed its fundraising goal. So the print run is guaranteed but only up to a thousand copies. Reserve your copy here by July 31 st 2026. Or go to laurelandhardyfilms.com.