Oliver Hardy in north Georgia in the 1905 fall semester when he was 13. He had little interest in formal education, although he acquired an early interest in music and theater. He joined a theatrical group and later ran away from a boarding school near Atlanta to sing with the group. His mother recognized his talent for singing and sent him to Atlanta to study music and voice with singing teacher Adolf Dahm-Petersen. He skipped some of his lessons to sing in the Alcazar Theater for $3.50 a week. Hardy began styling himself "Oliver Norvell Hardy", adding the first name "Oliver" as
Oliver Hardy of this film survive. In 1931, they starred in their first full-length movie "Pardon Us", and they continued to make features and shorts until 1935. The 1932 film "The Music Box" won an Academy Award for best short film, their only effort to receive such an award. In 1937, Hardy and Myrtle Reeves divorced. He made "Zenobia" with Harry Langdon in 1939 while waiting for a contractual issue to be resolved between Laurel and Hal Roach. Eventually, however, new contracts were agreed upon and the team was lent to producer Boris Morros at General Service Studios to make "The Flying