How tall was Oliver Hardy

Arch Stanton said on 29/Jan/22
Yeah some people do believe that Stan is Eastwood's father. He certainly looks more like him than his real father did. Can't see why people would have said that about Suggs though LOL!

Adam Cornwell said on 26/Jan/22
I just had to comment on this great, Oliver Hardy - I am 50 and I never tire of them. My five year old was in hysterics at them tonight.

@Arch Staunton - I know I'm going back 8 years to your post but funny you should say Stan has a Clint Eastwood hairline. For years there were rumours (in the 80s and 90s) or myths that Clint Eastwood was the son of Stan Laurel, and in turn Suggs from Madness was the son of Clint. Facts are that Clint and Suggs' mums were associated with celebrities and Suggs even does a one man show based a lot on the long time unknown identity of his dad.

In other posts people questioned Hardy's fitness. Nonsense. Not only was he strong, he was incredibly athletic and flexible, squatting and bending like a baby, jumping, etc. His natural ability was rare for any weight and barely hindered by the fat.

In any event I'd love to believe that Oliver Hardy was like me, 6 ft 1, but the more I watch the more I see heavies standing up to him who are sometimes taller by a couple inches, and women who compare, say two inches shorter plus heels of two inches. 6 ft 3 would be too rare for men born at the turn of the century, and 5 ft 11 too rare for women, so my vote is that 6 ft 0 is correct.

wishbone said on 15/Oct/18
I grew up enjoying Laurel And Hardy,and I STILL enjoy their antics! Although both Stan and Ollie have been long gone,no other classic comedy team was better! It's like Jack Benny once said:they made audiences laugh and STILL laugh even today! And 6' Ollie sneezing away a whole river after sniffing snuff in Bonnie Scotland,newly acquired Oct.1,STILL provokes laughs! Then they got into a war and won that war when the enemy troops were stung by hornets! Take the time to watch these comedy legends to appreciate TRUE comedy!

Neelasish Sen Roy said on 12/Sep/18
He looks solid 6'0" tall with john wayne,No 6'1"!

Blake said on 29/Sep/17
Rob, do you not have any tags you could squeeze Laurel and Hardy into?

even said on 5/Jul/17
he really was a 6 foot tall man

Sandy Cowell said on 18/Apr/17
I haven't seen 'Laurel and Hardy' for so many years, so I'm going to have to do my best to remember as best I can!
When, some months ago, I read here that Ollie was 6ft, I was faintly surprised! That was huge for that era, but I've been slightly fooled into thinking he was a good inch shorter because of the waistline and portliness causing him to look 'ball-like'!
I've just given Stan 5ft8, so it makes sense to agree with Ollie's 6ft. 4 inches difference? Yes! Any more is doubtful in my eyes!

James said on 22/Jan/17
Six foot is correct.

Oliver Hardy was one of the true greats, he was nothing like the talentless unfunny Johnny Vegas.

kevin said on 9/Aug/15
6'2" Blanche Payson almost towered Hardy in the episode "below zero" a plain 6'0" is about right for Hardy, he's often billed at 6'1" but that's too much

Bruno said on 15/Feb/15
Arch Stanton says on 13/Nov/14
@Sam, Johnny Vegas is a lot like Hardy physically

That's the only similarity Arch, Hardy had true talent.

Arch Stanton said on 13/Nov/14
@Sam, Johnny Vegas is a lot like Hardy physically.

Arch Stanton said on 13/Nov/14
True Sam. Nah generally I can't see Hardy under 6 ft. In Jitterbugs actually he can look near 5 inches taller than Hardy. At times he could seem almost 6'1 actually. With John Wayne he oddly looked 5'11 range though, but I think Wayne had footwear advantage.

Sam said on 15/Sep/14
I meant James Franco obviously, I was meaning Denzel was shorter than Malcolm X.

Sam said on 4/Sep/14
Hollywood has shown their indifference to casting actors of comparable height or to reflect average height inflation, Denzel Washington & Chadwick Boseman clearly taller than James Dean & James Brown, etc.

