CAUSE: Television revived the pair’s careers in the Fifties and plans were made for them to star in a new series of films. However, before anything could come of this, Babe suffered a stroke at his home at 5429 Woodland Avenue, Van Nuys, early on the morning of September 14, 1956 which left him completely incapacitated. Doctors described his condition as “poor” and, until October 7, Babe was on the critical list. He spent a month at St Joseph’s Hospital in Burbank, being released on October 13. He was told by doctors to lose weight and shed around 10 stone. Thousands of fans sent him get well letters and cards. In the last picture taken of the pair (in 1956) Stan looks much the same as he always did. Babe is unrecognisable from his weight loss. In early August 1957, he suffered two strokes that left him comatose. He died at 7.25am on August 7 at 5421 Auckland Avenue, North Hollywood, the home of his mother-in-law, Monnie L. Jones. Cause of death was “acute cerebral vascular accident”. He was 65. At 1pm on August 9, 1957, he was given full Masonic rites and then cremated at the Chapel of the Pines and his ashes were buried in the Garden of Hope, the Masonic section of the Valhalla Memorial Park, 10621 Victory Boulevard, North Hollywood, California. He has two memorial plaques – one bears his name, birth and death dates and the legend “Beloved husband”. The other, placed by the Sons of the Desert in 1977, reads, “Oliver Hardy 1892–1957. A genius of comedy. His talent brought joy and laughter to all the world.” Without a partner and in poor health himself (he was discovered to have diabetes in 1945 and suffered a stroke ten years later in June 1955), Stan retired. He did not attend Babe’s funeral. Ida and Lois, Jr did. Stan lived out his retirement comfortably at 1111 Franklin Street, Santa Monica, then 25406½ Malibu Road and finally from 1958 at 849 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, where he was listed in the telephone directory. He often received fans to chat about the old days. His wife was fiercely protective of Stan but would quietly leave the room to allow him to entertain his visitors. He watched television but rarely his own films. To the fans who could not visit, he wrote thousands of letters, patiently answering their questions. He turned down an offer of $100,000 to be comedy consultant to Jerry Lewis – Stan did not need the money. In 1961 he was awarded a special Oscar but was too poorly to receive it. He died aged 75 from a heart attack at 1.45pm. He had also been suffering from cancer of the palate. Official cause of death was “myocardial infarction, massive (posterior), arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis (advanced 12 years); also diabetes mellitus – brittle”. He was 74. He, too, was cremated – the ceremony taking place on February 27, 1965 at Forest Lawn Crematory. His ashes were interred in plot 910 of the second terrace in the George Washington Section of Forest Lawn, Los Angeles. His memorial reads, “Stan Laurel 1890–1965. A Master of Comedy. His genius in the art of humor brought gladness to the world he loved.” His two-page will, dated November 3, 1947, leaving everything to Ida Laurel was contested by Virginia Laurel. The suit was dismissed.
FURTHER READING: Mr Laurel & Mr Hardy – John McCabe (New York: Signet, 1968); Stan – Fred Lawrence Guiles (London: Michael Joseph, 1980); Laurel And Hardy: The Magic Behind The Movies – Randy Skretvedt (London: Apollo, 1988); The Comedy World Of Stan Laurel – John McCabe (London: Robson Books, 1990).
