Tiny Sandford Memorial Fund

My name is Robert Satterfield and I am the current Grand Sheik of the Forty-Five Minutes From Hollywood Tent and Grand Sheik Emeritus of the Way Out West Tent of the Sons of the Desert (Laurel and Hardy Club). I have been involved with this group for over 52 years.

After being involved with markers/headstones for 14 actors over the years, this is my most ambitious (and costly) undertaking yet. I have had my eye on this project for decades and I now have a chance of making this a reality. The Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles was established in 1903 and serviced many of the Hollywood notables and others over the years. For whatever reasons the ashes of famous and not-so-famous were placed in the vaults and were never claimed, scattered, or moved to a private niche. We now have a chance to make this happen for a favorite of Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin fans. Stanley “Tiny” Sandford’s ashes will be removed from the vault and placed in the chapel area with his very own private niche and marker. This is long overdue and I am proud to spearhead this project. But I need your help and support.

This project isn’t cheap, as paying for a permeant niche, a marker, opening and closing costs, a new urn that will fit in the niche, endowment and other costs are over $5,000. Other projects have been under $2,000 but only included a headstone or marker to be placed on the grave and not the actual property. But I am certain fans of Tiny and classic movies in general, will step up and provide the “final curtain” for this much-beloved performer after many decades of being in a vault and unmarked. The niche earmarked for the remains is just inside the chapel doors and easy to find for fans who have been wanting to pay their respects for all these years. (See attached picture.)

In the late 70s, through the Way Out West Tent of the Sons of the Desert, I organized this same kind of thing for the ever-popular Mae Busch whose remains were never claimed at this very chapel.

Please help to make the final journey of Tiny, who has over 150 film credits, become a reality with a donation in any amount that you can afford. Thank you in advance for caring enough to help out.

Please share this Go Fund Me with anyone or any group you think may be interested in this project.

Note-original Go Fund Me was for Tiny, Margaret Dumont and Wilfred Lucas. An individual generously stepped up to take on the full cost of Margaret. I will tackle Wilfred after this campaign is fully funded.

Stanley “Tiny” Sandford (1894-1961)

He began his career on stage with the Daniel Frawley stock company. He broke into films in 1919 as “Goliath” in the Metro feature After His Own Heart. Tiny appeared in a total of 23 Laurel and Hardy films, first seen as the conductor in 45 Minutes From Hollywood, and lastly as the grubby waterfront tough guy in Our Relations. He usually played an officer of the law with Stan and Ollie (as in Big Business, Double Whoopee, The Hoose-Gow, and Pardon Us), but also had memorable turns as Pete, the restauranteur in Below Zero, and the strong man “Destructo” in The Chimp. Other films included Chaplin’s The Circus and Modern Times, and Douglas Fairbanks’ The Iron Mask (as Porthos, one of the Three Musketeers). In Show Boat, he shared several scenes with Stanley Fields, who replaced him as the Sheriff in Way Out West. All told, he appeared in 145 films between 1916 and 1943. After leaving films, he ran a construction business. (From Randy Skretvedt’s Laurel and Hardy The Magic Behind the Movies.)

Please note: that no raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or promotions are offered in exchange for any donations made to your GoFundMe.

The picture below shows where the remains of Tiny will be placed.