W. C. Fields

For the American Southern Baptist minister, seeWilmer Clemont Fields.

William Claude Dukenfield(January 29, 1880– December 25, 1946), better known asW. C. Fields,was an American actor, comedian, juggler, and writer.

W. C. Fields
Fields in 1938
Born	William Claude Dukenfield (1880-01-29)January 29, 1880 Darby, Pennsylvania,U.S.
Died	December 25, 1946(1946-12-25)(aged 66) Pasadena, California,U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park,Glendale, California,U.S.
Other names	Charles Bogle Otis Criblecoblis Mahatma Kane Jeeves
Occupations	Actor comedian juggler writer
Years active	1898–1946
Spouse	Harriet Hughes ​ (m.1900)​
Partner(s)	Bessie Poole (1916–1926) Carlotta Monti(1933–1946; his death)
Children	2
Website	wcfields.com

Fields's career in show business began invaudeville,where he attained international success as a silentjuggler.He began to incorporate comedy into his act and was a featured comedian in theZiegfeld Folliesfor several years. He became a star in the Broadway musical comedyPoppy(1923), in which he played a colorful small-timecon man.His subsequent stage and film roles were often similar scoundrels or henpeckedeverymancharacters.

Among his trademarks were his raspy drawl and grandiloquent vocabulary. His film and radio persona was generally identified with Fields himself. It was maintained by the publicity departments at Fields's studios (ParamountandUniversal) and was further reinforced by Robert Lewis Taylor's 1949 biographyW. C. Fields, His Follies and Fortunes.Beginning in 1973, with the publication of Fields's letters, photos, and personal notes in grandson Ronald Fields's bookW. C. Fields by Himself,it was shown that Fields was married (and subsequently estranged from his wife), financially supported their son, and loved his grandchildren.

Early years

Fields was born William Claude Dukenfield inDarby, Pennsylvania,the oldest child of a working-class family. His father, James Lydon Dukenfield (1841–1913), was from an English family that emigrated fromSheffield,Yorkshire,England, in 1854.James Dukenfield served in Company M of the72nd Pennsylvania InfantryRegiment in theAmerican Civil Warand was wounded in 1863.Fields's mother, Kate Spangler Felton (1854–1925), was aProtestantof British ancestry.The 1876Philadelphia City Directorylists James Dukenfield as a clerk. After marrying, he worked as an independent produce merchant and a part-time hotel-keeper.

Claude Dukenfield (as he was known) had a volatile relationship with his short-tempered father. He ran away from home repeatedly, beginning at the age of nine, often to stay with his grandmother or an uncle.His education was sporadic and did not progress beyond grade school.At age twelve he worked with his father, selling produce from a wagon, until the two had a fight that resulted in Fields running away once again.In 1893, he worked briefly at theStrawbridge and Clothierdepartment store,and in anoyster house.

Fields later embellished stories of his childhood, depicting himself as a runaway who lived by his wits on the streets of Philadelphia from an early age, but his home life is believed to have been reasonably happy.He had already discovered in himself a facility for juggling, and a performance he witnessed at a local theater inspired him to dedicate substantial time to perfecting his juggling.At age 17, he was living with his family and performing a juggling act at church and theater shows.

In 1904 Fields's father visited him for two months in England while he was performing there inmusic halls.Fields enabled his father to retire, purchased him a summer home, and encouraged his parents and siblings to learn to read and write so they could communicate with him by letter.

Entry into vaudeville

Inspired by the success of the "Original Tramp Juggler",James Edward Harrigan,Fields adopted a similar costume of scruffy beard and shabby tuxedo and enteredvaudevilleas a genteel "trampjuggler "in 1898, using the name W. C. Fields.His family supported his ambitions for the stage and saw him off on the train for his first stage tour. To conceal a stutter, Fields did not speak onstage.In 1900, seeking to distinguish himself from the many "tramp" acts in vaudeville, he changed his costume and makeup and began touring as "The Eccentric Juggler".Hemanipulated cigar boxes,hats, and other objects in his act, parts of which are reproduced in some of his films, notably in the 1934 comedyThe Old Fashioned Way.