John Laurie
Born March 25, 1897
Died June 23, 1980
Dour Scot. John Paton Laurie’s career spanned almost sixty years yet he is probably best known for the portrayal of the financially astute, i.e. mean, sailor-turned-undertaker James Fraser in Dad’s Army. Born in Dumfries and educated at Dumfries Academy, he intended to become an architect. From 1916 until 1918 he served with the Honourable Artillery Company. He was invalided out of the service and rarely spoke about his experiences. In 1919 he began training at the Central School of Speech Training at the Royal Albert Hall and made his stage début in March 1921 at the Lyceum Theatre, Dumfries playing John Shand in What Every Woman Knows. His London début came as Pistol in The Merry Wives Of Windsor on August 16, 1922. He had a highly successful career in the theatre and began appearing in films in 1930 with Juno And The Paycock (1930) as Johnny Boyle. 5́ 10˝ Laurie’s other films included: The 39 Steps (1935) as John, As You Like It (1936) as Oliver, Jericho (1937) as Hassan, Farewell Again (1937) as Private McAllister, A Royal Divorce (1938) as Joseph, Q Planes (1939), The Four Feathers (1939) as Khalifa, Convoy (1940) as Gates, Old Mother Riley’s Ghosts (1941) as McAdam, The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp (1943) as John Montgomery Murdoch, Henry V (1944) as Captain Jamie, Fanny By Gaslight (1944) as William Hopwood, Caesar And Cleopatra (1946), Treasure Island (1950) as Blind Pew, Trio (1950) as Mr Campbell, Richard III (1954) as Lord Lovell, Hobson’s Choice (1954) as Dr MacFarlane, Campbell’s Kingdom (1957) as Mac, Kidnapped (1960) as Ebenezer Balfour, The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971) as Darrow, One Of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1976) as Jock and The Prisoner Of Zenda (1979) as the Archbishop. He was married twice, firstly to Florence Saunders who died aged 35 on January 24, 1926 and then in 1928 to Oonah V. Todd-Taylor (b. 1901, d. 1990) by whom he had a daughter, Veronica (b. 1939). A kindly man whose hobby was doing The Times crossword he, nevertheless, didn’t mince his words. He told Dad’s Army creators Jimmy Perry and David Croft: “I have played every major Shakespearean role in the theatre and I’m considered the finest speaker of verse in the country, and I end up becoming famous doing this crap!”
CAUSE: He died at his home, Southfield, Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, from emphysema and a lung ailment. He was 83. He left £44,549.
Peter Lawford
(PETER SYDNEY ERNEST AYLEN)
Born September 7, 1923
Died December 24, 1984
The First Brother-in-law. Born at 17 Artillery Mansions, Victoria Street, London, SW 1, Lawford has a greater claim to fame than acting as the reputed Hollywood pimp for John F. Kennedy, his presidential brother-in-law. Lawford supposedly set up JFK with numerous starlets during the time he was married to First Sister Patricia Kennedy. Lawford had an unorthodox upbringing. His mother, May Somerville Bunny (b. November 4, 1883, d. January 23, 1972) unkindly described him as “an awful accident”. At the time of her son’s birth she was married to Major Ernest Vaughan Aylen (b. 1876, d. by his own hand, October 12, 1947) of the Royal Army Medical Corps. However, Lawford’s real father was Major Aylen’s commanding officer Lieutenant-General Sir Sydney Lawford (b. November 16, 1865, d. February 15, 1953). When Mrs Aylen was handed her newborn son she turned up her nose in disgust. “I can’t stand babies,” she once commented. “They run at both ends; they smell of sour milk and urine.” For over 20 years of marriage Major Aylen had pleaded with his wife to give him an heir. She refused until Sir Sydney began courting her. She believed (rightly as it turned out, the third marriage for both of them) that if she had his baby he would marry her and she would thus become Lady Lawford. Peter described his mother as “an inveterate snob”. Lady Lawford continued to meddle in all aspects of her son’s life. When he was signed to MGM she went to see studio head honcho Louis B. Mayer and told him she thought her son had homosexual tendencies. Mayer listened patiently and then interviewed Lawford, telling him other young men on the lot had the same ‘problem’. Lawford, who was at that time seeing Lana Turner, told Mayer he was not gay and to ask Turner. Mayer did and was apparently satisfied with what he heard. Still the rumours continued, and indeed persist to this day. Lawford was very close to actors Van Johnson and Keenan Wynn and his wife Evie Lynn Abbott. When, on January 25, 1947, Wynn divorced Evie and four hours later married Johnson, wags commented, “Who gets custody of Peter?” Lawford met Patricia Kennedy at a party in London in 1949. He was her cinematic hero, while he was delighted to meet the sister of his friend John F. Kennedy. Their first date was in November 1953, when they went out to dinner in Manhattan. They spent Christmas of that year together with her family in Palm Springs. He proposed on her last night in Los Angeles shortly before she was due to fly to Tokyo to be reunited with a beau, Frank Conniff. However, when Pat suggested a date for a wedding, Lawford hesitated. The next
