Laurel and Hardy were a popular comedy team composed of thin, English-born Stan Laurel (1890 1965) and heavy, American-born Oliver Hardy (1892 1957). They became famous during the early half of the 20th century for their work in motion pictures and also appeared on stage throughout America and Europe. The two comedians first worked together on The Lucky Dog. After a period appearing separately in several short films for the Hal Roach studio during the 1920s, they began appearing in movie shorts together in 1926. Laurel and Hardy officially became a team the following year, and soon became Hal Roach's most famous and lucrative stars. Among their most popular and successful films were the features Sons of the Desert (1933), Way Out West (1937), and Block-Heads (1938)[1] and the shorts Big Business (1929), Liberty (1929), and their Academy Award-winning short, The Music Box (1932). The pair left the Roach studio in 1940, then appeared in eight "B" comedies for 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1941 to 1944.