biography
| name: |
Roach, Hal
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| |
popular name of Harald Eugene Roach
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1892–1992)
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| biography:
| Film-maker, born in Elmira, New York, USA. After an adventurous life as a mule-skinner and gold prospector in Alaska, he entered the film industry as a stuntman and extra in 1911. He began producing short comedy films, becoming an expert in the mechanics of slapstick, and helped to foster the careers of Laurel and Hardy. He also devised the series of Our Gang films, and won Oscars for The Music Box (1932) and Bored of Education (1936). His range of full-length productions includes Way Out West (1937), Of Mice and Men (1939), and One Million BC (1940), which he co-directed. After World War 2 he diversified into television production. His final film was the compilation feature The Crazy World of Laurel and Hardy (1967), and in 1984 he received a special Academy Award. |
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