  oliver "ollie" hardy (born norvell hardy) (january 18, 1892 â august 7, 1957) was an american comic actor famous as one half of laurel and hardy, the classic double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted 25 years, from 1927 to 1951. he was credited with his first film, outwitting dad, in 1914. in some of his early works, he was billed as babe hardy, using his nickname. ==early life and education== oliver hardy was born norvell hardy in harlem, georgia. his father, oliver, was a confederate veteran who was wounded at the battle of antietam on september 17, 1862. after his demobilization as a recruiting officer for company k, 16th georgia regiment, the elder oliver hardy assisted his father in running the vestiges of the family cotton plantation. he bought a share in a retail business and was elected full-time tax collector for columbia county, georgia. norvell's mother, emily norvell, was the daughter of thomas benjamin norvell and mary freeman, descended from captain hugh norvell of williamsburg, virginia, who had arrived in virginia before 1635. hardy and norvell had married march 12, 1890; it was the second marriage for the widow emily, and the third for oliver. he was of paternal english american descent and maternal scottish american descent. the family moved to madison in 1891, before norvellâs birth. emily hardy owned a house in harlem, which was either empty or rented out to tenant farmers. norvell was likely born in harlem, though some sources say his birth occurred in covington, his motherâs home town. his father died less than a year after his birth. hardy was the youngest of five children. his older brother sam hardy died in a drowning accident in the oconee river. hardy pulled his brother from the river but was unable to resuscitate him."this is your life", episode december 1, 1954. as a child, hardy was sometimes difficult. he was sent to georgia military college in milledgeville as a youngster. in the 1905/1906 school year, fall semester (septemberâjanuary), when he was 13, hardy was sent to young harris college in north georgia. he was in the junior hig
1892_births 1957_deaths 20th-century_American_male_actors American_male_film_actors American_male_silent_film_actors American_people_of_English_descent American_people_of_Scottish_descent Burials_at_Valhalla_Memorial_Park_Cemetery Deaths_from_neurological_disease Hal_Roach_Studios_actors Laurel_and_Hardy Male_actors_from_Georgia_(U.S._state) Male_actors_from_Jacksonville,_Florida People_from_Columbia_County,_Georgia Silent_film_comedians Vaudeville_performers Young_Harris_College_alumni