By the early 1900s, while touring, he was regularly called the world's greatest juggler.He became a headliner in North America and Europe and toured Australia and South Africa in 1903.When Fields played for English-speaking audiences, he found he could get more laughs by adding muttered patter and sarcasticasidesto his routines. According to W. Buchanan-Taylor, a performer who saw Fields's performance in an English music hall, Fields would "reprimand a particular ball which had not come to his hand accurately" and "mutter weird and unintelligible expletives to his cigar when it missed his mouth".

Broadway

Caricature byRalph Barton,1925

In 1905 Fields made his Broadway debut in a musical comedy,The Ham Tree.His role in the show required him to deliver lines of dialogue, which he had never before done onstage.He later said, "I wanted to become a real comedian, and there I was, ticketed and pigeonholed as merely a comedy juggler."In 1913 he performed on a bill withSarah Bernhardt(who regarded Fields as "an artiste [who] could not fail to please the best class of audience" ), first at the New York Palace and then in England in a royal performance forGeorge VandQueen Mary.He continued touring in vaudeville until 1915.

Beginning in 1915, he appeared onBroadwayinFlorenz Ziegfeld'sZiegfeld Folliesrevue,delighting audiences with a wildbilliardsskit complete with bizarrely shaped cues and a custom-built table used for a number of hilarious gags and surprisingtrick shots.His pool game is reproduced in part in some of his films, notably inSix of a Kindin 1934. The act was a success, and Fields starred in theFolliesfrom 1916 to 1922, not as a juggler but as a comedian in ensemble sketches. In addition to many editions of theFollies,Fields starred in the 1923 Broadway musical comedyPoppy,wherein he perfected his persona as a colorful small-timecon man.In 1928, he appeared inThe Earl Carroll Vanities.

His stage costume from 1915 onward featured a top hat, cut-away coat and collar, and a cane. The costume had a remarkable similarity to that of thecomic stripcharacterAlly Sloper,who may have been the inspiration for Fields's costume, according to Roger Sabin. The Sloper character may in turn have been inspired by Dickens'sMr Micawber,whom Fields later played on film.

Fields versus "Nibblers"

In the early years of his career, Fields became highly protective of his intellectual properties that formed his acts and defined his on-screenpersona.In vaudeville,burlesque,and in the rapidly expanding motion picture industry, many of his fellow performers and comedy writers often copied or "borrowed" sketches or portions of routines developed and presented by others.As his popularity with audiences continued to rise after 1915, following his initial work in films, other entertainers started to adopt and integrate parts of his successful acts into their own performances.In 1918, he began to combat this by registering his sketches and other comedy material with theCopyrightOffice of theLibrary of Congressin Washington, D.C.

Nevertheless, the practice continued and became so frequent by 1919 that he felt "compelled" to place a prominent warning that year in the June 13 issue ofVariety,the most widely readtrade paperat the time.Addressed to "Nibblers" and "indiscreet burlesque and picture players", his notice occupies nearly half a page in the paper.In it, he cautions fellow performers that all of his "acts (and businesses therein) are protected by United States and International copyright", stressing that he and his attorneys in New York and Chicago will "vigorously prosecute all offenders in the future".The concluding attribution, "W. C. Fields", is printed in such large letters that it dominates the two-page spread in the publication.

Fields's prominent warning to "Nibblers" in the June 13, 1919, issue ofVarietythreatened legal action against anyone using his material

