This Website is dedicated to the persons, lives and films of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.
It is also the website of the Beau Chumps Tent of Sunderland, one of the many worldwide chapters, or ‘tents’, of the ‘Sons of the Desert’ – the International Laurel and Hardy Appreciation Society. We meet on the second Wednesday of every month at 730pm at The Alexandra Steakhouse & Function Suite in Sunderland SR2 9PF.
Please visit the meetings page for more details.
The site has new items added on an ongoing basis and the News/Blog page is updated regularly with blogs from a number of contributors as well as a weekly ‘Image of the Week‘. Well, it would be weekly, wouldn’t it… .
We also have a Facebook page ‘Beau Chumps Sunderland‘. Our ‘story’ changes every day and at least one update per day is posted, usually more, and quite often this would include a classic clip.
Stan and Ollie played full week engagements at the Sunderland Empire in both March 1952 and February 1954, and Stan of course has many connections with the North-East of England. Please see the ‘Features’ page here or via the menu above for more details.
Please feel free to leave any thoughts or comments you might have at the bottom of the page, we’d love to hear from you.
Throughout the site, I have tried to refer to the boys as individuals as ‘Stan’ and ‘Babe’, to the team as ‘Laurel and Hardy’ and the characters as ‘Stan’ and ‘Ollie’. Very simple where Stan is concerned, but with Babe, not so much…
The original Beau Chumps Tent were very active in the 80’s and early 90’s and it has long been my intention to re-establish the tent. As I am now essentially retired, I am able to put my shoulder to the wheel, grab the bull by the horns, put my best foot forward and get the tent into the digital age with DVDs, websites, emails and other tools of convenience. No humping a projector and screen around these days, he says…
Mike Jones: December 2018
If viewing on a phone or mobile device, please note the site is optimised to be viewed in the landscape mode.
The Beau Chumps Tent of Sunderland UK 
Count me in!
Juju
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Thanks for visiting Robert.
We hope you enjoy the site!
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Hi Just found this website quite by chance I love watching the films of Stan and Ollie
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Hello Jan Jan, thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoy our website.
This is a labour of love for me, and is something I’d always planned to build in my retirement. It’s growing day by day with regular updates to existing pages, images of the week, regular blogs and more.
Take care
Mike Jones
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I can’t believe how much info there is in this website! I’ve learned so much about Stan and Ollie from it.
Thank you too every one involved.
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Thanks for visiting Julie and so glad you like the site.
We’re always adding new items and revising existing articles, so please come back and check it out.
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Hi, I stumbled upon your website at the beginning of the March 2020 lockdown and thoroughly enjoyed the contents, when off duty as an NHS nurse. I’ve especially enjoyed the photo-captioned picture of The Boys wearing a PPE mask to protect themselves from granolavirus. My workmates were also amused by it!
The ‘internet of things’ is a sometimes wonderful tool, and when tooling around I discovered a fan rendition of The Rogue Song, using film footage, stills, some CGI(?) and other materials, all synchronised to the original soundtrack. I’ve seen no mention of this anywhere, apart from the YouTube channel it was on. The rendition isn’t as amateurish as my description sounds, and was most interesting to view. (The web address is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L1kuNJREvo) I have no knowledge of the video makers, except what is stated on their YouTube channel – they are fans from Italy, who put up the channel in 2014, and apparently have 361000 subscribers. Hope that the information may be of interest to you. Regards and keep on taking care to protect from nasty viruses.
jon
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Hello John
Thanks so much for visiting, for your kind comments and of course for your remarkable efforts during the crisis. I hope you and your colleagues are all well and haven’t suffered too much as a result of this unprecedented situation.
The masked image was one of several circulating- all splendidly done – and I hoped that it helped encourage all to do what they could to help get us safely through the Granolavirus pandemic (as Stan might have said).
I’ve seen the ‘Rogue Song’ reconstruction and it is surprisingly good, hopefully a few more will pick it up from your link.
We also have a regular update email bulletin which did mention the reconstruction and which you might appreciate. Ill drop you an example and if you’d like to join the blind copied list I’ll be happy to sort it
Thanks again for your interest, and please, stay safe.
Mike Jones
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I have been a fan since I was a child, i am now 65 this year. My bucket list includes visiting their museum in Ulvaston Cumbria and having my photo taken on the steps in Los Angeles where they made The Music Box. When I finally do pack it in, you know where I will be. Great to see they are still being kept alive by those of us that have them to thank for a happier childhood. god bless them both.
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Hello Alan and thanks for visiting!
Those are splendid words and so many will agree with you.
You will love the museum and I’ve been fortunate to have visited the steps and will be going back there again in August. Full details of my visit in 2016 can be found on the Features page or by clicking here: https://beauchumps.wordpress.com/on-the-right-trek/
Thanks again and take care
Mike Jones
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Mal clark says “My mother who is 88 next birthday remembers Stan and Ollie visiting her home town of North Shields in the very early 50s.She remembers all the schoolkids lining the roads and Ollie telling Stan off for swinging in the trees like a monkey!”
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Hello Mal and thanks for visiting.
What a wonderful story! Are you still local as we’d love to welcome you to our meetings. If not, please let me know if you’re ever in the area.
If you’d like to join our (blind copied) email list, please use the contact us facility on the website and I’ll start sending you weekly bulletins as soon as practicable.
Thanks again and please, stay well.
Mike Jones
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I like the new layout (font and background colour) of your website. It is very pleasing on the eye. I always enjoy reading your updates.
Take care and keep up the good work. Best wishes – Andrew
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Thanks for your kind thoughts Andrew, so glad you like the update!
Stay well, and speak soon,
Mike
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Hi Mike, great new look to the already great website, the font and layout is fantastic another great job you have done.
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Hello Peter and thanks for that.
I hope others like it too. I’m also busy on upgrades and rewrites to the content of a number of pages too so watch this space.
Stay Well and speak soon.
Mike
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Thank you for All of your deelightful visits to my email box. It lightens my heavy Music Box load!
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Hello Diane and thanks so much for your kind comments.
I’m so pleased you enjoy my scribblings by way of the ‘Beau Chumps Bulletins’ and I in turn, thank
the many contributors who help make these what they are.
Stay well
Mike Jones
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It does not allow me to post a comment on your image of the day:- Image of the Week : 17 April 2023. However, in regards to the Oscar Stan won, I believe it is now in the custody of his Wife’s Nephew. How it ended up there I do not know but it seems that it is a bone of contention.
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Hello Ian, thanks for visiting and pointing that out.
I’ve fixed it now: sometimes I can only set up a comments box after publication. This was the case today and you beat me to it!
Thanks for the info regarding the Oscar. We know it passed to Stan’s wife Ida in 1965, but I’ve only ever known it to be ‘with Ida’s family’. It would be wonderful if that nephew would loan the statuette for exhibition in somewhere like the museum in Georgia or Ulverston.
We live in hope 🤞
Stay well
Mike Jones
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I stumbled on this site the other day I think by accident from Pinterest. There is a lot of interesting information here, to feed my large appetite for all things Laurel and Hardy. Bonnie Lassiter
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Hello Bonnie
Thanks for visiting and got your kind comments. I’m glad you find my scribbles interesting as this is a labour of love snd a retirement project which has grown ‘arms and legs’!
I hope we can continue to feed your appetite and look forward to hearing from you again.
Best wishes
Mike Jones
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