Oliver Hardy wounded at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862 and was a recruiting officer for Company K, 16th Georgia Regiment. The elder Oliver Hardy assisted his father in running the vestiges of the family cotton plantation following the Civil War. He then bought a share in a retail business and was elected full-time Tax Collector for Columbia County, Georgia. Hardy's mother Emily Norvell was the daughter of Thomas Benjamin Norvell and Mary Freeman, descended from Captain Hugh Norvell of Williamsburg, Virginia who arrived in Virginia before 1635. The elder Hardy and Norvell married March 12, 1890; it was her
Ron Sparks (comedian) Ron Sparks (comedian) Ron Sparks is a Canadian comedian, actor, writer and producer. He was born in Chatham-Kent, Ontario and lives in Toronto, Ontario. He is best known as an alternative comedian and frequent guest on CBC Radio 1's The Debaters, and on TV as a regular and favourite juror on MuchMusic's highest-rated show, "Video on Trial", also starring as The Judge in the "Stars on Trial" Christmas special and various other "VOT" spin-offs. Sparks first began performing with York University's "Vanier Improv Company" as a student. His sketch troupe, The Minnesota Wrecking Crew, were nominated four straight years (2003–2006)