Hal Roach facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hal Roach
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Roach in 1920
|
|
| Born |
Harry Eugene Roach
January 14, 1892 Elmira, New York, U.S.
|
| Died | November 2, 1992 (aged 100) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
|
| Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery, Elmira, New York |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 1912–1992 |
| Spouse(s) |
Marguerite Nichols
(m. 1915; died 1941)Lucille Prin
(m. 1942; died 1981) |
| Children | 6, including Hal Roach Jr. and Margaret Roach |
Hal Roach was a famous American film producer, director, and writer. He lived to be 100 years old! He started his own company, Hal Roach Studios. Hal Roach worked in movies and TV for a very long time, from the 1910s to the 1990s. He is most famous for creating funny movies like those with Laurel and Hardy and the Our Gang series.
Contents
Early Life and Start in Movies
Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York. When he was a young student, he was very impressed by a talk given by the famous writer Mark Twain.
After some adventures, Hal Roach came to Hollywood, California, in 1912. He started working as an extra in silent movies. In 1915, he received some money and began making short comedy films. He worked with his friend Harold Lloyd, who played a character called Lonesome Luke.
Family Life
In 1916, Roach married actress Marguerite Nichols. They had two children: Hal Roach Jr. and Margaret Roach. Hal Jr. also became a producer and director, just like his dad. Margaret worked as an actress. Marguerite passed away in 1941.
Hal Roach married again in 1942 to Lucille Prin. They had four more children together.
Becoming a Comedy Movie Producer
.jpg)
Hal Roach bought land in Culver City, California, to build his own movie studios. This became the famous Hal Roach Studios. In the 1920s and 1930s, many famous comedians worked for him. These included Harold Lloyd, Will Rogers, the Our Gang kids, Charley Chase, and most famously, Laurel and Hardy.
During the 1920s, Roach's biggest competitor was another producer named Mack Sennett.
Making Movies with Sound
Roach first released his films through Pathé Exchange. Then, in 1927, he made a deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) to distribute his movies.
In 1928, he changed his silent movie studio to make films with sound. He started releasing short talking movies in 1929. Back then, they didn't have modern dubbing technology. So, to make foreign language versions, they had to reshoot each film! Actors like Laurel & Hardy and the Our Gang kids had to learn to say the foreign words phonetically. They often read from blackboards hidden off-camera.
Moving to Full-Length Films
In 1931, Hal Roach started making longer movies, called feature films. One of the first was the Laurel & Hardy film Pardon Us. Making short films was becoming less profitable than making features. So, by 1936, Roach mostly stopped making short comedies.
He thought about ending the Our Gang series after their feature film General Spanky didn't do very well. But MGM still wanted the Our Gang shorts. So, Roach agreed to make shorter, 10-minute versions for them.
Business Challenges
In 1937, Roach planned a business deal with Vittorio Mussolini, whose father was a leader in Italy. This deal caused problems with MGM, who made Roach end the partnership. This, along with some of his newer films not doing well, led to the end of his deal with MGM. In 1938, Roach sold the rights to the Our Gang shorts to MGM. He then signed a new deal with United Artists.
From 1937 to 1940, Roach focused on making more serious and fancy films. He made comedies like Topper and action movies like One Million B.C.. He also made the serious film Of Mice and Men. The Laurel and Hardy comedies, which used to be his biggest hits, became less important and were stopped in 1940.
In 1940, Roach tried making "streamliners," which were medium-length films (40-50 minutes). He thought these would be good for movie theaters that showed two movies at once. United Artists released these streamliners until 1943.
World War II and Television
In June 1942, during World War II, Hal Roach was called to serve in the U.S. Army. He was 50 years old. His movie studio was used by the United States Army Air Forces to make training and morale films for soldiers. Famous actors like Ronald Reagan and Alan Ladd worked there. After the war, the government returned the studio to Roach, and it had been improved a lot.
In 1946, Hal Roach started making movies again. He was the first Hollywood producer to make all his films in color. However, the higher costs didn't bring in more money.
In 1948, his studio was in debt. So, Roach changed it to produce TV shows. His son, Hal Roach Jr., produced many popular series like The Stu Erwin Show and My Little Margie. Other producers also used the studio for shows like Amos 'n' Andy. By 1951, the studio was making a huge amount of TV programs each year.
Roach's old movies were also shown on television. His Laurel and Hardy and Our Gang comedies became very popular on TV.
Later Years and Awards
In 1955, Hal Roach sold his company to his son, Hal Roach Jr., and retired from making movies. However, his son later had to sell the studio, and it closed down in 1961.
For many years, Roach Sr. worked as a consultant for projects about his old work. In 1983, the "Hal Roach Studios" name was used again for a video company that started adding color to old black-and-white movies.
In 1984, when he was 92 years old, Hal Roach received a special honorary Academy Award. Former Our Gang child stars Jackie Cooper and George "Spanky" McFarland gave him the award.
In January 1992, just after his 100th birthday, Roach was a guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He shared stories about stars like Stan Laurel. In February 1992, he traveled to Berlin to receive another award for his lifetime achievements in film.
On March 30, 1992, Hal Roach appeared at the 64th Academy Awards ceremony. When he stood up, the audience gave him a standing ovation. He started to give a speech without a microphone, and the host, Billy Crystal, joked that it was fitting since Mr. Roach started in silent films!
Death and Legacy
Hal Roach passed away at his home in Bel Air, Los Angeles, on November 2, 1992. He was 100 years old. He had six children, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, New York, where he grew up.
In the 2018 movie Stan & Ollie, which was about Laurel and Hardy, Hal Roach was played by actor Danny Huston.
See also
In Spanish: Hal Roach para niños
