Hal Roach, Sr.
Hal Roach
Born	Harry Eugene Roach January 14, 1892 Elmira, New York
Died	November 2, 1992 (aged 100) Los Angeles, California
Spouse(s)	Marguerite Nichols (1915-1941)

Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. Events 1129 - Formal approval of the Order of the Templar at the Council of Troyes. Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Elmira is a City in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the 'Elmira New York Metropolitan Statistical Area Events 1570 - A Tidal wave in the North Sea devastates the coast from Holland to Jutland, killing more than 1000 Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West Marguerite Nichols ( 3 August 1895, Los Angeles - 17 March 1941, Los Angeles) was an early American Silent (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer from the 1910s to the 1990s. Events 1129 - Formal approval of the Order of the Templar at the Council of Troyes. Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Events 1570 - A Tidal wave in the North Sea devastates the coast from Holland to Jutland, killing more than 1000 Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A film producer is a person who creates the conditions for making movies. The primary role of a television producer is to control all aspects of production ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking

Biography

Early life and career

Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York. Elmira is a City in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the 'Elmira New York Metropolitan Statistical Area A presentation by the great American humorist Mark Twain impressed Roach as a young grade school student. A humorist is a person who writes or performs humorous material Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30 1835 – April 21 1910 better known by the Pen name Mark Twain, was an American Humorist, satirist Primary education is the first stage of Compulsory education.

After an adventurous youth that took him to Alaska, Hal Roach arrived in Hollywood in 1912 and began working as an extra in silent film. An extra is a Performer in a Film, Television show, stage musical opera or ballet production who appears in a nonspeaking nonsinging or nondancing capacity Upon coming into an inheritance, he began producing short comedies in 1915 with his friend Harold Lloyd, who portrayed a character known as "Lonesome Luke. Short subject is a format description originally coined in the North American Film industry in the early period of cinema. Harold Clayton Lloyd Sr ( April 20, 1893 &ndash March 8, 1971) was an American Film actor and producer " In 1915 Roach married actress Marguerite Nichols. Marguerite Nichols ( 3 August 1895, Los Angeles - 17 March 1941, Los Angeles) was an early American Silent They had two children, Hal Jr. and Margaret.

Success as a comedy producer

Unable to expand his studios in downtown Los Angeles because of zoning, Roach purchased what became the Hal Roach Studios from Harry Culver in Culver City, California. Downtown Los Angeles is the Central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center Zoning is a term used in Urban planning for a system of land-use Regulation in various parts of the world including North America the United Kingdom Harry Hazel Culver ( January 22 1880 &ndash August 17 1946) was a real estate developer and promoter Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County California. During the 1920s and 1930s, he employed Lloyd (his top money-maker until his departure in 1923), Will Rogers, Max Davidson, the Our Gang kids, Charley Chase, Harry Langdon, Thelma Todd, ZaSu Pitts, Patsy Kelly and, most famously, Laurel & Hardy. This page is about the humorist for others with similar names see William Rogers. Max Davidson ( May 23, 1875 - September 4, 1950) was a movie Comedian of the Jewish style "The Little Rascals" redirects here For other uses see The Little Rascals (disambiguation. Charley Chase ( October 20, 1893 - June 20, 1940) was an American Comedian, Screenwriter and Film director Harry L Langdon ( June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an American Comedian who appeared in Vaudeville, Thelma Todd ( July 29, 1905 – December 16, 1935) was an American actress of the late 1920s and early 1930s film ZaSu Pitts ( January 3,  &ndash June 7,) (ˈzeɪsuː ˈpɪts was an American Film Actress who starred in many silent Patsy Kelly ( January 12, 1910 – September 24, 1981) was an American stage and film comedic actress Laurel and Hardy were the popular American -based comedy team of thin British-born Stan Laurel (1890-1965 and heavy American-born Oliver Hardy (1892-1957 During the 1920s Roach's biggest rival was producer Mack Sennett. Mack Sennett ( January 17, 1880 &ndash November 5, 1960) was an Academy Award -winning director and was known as the innovator In 1925 Roach hired away Sennett's supervising director, F. Richard Jones. Frank Richard Jones ( September 7, 1893 - December 14, 1930) was an American director and producer.

