Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy started working together
onstage and in films dating back to the 1920s, but by the time they made it to
Ireland in 1953 their careers were waning. Irish fans didn’t know (or very
much care) that the duo had fallen out of favor with Hollywood, and when they arrived in
Cobh, Ireland on the deck of the SS America in September 9, 1953, the city rang
out its bells in jubilation. The bell-ringers weren’t just swinging the bells
in random arcs or circles the way church bells are generally rung to celebrate weddings.
They actually played “The Dance of the Cuckoos,” Laurel and Hardy’s theme song.
When the comedians disembarked they were mobbed with fans, but the first thing
the comedians wanted to do was head off to the church so they could think the
bell-ringers who had welcomed them to the country.
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