Sons of the Desert: Mark Hamill, Peter Cushing and Laurel and Hardy

May 21, 2026

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A guest on BBC Sounds Laurel & Hardy: A century of laughter, Mark Hamill – a lifelong Stan and Ollie fan – discusses why he loves the original sons of the desert, and explains why he believes their comedic genius will never be beaten.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy signed contracts with the famous Hal Roach film studio 100 years ago and went on to define the modern comedy double act.

Their career brought them global fame and took them around the world, often bringing them back to Stan’s native England and to Lincolnshire, where his sister ran pubs in the Grantham area and where his father is buried.

Karl Bird explores their county connections and talks to celebrity fans including Mark Hamill, Matthew Horne and Sylvester McCoy about why Laurel & Hardy became part of the DNA of comedy.

SourceBBC Sounds

Mark Newbold

Exploring the galaxy since 1978, Mark wrote his first fan fiction in '81 and has been a presence online since webpage Fanta War in 1996. He is the EiC and Daily Content Manager of Fantha Tracks and currently contributes to ILM.com, SkywalkerSound.com, Star Wars – Das Offizielle Magazin, Journal of the Whills and Starburst Magazine, having previously contributed to magazines Star Wars Insider, Geeky Monkey, TV Film Memorabilia, Model and Collectors Mart, partworks Build Darth Vader, Star Wars Encyclopedia, and Build The Millennium Falcon, and websites Jedi.net, Jedi News, StarWars.com, Lightsabre.co.uk, and Wirezone. He is the only podcaster to have appeared on every Celebration podcast stage since it began in 2015 (hosting it four times), and is the co-host of Making Tracks, Canon Fodder and Start Your Engines on Fantha Tracks Radio.

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September 2026

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Event Details

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art celebrates the power of visual storytelling. Founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, the museum explores how images move us and shape our collective memory. From Frida Kahlo’s self-portrait to Norman Rockwell’s scenes of everyday life to Charles White’s portraits of dignity. Each invites reflection. Each tells a story.

Designed by Ma Yansong of MAD, the Lucas Museum is located in Exposition Park in the South Los Angeles region. The museum’s campus includes new green space designed by Mia Lehrer and her team at Studio-MLA. Inside the building, our galleries explore timeless themes—family, love, work, play, fantasy, and more. Additional spaces include two state-of-the-art cinematic theaters and dedicated areas for learning, dining, retail, and events.

George Lucas and Mellody Hobson share a conviction that illustrated stories connect people across cultures and generations. Their decades of collecting span iconic American painting and popular illustration, comics, and cinematic art.

Lucas, creator of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, and founder of the George Lucas Educational Foundation began collecting in college, when the only art he could afford was original comic art for $30. Over 50 years, that collection has grown to more than 40,000 works. “I could never sell my art,” Lucas says. “It just is not what I think art is. I think it’s more about an emotional connection with the work, not how much it cost.”

Hobson, in addition to managing Ariel Investments, is the former chair of Starbucks Corporation and serves as a director of JPMorganChase.

In 2010, Hobson and Lucas signed the Giving Pledge, a campaign and public promise by some of the world’s wealthiest philanthropists to give the majority of their wealth to charitable causes. The pair is committed to improving education, particularly through the arts. “We’ve always said we’re holding society’s money, which we fully intend to give back,” Hobson says. “This is how we’re doing it.”

Time

September 22, 2026 12:01 AM - 11:59 PM(GMT-07:00)

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October 2026

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February 2027

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April 2027

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Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy signed contracts with the famous Hal Roach film studio 100 years ago and went on to define the modern comedy double act.

Their career brought them global fame and took them around the world, often bringing them back to Stan’s native England and to Lincolnshire, where his sister ran pubs in the Grantham area and where his father is buried.

Karl Bird explores their county connections and talks to celebrity fans including Mark Hamill, Matthew Horne and Sylvester McCoy about why Laurel & Hardy became part of the DNA of comedy.

SourceBBC Sounds

Mark Newbold

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