Fields continued personally and with legal counsel to protect his comedy material during the final decades of his career, especially with regard to that material's reuse in his films. For example, he copyrighted his original stage sketch "An Episode at the Dentist's" three times: in January 1919 and twice again in 1928, in July and August.Later, 13 years after its first copyright registration, that same sketch continued to serve Fields as a framework for developing his already noted shortThe Dentist.He also copyrighted his 1928 sketch "Stolen Bonds", which in 1933 was translated into scenes for his two-reel "black comedy"The Fatal Glass of Beer.Other examples of Fields's stage-to-film use of his copyrighted material is the previously discussed 1918Folliessketch "An Episode on the Links" and its recycling in both his 1930 shortThe Golf Specialistand in his featureYou're Telling Me!in 1934. "The Sleeping Porch" sketch that reappears as an extended segment inIt's a Giftwas copyrighted as well by Fields in 1928.A few more of his copyrighted creations include "An Episode of Lawn Tennis" (1918), "The Mountain Sweep Steaks" (1919), "The Pullman Sleeper" (1921), "Ten Thousand People Killed" (1925), and "The Midget Car" (1930).

The total number of sketches created by Fields over the years, both copyrighted and uncopyrighted, remains undetermined, but may exceed 100.Between 1918 and 1930, he applied for and received 20 copyrights covering 16 of his most important sketches, which Fields biographer Simon Louvish has described as the "bedrock" upon which he built his stage career and then prolonged that success through his films.

Personal life

Fields married a fellow vaudevillian, chorus girl Harriet "Hattie" Hughes (1879–1963), on April 8, 1900.She became part of Fields's stage act, appearing as his assistant, whom he would blame entertainingly when he missed a trick.Hattie was educated and she tutored Fields in reading and writing during their travels.Under her influence, he became an enthusiastic reader and traveled with a trunk of books, including grammar texts, translations ofHomerandOvid,and works by authors ranging fromShakespearetoDickenstoTwainandP. G. Wodehouse.

The couple had a son, William Claude Fields Jr. (1904–1971)and although Fields was an atheist—who, according to James Curtis, "regarded all religions with the suspicion of a seasoned con man" —he yielded to Hattie's wish to have their son baptized.

By 1907, he and Hattie had separated; she had been pressing him to stop touring and settle into a respectable trade, but he was unwilling to give up show business.They never divorced. Until his death, Fields continued to correspond with Hattie (mostly through letters) and voluntarily sent her a weekly stipend.Their correspondence would at times be tense. Fields accused Hattie of turning their son against him and of demanding more money from him than he could afford.

While performing in New York City at theNew Amsterdam Theaterin 1916, Fields met Bessie Poole, an established Ziegfeld Follies performer whose beauty and quick wit attracted him, and they began a relationship. With her, he had another son, William Rexford Fields Morris (1917–2014).Neither Fields nor Poole wanted to abandon touring to raise the child, who was placed in foster care with a childless couple of Bessie's acquaintance.Fields's relationship with Poole lasted until 1926. In 1927, he made a negotiated payment to her of $20,000 upon her signing an affidavit declaring that "W. C. Fields is NOT the father of my child".Poole died of complications of alcoholism in October 1928,and Fields contributed to their son's support until he was 19 years of age.

Fields metCarlotta Monti(1907–1993) in 1933, and the two began a sporadic relationship that lasted until his death in 1946.Monti had small roles in two of Fields's films and in 1971 wrote a memoir,W. C. Fields and Me,which was made into amotion pictureat Universal Studios in 1976. Fields was listed in the 1940 census as single and living at 2015 DeMille Drive. (Cecil B. DeMillelived at 2000, the only other address on the street.)

Persona

Fields's screen character often expressed a fondness for alcohol, a prominent component of the Fields legend. During his early career as a juggler, Fields never drank at all because he wanted to remain sober while performing. Eventually, the loneliness of constant travel prompted him to keep liquor in his dressing room as an inducement for fellow performers to socialize with him on the road. Only after he became aFolliesstar and abandoned juggling did Fields begin drinking regularly.His role in Paramount Pictures'International House(1933), as an aviator with an unquenchable taste for beer, did much to establish Fields's popular reputation as a prodigious drinker.Studio publicists promoted this image, as did Fields himself in press interviews.

Fields kept this as part of his act, often working boozy remarks into his pictures. InNever Give a Sucker an Even Breakhe tells his niece, played byGloria Jean:"I was in love with a beautiful blonde once, dear. She drove me to drink. That's the one thing I am indebted to her for." In the 1940 filmMy Little Chickadee,his character said "Once, on a trek through Afghanistan, we lost our corkscrew... and were compelled to live on food and water for several days."

