Coin portraits of Laurel and Hardy have been created to mark the forthcoming world premiere of a biopic of the comedy legends.
The 150cm x 100cm mosaics consist of pennies for Ulverston-born Stan Laurel and cents for the American Oliver Hardy.
Julian Pickford commissioned his friend, renowned mosaic artist Ed Chapman, to produce a permanent reminder of their childhood comedy idols.
Chapman said: “There are more than 3,500 coins in Stan’s portrait and more in Ollie’s, as cents are slightly smaller – well, he was bigger after all.
“Laurel and Hardy are comedy heroes of mine and I am delighted with the results.
“I usually work in vinyl records and create musicians, but coins are a great medium to work in and I hope they make a fitting tribute to two funny gentlemen.”
Mr Pickford, from Darwen, Lancashire, said: “Ed and I have been pals since the age of four and after school we would sit down together to watch the old Hal Roach ‘two-reelers’ that were shown on BBC2. We would howl with laughter and then re-enact the scenes.
“We are both hugely excited to hear about the Stan and Ollie movie, and would love to see what the film-makers think of the portraits.”
The world premiere of Stan & Ollie, starring Steve Coogan and John C Reilly, takes place in London on October 21 ahead of its general UK release in January.
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