morning he had overcome his doubts, but when he called her she had already left for San Francisco. He rang her in Frisco but was again too late. He had to wait until she arrived in her Tokyo hotel room before he could speak to her and agree the marriage was on. Pat caught the first flight back. The Kennedys insisted the engagement was kept a secret until the official announcement. To reporters Lawford denied the truth almost as the Kennedys were making the announcement, making him look rather silly. Newspaper reports mistakenly published pictures of Jean Kennedy, not Pat, and many of the future bride that did appear were taken when her father was ambassador to the Court of St James’s and she was about 14. Ill-informed accusations of cradle snatching were not totally absent. The engagement ring cost Lawford $13,000. They were married on April 24, 1954, at 4pm at St Thomas More Church, East 89th Street, New York. The wedding was not held in St Patrick’s Cathedral because Lawford was not a Catholic. The ceremony lasted just ten minutes and the groom was late. The best man was Lawford’s friend Bob Neal, the ushers were John, Bobby and Teddy Kennedy, LeMoyne Billings and Peter Sabiston. Jean Kennedy was the only bridesmaid. Pat’s dress was pearl white satin and designed by Hattie Carnegie. Lawford did not invite any of his showbiz friends except Jackie Coogan, who refused to attend because he believed Lawford and Pat were incompatible. As they were pronounced man and wife, the groom did not kiss his bride. A crowd of around 3,000 waited outside the church to see the bride and groom and it took 23 policemen almost half an hour to forge a space for the car to move to the reception, which was held for 300 guests at the Plaza Hotel on Fifth Avenue. There was no prenuptial agreement. However, Lawford was kept in the dark completely about his wife’s assets. Each year he was given a blank tax form to sign and send to the Kennedy accountants. He never saw the forms again. One year he was sent by mistake a copy of his wife’s tax return and discovered she had paid $286,000 in tax the previous year. Pat was a virgin on the wedding night, which was spent in the bridal suite at the Plaza. Their honeymoon was a fortnight in Hawaii with an overnight stop in Chicago. On the honeymoon Pat showed she was a true Kennedy by insisting on visiting the Hawaiian legislature to see the procedures. Lawford spent the first few days of his honeymoon alone while his wife listened to political speeches and debates. Rose Kennedy was not happy at the fact that Lawford was an Anglican although she relented when the couple promised to raise their children as Catholics. Joe Kennedy had Lawford thoroughly checked out to make sure he wasn’t a gold digger. The report also revealed that he was a regular visitor to prostitutes. Kennedy, Sr was impressed by Lawford’s sexual appetites and gave the match his blessing. Lady Lawford announced she wanted her son to marry someone from “court circles” and called the Kennedy family “Irish peasants”. When she had dinner with Joe Kennedy she fell into an argument, called him “an old fogey” (he was five years younger than her) and stormed out of the restaurant. She referred to her daughter-in-law as “that bitch”. This was a bit strong considering her own interferences and, whether tongue in cheek or not, she entitled her own autobiography Bitch! Following his divorce, Lawford went on to marry three more times – to Mary Rowan (b. October 31, 1949), the daughter of TV comedian Dan Rowan on October 30, 1971 (from whom he was divorced on January 2, 1975), to Deborah Gould (b. 1951) on June 25, 1976, from whom he separated after a few short months and, finally, in July 1984 to model Patricia Ann Seaton (b. 1959). He died five months after the nuptials. Following the November 22, 1963, assassination of President Kennedy, Lawford began to indulge in rather more drugs than were good for him. His marriage broke up (he was divorced in 1966) and he was exiled from the court of Camelot. He was estranged from his Rat Pack friend Frank Sinatra and was further ostracised because of his association with Marilyn Monroe. It had been Lawford who had emceed the Birthday Gala at Madison Square Garden for JFK on May 19, 1962, at which Marilyn sang a breathily sexy version of ‘Happy Birthday’. According to some reports Lawford was the last person to speak to Marilyn when she telephoned him on the evening of her death. She supposedly told him: “Say goodbye to Pat, say goodbye to Jack [or “the President”] and say goodbye to yourself, because you’re a nice guy.” His films included: Poor Old Bill (1930), Lord Jeff (1938) as Benny Potter, A Yank At Eton (1942) as Ronnie Kenvil, Mrs Miniver (1942), Random Harvest (1942), Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943), Corvette K-225 (1943), The Canterville Ghost (1944) as Anthony de Canterville, Son Of Lassie (1945) as Joe Carraclough, The Picture Of Dorian Gray (1945) as David Stone, It Happened In Brooklyn (1947) as Jamie Shellgrove, Easter Parade (1948) as Jonathan Harrow III, It Should Happen To You (1954) as Evan Adams III, Exodus (1960) as Major Caldwell, Ocean’s Eleven (1960) as Jimmy Foster, The Longest Day (1962) as Lord Lovat, Sergeants 3 (1962) as Sergeant Larry Barrett, Sylvia (1965) as Frederic Summers, Harlow (1965) as Paul Bern, The Oscar (1966) as Steve Marks and Won Ton Ton, The Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976). When Lawford went to MGM the company promised to make him the new Ronald Colman and told him that his time would come by the age of 30. Aged 34 he asked a producer, “What happened to the time when I’d be perfect?” and was told, “I guess it just went by.”