Tim said on 24/Aug/14
@Sam: If you want to get very specific when it comes to height and build, for Hardy you would want someone with a big build at 6'2", and Laurel you'd want a 5'10" man with a slim build, given that the average height today in the US (where their comedies were originally made) is 2 inches more than it was during their heyday 70-85 years ago. That is of course to get their relative sizes to the general public roughly on spot, but Hollywood after all can make people look as tall and short as they want. Eric Stonestreet though does look like a great Hardy.

Sam said on 22/Aug/14
If they ever did a L & H biopic, Eric Stonestreet seems like he'd be a shoe-in for the part of Hardy, down to his height and size...maybe Simon Pegg or somebody for Laurel?

Sam said on 22/Aug/14
Yeah, a better listing I'd agree upon review.

Tim said on 21/Aug/14
Okay, now the 5'8" listing for Stan Laurel makes much more sense.

Arch Stanton said on 20/Aug/14
I've seen it and concluded Wayne had him by about 5 inches. I think though Wayne had footwear advantage.

Arch Stanton said on 20/Aug/14
Watching it now, that still is from 16 minutes in I think. Good grief pause at 17:58 you know, even 6 ft looks questionable next to Wayne! Wayne looks easily 5 inches taller and it can look near 6 when he's stood up straight. There was one scene in Sons of the Desert in which Laurel was in shoes and Hardy barefoot and he actually looked as low as 5 ft 11 as he looked about 2 inches taller and Laurel would have been about 5 ft 9 in footwear I think. I'm not sure, but just saying!!

Arch Stanton said on 20/Aug/14
There's a still here, can't see ground level or footwear but I think you can safely rule out 6 ft 1!! Click Here

Arch Stanton said on 20/Aug/14
You're in luck Rob Click Here :-) That's one I've been meaning to see actually. I might watch that this evening.

Arch Stanton said on 20/Aug/14
Much better Rob, thanks, exactly what I'd have guessed now. I got a good look at them yesterday and he really didn't look 6 ft 1 barefoot. Generally the difference between the 2 is about 4 inches 5 ft 8 and 6 ft I think looks spot on. The difference could fluctuate at times though, it could look 3 in some scenes and a smidge over 4 in others. The very most I could see for him is 184 but as I say seeing him barefoot it is very difficult to buy anything over 6 ft. He was probably 260-280 pounds though so as you say in some situations could probably seem a more imposing guy and bigger than this. 6 ft 3 is absolute nonsense though, I'm pretty sure a proper 6'3 er like Jimmy Stewart or Gray Cooper would look almost 4 inches taller on screen!

Arch Stanton said on 19/Aug/14
Looking at them together in shoes I'd say Hardy has 3.5 inches on Laurel, 4 at the most. So if Laurel was 5'8.5 (the highest I can possibly see for him) that would put Laurel at more 6 ft-184 range. I think you'd be nearer a flat 6 ft Rob.

Arch Stanton said on 19/Aug/14
Laurel really didn't look over 5'8", 5'8.5" is the absolute mac I can see for him, 5'10" is utter nonsense, even 5'9" barefoot would be a stretch. His high forehead ad hair probably made him look taller as he did have a Clint Eastwood like hair line and head which belonged on a 6'4" guy!

Arch Stanton said on 19/Aug/14
In fact he's only about 2 inches taller barefoot than Stan Laurel in shoes.

Arch Stanton said on 19/Aug/14
Rob are you sure on Oliver Hardy being 6'1"? There's a scene in Sons of the Desert where he's barefoot and he really doesn't look anything over 6 ft. Stan Laurel looked 5'8" range.

Wishbone said on 25/Jul/14
Many years ago,Tom Poston called Laurel And Hardy the greatest comedy team EVER! Now true,everybody's opinion differs,but this foxy To Tell The Truth veteran knew what he talked about! The secret as to why Laurel And Hardy is the greatest comedy team EVER is what Tom Poston mentioned about Laurel And Hardy taking simple everyday situations and using them to their advantage without resorting to cheap jokes. Take for example how Ollie sneezed a whole river away in Bonnie Scotland after he sniffed snuff! Or who could forget how in Laughing Gravy Stan and Ollie were booted out of their house in a blizzard because they smuggled a dog in their house what their landlord wouldn't permit,but the house was quarantined for diphtheria in the end! Or Ollie catching a terrible cold in They Go Boom and sneezing plaster on three cops who arrested Ollie for sneezing! That's why Laurel And Hardy are the greatest comics EVER!

