Actors - W. C. Fields

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	Actors - W. C. Fields

W. C. Fields (April 9, 1879 – December 25, 1946) was an American comedian and actor. Fields created one of the great American comic personas of the first half of the 20th century—a misanthrope who teetered on the edge of buffoonery but never quite fell in, an egotist blind to his own failings, a charming drunk; and a man who hated children, dogs and women, unless they were the wrong sort of women. This characterization was so strong that it was generally identified with Fields himself as well as the characters he portrayed in films and radio.

Birth and early career

Born William Claude Dukenfield in Darby, Pennsylvania. His father, Jim Dukenfield, came from an English-Irish family of noble origins (being descendants of Lord Dukenfield of Cheshire), and his mother, Kate Spangler Felton, was also of British descent. However, Jim Dukenfield was of the working class in England, and in the United States sold vegetables from a cart, an enterprise in which the young William assisted.

Fields left home at age 11 and entered vaudeville. By age 21 he was traveling as a comedy juggling act, becoming a headliner in both North America and Europe. In 1906 he made his Broadway debut in the musical comedy The Ham Tree, signing with impresario Florenz Ziegfeld.

Fields was well-known for embellishing stories of his youth, but despite the legends he encouraged, the truth is that his home seems to have been a relatively happy one and his family supported his ambitions for the stage -- his parents saw him off on the train for his first real stage tour as a teenager and his father visited him in England while Fields was enjoying success in the Music Halls there.

Though known for his comic acting, Fields started as an "eccentric juggler," appearing in the make-up of a genteel "bum" -- scruffy beard and shabby tuxedo, for instance. He juggled cigar boxes, hats, and a variety of other objects in what seems to have been a unique and fresh act, parts of which are reproduced in some of his films. His trademark mumbling patter was developed during this time, and he toured with Irwin's Burlesquers and other vaudeville troupes in the United States, Europe and Australia before making it to Ziegfeld's show. There he delighted audiences with a wild pool skit, complete with bizarrely shaped cues and a custom-built table used for a number of hilarious gags and surprising stunts. His pool game is also reproduced, at least in part, in some of his films.

Hollywood

Like many vaudevillians, Fields worked in silent films and one-reelers, but he first hit big theatrical fame in 1923 in the Broadway musical Poppy, where he perfected his persona as an oily, failed confidence man. Fields later appeared in talking feature films and short subjects, including the 1934 classic It's a Gift
, which included a version of his stage sketch of trying to sleep on the back porch as a result of nagging family and being bedeviled by noisy neighbors and traveling salesmen. ("You're drunk!" "Yeah, and you're crazy! But I'll be sober tomorrow, and you'll be crazy for the rest of your life!")

Fields had an affection for unlikely names and many of his characters bore them. As he was often also a writer on his films, the credits often include quite unusual names substituting for his own, such as "Mahatma Kane Jeeves" or "Otis Cribblecoblis". He also used the ordinary-sounding "Charles Bogle" several times.

Fields wore a scruffy looking clip-on mustache in virtually all of his silent films, discarding it once talkies began.

In his films he often played hustlers such as carnival barkers and card sharps, spinning yarns and distracting his marks, as with this gem from Mississippi: "Whilst traveling through the Andes Mountains, we lost our corkscrew. Had to live on food and water for several days!"

Although lacking formal education, he was well-read, and was a lifelong fan of author Charles Dickens. He achieved one of his career ambitions by playing the character Mr. Micawber, in MGM's David Copperfield
in 1935. In 1936, Fields recreated his signature stage role in Poppy for Paramount Pictures. ("If we should ever separate, my little plum, I want to give you just one bit of fatherly advice." "Yes, Pop?" "Never give a sucker an even break!"). He had previously transferred his famous role onto the silent screen in Sally of the Sawdust (1925) directed by the legendary D.W. Griffith. That effort was not a success.

Fields's ego sometimes got in the way of important roles. He turned down the role of the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz
fearing the role would be "too small".

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Actors - W. C. Fields

Birth and early career

Hollywood

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