Gleason & Carney were going to play Laurel & Hardy

[Bill S.]

I pieced this story together from several different sources, the first being Stan Laurel's personal letters from 1959-1961:

November 20, 1959:
I understand Jackie Gleason is doing a Broadway Show "Take Me Along" its a smash hit, a musical version of "Ah, Wilderness" they say he's terrific in it & is predicted for a long run. I think he was wise to get out of TV he's much better off doing a show not so much strain. TV is a great responsibility on a comic & is killing work doing a new show every week I know I'd be a nervous wreck.
Carney has done several TV appearances, but unfortunately has been mis-caste playing straight roles - he seems lost without Gleason.

January 4, 1960:
Incidently, next month sometime, David Susskind the N.Y. TV producer intends producing a 'SHOW OF THE MONTH' program for the Dupont Co. The story of L&H with Jackie Gleason & Art Carney - hope you'll have a chance to see it.
Yes, necessary arrangements were made with us, so we shall receive a Royalty Amount for this - finally we get a little 'Break'.

January 19, 1960:
I remember now the news article you sent me about Gleason
& Rooney intending to do a film of L&H.
Rooney did contact us in regard to the matter some months ago, but being unable at the time to get Gleason he gave up the idea, as Gleason had just opened in a show on Broadway & the length of the run was indefinite, especially that it was a big success & could run for a couple of years or so. Had Gleason been free I think the deal would have materialized as Mickey was very enthusiastic about it, he called me several times in regard to me supervising the story & production - incidentally it was'nt going to he our life story - just our characters in a regular comedy film.

February 27, 1960:
There was some negotiation & discussion to make a film of L&H by Mickey Rooney & Jackie Gleason but it did'nt materialize, however it was'nt to be a Life Story, just a comedy using the characters of L&H. It was rumoured that Jack Webb had the same idea in mind, but he never approached us, so do'nt know much about it.

December 17, 1960:
David Susskind, the N.Y. TV producer is contemplating a 90 minute special show next January for the Dupont Co. The L&H story with Jackie Gleason & Art Carney the deal hasn't been finalized as yet but looks very promising depends if Dupont Co. OKs the story script.

January 12, 1961:
The L&H story on TV has now been scheduled for sometime in April. Gleason & Carney are not available right now.

February 6, 1961:
The Dupont Show of the the Month has now been postponed till April - I understand there has been some difficulty in the Gleason-Carney situation - its very possible that somebody else will play our characters.

A few newspaper excerpts continue the story:

"A ninety-minute television dramatization about the professional and private lives of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy is being developed by the 'DuPont Show of the Month.' Whether it will get on the air in April as DuPont's final show of the season depends a great extent on whether Art Carney and Jackie Gleason are available to star as Laurel and Hardy, respectively. —The New York Times (January 8, 1961)

Laurel & Hardy's life will be made into a television spectacular sometime this year. Various castings have been speculated—Jackie Gleason for Hardy, Art Carney for Laurel. Another had Tony Perkins for Laurel and Jonathan Winters for Hardy. Laurel thinks Dick Van Dyke would be a good choice for him. He likes either Gleason or Winters for Babe.
"But I can't see where there's any story in our lives. There was no friction, no drama—just a few laughs." —Pittsburgh Post Gazette (Feb. 26, 1961)

"Last season the 'DuPont Show of the Month' had considered closing its run with the Laurel and Hardy story, but this did not transpire. The Laurel and Hardy team made more than 200 comedy motion pictures during its long career." —Los Angeles Times (August 2, 1961)

Recently the Columbia Broadcasting System had tried to arrange a special television show for this season that would have starred Jackie Gleason and Art Carney as Mr. Oliver and Mr. Laurel respectively. The plan has been abandoned.
"It got very complicated when we tried to clear legal rights to the Laurel and Hardy story," explained Michael Dann, vice president of C.B.S.-TV programs, New York. "When we found ourselves involved with more lawyers than there would have been viewers for the show, we gave up the idea." —New York Times (October 22, 1961)

This was also mentioned in Carney's biography:

Even though Art publicly announced his intentions to shy away from television, CBS had other ideas. During the summer of 1961, the network began planning two specials, both of which would reunite Art and Jackie Gleason. One special would be a one-hour Honeymooners show, the other an hour-long drama about the life and times of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, with Art playing Laurel and Gleason as Hardy. Neither special, however, went beyond the discussion stage.
"I don't know why [the Laurel and Hardy project] didn't happen, but I wish that it had," Art said. "Undoubtedly it would have been a great script and a great project. Gleason and I were great Laurel and Hardy fans to begin with."

Excerpts from Gleason's 1986 interview with Playboy can be read at the following link: http://www.laurel-and-hardy.com/film...roduction.html

[Marvo301]

Too bad the special never happened. Gleason and Carney would have been great as Laurel and Hardy!

[MacLeaper]

Wow- yeah, that would have been cool. I can see Jackie Gleason and Art Carney as Laurel & Hardy in a movie.

[Dude111]

Originally Posted by Marvo301

Too bad the special never happened. Gleason and Carney would have been great as Laurel and Hardy!

Im glsd it worked out the way it did..... Stan and Laurel were excellent