Marvin Hatley
Thomas Marvin Hatley (April 3, 1905 – August 26, 1986), professionally known simply as Marvin Hatley, was an American film composer and musical director, best known for his work for the Hal Roach studio from 1929 until 1940. Hatley wrote many of the musical cues appearing in the Our Gang, Laurel and Hardy, and Charley Chase films. His most memorable composition is "Dance of the Cuckoos" (also known as "Ku-Ku", or "The Cookoo Song"), which serves as Laurel and Hardy's theme song.
Also recorded as Thomas Marvin Hatley
Marvin Hatley
- Born
- 1905
- Died
- 1986 · Hollywood.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- actor · screenwriter · composer
- Languages
- English
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wikidata · Q1906085 · wikipedia · Marvin Hatley
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Selected filmography
Selected filmography
He was also the "player piano" (performing off-screen) in The Music Box (1932). His work in Laurel and Hardy's films Way Out West and Block-Heads earned him nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Score. In 1939, Hatley was fired from the Roach studio. At the insistence of Stan Laurel, however, he did return to score one final Laurel & Hardy film, Saps at Sea. Hatley went on to become a lounge pianist, and often remarked that he earned more money in that career than during his days at the Roach studio. A native of Reed, Oklahoma. He died on August 26, 1986, in Hollywood, California.
• I'll Sell My Life (1941) • Uncle Joe (1941)
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1905
Marvin Hatley born.
1986
Marvin Hatley died at Hollywood.
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Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Marvin Hatley, revision 1369680782 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1."Dance Of The Cuckoos": "I'm cuckoo, and you're cuckoo, so let's take a chance - and doing your dance; well I'm cuckoo, and you're cuckoo, sing Laa-laa-laa-laa-la la..."
- 2.Louvish, Simon (2001). Stan and Ollie: The Roots of Comedy: The Double Life of Laurel and Hardy, p. 267. St. Martin's Press.
- 3.Piazza, Jim, & Kinn, Gail (2008). The Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History, p. 45. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc.
- 4.T. Marvin Hatley 26.8.86. Retrieved 23 Oct 2024.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 24 August 2026.
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