Stan Laurel

[elderford]

As far as I am aware he invented comedy sound effects, eg: when a car goes off screen and then the sound of crashing is heard, as well as those when people are hit around the head with various objects.

Is this the most impressive comedy invention ever? If not why not?

[Purple Tentacle]

I think you'll find that the Slap Stick is the greatest comedy invention ever.

Actually that's a bloody good point, where do we get the term "Slapstick" from?

[Munday's Chylde]

Yeah and he's clint eastwoods dad too... no matter what Snopes says.

[elderford]

Slapstick

Late 19th century, two flexible pieces of wood joined together at one end, designed to produce (wait for it) a loud slapping sound, used in pantomime to simulate the dealing of a severe blow.

[ApexJazz]

interesting topic, this doesn't get talked about much....here's my two cents.
First off, comedy sound effects have been around since theater, and before sound movies with radio; so Stan Laurel didn't invent that exactly. but he was the first boss man of sound comedy from what I can tell. With stan and ollie's first sound venture, UNACCUSTOMED AS WE ARE (a flick that was released as a silent for theaters not equipped with sound) the scene where they and ollie's wife physically and verbally contort to the rhythms of the record stan's playing was progressive enough.  At the climax of the movie, Laurel is brave enough to have all of the 'action' happen off-screen and generates humour from sound without visual set-up (counter-pointed by ollie's always wonderful facial expressions) then a reveal. And by curtain closing (stan tripping screen-left down a flight of steps heard through an explosion of sound effects), itz clear that Stan Laurel has mastered the form and understands the potential. (another comic mind who was able to grab the microphone by the horns was Hal Roach's stable mate Charley Chase, who was a splendid comic mind)
Laurel & Hardy were among the first to step into the sound movie waters and itz telling how other comedians fared...Lloyd's first sound foray was stiff and gimmicky; Keaton was completely defeated by it; Lubitsch was able to nicely transfer his continental farces over; and Chaplin avoided it altogether.
Never forget the immortal lesson of Laurel and Hardy: when an Englishman and an American from the south get together....stuff gets broken.