December 3, 1953
HIPPODROME.
Dear Ellina [Turner] Irwin,
Please forgive my delay in answering your very kind letter of Nov.10th. Had an attack of the Flu and was in bed for a week in London
Don't know as of yet whether we are revisiting Sheffield again.
Mrs L joins in kind regards & every good wish.
Sincerely as ever,
December 8, 1953
Dear Mrs. [Elizabeth] Tyler-
We are sincerely sorry to hear of your husband's illness. I regret we are unable to visit your house due to many previous engts. Your kind invitation is greatly appreciated.
With every good wish to you both.
Sincerely always,
Laurel & Hardy.
December 10, 1953
Dear Mrs. [Elizabeth] Tyler-
We are indeed sorry to hear the further news of your husband's condition & now your unfortunate accident having to happen at a time like this. We trust your back injury is not too serious & you will now fully recover from the fall.
Thank you for the kind invitation to your Daughter's wedding. Being in Nottingham, we shall of course not be able to attend. However please convey to them our heartfelt congratulations & wishes for a most happy & successful union. Encl. is a little photo you kindly requested.
Our sincere regrets on your misfortune Mrs. Tyler.
Good luck & God Bless.
As ever-
Laurel & Hardy.
December 15, 1953
Empire Theatre.
My Dear Booth [Colman]-
Thanks yours 5th.inst.
Appreciate your kindness in calling Helen re Mark & pleased with the report. We of course get letters on the subject, & naturally Helen is very distressed - which makes Eda very upset. Mark told Helen not to let us know anything about his illness, so Eda can't write him direct, & if Mark finds out they have told us - they are afraid it might upset him & set him back, so it makes it a difficult situation all round. I think Mark was very foolish to insist keeping the news from us. There is no sense or reason for it. However, he has to stay in bed till they have dissolved the blod clot & then he will be OK again, but won't be able to do any more hard work. Too bad this had to happen - he is such a swell boy. Its a great strain on Helen too - Just getting over her serious operations etc. Hope she doesn't have a break down. Am glad her folks are staying with her, at least she won't feel alone. We are laying off this week - got some rehearsing to do for the Special Xmas show. We all had lunch & tea with my sister Beatrice last Sunday - & enjoyed some real good home cooking for a change, going to have Xmas day with her - (no shows here) it will be our first in 50 years - can you imagine! Foggy as hell here - (can't see your hand behind your back) Glad you got some more time in the Warner Picture - Too bad they didn't have to make it all over. Heard a funny story about Churchill - Molotoff & the French Premier - all in a plane going to a conference - The Pilot is having engine trouble - says - one of you gentlemen will have to jump out, the plane is too heavy, if you don't, we'll all be lost! The Frenchman got up & said "Vive Le France" & jumped out. A little later the Pilot said one more must leave or we can't make it. Curchill got up & said "There'll always be an England" then he threw Molotoff out!! Yes, the case of the young Peer is awful, his trial starts today - will send you further clippings on it. All for now Booth. Eda sends love & joins in wishing you a very merry Xmas & a Happy & Prosperous New Year & trust you will have lots of good luck - Health.
Bye & God Bless.
As ever-
P.S. Raya & Bob at the Cliff restaurant have now got a liquor license - so they should do very well with it. If you see them - give them our love & best. Bye Lad!
December 16, 1953
Empire Theatre.
My Dear Trixie [Wyatt],
Thanks yours of the 4th.inst. Sorry was unable to answer till now - even tho' am not working this week - we are pretty busy - Press - Photos - & preparing for the special Xmas Party Show etc. We all had lunch - tea at my sisters place on Sunday last, it was a treat to eat some good old home cooking & to be away from a hotel room for a while. Am going to have Christmas dinner with her - the first in 50 years - can you imagine? Just had a letter from Jackie Harrison, says things are not too good - very worried - poor chap. He has aged much since I saw him last year - but he says he is in good health - I guess he is not working & that is what he is upset about. His daughter is having a baby soon, & as she is keeping him - she probably feels - with the addition to the family, she won't be able to manage with him there. I feel terribly sorry for him.
