Oliver Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 - August 7, 1957) was an American actor who, with Stan Laurel, formed the comedic film-duo Laurel and Hardy.

His Scottish-English parents were never in show business. As a young boy, he was a gifted singer and, by age eight, was performing with minstrel shows. In 1910, he ran a movie theatre, which he preferred to studying law. In 1913, he became a comedy actor with the Lubin Company in Florida and began appearing in a long series of shorts; his debut film was Outwitting Dad (1914); 1914-5 was the "Pokes and Jabbs" series; 1916-8 saw the "Plump and Runt" series, 1919-21 the "Jimmy Aubrey" series, and from 1921-5 he worked as an actor and co-director of comedy shorts for Larry Semon. In 1917, he had played a bit part in Lucky Dog, The (1921), starring Stan Laurel. His first two-reeler with Laurel was Forty-five Minutes from Hollywood (1926). Their first release through MGM was Sugar Daddies (1927) and the first with star billing was From Soup to Nuts (1928). Their first feature-length starring roles were in Pardon Us (1931). Their work became more production-line and less popular during the war years, mostly working for Twentieth Century-Fox. Their last movie together was Bullfighters, The (1945) except for a French failure (Atoll K (1951)). He appeared without Laurel in Fighting Kentuckian, The (1949) and Riding High (1950) and died seven years later.