On movie sets, Fields shot most of his scenes in varying states of inebriation. During the filming ofTales of Manhattan(1942), he kept avacuum flaskwith him at all times and frequently availed himself of its contents.Phil Silvers,who had a minor supporting role in the scene featuring Fields, described in his memoir what happened next:

One day the producers appeared on the set to plead with Fields: "Please don't drink while we're shooting—we're way behind schedule"... Fields merely raised an eyebrow. "Gentlemen, this is only lemonade. For a little acid condition afflicting me." He leaned on me. "Would you be kind enough to taste this, sir?" I took a careful sip—pure gin. I have always been a friend of the drinking man; I respect him for his courage to withdraw from the world of the thinking man. I answered the producers a little scornfully, "It's lemonade." My reward? The scene was snipped out of the picture.

In a testimonial dinner for Fields in 1939, the humoristLeo Rostenremarked of the comedian that "any man who hates dogs and babies can't be all bad".The line—whichBartlett's Familiar Quotationslater erroneously attributed to Fields himself—was widely quoted, and reinforced the popular perception that Fields hated children and dogs. In reality, Fields was somewhat indifferent to dogs, but occasionally owned one.He was fond of entertaining the children of friends who visited him, and doted on his first grandchild, Bill Fields III, born in 1943.He sent encouraging replies to all of the letters he received from boys who, inspired by his performance inThe Old Fashioned Way,expressed an interest in juggling.

Films

Silent era and first talkies

In 1915, Fields starred in two short comedies,Pool SharksandHis Lordship's Dilemma,filmed at the FrenchGaumont Company's American studio inFlushing,New York.His stage commitments prevented him from doing more movie work until 1924, when he played a supporting role inJanice Meredith,a Revolutionary War romance starringMarion Davies.He reprised hisPoppyrole in a silent-film adaptation, retitledSally of the Sawdust(1925), directed byD. W. GriffithforParamount Pictures.On the basis of his work in that film and Griffith's subsequent productionThat Royle Girl,Paramount offered Fields a contract to star in his own series of feature-length comedies. His next starring role was inIt's the Old Army Game(1926), which featured his friendLouise Brooks,who later starred inG. W. Pabst'sPandora's Box(1929) in Germany.Fields's 1926 film, which included a silent version of the porch sequence that would later be expanded in the sound filmIt's a Gift(1934), had only middling success at the box office.The following three films Fields made at Astoria, however—So's Your Old Man(1926, remade asYou're Telling Me!in 1934),The Potters(1927), andRunning Wild(1927—were successes on an increasing scale and gained Fields a growing following as a silent comedian.Running Wildwas the most successful of these, with a final cost of $179,000 and bringing in domestic rentals of $328,000 and another $92,000 from overseas.Rivalry between Paramount studio executivesB. P. Schulbergon the West Coast andWilliam Le Baronon the East Coast led to the closure of the New York studio and the centralization of Paramount production in Hollywood.Running Wildwas the last silent film Paramount made at Astoria. When the filming was completed on April 28, the remaining handful of personnel left on the lot were let go with two weeks' severance pay, and the studio went idle.Fields went immediately to Hollywood, where Schulberg teamed him withChester Conklinfor two features and loaned him and Conklin out for anAl Christie-produced remake ofTillie's Punctured Romancefor Paramount release. All of these were commercial failures and are now lost.

Fields wore a scruffy clip-on mustache in all of his silent films. According to film historianWilliam K. Everson,he perversely insisted on wearing the conspicuously fake-looking mustache because he knew it was disliked by audiences.Fields wore it in his first sound film,The Golf Specialist(1930)—a two-reeler that faithfully reproduces a sketch he had introduced in 1918 in theFollies—but gave up wearing a mustache after his first sound feature film,Her Majesty, Love(1931), his onlyWarner Bros.production and the only time he wore a more realistic mustache for a role.

