TromboneChat

Possibly real picture of Orson Welles, Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel pretending to play instruments.

Note the enormous "zoot suits".

from facebook
"Orson Welles, breaking from the "Jane Eyre" set to jam with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy on the set of "Jitterbugs," on the 20th Century Fox lot, 1943"

I don't any particular reason to doubt that the photo is genuine. It's just the sort of foolishness that Laurel & Hardy would get up to, and Orson Welles joining in a little fun isn't beyond the pale (he didn't ALWAYS take himself seriously).

Mr. Welles doesn't seen to have a clue as to how to hold a saxophone...

Trivia bit: Unlike many comedy teams, Stan and Ollie really were close friends.

JohnL wrote: Thu Sep 18, 2025 12:47 pm Orson Welles joining in a little fun isn't beyond the pale (he didn't ALWAYS take himself seriously).

There's a stretch of several weeks in 1943 where Jack Benny was too sick to do his radio show so they got Orson Welles to fill in as guest host with the regular cast. The writers understood what "Orson Welles" was to the public and how to lampoon that and Welles was all-in for it.

Trivia bit: Unlike many comedy teams, Stan and Ollie really were close friends.

I'm sure they both understood that the other was the reason for their success.

I'm surprised nobody has inquired about the horn Stan has and what mouthpiece he was using

djhendy wrote: Fri Sep 19, 2025 1:44 pm I'm surprised nobody has inquired about the horn Stan has and what mouthpiece he was using

And what would be wrong with that? For some of us, that sort of thing is like trying to figure out the perpetrator in a whodunit story. It's an exercise in noticing details.

JohnL wrote: Fri Sep 19, 2025 4:10 pm

djhendy wrote: Fri Sep 19, 2025 1:44 pm I'm surprised nobody has inquired about the horn Stan has and what mouthpiece he was using

And what would be wrong with that? For some of us, that sort of thing is like trying to figure out the perpetrator in a whodunit story. It's an exercise in noticing details.

I'm pretty sure that it's not a Shires.

Posaunus wrote: Fri Sep 19, 2025 4:36 pm

JohnL wrote: Fri Sep 19, 2025 4:10 pm
And what would be wrong with that? For some of us, that sort of thing is like trying to figure out the perpetrator in a whodunit story. It's an exercise in noticing details.

I'm pretty sure that it's not a Shires.

Or even a Minick. Probably the one distinguishing feature is the brass slide bow guard. Not too many looked like that.

BGuttman wrote: Fri Sep 19, 2025 4:48 pm

Posaunus wrote: Fri Sep 19, 2025 4:36 pm I'm pretty sure that it's not a Shires.

Or even a Minick. Probably the one distinguishing feature is the brass slide bow guard. Not too many looked like that.

How about the (patented?) invisible spit valve?

Stan and Ollie previously encountered band instruments in "You're Darn Tootin'" (1928)

Ollie looks like he knows what he's doing with that trumpet.

And then there's the famous picture with a Holton.