Babe London was an American actress and comedian, most remembered for her onetime-only partnership with Oliver Hardy

Oliver Hardy

Oliver Hardy 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 nearly 30 years, from 1927 to 1955.-Early life:...

, in the 1931's Laurel and Hardy

Laurel and Hardy

Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...

's two-reeler Our Wife

Our Wife

Our Wife is a Hal Roach comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy. It was directed by James W. Horne and released in 1931 by MGM.-Plot:Oliver is making plans to be married to his sweetheart Dulcy with Stan as his best man, but the plans are thwarted when Dulcy's father sees a picture of Ollie and...

.

Career

London began her screen career as a teenager making her film debut in The Expert Eloper in 1919. She then appeared in A Day's Pleasure

A Day's Pleasure

A Day's Pleasure is Charlie Chaplin's fourth film for First National Films. It was created at the Chaplin Studio. It was a quickly made two-reeler to help fill a gap while working on his first feature The Kid. It is about a day outing with his wife and the kids and things don't go smoothly. Edna...

, performing opposite Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin

Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...

. The two played seasick tourists on an excursion boat. London appeared in more than 50 silent films, including The Perfect Flapper

The Perfect Flapper

The Perfect Flapper was a 1924 comedy film starring Colleen Moore. This was Colleen's second "flapper film" after Flaming Youth. It was released after Through the Dark--which had been made before Flaming Youth but did not make it to the theaters until after—and Painted People. The film is...

, The Boob

The Boob

The Boob is a romantic comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by William Wellman, and starring Gertrude Olmstead, Antonio D'Algy, George K. Arthur, and Joan Crawford.-Plot:...

and the 1928 version of Tillie's Punctured Romance

Tillie's Punctured Romance (1928 film)

Tillie's Punctured Romance is a 1928 circus comedy starring W. C. Fields as a ringmaster and Louise Fazenda as a runaway. Written by Monte Brice and Keene Thompson and directed by A. Edward Sutherland, this movie has nothing to do with the revered 1914 Charles Chaplin film aside from sharing the...

starring W. C. Fields

W. C. Fields

William Claude Dukenfield , better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer...

. She worked with all the funny men of the day, including Harry Langdon

Harry Langdon

Harry Philmore Langdon was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films , and talkies. He was briefly partnered with Oliver Hardy.-Life and career:...

 and Chester Conklin

Chester Conklin

Chester Cooper Conklin was an American comedian and actor. He appeared in over 280 films, about half of them in the silent era.-Early life:...

.

At the height of her career, London weighed 255 pounds. Later, a heart condition necessitated a loss of 100 pounds, and her movie offers declined along with her weight. She never regained her earlier success. Her last most notable role was that of the toothless nurse Nora that Shemp Howard has eyes for in the Three Stooges

Three Stooges

The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...

 film Scrambled Brains

Scrambled Brains

Scrambled Brains is the 132nd short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...

. Her last film appearance was in 1960's Sex Kittens Go to College

Sex Kittens Go to College

Sex Kittens Go to College also known as Beauty and the Robot, is a 1960 comedy film starring Mamie Van Doren, Tuesday Weld, and Mijanou Bardot.-Cast:* Mamie Van Doren as Dr. Mathilda West* Tuesday Weld as Jody* Mijanou Bardot as Suzanne...

.

In the late 1950s, London began a second career as a painter and devoted the last 20 years of her life to depicting on canvas the early years of Hollywood. She titled the series The Vanishing Era.

Personal life and death

In 1975, London married Hollywood musical director Phil Boutelje

Phil Boutelje

Phil Boutelje was an American pianist, songwriter, composer, author and conductor.-Biography:...

, whom she met after both retired to the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital

Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital

The Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital is a retirement community, with individual cottages, and a fully licensed, acute-care hospital, located at 23388 Mulholland Drive in Woodland Hills, California...

 in Woodland Hills, California

Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

Woodland Hills is a district in the city of Los Angeles, California.Woodland Hills is located in the southwestern area of the San Fernando Valley, east of Calabasas and west of Tarzana, with Warner Center in its northern section...

. The Bouteljes lived their final years at the home until Boutelje's death on July 29, 1979. She bequeathed her personal memorabilia and 75 personal paintings to the University of Wyoming

University of Wyoming

The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...

's American Heritage Center.