Success in feature films

In the sound era, Fields appeared in 13 feature films for Paramount Pictures, beginning withMillion Dollar Legsin 1932. In that year he also was featured in a sequence in theanthology filmIf I Had a Million.In 1932 and 1933, Fields made four short subjects, distributed through Paramount, for comedy pioneerMack Sennett.These shorts, adapted with few alterations from Fields's stage routines and written entirely by himself, were described by Simon Louvish as "the 'essence' of Fields".The first of them,The Dentist,is unusual in that Fields portrays an entirely unsympathetic character: he cheats at golf, assaults his caddy, and treats his patients with unbridled callousness. William K. Everson says that the cruelty of this comedy made it "hardly less funny" but that "Fields must have known thatThe Dentistpresented a serious flaw for a comedy image that was intended to endure ", and Fields showed a somewhat warmer persona in his subsequent Sennett shorts.Nevertheless, the popular success of his next release,International House,established him as a major star.A shakyouttakefrom the production, allegedly the only film record of that year'sLong Beach earthquake,was later revealed to have been faked as a publicity stunt for the movie.

Fields's 1934 classicIt's a Giftincludes another one of his earlier stage sketches, one in which he endeavors to escape his nagging family by sleeping on the back porch, where he is bedeviled by noisy neighbors and salesmen. That film, likeYou're Telling Me!andMan on the Flying Trapeze,ended happily with a windfall profit that restored his standing in his screen families.

Beginning in 1933, a tongue-in-cheek revival of the 1844 temperance playThe Drunkard—urging audience members to hiss the villain and cheer the hero—became a popular attraction in Los Angeles. Fields became a fan of the show and attended it frequently. He was so taken with it that he decided to make a film of it, starring himself. What emerged wasThe Old Fashioned Way(1934), starring Fields as the impresario of a small-time repertory troupe. Fields not only played the villain in theDrunkardsequence, but reprised his old juggling specialty for the camera under the direction of comedy specialistWilliam Beaudine.

Fields, an avid reader, had hoped to appear in a film adaptation of one of Charles Dickens's works. In 1935 Fields achieved this ambition by playing the characterMr. MicawberinMGM'sDavid Copperfield.

Illness

Beginning in 1935, the strain of his busy film schedule and a succession of personal tragedies took a toll on Fields's health. He fell ill with influenza and back trouble requiring round-the-clock nursing in late June 1935, and then was emotionally shattered by the sudden deaths of two of his closest friends,Will Rogerson August 15 andSam Hardyon October 16. The combination of these events provoked a complete breakdown for Fields that laid him up for nine months.He was gingerly approached the next year to recreate his signature stage role inPoppyforParamount Pictures;he accepted but was very weak throughout the production and a double was often used in long shots.After filming was complete, he relapsed when he learned another close friend and screen partner,Tammany Young,had died in his sleep on April 26 at age 49. Losing three friends in less than a year sent Fields into a deep depression. He stopped eating, his back pain flared up, and his chronic lung congestion trouble returned with a vengeance, eventually turning into pneumonia. He would be in hospitals and sanitariums for various treatments until the summer of 1937.

In September 1937, Fields returned to Hollywood to appear in Paramount's variety showThe Big Broadcast of 1938.Fields alone received star billing, with featured billing forMartha Raye,Dorothy Lamour,Bob Hope,Kirsten Flagstad,Tito Guizar,and theShep Fieldsorchestra. Fields loathed working on the film and particularly detested the director,Mitchell Leisen,who felt the same way about Fields and thought him unfunny and difficult. ( "He was the most obstinate, ornery son of a bitch I ever tried to work with" was Leisen's opinion.) The arguments between Fields and Leisen were so constant and intense during the five-month shoot that when the production concluded on November 15, 1937, Leisen suffered a heart attack.Fields tried to inject his own material into the scenes already written, but when Paramount issued an ultimatum to perform according to the shooting script, Fields refused and Paramount fired him. Fields's farewell film for Paramount received critical acclaim and earned anOscarfor best original song (Thanks for the Memory),but exhibitors and audiences were disappointed. "One of the poorest shows we have ever received from Paramount. Not one customer was satisfied." (C.M. Anderson, Tolley, North Dakota);"Named wrong. Should be 'Miscast.'" (Charles L. Fisk, Butler, Missouri).Fields remained bitter about the outcome: "When the picture is finished and my stuff proves to be the outstanding feature of the picture, what happens? I am given my congé and the director and the supervisor and the producer who are responsible for this $1,300,000 flop go calmly on their way, working for the studio making another picture. Thestarhas flopped. "

