Trivia

His famous moustache was a phoney that he only wore in films.

Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson for The Simpsons (1989), has said that Homer's "D'oh!" was inspired by Finlayson's use of the same exclamation.

While on the set of a Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy film, getting ready to do one of his famous energetic and athletic double-takes, a crew member jokingly asked him if he had ever done a "triple take". He said,"Watch out, boys, I'm gonna do one right now!" As the cameras rolled, he put everything he had into doing the "triple take". Unfortunate.y, he put so much into it he crashed into a wall and knocked himself out.

He lost two toes on his left foot. Speculation was that it happened when he was working in his father's foundry, thus turning him off following his father's profession.

A short film called "M-G-M's Galaxy of Stars" was a promotional reel of scenes from upcoming films to be released in Europe in the 1935 -36 season. It begins and ends with scenes of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy and Finlayson. While their voices were dubbed into French, Ollie can be heard in his own voice saying, "Ooooh" and Finlayson saying, "Dooh!".

On a visit to England to promote March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934) he filmed some scenes in the Will Hay film Dandy Dick (1935), but they were cut before release.

Born in Pretoria Street, Larbert, he had two brothers: Robert, who went to the USA ,with him in 1911, and Alan who remained in Larbert.

He was a member of Stenhousemuir Cricket Club.

He had blue eyes and brown hair.

Parents Alexander, a blacksmith, and Isabella, originally from Larbert, Stirlingshire,Scotland, who had four children, Isabella, Alexander, James and Jane.