LAUREL & HARDY (STAN LAUREL) - DOCUMENT SIGNED 02/27/1962 - HFSID 30896

LAUREL AND HARDY: STAN LAUREL and IDA LAUREL
Stan and Ida Laurel sign an agreement to sublet the their home in Santa Monica, California to Mr. and Mrs. Bill W. Rhodes.
Typed Document Signed: "Stan Laurel." and "Ida Laurel." on second page under "Accepted", 2p, 8½x13, separate sheets. Los Angeles, California, 1962 February 27. Agreement for Donna P. Witte and Merlin Michael Witte to sublet the Laurel's home in Santa Monica, California to Mr. and Mrs. Bill W. Rhodes. Begins: "Donna P. Witte and Merlin Michael Witte, who have entered into a lease with you for the premises at 1111 Franklin Street, Santa Monica, for a period of one year, commencing November 13th 1961, and ending November 13, 1962, desire hereby to sub-let the above premises the 13th day of March, 1962, to the end of the term, said sub-lease to be to Mr. and Mrs. Bill W. Rhodes, and we understand and agree that your permission to such sub-lease shall in no wise diminish or change our liability under the said lease for and during said period in the event that Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes fail in any obligation thereunder during the balance of said term ending November 13, 1962. We have agreed, however, that, as the original lease provided for a rental of $275.00 per month, the payment by Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes of $250.00 per month will discharge the obligation of $275.00 per month so long as said Mr. and Mrs. Bill W. Rhodes perform each and all of the obligations under said lease, and also discharge and pay for the water and the gardener upon the property, and have the gardening and watering properly and punctually done...." Also signed: "Donna P. Witte", "Merlin Michael Witte", "Mrs. Bill W. Rhodes" and "Bill W. Rhodes" on second page. Ida and Stan Laurel and his wife, Ida, had purchased their home at 1111 Franklin Avenue in Santa Monica, California in 1949. Stan Laurel (1890-1965), born Arthur Stanley Jefferson in Ulverston, England, toured the U.S. in 1910 and 1912 as Charlie Chaplin's understudy. He stayed in America to appear on vaudeville and in several comedy shorts, including one with an accidental pairing with Oliver Hardy (1892-1957), Lucky Dog, in 1918. In 1926, after separate careers, Laurel and Hardy worked together once more for director Hal Roach, who noticed their on-screen chemistry and persuaded them to join forces as a team to make comedies. From 1927-1950, Laurel and Hardy appeared in over 100 movies, including 27 feature films and the 1932 three-reeler, The Music Box, which won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, when this document was signed, the comedy legends also toured English music halls as well as continuing to make films. Laurel stopped performing after Hardy's death in 1957, although he appeared in archival appearances in a number of documentaries on comedy legends, including Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy. Lightly creased. Staple holes at upper left blank corners, with ½-inch paper loss in upper left of first page. Slight separation at blank right margin at mid-fold on both sheets. Overall, fine condition.