He said, ‘I’ll be honest with you, I don’t have much, but we have a member that’s about 80 miles away from here in Peebles. “They sent a camera crew to Gene Sorkin’s house in Kenwood to interview him, and when the camera crew had finished with him and the director of The List asked him if they could take pictures of his memorabilia. You don’t go to any meetings, but you get the publication, you get the Intra-Tent Journal, which tells you how things are going,” said McCollum.Īlmost 10 years ago, when The Chimp Tent won outstanding club in the Cincinnati area, McCollum’s collection garnered the attention of WCPO’s program “The List.”
#Laurel and hardy collection for sale movie
If you live too far from a gathering place, then you can join a ‘Utopia,” that’s one of their movies, it was the last movie they made in 1950. “They name every group after a Laurel and Hardy movie. They get together, mine is in Cincinnati, Ohio, and it’s called The Chimp Tent,” said McCollum.Įach chapter, first called an “oasis,” and later a “tent” is named after a Laurel and Hardy film. Let’s wear the fez cap and do everything just the way they did.’ So now, there are groups all over the world, about 300 of them. In 1965, Founder John McCabe decided, ‘Well, let’s create our own Sons of the Desert. “Sons of the Desert is a movie that was made in 1933, and it was about Laurel and Hardy wanting to go to a big convention, their wives didn’t want them to go, but they tricked their wives and still went. McCollum is a member of The Chimp Tent in Cincinnati, a chapter of the Sons of the Desert, an international Laurel and Hardy society. In fact, when Bev and I were doing our living will, what we came up with was, ‘Bruce loves his God, loves his family, and loves his country… and then there’s Laurel and Hardy,’” said McCollum. This is more than a collection to me, this is my life. I wouldn’t take a million dollars for this. McCollum no longer collects actively, but the pieces he owns he has acquired from all over the world, such as England and over the United States. “I don’t get speeding tickets, but I had to put that in there,” he said, tickled with himself. The most comical piece in the album, however, is most assuredly the speeding ticket McCollum received as he attended one of the international Laurel and Hardy conventions. McCollum carefully thumbs through the pages, which contain jokes, movies, pictures, and still more uncategorized items. On a small, antique bed, a large album reads “Laurel and Hardy Scrapbook,” by Bruce D. It’s unbelievable the things that are in here,” said McCollum. All of this down here needs to be up somewhere. “Because of my inability as I’m getting older, I have a whole thing here that has not been categorized. In a large antiquated chest on the floor, more Laurel and Hardy memorabilia is secreted away, waiting to be categorized. From puppets to tea bags, movie posters, photos, artwork, mugs, to salt and pepper shakers, the eye and mind cannot begin to fathom any particular item. McCollum, much like the infamous duo themselves, is a charismatic entertainer who strings his guests along a wonderful journey of imagination and enthusiasm.ĭonning a comedic getup - his suspenders strapped and fez cap tall - McCollum leads visitors to a room that is dressed ceiling to floor in Laurel and Hardy items. Upon entering the home of McCollum and his wife, Bev, one cannot help but be taken by the quaint aesthetic and charm of the abode. They were in movies from the silent era all the way until 1950, which was their last one. Hal Roach, the director, said, ‘He’s going to need somebody to help him.’ So they put Stan Laurel in, and once that connection was made, magic happened. Oliver Hardy, the large man, had an accident in the kitchen and it hurt his arm. They were in silent pictures, but they weren’t in the same movie together until a movie called ‘Lucky Dog’. “Laurel and Hardy are a team of comedians, and they didn’t start off together. McCollum, 78, has been collecting Laurel and Hardy memorabilia for over 40 years, pursuing his passion and fascination for the comical duo. PEEBLES, Ohio - In an enchanting home nestled in the hills of Peebles, lies one of the largest privately-owned Laurel and Hardy collections in the world.īruce D. “I wouldn’t take a million dollars for it,” Peebles resident Bruce McCollum said of his renowned collection of Laurel and Hardy memorabilia.