Now physically unable to work in films, Fields was off the screen for more than a year. During his absence, he recorded a brief speech for a radio broadcast. His familiar snide drawl registered so well with listeners that he quickly became a popular guest on network radio shows.Although his radio work was not as demanding as motion-picture production, Fields insisted on his established movie-star salary of $5,000 per week.

Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy with Fields onThe Chase and Sanborn Hour,c. 1945

He joined ventriloquistEdgar Bergenand Bergen's dummyCharlie McCarthyonThe Chase and Sanborn Hourfor weekly insult-comedy routines.

Fields would mock Charlie about his being made of wood:

Fields:Tell me, Charles, is it true your father was a gateleg table?

McCarthy:If it is, your father was under it!

When Fields referred to McCarthy as a "woodpecker's pinup boy" or a "termite's flophouse," Charlie would fire back at Fields about his drinking:

McCarthy:Is it true, Mr. Fields, that when you stood on the corner of Hollywood and Vine, 43 cars waited for your nose to change to green?

Another exchange:

Bergen:Why, Bill, I thought you didn't like children.

Fields:Oh, not at all, Edgar, I love children. I can remember when, with my own little unsteady legs, I toddled from room to room.

McCarthy:When was that, last night?

During his recovery from illness, Fields reconciled with his estranged wife and established a close relationship with his son after Claude's marriage in 1938.

Return to films

Fields's renewed popularity from his radio broadcasts with Bergen and McCarthy earned him a contract withUniversal Picturesin 1939, brokered by promoter-producer Lester Cowan. The first feature for Universal,You Can't Cheat an Honest Man,carried on the Fields–McCarthy rivalry. It was originally announced as an Bergen-McCarthy starring vehicle, with Fields's name in much smaller type as a guest star.Fields dominated the action and stole the film, winning star billing in the process.

In 1940 he co-starred withMae WestinMy Little Chickadee,and then starred inThe Bank Dickin which he has the following exchange withShemp Howard,who plays a bartender:

Fields:Was I in here last night, and did I spend a $20 bill? (equal to him spending $434.96 today)

Shemp:Yeah.

Fields:Oh boy, what a load that is off my mind. I thought I'dlostit!

Fields fought with studio producers, directors, and writers over the content of his films. He was determined to make a movie his way, with his own script and staging, and his choice of supporting players. Universal finally gave him the chance, and the resulting film,Never Give a Sucker an Even Break(1941), was an absurd satire of Hollywood moviemaking. Fields appeared as himself, characterized as "The Great Man." Advance publicity named the filmThe Great Manbefore Universal adopted the final title.Fields personally recruited Universal's then-popular singing starGloria Jeanand his old croniesLeon ErrolandFranklin Pangbornas his co-stars. DirectorEddie Clinefilmed the rambling script as Fields conceived it, culminating in an incoherent string of blackout sketches. In an attempt to add structure to the film, Universal recut and reshot parts of the feature without Fields's participation. Both the film and Fields were released quietly in late 1941.Suckerwas Fields's last starring film.

Final years

Fields fraternized at his home with actors, directors and writers who shared his fondness for good company and good liquor.John Barrymore,Gene Fowler,andGregory La Cavawere among his close friends. On March 15, 1941, while Fields was out of town, Christopher Quinn, the two-year-old son of his neighbors, actorAnthony Quinnand his wifeKatherine DeMille,drowned in a lily pond on Fields's property. Grief-stricken over the tragedy, he had the pond filled in.

