Besides our meetings with Karl Slover and Olive Brasno during the Summer trip that Lisa and I took to Florida, the vacation really had nothing to do with Laurel and Hardy. Nevertheless, I was inspired to include some coverage, along with a clever narrative, of the trip in my tent newsletter Dante’s Info #14. The photo of me with the boys and Walt Disney, the “Toad in a Hole” shot seen at left, and the Tower of Terror photo of Lisa and me with the Disney characters (seen here) were all included in this piece - which was in actuality just a portion of Sim Sala Bim, the regular editorial column in Dante’s. (The Tower of Terror shot was captioned: Brad and Lisa meet up with Laurel and Hardy’s co-star in Hollywood Party, Billy Gilbert. Later we ran into Sneezy, who was voice by Billy Gilbert). Here is the text in full…
Allow me at this point to break into a slightly psychotic narrative involving the recent vacation Lisa and I took to Florida. Even a relaxing non-motivated vacation can turn into a Laurel and Hardy quest at the drop of a derby.
Of course, by sheer coincidence, I was able to coincide our whole trip with a visit with two Hal Roach celebrities. But a Grand Sheik’s mind won’t stop there: Florida becomes The State Where Ollie Began His Film Career (in Jacksonville). We stayed in Orlando and also Clearwater Beach, site of the 1990 Sons of the Desert convention. And of course, we had to go through the state where Ollie was born to even get there. At Disney’s M-G-M Studios, one movie memorabilia shop sold autographed photos of Buch Bond and Darla Hood while playing Leroy Shield incidental music recorded by Ronnie Hazlehurst. Stan Laurel and Walter Long can even be glimpsed (in The Live Ghost) in a movie montage at the end of The Great Movie Ride. The words Toad in a Hole appear on the wall of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at the Magic Kingdom. In the Walt Disney Story museum is a giant photo of Walt and the boys at the 1932 Academy Awards.
A giant photo of Walt Disney and the boys at the 1932 Academy Awards adorns the Walt Disney Story museum. It is captioned: Laughter is one of America’s most important exports - Walt Disney.
More? A swinging bridge I crossed at Rock City in Tennessee on our way back home reminded me of Swiss Miss. One room of the caverns there housed a miniature creation of Mother Gooseland. But to me, it was simply Toyland. And this may be stretching it a bit, but when Hurricane Erin came knocking on our door, it looked just like the stormy night at the end of Sons of the Desert.
By the way, Lisa insists it was just a vacation.
Lisa takes her turn in front of the picture.
1995 will continue with the next “Dante’s Info“…
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