Product of his Background

Roots

written by Leo Brooks

We are all to a great degree, products of our backgrounds.  Generally our religious and political views are shaped by from where we came.  Up until the middle of this century, sons generally followed their fathers when choosing their line of work.  In rural areas there was no choosing, as that was often the only line of work available to them.  In some areas this still holds true today.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were certainly products of their backgrounds.  Stan followed his father and mother into the theatre.  While Hardy would break new ground in his family, he was driven by the desire to climb the ladder of success and restore the family names to the lofty social status they once held.

The book, Laurel Before Hardy , by Jenny Owen-Pawson and Bill Mouland, trace the roots of Stan Laurel for us, but little has ever been written before on the roots of Oliver Norvell Hardy. 

• The Norvells

• The Hardys

• The American Civil War

• Reconstruction