History of the Sons of the Desert

The Sons of the Desert, following the plot line of the 1933 Laurel and Hardy feature, was formed in 1965 as a spoof on the Shriners and other fraternal organizations. The Sons were founded by the noted author John McCabe who wrote a definitive biography on Laurel and Hardy in the mid-sixties. Similar to the Shriners, the Sons of the Desert have many chapters throughout the world. These chapters are called tents. Each tent takes its name from one of the 105 films made by the comic duo. The Sons have grown throughout the world with tents in most large cities in the United States plus other countries including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Italy, Germany, France and other European nations. 

What do the tents do at their meetings? 

Naturally, they show the films of Laurel and Hardy and the Our Gang comedies that were made at the same Hal Roach Studios. The Sons hold an International Convention every other year in a large city. In July of 2006 the Sons met in Augusta, Georgia near the birthplace of Oliver Hardy. The 2008 International Convention will be held in Amsterdam, Holland on July 9-13. In addition, the Sons hold a United Kingdom Convention annually. 

The 2007 Convention will be in the city of Stoke-on-Trent on May 4-7. In addition there is a European Convention which is held every other year. The 2007 Convention will be held on August 24-27, 2007 in Dublin, Ireland.