Block-Heads Oasis #3

02/14/2025

01/14/2025

Happy Heavenly Birthday to "The Boss," HAL ROACH, without whom there would be no Laurel & Hardy as we know them! Born on January 14, 1892, he passed away on November 2, 1992, at age 100. Merrie and I had the privilege of meeting him in July of 1992 in Las Vegas thanks to Saint Paul native, former Block-Heads Grand Sheik, and THE authority on all things Hal Roach, L&H, and Our Gang, Dick Bann.

01/01/2025

Block-Heads is still going strong as we approach our 59th anniversary in March! Membership is open to everyone. E-mail [email protected] for information, or send a message to Grand Sheik Tracy Tolzmann.

11/28/2024

Happy Thanksgiving!

10/16/2024

A few more of Jerry Fearing's works for Block-Heads...

10/16/2024

More Jerry Fearing art, including his last cartoon for the Saint Paul newspaper.

10/16/2024

It's with a heavy heart that I announce the death of the Block-Heads tent's co-founderer Jerry Fearing. Jerry passed away on Saturday, October 12th at the VA home in Preston (Rochester area), Minnesota. He was 94. Jerry was a cartoonist for the Saint Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch newspapers from 1959 until his retirement on July 29, 1994. He not only included many caricatures of Stan & Ollie in his Block-Heads newsletters, but the boys would often pop-up in his political cartoons, as seen in the illustrations. Jerry designed numerous T-Shirts for the tent, including the logo for the 6tnh International Convention of the Sons of the Desert, held in Saint Paul and hosted by Block-Heads in 1988. His "Cartoons in Clay" sculptures of Laurel & Hardy and their supporting players were fantastic works of art, capturing the charm and whimsy of the characters. Jerry would cast copies, hand-paint them, and make them available to L&H buffs everywhere. Jerry and his late wife Dee (who died in November 2021) attended many tent meetings and kept the spirit of Stan & Ollie alive with his art. Moving to Stewartville and then nearby Rochester made visits with Jerry a little more difficult, but the occasions where we were able to get together were always filled with joy and laughter. Jerry donated his works to the Anderson Library at the University of Minnesota.
Jerry's great wit and humor will live on in his wonderful drawings, and he will long be remembered for the wonderful "Cartoons in Clay" of Hollywood celebrities and caricatures of Laurel & Hardy.