Laurel and Hardy Autograph

Laurel and Hardy were a comedy double act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema. The team was composed of thin Englishman, Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and heavyset American, Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). They became well known during the late 1920s through the mid-1940s for their slapstick comedy with Laurel playing the clumsy and childlike friend of the pompous Hardy. One of the comedy routines they performed was an escalating, tit-for-tat fight, an example of which can be seen in their silent film Big Business from 1929. This film was added to the Library of Congress as a national treasure in 1992. The duo's signature tune, which is known variously as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku" or "The Dance of the Cuckoos", played over the opening credits of their films.