112 years ago today, Arthur Stanley Jefferson was born in Ulverston, England. He eventually became a performer in British music hall revues, joined a troupe that toured America, decided to stay, changed his name to "Stan Laurel" and teamed up with a man named Oliver Norvell Hardy. Your mileage may vary but I don't think any movie film has ever been exposed that contained more delight than the cinema antics of Laurel and Hardy. There is something about seeing them that always makes me feel good. Part of it is that they played charming, fascinating individuals, but part of it is just that they did what they did so well. One of their film editors — a gent named Martin Bolger, who lived down the street from my folks' house — once said to me that nothing got into their films by accident. They may have played two clueless babes but they always knew precisely what they were doing…and they did it just about as well as it could be done. Happy birthday, Mr. Laurel. Wherever you are.