The Versatile Vamp

When Judy Davis stood up to collect her Emmy this past week, one wonders if she spared a thought for Mae Busch.

Better known as Oliver Hardy's shrewish wife in a series of Laurel and Hardy films, Busch was acclaimed as a versatile actress who ran the gamit from drama to comedy with aplomb - a bit like Judy Davis herself.

The Melbourne actress, looking very glamorous here didn't have a terribly auspicious beginning to her film career, having been fired from a studio after spending too much time with the fiance of another actress.

And sadly like many a silent film diva, Busch was forgotten - even by family.

Having died of pneumonia in 1946 at the age of 54, Busch was cremated but her remains were unclaimed until the 1970s when The Way Out West Tent, the Laurel and Hardy Society arranged for their proper internment.

So dry your eyes and have a laugh with Laurel, Hardy and Mae in Tit For Tat.