Fields had a substantial library in his home. Although a staunch atheist—or perhaps because of it—he studied theology and collected books on the subject.According to a popular story (possibly apocryphal, according to biographer James Curtis),actorThomas Mitchellcaught Fields reading a Bible. Mitchell asked what he was doing, and Fields replied, "Looking for loopholes."

In a 1994 episode of theBiographytelevision series, Fields's 1941 co-starGloria Jeanrecalled her conversations with Fields at his home. She described him as kind and gentle in personal interactions, and believed he yearned for the family environment he never experienced as a child.

During the1940 presidential campaign,Fields authored a book,Fields for President,with humorous essays in the form of a campaign speech.Dodd, Mead and Companypublished it in 1940, with illustrations byOtto Soglow.In 1971, when Fields was seen as an anti-establishment figure, Dodd, Mead issued a reprint, illustrated with photographs of the author.

Fields's film career slowed considerably in the 1940s. His illnesses confined him to brief guest film appearances. An extended sequence in20th Century-Fox'sTales of Manhattan(1942) was cut from the original release of the film and later reinstated for some home video releases.The scene featured a temperance meeting with society people at the home of a wealthy society matron,Margaret Dumont,in which Fields discovers that the punch has been spiked, resulting in drunken guests and a very happy Fields.

He enacted his billiard table routine for the final time forFollow the Boys,an all-star entertainment revue for the Armed Forces. (Despite the charitable nature of the movie, Fields was paid $15,000 for this appearance; he was never able to perform in person for the armed services.) InSong of the Open Road(1944), Fields juggled for a few moments and then remarked, "This used to be my racket."His last film, the musical revueSensations of 1945,was released in late 1944. By then his vision and memory had deteriorated so much that he had to read his lines from large-print blackboards.

In 1944, Fields continued to make radio guest appearances, where script memorizations were unnecessary. A notable guest slot was withFrank Sinatraon Sinatra'sCBSradio program on February 9, 1944.

Fields's last radio appearance was on March 24, 1946, on theEdgar Bergenand Charlie McCarthy Show onNBC.Just before his death that year, Fields recorded a spoken-word album, including his "Temperance Lecture" and "The Day I Drank a Glass of Water", atLes Paul's studio, where Paul had installed a new multi-track recorder. Listening to one of Paul's experimental multi-track recordings, Fields remarked, "The music you're making sounds like an octopus. Like a guy with a million hands. I've never heard anything like it." Paul was amused, and named his new machine OCT, short for octopus.

The session was arranged by one of Fields's radio writers, Bill Morrow. Fields, reading his scripts from large-print cue cards and with his delivery noticeably slower than usual, still succeeded in doing funny and flavorful monologues about "demon rum." It was his last performance.

Death

Fields spent the last 22 months of his life at the Las Encinas Sanatorium inPasadena, California.In 1946, on Christmas Day—the holiday he said he despised—he had a massive gastric hemorrhage and died, aged 66.Carlotta Monti wrote that in his final moments, she used a garden hose to spray water onto the roof over his bedroom to simulate his favorite sound, falling rain.According to a 2004 documentary, he winked and smiled at a nurse, put a finger to his lips, and died.This poignant depiction is uncorroborated and "unlikely", according to biographer James Curtis.Fields's funeral took place on January 2, 1947, inGlendale, California.

His cremation, as directed in his will, was delayed pending resolution of an objection filed by Hattie and Claude Fields on religious grounds.They also contested a clause leaving a portion of his estate to establish a "W. C. Fields College for Orphan White Boys and Girls, where no religion of any sort is to be preached".After a lengthy period of litigation, his remains were cremated on June 2, 1949,and his ashes interred at theForest Lawn Memorial Park Cemeteryin Glendale.

Gravestone

Fields's niche in theColumbariumof Nativity in the Holly Terrace section of the Great Mausoleum, Forest Lawn Glendale

It has been claimed that Fields's grave marker is inscribed, "I'd rather be in Philadelphia". The legend originated from a mock epitaph written by Fields for a 1925Vanity Fairarticle: "Here Lies / W. C. Fields / I Would Rather Be Living in Philadelphia".In reality, his interment marker bears only his stage name and the years of his birth and death.

