Here's a query for you kiddie show experts.....
Mention of Chuck McCann in another thread brought this to mind. Mr. McCann is one of the best Oliver Hardy impersonators around. (IIRC, he was also one of the founding fathers of the Sons of the Desert, and involved in some of the earliest drives to preserve endangered Laurel & Hardy films.)
For a brief time when I was growing up on a steady diet of local NYC kid's shows, McCann had a daily WNEW-TV show devoted solely to sketches in which he portrayed the great Oliver Hardy. Another actor portrayed Stan Laurel, but apparently could not mimic Laurel's voice.
McCann, an excellent vocal mimic and voice-over artist, also did a very credible Stan Laurel voice but, of course, looked nothing like him. So, what they would do (and this was transparently obvious even to this then grade schooler) is have "Stan" remain mute while on-camera. Then "Ollie" would keep finding excuses to send his cohort off-camera for something, when his voice -- actually lines pre-recorded in McCann's Laurel voice -- would then be heard. Once back in front of the lens, "Stan" would once again be silent.
A long build-up to ask the question of this thread: who played the mute "Stan" to McCann's "Ollie" for these WNEW broadcasts?
(I think we can assume it was not Jim MacGeorge, who later portrayed Laurel to McCann's Hardy in commercials and live appearances, because he could do both the vocal and physical impersonation!)
Mention of Chuck McCann in another thread brought this to mind. Mr. McCann is one of the best Oliver Hardy impersonators around. (IIRC, he was also one of the founding fathers of the Sons of the Desert, and involved in some of the earliest drives to preserve endangered Laurel & Hardy films.)
For a brief time when I was growing up on a steady diet of local NYC kid's shows, McCann had a daily WNEW-TV show devoted solely to sketches in which he portrayed the great Oliver Hardy. Another actor portrayed Stan Laurel, but apparently could not mimic Laurel's voice.
McCann, an excellent vocal mimic and voice-over artist, also did a very credible Stan Laurel voice but, of course, looked nothing like him. So, what they would do (and this was transparently obvious even to this then grade schooler) is have "Stan" remain mute while on-camera. Then "Ollie" would keep finding excuses to send his cohort off-camera for something, when his voice -- actually lines pre-recorded in McCann's Laurel voice -- would then be heard. Once back in front of the lens, "Stan" would once again be silent.
A long build-up to ask the question of this thread: who played the mute "Stan" to McCann's "Ollie" for these WNEW broadcasts?
(I think we can assume it was not Jim MacGeorge, who later portrayed Laurel to McCann's Hardy in commercials and live appearances, because he could do both the vocal and physical impersonation!)