Oliver Hardy was an American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy, the classic double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted nearly 30 years, from 1927 to 1955. In 1910, a movie theater opened in Hardy's home town of Milledgeville, Georgia, and he became the projectionist, ticket taker, janitor and manager. He soon became obsessed with the new motion picture industry, and became convinced that he could do a better job than the actors he saw on the screen. A friend suggested that he move to Jacksonville, Florida, where some films were being made. In 1913, he did just that, where he worked as a cabaret and vaudeville singer at night, and at the Lubin Manufacturing Company during the day.
