Babe: The Life of Oliver Hardy

by John McCabe

Traces the life of Oliver Norvell Hardy through his frustrating boyhood to his worldwide renown as half of the greatest comedy team in the history of Hollywood

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1990

Reviews

[Benjamin Sanson]

A well-thought-out biography centered on Oliver Hardy (also known as Babe) of the Laurel and Hardy comedy duo. I learned quite a lot about Hardy and how his past shaped him into the person he would become, both on and off the big screen. As a newcomer to the Laurel and Hardy comedies (for reference, I read this book a few months after watching the Stan and Ollie movie and listening to the Dance of the Cuckoos, the signature theme associated with Laurel and Hardy), I may not have fully connected with every reference McCabe made, but I still greatly enjoyed this biography.

I'm typically someone who avoids reading biographies because they seem dry, but there was something about McCabe's writing that made me emotionally connect with Babe as more than just an actor on a screen. I found McCabe's portrayal of Babe to be very thoughtful, treating Babe as a person first and foremost, while allowing his career as an actor to remain an ever-present part of the story without overshadowing the man himself.

Even though my knowledge of Laurel and Hardy is limited (I grew up watching a lot of The Three Stooges and Abbott and Costello through DVDs and movie compilations on TV), I feel like McCabe's portrayal of Babe allows readers like me (or those who are more familiar with Laurel and Hardy than I am) to enjoy a biography of one half of one of the greatest comedy duos of all time.

To slightly paraphrase one of Babe's famous lines, "Now, here's another nice book you've gotten me into."

[Mick Meyers]

A solid read of a brilliant comedian,not just a straight man to stan laurel,who saw the potential in being a double act who didn't hog all the limelight.they survived as a pair with no recriminations,as there were with other double acts.the only other double act were morcombe and wise.