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
Hardy Amies agents and Nazi sympathizers in Belgium. In 2000, a BBC 2 documentary entitled "Secret Agent" named Amies as one of the men who helped to plan the murder of dozens of Nazi collaborators, but Amies disclaimed all knowledge of the matter. Hardy Amies was quirky, yet conservative; for example, having his British Army uniform tailored on Savile Row. Years later, Hardy recalled that Kim Philby was in his mess; and, on being asked what the infamous spy was like, Hardy quipped, "He was always trying to get information out of me—most significantly the name of my tailor." In late 1945,