Roach released his films through Pathé until 1927, when he went to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This article deals with the Pathé movie company For their music business see Pathé Records. He would change again in 1938 to United Artists. This article is about the film studio Previously it was affiliated with a cinema chain bearing its name now owned by Regal Entertainment Group. He converted his silent movie studio to sound in 1928 and began releasing talking shorts early in 1929. In the days before dubbing, foreign language versions of the Roach comedies were created by re-shooting each film in the Spanish, French, and sometimes Italian and German languages. Laurel & Hardy, Charley Chase, and the Our Gang kids (some of whom had barely begun school) were required to recite the foreign dialogue phonetically, often working from blackboards hidden out of camera range.

In 1931, with the release of the Laurel & Hardy film Pardon Us, Roach began producing occasional full-length features alongside the short product. Pardon Us is Laurel and Hardy 's first feature length Comedy film. Short subjects became less profitable and were phased out by 1936. The Our Gang series continued until 1938, when Roach sold the contracts of the Our Gang cast members and the series name to MGM.

From 1937 to 1940 Roach concentrated on producing glossy features, abandoning low comedy almost completely. Most of his new films were either sophisticated farces (like Topper and The Housekeeper's Daughter) or rugged action fare (like Captain Fury and One Million B.C.). Topper ( 1937) is a Comedy film which tells the story of a stuffy stuck-in-his-ways man who is haunted by the ghosts of a fun-loving married couple One Million BC is a 1940 American Fantasy Motion picture produced by Hal Roach Studios and released by United Roach's one venture into heavy drama was the acclaimed Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men is a 1939 film based on the novel of the same title by American author John Steinbeck. The Laurel & Hardy comedies, once the Roach studio's biggest drawing cards, were now the studio's least important product and were phased out altogether in 1940.

In 1940 Roach experimented with medium-length featurettes, running 40 to 50 minutes each. He contended that these "streamliners," as he called them, would be useful in double-feature situations where the main attraction was a longer-length epic. Exhibitors agreed with him, and used Roach's mini-features to balance top-heavy double bills. United Artists continued to release Roach's streamliners through 1943. By this time Roach no longer had a resident company of comedy stars, and cast his films with familiar featured players (William Tracy and Joe Sawyer, Johnny Downs, Jean Porter, Frank Faylen, William Bendix, George E. Stone, etc. William Tracy ( December 1, 1917 - July 18, 1967) was an American Character actor. Johnny Downs ( October 10, 1913 &ndash June 6, 1994) was a Child actor who played Johnny in the Our Gang Frank Faylen ( December 8, 1905 &ndash August 2, 1985) was an American movie and television Actor. William Bendix ( January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an Academy Award -nominated American film Actor. George E Stone (born George Lichtenstein May 18, 1903 in Łódź, Congress Poland - d ).

In 1941, his wife of 26 years, Marguerite, died. Marguerite Nichols ( 3 August 1895, Los Angeles - 17 March 1941, Los Angeles) was an early American Silent

World War II and television

Hal Roach, Sr. was called to active military duty in June 1942, at age 50, and the studio output he oversaw in uniform was converted from entertainment featurettes to military training films. The studios were leased to the U.S. Army Air Forces, and the First Motion Picture Unit made 400 training, morale and propaganda films at "Fort Roach. The United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF) was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II. The First Motion Picture Unit (FMPU was the unofficial name for the 18th Air Force Base Unit of the United States Army Air Forces. " Members of the unit included Ronald Reagan, Alan Ladd and others. Alan Walbridge Ladd ( September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American film Actor.

In 1947, Hal Roach resumed production for theaters, with former Harold Lloyd co-star Bebe Daniels as an associate producer. Bebe Daniels ( January 14, 1901 - March 16, 1971) was an American actress. Roach was the first Hollywood producer to go to an all-color production schedule, making four streamliners in Cinecolor, although the increased production costs did not result in increased revenue. Cinecolor was an early Subtractive color -model two color Film process based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor In 1948, with his studio deeply in debt, Roach re-established his studio for television production, with Hal Roach, Jr. producing shows such as The Stu Erwin Show, The Gale Storm Show, and My Little Margie, and independent producers leasing the facilities for such programs as Amos 'n' Andy, The Life of Riley, and The Abbott and Costello Show. My Little Margie is a situation comedy that alternated between CBS and NBC from 1952 to 1955 Amos 'n' Andy was a situation comedy based on Stereotypes of African-Americans and popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role was a popular Radio Situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 The Abbott and Costello Show, a half-hour television sitcom starring the popular comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello that originally aired By 1951 the studio was producing 1,500 hours of television programs a year, nearly three times Hollywood's annual output of feature movies. ^[1]

The visionary Roach also recognized the value of his film library. Beginning in 1943 he licensed revivals of his sound-era productions for theatrical and home-movie distribution. Roach's films were also early arrivals on television; the Laurel & Hardy comedies in particular were a smashing success in TV syndication.

