A MASTER OF COMEDY , HIS GENIUS IN THE ART OF HUMOUR BROUGHT GLADNESS TO THE WORLD 1890-1965
Stan 1897	Stan 1910	Stan Laurel 1927
Arthur Stanley Jefferson was born at 3 Argyle St in the Small Northern Town of Ulverston , England. His father was Arthur J Jefferson , a Theatre Impressario , and Madge Metcalf , an Actress , Stan had fond memories of Ulverston and especially his Grandma Metcalf taking him to the sweet shop , for his favorite treat , Beers Treacle Toffee , after a few years , the family moved to North Shields , where AJ became manager of TheTheatre Royal	In 1906 after AJ moved the family to Glasgow to manage the Metropole Theatre Stan approached AE Pickard , the owner of the Panopticon Music Hall , and asked if he could do a turn on stage , Mr Pickard knowing Stans father assumed that AJ had given his consent , and agreed , AJ as it happened , did not know of this , but happened to call in to see Pickard that night , so by accident got to see Stans first performance in front of a paying audience, Stan Himself reckoned it was pretty bad , but he got a good response from a difficult Glasgow Audience.
In 1910 he joined the famous Fred Karno troupe which also included one Charles Spencer Chaplin , Stan was made understudy to Chaplin , as you can see from the picture above right , Stan made a very passable Chaplin , even going so far , as , when he left the Karno troupe,forming a trio doing "The Little Tramp" while his partners did Mabel Normand and Chester Conklin Stan Kicked around America with a variety of acts in Vaudeville	The Sweet Shop where Stan`s Grandma Metcalf took him for his favorite treat "Beers Treacle Toffee" .	One of which partnered him with an Australian Dancer-Singer called Mae Dahlberg , who , depending on which version of the story you read , suggested to Stan the name Laurel because Stan was allegedly worried about the 13 letters in his name another version has Stan in his dressing room which has a bust of a Roman general with a Laurel wreath , and he thought Laurel could be a good name , whichever story is true by the time Stan settled in Los Angeles and signed a contract with Hal Roach in 1926 Stan Jefferson had departed to be replaced by Stan Laurel , the name Stan was to carry until the day he died in 1965.
Stans Grave and Memorial Plaque
This is only intended to give a brief insight into the early life of Stan Laurel , there are many books about the boys , some of which are listed below
LAUREL & HARDY BY JOHN McCABE ISBN 0-7607-0224-1 Mr Laurel and Mr Hardy: An Affectionate Biography
LAUREL AND HARDY THE MAGIC BEHIND THE MOVIES BY RANDY SKRETVEDT ISBN 0-948820-65-9 (Quite hard to find at the moment)