"All mimes in the world owe much to Stan Laurel. To them, Stan Laurel is a maître. He is of the mime that goes back through history to the very oldest days of the juggler and the comic troubadour. In those days they did not need much of a story. What they had principally was lazzi—or comic tricks. These perhaps look simple—like bumping into someone you don't see at first and then backing off in surprise and fear—but these things are not easy to do and do gracefully and do funnily. [...] Now, there are many people who can do these things in a funny way but it is only a master like Stan or Charlie who can do these things in a very, very funny way to make us laugh out loud, heartily. Stan comes from the same school as Charlie—the music hall. And so many great artists come from there. They all speak the universal language of the movement of the body. They can be both comic and tragic, sometimes at the same moment. Both Stan and Charlie have different styles, of course, and Charlie developed more into social comedy, but they are basically the same kind of comedians if you watch them closely."
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Academy Award winnersImmigrants to the United StatesActors from EnglandComedians from EnglandFilm directors from England
Original Language: English
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Sources
Marcel Marceau, as cited in John McCabe Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy (1961), pp. 207–208
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stan_Laurel
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Stan Laurel
(born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one-half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his performing partner in 107 film comprising shorts, features and cameo roles.
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