Hal Roach Biography

Fast Facts

• Though his iconic studio was torn down in 1963, The Sons of the Desert placed a plaque in the park across from where the studio once stood to commemorate the place once known as "The Lot of Fun․"
• Before settling down in Hollywood, he was an Alaskan gold prospector and a mule skinner
• Started out working as an extra in silent films, but after inheriting some money, began producing his own short comedies with his friend, Harold Lloyd
• His films, both his trademark shorts and the feature length films the changing industry eventually forced him to produce, were known for good production values, technical gloss and strong casts
• Produced and directed a number of series of short films, each starring a comedian who became an icon because of the opportunity
• Before World War II, which he served in as a lieutenant colonel, he and Mussolini had been business partners for several planned Italian film projects that never came to fruition
• Met Mark Twain when he was a child, and his grandfather lived on a Virginia plantation adjoined to Robert E․ Lee's