Babe London (born Jean Glover, August 28, 1901 – November 29, 1980) was an American actress and comedian, most remembered for her one-time partnership with

Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his c ...

in the 1931

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

two-reeler ''

Our Wife Our Wife may refer to: * Our Wife (1931 film) ''Our Wife'' is a 1931 American pre-Code Hal Roach comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy. It was directed by James W. Horne and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Plot Oliver is making plans to be ma ...

''.

Career

London was born in 1901 in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

. Her parents were Dr. David James Glover and Ruth Glover. After the family moved to California, London attended

San Diego High School San Diego High School (SDHS) is an urban public high school located on the southern edge of Balboa Park, in San Diego, California, United States. It is the oldest high school in the San Diego Unified School District, one of the oldest public sch ...

. 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'', performing opposite

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

. The two played seasick tourists on an excursion boat. She had the role of Rosy Leadbetter in ''Merely Mary Ann'' (1920). London appeared in more than 50 silent films, including ''

The Perfect Flapper ''The Perfect Flapper'' is a 1924 American romantic comedy film directed by Earl Hudson and starring Colleen Moore. This was Moore's second "flapper film" after ''Flaming Youth (film), Flaming Youth.'' It was released after ''Through the Dark (1 ...

'', '' The Boob'' and the 1928 version of '' Tillie's Punctured Romance'' starring

W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer. Fields's comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathe ...

. She worked with many of the funny men of the day, including

Harry Langdon Harry Philmore Langdon (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films (where he had his greatest fame), and talkies.Obituary ''Variety'', December 27, 1944, page 39. Life and career Bor ...

and

Chester Conklin Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with ...

. 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 Samuel Horwitz (March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955), known professionally as Shemp Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was called "Shemp" because "Sam" came out that way in his mother's thick Lithuanian Yiddish, Litvak accent. He is ...

has eyes for in the

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

film '' Scrambled Brains''. Her last film appearance was in 1960's ''

Sex Kittens Go to College ''Sex Kittens Go to College'' (a.k.a. ''Beauty and the Robot'') is a 1960 American comedy film by Allied Artists Pictures, produced and directed by Albert Zugsmith and starring Mamie Van Doren, Tuesday Weld and Mijanou Bardot. The film was also ...

''.

Later years

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 (August 6, 1895, in Philadelphia – July 29, 1979, in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles) was an American pianist, songwriter, composer, author and conductor. Biography Boutelje received specialized music training at the Philadelphia Musi ...

. Both were retired and living at the

Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position with respect to time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed and frame of reference to an observer and mea ...

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

, when they met. They continued to live there until Boutelje died on July 29, 1979. London willed 75 of her paintings to the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

American Heritage Center The American Heritage Center is the University of Wyoming's repository of manuscripts, rare books, and the university archives. Its collections focus on Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West (including politics, settlement, and western trails) and ...

, along with her personal belongings.

Selected filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:London, Babe 1901 births 1980 deaths American film actresses American silent film actresses American television actresses Actresses from Des Moines, Iowa 20th-century American actresses