Home movie footage unearthed

The last known film of Stan Laurel has been discovered on a amateur home movie.

The footage, shot on 8mm film at his Santa Monica apartment, apparently shows the comedy legend performing his trademark head-scratch, while smiling absently at the camera.

According to Laurel’s daughter, Lois Laurel Hawes, the two-minute film was shot in late December 1964, just two months before his death.

It was made by James and Irene Heffernan, who were friends of the comic in his later years; and a letter from Laurel to the Heffernans, dated January 15, 1965, mentions the yuletide visit when the footage apparently was shot.

The footage has never been viewed publicly, but producer Tyler St. Mark, who bought the footage from the Heffernan estate, plans to release it on June 16, 2010 – the day that would have been Laurel’s 120th birthday.

He said: ‘Stan Laurel performs a special gesture at the end of the film clip which was clearly intended for his millions of fans worldwide and so we will help him deliver his message 46 years later.’

Published: 14 Aug 2009