Later years

In 1955 Roach sold his interests in the production company to his son, Hal Roach, Jr. , and retired from active production. Unfortunately, the younger Roach lacked much of his father's business acumen, and soon lost the studio to creditors.

For two more decades Roach Sr. occasionally worked as a consultant on projects related to his past work, and was planning a comeback comedy at age 96. Hal Roach was a guest on Late Night with David Letterman in 1982, where he recounted experiences with such stars as Stan Laurel and Jean Harlow; he even did a brief, energetic demonstration of a hula dance. Late Night with David Letterman was a nightly hour-long comedy Talk show on NBC hosted by David Letterman. Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; June 16, 1890 &ndash February 23, 1965) was an English comic actor writer Jean Harlow ( March 3, &ndash June 7,) was an American Film Actress and Sex symbol of the 1930s

At age 92, he was presented with an honorary Academy Award. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. In the spring of 1992, not long after his 100th birthday, Roach once again appeared at the Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Billy Crystal. William Edward "Billy" Crystal (born March 14, 1948) is an American Golden Globe Award -nominated and Emmy Award -winning When Mr. Roach rose from the audience to speak during the ceremony, the sound system did not pick up his words. Crystal quipped "I think that's fitting, after all — Mr. Roach started in silent film. . . "

Hal Roach was two months away from his one-hundred-and-first birthday, when he died on November 2, 1992, at his home in Bel Air, California from pneumonia. Events 1570 - A Tidal wave in the North Sea devastates the coast from Holland to Jutland, killing more than 1000 Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Bel Air is a wealthy and prominent faux-gated residential community in the Westside of the city of Los Angeles California, United States. Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the Lung. Frequently it is described as lung Parenchyma / alveolar inflammation and abnormal He was married twice, and had a number of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, New York, where he had grown up. Elmira is a City in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the 'Elmira New York Metropolitan Statistical Area

Hal Roach Studios

The 14. 5 acre (58680 m²) studio once known as "The Lot of Fun," containing 55 buildings, was torn down in 1963 and replaced by light industrial buildings, businesses, and an automobile dealership, where a plaque marks the studio's location. Most of the film library was bought by a Canadian company that adopted the "Hal Roach Studios" name. It primarily handled the business of keeping the library in the public eye and licensing products based upon the classic film series.

In 1983 Hal Roach Studios was one of the first studios to venture into the controversial business of film colorization, creating digitally colored versions of several Laurel and Hardy features, the Frank Capra film It's a Wonderful Life and other popular films. Film colorization is any process that involves adding Color to Black and white, sepia or monochrome moving-picture images Frank Russell Capra ( May 18, 1897 &ndash September 3, 1991) was an Academy Award winning Italian-American Film It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story " The Greatest In the 1980s, Hal Roach Studios produced Kids Incorporated in association with old business partner MGM. Kids Incorporated (also known as Kids Inc) was an American Children's television program that was produced from 1984 to From 1988 to 1990, while producing Kids Incorporated, Hal Roach Studios was known as Qintex.

In the years that followed, the Roach company changed hands several more times. Independent television producer Robert Halmi bought the company in the early 1990s, and it became RHI Entertainment. RHI Entertainment is an American producer of Television movies and Miniseries, founded in the 1980s by Robert Halmi Jr A short time later, this successor company was acquired by Hallmark Entertainment in 1994, but Halmi, Robert Halmi Jr. RHI Entertainment is an American producer of Television movies and Miniseries, founded in the 1980s by Robert Halmi Jr and affiliates of Kelso & Company reacquired the company in 2006. Hallmark Entertainment was absorbed into RHI Entertainment (with Lions Gate Home Entertainment as home video output partner). Lionsgate redirects here For other meanings see Lions' Gate (disambiguation‎.

In that same decade, a new incarnation of Hal Roach Studios (operated by the Roach Trust) was established, and today this new version of the company has released classic films on DVD, many of which are from Roach's own archival prints of his films, while others are public domain titles mastered from the best available 35 mm elements. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone 35 mm film is the basic Film gauge most commonly used for both still Photography and Motion pictures, and remains relatively unchanged since its

References

Further reading

• Richard Lewis Ward. A History of the Hal Roach Studios. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2005.

External links

• Biography of Hal Roach, Sr. with list of Academy Awards
• Extensive list of Roach's work and publications about Roach