A Laurel & Hardy museum, which contains many artifacts of Stan Laurel's career, is located in his birthplace, Ulverston, Cumbria. Laurel occasionally dropped by to visit his parents. When he and Oliver Hardy visited the town as part of their 1953 UK tour, a huge crowd welcomed them. A bronze statue of the duo is outside the town hall.
The small gold badges which Stan and Ollie wear in their lapels for much of the film relate to the Grand Order of Water Rats, a British trust through which members of the entertainment industry make donations to deserving people and charities. Stan and Ollie were Water Rats 465 and 466, respectively.
Hal Roach outlived both his stars by quite a bit, dying in November 1992, aged 100. He was only four days older than Oliver Hardy and 18 months younger than Stan Laurel.
To transform John C. Reilly into Oliver Hardy, the prosthetics designer covered the actor nearly head to toe in prosthetics and a fat suit -which took as long as three to four hours a day. "Only my face and the flats of my hands were exposed", Reilly recalls. "In a way it was like wearing a mask on your whole body."
Alex McLeish: an extra reading the paper in the hotel foyer when Stan Laurel is at reception. The Scotland football manager is a friend of the director.