CAUSE: By the late Seventies Peter Lawford’s acting career had virtually ground to a halt. He made the occasional advertisement, appeared on game shows and chat shows and did personal appearances. The occasional acting job surfaced but Peter usually blew it. In December 1977 he flew to Honolulu to appear as Kenneth Kirk in ‘Frozen Assets’, an episode of the hit CBS cop show Hawaii Five-O, which was broadcast on March 30, 1978. The network paid for his room at the Kahala Hilton but any extras were the actor’s responsibility. In his nine days he ran up a bill of $1,653, which he failed to pay. For a year the hotel chased its money until it announced CBS would have to pay or they would stop the network’s credit facilities. Grudgingly, CBS paid up, but sued Lawford. He never worked for the company again. He borrowed sums of up to $10,000 from friends and made no effort at repayment. The money was usually spent on drugs. He also tried to raise money with frivolous lawsuits. On September 17, 1983, his daughter by Pat Kennedy, Sydney, married, but Lawford was shunned by his former in-laws. Only Jackie Onassis spent time with him at the reception, where he drank too much. On December 12, 1983, Lawford was admitted to the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage to combat his addictions. On the plane he became drunk on vodka and asked Patricia Seaton where they were heading. She replied, “Betty Ford’s” to which Lawford, thinking they were having dinner with her, responded, “Oh good, I’ve always liked Betty Ford.” While there he secretly paid for cocaine to be flown to him via helicopter, which he paid for on his American Express card. In July 1984, 35 per cent of his stomach was removed in an operation at UCLA Medical Center. The day after the operation he married the Roman Catholic Patricia Seaton. Back at home Lawford had become unable to look after himself or control his bodily functions. His wife called his children and suggested he be put in a nursing home. They did not feel that was necessary. In December 1984 he was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, with failing kidneys and liver. As his kidneys stopped working his skin gradually turned yellow. His children stopped off to visit him but then continued on to their Christmas holiday in Jamaica. His wife never left his side. On December 19 he fell into a coma. At 8.50am on Christmas Eve Lawford stirred, his muscles contracted, he sat up and blood poured from his mouth, nose and ears. He fell back, dead. He was cremated on Christmas Day 1984 and his ashes were interred in Westwood Village Mortuary, about 50 yards from Marilyn Monroe’s crypt.
FURTHER READING: The Peter Lawford Story – Patricia Seaton Lawford with Ted Schwarz (New York: Carroll & Graf, 1988); Peter Lawford: The Man Who Kept The Secrets – James Spada (London: Bantam, 1991).
Eva Le Gallienne
Born January 11, 1899
Died June 3, 1991
Stately homo. Born in London and RADA educated, Le Gallienne, “the high priestess of classical drama in America,” was one of Hollywood’s best-known lesbians. She made her stage début at London’s Que
en’s Theatre on July 21, 1914. The following year she moved to New York where she made her début in Mrs Botany’s Daughters in October 1915 at the Comedy Theatre. For the next ten years she appeared in London and on Broadway. On October 25, 1926, she opened the Civic Repertory Company on West 14th Street, New York, the company she had founded. She did not always show great judgment and once turned down Bette Davis when the younger woman auditioned for her. She was awarded a special Tony in 1964. In 1978 she won an Emmy for The Royal Family. She once told the Christian Science Monitor: “I really don’t know why I came into the theatre, because I am not a theatrical person at all … I do not care for publicity. I appreciate it when people are kind enough to send me telegrams, or come back to say they have enjoyed the performance. I would really, though, much rather slip into the theatre each evening and do my work quietly, because it is the work that I like doing.” She made just three films: Prince Of Players (1954), The Devil’s Disciple (1959) and Resurrection (1980), for which she was nominated for an Oscar.
CAUSE: She died of natural causes, aged 92.
John Le Mesurier
(JOHN ELTON HALLILEY)
Born April 5, 1912
Died November 15, 1983
Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries Page 109