Hai said on 25/Jul/14
Sounds accurate, but this would put Stan Laurel at 5'10. I think there was a 3 inch gap between the two.

avi said on 23/Dec/13
Laurel must have been a strong 5'8 maybe 5:8.5 hard to tell he was so thin...

Star said on 25/Aug/13
In all the well-taken pictures of the duo together, I can't really see more than a four inch difference between Stan and Ollie. So I'll say 5'9" for Stan (for now anyway).

Ajax said on 28/Jul/12
How tall do you think laurel was? 5'8"?

adam said on 21/Dec/08
Probably he was very strong but he sure didnt look healthy or fit. Would you like to have a body like he had? I bet you wouldn`t. It`s better to be slender and physically weak than seriously overweighed and strong.

Patrick said on 30/Oct/08
Yes Adam, fat but you know how fat can sumotori be! That doesn't prevent them to be very strong and i can assure you that "Ollie" was very strong too! I would have bought 6'2 anyway when younger.

Anonymous said on 25/Oct/08
he was no more than 6'1,not 6'2 or taller that biographies claimed.

adam said on 19/Oct/08
About 6-1 seems correct. Just watched "The Fighting Kentuckian" and he looked very fat. Patrick, maybe he was very strong but he looked fat as hell!

Anonymous said on 9/Oct/08
What's wrong with all of you? There's only a couple of inches the difference between them! No way was Oliver Hardy anywhere NEAR 6 foot!

glenn said on 22/Mar/08
stan was listed at 5-9 years ago.

Anonymous said on 22/Mar/08
Every height reference I've seen for Laurel has either been 5'9" or 5'10" which leads me to believe 5'9" is probably spot on. If I recall correctly his passport also listed 5'9" as the height. As previously stated he removed the heels of his shoes; this helped exaggerate the height difference between Hardy and himself and added to the "little guy" persona he had.

Hardy was probably close to or at 6'2" in his youth. He looks massive in pictures taken in the 1910's & 1920s when being a 6 footer was relatively rare. Carrying that massive amount of weight probably caused him to lose some height in his later years but he still appeared quite tall in his 50s and 60s.

thekiddd said on 20/Mar/08
I see at least 5" difference between them. If Hardy was 6'1" than Laurel was probably 5'8" or 5'8 1/2". We should add him to this database.

ed c said on 14/Feb/08
Stan Laurel was 5'9. He could appear 5'8" since he always removed the heels of his shoes in his films. He thought that it gave him a different type of walk.

Kid-Icarus said on 11/May/07
Well if he is 6'1" than Stan Laurel is 5'8" because there is a 5 inch gap between them.

patrick said on 15/Feb/07
What is sure it's that he was a very very strong man; His arms were naturally HUGE NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF "FAT". DON'T FORGET HE WAS VERY PHYSICAL AT HIS DEBUTS. Did you ever see a domestic film where he last appears at home with also late Stanley? He has lost here maybe 80 to 90 lbs and yet, his arms, even at the "bones level" are those of a gorilla and ...he was dying!
I think he was 6'2 when young and never less than 6'1; THESE MEN GAVE US HAPPINESS FELLOWS, that is the most important thing, isn't it?

JT said on 26/Dec/06
You're right Paul. Fox movie channel had the movie with Mitchum and Hardy on today.

Paul said on 1/Oct/06
It's hard to believe, but Robert Mitchum and Oliver Hardy made a movie together. It's called THE DANCING MASTERS and is one of L&H's better later efforts. Mitchum, who was unbilled, has a scene with Hardy early in the film and appears taller, but not by much. If Mitchum was 6'1" to 6'2" then Hardy was still 6 foot in his 50s.

Regus said on 5/Aug/06
I have seen the Fighting Kentuckians, Hardy was maybe closer to 6-2 to my thinking. He was a big guy no two ways about it.

ColinG said on 7/Feb/06
Although I've never seen the film, in a still from "The Fighting Kentuckian" Hardy is standing beside John Wayne, who appears to be not more than a couple of inches taller. In the L & H comedies, fans will remember the admirable Tiny Sandford, who usually played policemen. He is said to have been 6ft 5", and he doesn't tower over Hardy. Six-one seems about right. Possibly a tiny bit more.