Pleased to hear the children liked the photos - thank them for their nice message. We shall be at the Empire Nottingham till January 16th. Then open in London Jan. 18th. Empire Chiswick Jan. 25. Empire Hackney Feb. 1st. Theatre Royal Portsmouth Feb. 8th. Hippodrome Brighton. that's as far as I know at present.
Awful fog here - hope it clears soon. All for now dear - Eda joins in every good wish. Have a Merry Xmas & a Happy New Year & lots of goodluck & health.
Sincerely yours,
December 21, 1953
Dear Jack [McCabe]-
I think the idea of a book is a very good one, and I shall do everything in my power to help you, of course. I especially like the idea that it will be about our way of making the pictures, rather than about our lives. When we return to Birmingham, you can spend all the time you like interviewing us together or separately, as you like. Probably I can be of more help to you in that department than Babe. He usually doesn't care to talk too much about the making of the pictures.
Sincerely yours,
Mr. Stan Laurel
Santa Monica, California
and
Mr. Oliver N. Hardy
Van Nuys, California
My dear Stan and Babe:
I am enclosing copy of letter received this morning from Mr. McCabe, which is the first I have heard from him since my conversation with him on the phone in London.
I shall appreciate indeed your suggestions in the matter.
Sincerely,
Ben Shipman
- - - -
16 July 1954
Dear Mr. Shipman:
Please excuse the scholarly but un-businesslike paper; it is all there is to hand at the moment and I want to get this letter off to you as soon as possible. I am in a whirlwind of activity, and at the moment I am sitting in an avalanche of unanswered mail. This morning I returned from the hospital where I have been for over a month with an attack of bursitis. I seem to have made a full recovery so I am now speeding on my way to all the matters that attend on me.
I am very sorry that I wasn’t able to get a working agreement to you for consideration. My lawyer friend to whom I wrote for information (about availability to draw it up) has not answered me, and a few days ago my mother wrote to say that she now learns that he has been (and as far as I know still is) on a tour of Europe.
But I should like at least to settle general details with you. Although I have absolutely no business or legal sense, I submit the following and hope it will prove at least generally agreeable to you, Stan and Babe. As I have pointed out to all of you my main interest in writing the book is one of having published work to my to my credit, and, of course, I want to be able to do it without a loss. I should want only my expenses and a slight bit more. Now, not knowing what my expenses are going to be, but bearing in mind that I shall have to come to California to live for a while and pay expenses to see all the Laurel and Hardy films now in the land of the living whether they lurk in vaults or projection rooms, I should like to suggest a percentage of the royalties of 35% for me, 65% for Laurel and Hardy Productions. Does that seem equitable to you? If it is not, please feel free to tell me so in definite terms, and, as I have told Stan, cut this figure down to what you like. I leave it entirely up to you.
As a lawyer, Mr. Shipman, and especially as a lawyer who knows show business, there may be certain things that you feel should be included in such an agreement. In that event, I wish you would pass along your ideas to me: they would be most welcome. I'am unable of course, to send anything formal until my lawyer friend comes home which, in any event, would not be before my own return. I sail 7 August and get to my home town, Detroit, about the middle of August.
I would appreciate your candid comments about this - and as I have emphasized - I more or less leave final details of royalty percentage up to you.
Thanks very much.
Yours sincerely.
Jack McCabe
3 Chestnut Walk
Stratford-Upon-Avon
December 27, 1953
My Dear Trixie [Wyatt],
Thank you dear for the lovely cake - it was very sweet of you to go to all that trouble & we deeply appreciated your extreme kindness & thought. xx. We of course gave some to the Hardy's & we are all still enjoying it - in fact I have some of it at the Theatre with my tea - tween shows. Thanks again Trixie. Hope you had a nice Xmas & a happy one - we all had dinner at my sister's home - just a quiet time - but nice to get away from the Hotel life for change, & some good home cooking. We had a very good week's business here to start off the run & expect to have a very big week commensing tomorrow - going to do 3 shows a day, so its going to be pretty hard, as we do our act & appear in the Xmas Party too - then the last two weeks we do two matinees a week - shall be glad when it's all over & we get back to twice nightly again.
Eda joins in love & every good wish for a Happy New Year - lots of good health & happiness always. Drop a line when you feel like it, always enjoy hearing from you. Thanks again Dear & God Bless.
As ever -