“Do you think a story like this could come from my mind?”
In November of 2006, I was given an extraordinary opportunity that I still consider one of the most important moments of my work with Laurel and Hardy. After contributing design work for The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy DVD Website Project, I was invited to Albany to work with a previously unseen collection of photographic stills and document material originating from Hal Roach Studios.
As part of the arrangement, my payment included a return flight scheduled exactly one week later — meaning I had just seven days to digitally retain the entire surviving image and document archive. At the time, I had no certainty that the work could be completed within that window. For the duration of the week, I worked virtually day and night, scanning and preserving material that had survived since the demolition of the original Hal Roach Studios in 1963.
In the end, the final document was scanned less than 10 minutes before I was taken to the airport. Within a year, the physical archive was dispersed through auction houses around the world, entering private collections. Knowing that this material was preserved in full — and just in time — remains one of the most intense and rewarding experiences of my life and career.
Russ Babidge (The other monkey)
Tall Oaks From Little Acorns Grow
In October 2020, Russ and I embarked on a project to create a book that chronologically covers Stan and Babe’s silent films. Russ had hundreds of hi-resolution film stills and I had written essays covering each of the boys’ silent shorts. This promised to be a quick and easy project to complete. We scheduled a release date for some time in 2022, but it soon became apparent that as we worked on the project, our vision for what it could become was growing at a rate of knots.
“A little bit of kindness goes a looong way!”
As we reached out for help, more and more film historians and collectors have come on board, offering their support and promising to share unique items from their collections. Rare stills, posters, lobby cards and press articles have emerged, as well as new nuggets of information relevant to the films and contextually to the Hal Roach studios.
“It could happen!”
Our vision is for this publication to be the biggest and best source of imagery and information relating to the boys’ silent films that have ever been amassed and published. The spirit of collaboration we have experienced from the world’s film historians and collectors has truly been overwhelming, and so we are dedicated to getting this book right, to honour their contributions as well as Stan and Babe’s legacy. The book will take the reader on a fully illustrated, chronological journey through the team’s silent era, including production information, press articles and contextual details from the Hal Roach Studios and Stan and Babe’s personal lives. Packed with fascinating details and gorgeous, high-resolution images, this book will be the definitive record of Laurel and Hardy’s silent shorts
“You don’t believe me!”
Never before have so many Laurel and Hardy stills been brought together in one place, and combined with new and extensive research into the production history, this is one title that you cannot afford to miss. We are anticipating that Laurel & Hardy: Silents will be ready for printing in Autumn 2026. This will be a deluxe, large-format, limited-edition release of 2,000 copies, and we already have a waiting list of around 1,800 people. Make sure you don’t miss out on this essential, must-have publication by joining our mailing list today.
“You bet your life it’s a good idea!”
Laurel & Hardy: Silents consists of TWO large-format, deluxe hardback volumes with beautiful, glossy pages containing pin-sharp image reproduction and completed with dust jackets featuring gold-foil detailing. To fund the printing of this bespoke, premium project, we will be launching a Kickstarter campaign in late Summer 2026. This is essentially how you will order your copy of this groundbreaking book. Please be assured that we will launch the Kickstarter only after the book is complete and ready to print. The Kickstarter campaign will be open for just one month; after that, all orders will be fulfilled promptly.
"So far... So good!..."
RICHARD W. BANN
Essay
Collection
We’re immensely honoured to have the opportunity to turn Richard W. Bann's essays into two beautiful books. This project is now in production and is one that we’re incredibly proud and excited about. It has grown far more extensive than we could ever have anticipated, and we can’t wait to present these special volumes to you.
