Roach, Hal (Harry Eugene) (1892-1992)

US film producer. He was active from the 1910s to the 1940s, producing many comedies. He worked with Laurel and Hardy and produced films for Harold Lloyd. His work includes The Music Box (1932), Way Out West (1936), and Of Mice and Men (1939).

Roach was born in Elmira, New York. He had an adventurous youth, including a spell as a gold prospector in Alaska, before entering films as a stunt man and bit player in 1912. He turned producer in 1915. Directing many of his earlier efforts himself, he concentrated on two-reel shorts; these included the classic shorts of Laurel and Hardy, with whom he retained links after switching to feature-length production in the 1930s. After World War II, during which he produced training and propaganda films, he turned to television, with mixed fortunes. Although his production company folded in the late 1950s, he remained sporadically active on the fringes of the film industry.