Selected filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1919	When the Clouds Roll by When the Clouds Roll by When the Clouds Roll by is a 1919 comedy film starring Douglas Fairbanks and directed by Victor Fleming and Theodore Reed. The plot involves a man following the advice of a psychiatrist as he romances a woman in Greenwich Village.-Cast:...	Switchboard Operator	Uncredited
1920	Merely Mary Ann	Rosie Leadbatter
1921	Why Worry?
1922	The Weak-End Party The Weak-End Party -Cast:* Stan Laurel - The gardener* Marion Aye - Lily, the birthday girl* Harry L. Rattenberry - Mr. Smith, her father* Otto Fries - The overseer* Colin Kenny - Monocle Charley* Scotty MacGregor - Pinkerton Burns * Babe London - Party guest...	Party guest
1923	The Balloonatic The Balloonatic The Balloonatic is a 1923 short comedy film directed by and starring Buster Keaton. It was one of Keaton's final short films.-Plot:A young man has a series of encounters in an amusement area, much like Coney Island, until happening upon a group of men preparing a hot air balloon for launch...	Fat Girl at The House of Trouble	Uncredited
	The Handy Man The Handy Man (1923 film) The Handy Man is a 1923 silent comedy film featuring Stan Laurel.-Cast:* Stan Laurel - The handy man* Merta Sterling - The cook* Otto Fries - The overseer* Harry Mann - A mysterious stranger* Babe London - A house guest...	A house guest
1924	Jonah Jones	Girlfriend
1925	Go West Go West (1925 film) Go West is a silent movie starring Buster Keaton.Keaton portrays Friendless, who travels west to try to make his fortune. Once there, he tries his hand at bronco-busting, cattle wrangling, and dairy farming, eventually forming a bond with a cow named "Brown Eyes." Eventually he finds himself...	Woman in department store	Uncredited
1926	Is That Nice?	Winnie Nash
1927	The Princess from Hoboken The Princess from Hoboken The Princess from Hoboken is a 1927 comedy film directed by Allen Dale and featuring Boris Karloff.-Cast:* Edmund Burns - Terence O'Brien* Blanche Mehaffey - Sheila O'Toole* Ethel Clayton - Mrs. O'Brien* Lou Tellegen - Prince Anton Balakrieff...	Princess Sonia Alexandernova Karpoff
	Long Pants Long Pants Long Pants is a 1927 American comedy silent film starring Harry Langdon and directed by Frank Capra. Additional cast members include Gladys Brockwell, Alan Roscoe, Priscilla Bonner, and others.-Plot:...	Wedding Guest	Uncredited
1928	The Awakening The Awakening (1928 film) The Awakening is a feature film directed by Victor Fleming.-Cast:*Vilma Bánky as Marie Ducrot*Walter Byron as Count Karl von Hagen*Louis Wolheim as Le Bete*George Davis as The Orderly*William Orlamond as Grandfather Ducrot...		Uncredited
1930	New Moon New Moon (1930 film) New Moon is the name of two different film versions of the operetta The New Moon with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and others. The original stage version premiered on Broadway in 1928...	Buxom peasant girl on ship	Uncredited
1931	Our Wife	Dulcy, the bride
1933	Hell Below Hell Below Hell Below is an MGM film set in the Adriatic during World War I about submarine warfare based on Commander Edward Ellsberg's novel Pigboats, starring Robert Montgomery, Walter Huston, Robert Young, Madge Evans, and Jimmy Durante....	Fat girl on passing boat	Uncredited
1941	Six Lessons from Madame La Zonga	Dance student	Uncredited
1942	Jackass Mail Jackass Mail Jackass Mail is a 1942 Western comedy film starring Wallace Beery and Marjorie Main. The movie was directed by Norman Z. McLeod.-Cast:*Wallace Beery as Just Baggot*Marjorie Main as Tina Tucker*J...	Dancehall Girl	Uncredited
1943	The Crystal Ball	Tandem Rider	Uncredited
1944	Here Come the Waves	Window washer	Uncredited
1945	The Clock The Clock (film) The Clock is a 1945 film starring Judy Garland and Robert Walker and directed by Garland's future husband, Vincente Minnelli. This was Garland's first dramatic role as well as her first starring vehicle in which she did not sing.-Plot:...	Laboratory Nurse	Uncredited
1946	No Leave, No Love	Melissa, a WAC	Uncredited
1947	Road to Rio Road to Rio Road to Rio is a 1947 comedy film, directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Bing Crosby as Scat Sweeney, Bob Hope as "Hot Lips" Barton, and Dorothy Lamour as Lucia Maria de Andrade. It was the fifth of the "Road to …" series.-Plot:...	Woman	Uncredited
1948	Hollow Triumph Hollow Triumph Hollow Triumph, also known as The Scar in the United Kingdom, is a film noir released in 1948. It was directed by Steve Sekely and stars Paul Henreid and Joan Bennett.-Plot:...	Hotel Lady with Orchid	Uncredited
	The Snake Pit The Snake Pit The Snake Pit is a 1948 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak. The film tells the story of a woman who finds herself in an insane asylum and cannot remember how she got there, and stars Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi, and Lee Patrick.The film was...	Attendant	Uncredited
	Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (1948 film) Joan of Arc is a 1948 Technicolor film directed by Victor Fleming; starring Ingrid Bergman as the French religious icon and war heroine. It was produced by Walter Wanger. It is based on Maxwell Anderson's successful Broadway play Joan of Lorraine, which also starred Bergman, and was adapted for the...	Camp follower	Uncredited
	The Paleface	Woman on wagon train	Uncredited
1949	Anna Lucasta	Woman in bar	Uncredited
1950	Mother Didn't Tell Me	Mrs. Hadley	Uncredited
1951	Pleasure Treasure
1956	Bundle of Joy Bundle of Joy Bundle of Joy is a musical remake of the comedy film Bachelor Mother . It stars Eddie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, and Adolphe Menjou. An unmarried salesgirl at a department store finds and takes care of an abandoned baby...	Fat Woman	Uncredited
1957	The Unholy Wife The Unholy Wife The Unholy Wife is a color film noir drama film produced and directed by John Farrow at RKO Radio Pictures and released by Universal Pictures as RKO was in its final stages of closing down...	Customer	Uncredited
1960	Sex Kittens Go to College Sex Kittens Go to College Sex Kittens Go to College also known as Beauty and the Robot, is a 1960 comedy film starring Mamie Van Doren, Tuesday Weld, and Mijanou Bardot.-Cast:* Mamie Van Doren as Dr. Mathilda West* Tuesday Weld as Jody* Mijanou Bardot as Suzanne...	Miss Cadwallader	Alternative titles: The Beauty and the Robot Teacher Versus Sexpot
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1955	Sergeant Preston of the Yukon	Mrs. Martin	1 episode
1959	The Bob Cummings Show The Bob Cummings Show The Bob Cummings Show is an American sitcom starring Robert "Bob" Cummings which was produced from January 2, 1955 to September 15, 1959, and originally sponsored by R.J. Reynolds' Winston cigarettes...		1 episode
1960	The Best of Post	Shopper	1 episode

External links