Comic persona and style

Fields often played a "bumbling hero".In 1937, in an article inMotion Picturemagazine, he analyzed the characters he played:

You've heard the old legend that it's the little put-upon guy who gets the laughs, but I'm the most belligerent guy on the screen. I'm going to kill everybody. But, at the same time, I'm afraid of everybody—just a great big frightened bully.... I was the first comic in world history, so they told me, to pick fights with children. I bootedBaby LeRoy... then, in another picture, I kicked a little dog.... But I got sympathy both times. People didn't know what the unmanageable baby might do to get even, and they thought the dog might bite me.

In features such asIt's a GiftandMan on the Flying Trapeze,he is reported to have written or improvised more or less all of his own dialogue and material, leaving story structure to other writers.He frequently incorporated his stage sketches into his films—e.g., the "Back Porch" scene he wrote for theFolliesof 1925 was filmed inIt's the Old Army Game(1926) andIt's a Gift(1934);the golf sketch he performed in the lost filmHis Lordship's Dilemma(1915) was re-used in theFolliesof 1918, and in the filmsSo's Your Old Man(1926),The Golf Specialist(1930),The Dentist(1932), andYou're Telling Me(1934).

Fields's most familiar characteristics included a distinctive drawl, which was not his normal speaking voice.His manner of muttering deprecatory asides was copied from his mother, who in Fields's childhood often mumbled sly comments about neighbors who passed by.He delighted in provoking the censors withdouble entendresand the near-profanities "Godfrey Daniels" and "mother of pearl". A favorite bit of "business", repeated in many of his films, involved his hat going astray—either caught on the end of his cane, or simply facing the wrong way—as he attempts to put it onto his head.

In several of his films, he played hustlers, carnival barkers, andcard sharps,spinning yarns and distracting his marks. In others, he cast himself as a victim: a bumblingeverymanhusband and father whose family does not appreciate him.

Fields often reproduced elements of his own family life in his films. By the time he entered motion pictures, his relationship with his estranged wife had become acrimonious, and he believed she had turned their son Claude—whom he seldom saw—against him.James Curtis says ofMan on the Flying Trapezethat the "disapproving mother-in-law, Mrs. Neselrode, was clearly patterned after his wife, Hattie, and the unemployable mama's boy played by [Grady] Sutton was deliberately named Claude. Fields hadn't laid eyes on his family in nearly twenty years, and yet the painful memories lingered."

Unusual names

Although lacking formal education, Fields was well read and a lifelong admirer of authorCharles Dickens,whose characters' unusual names inspired Fields to collect odd names he encountered in his travels, to be used for his characters.Some examples are:

• "The Great McGonigle" (The Old-Fashioned Way);
• "Ambrose Wolfinger" [pointing toward "Wolf-whistling"] (Man on the Flying Trapeze);
• "Larson E. [read"Larceny"] Whipsnade", the surname taken from a dog track Fields had seen outside London(You Can't Cheat an Honest Man),
• "Egbert Sousé" [pronounced 'soo-ZAY', but pointing toward "souse", a synonym for a drunk] (The Bank Dick,1940).

Fields often contributed to the scripts of his films under unusual pseudonyms. They include the seemingly prosaic "CharlesBogle",credited in four of his films in the 1930s;" Otis Criblecoblis ", which contains an embeddedhomophonefor "scribble"; and "Mahatma Kane Jeeves", a play onMahatmaand a phrase an aristocrat might use when about to leave the house: "My hat, my cane,Jeeves".

Supporting players

Fields had a small cadre of supporting players that he employed in several films:

• Elise Cavanna,whose onscreen interplay with Fields was compared (byWilliam K. Everson) to that betweenGroucho Marxand his friendMargaret Dumont
• Jan Duggan,an old-maid character (actually only a year younger than Fields).It was of her character that Fields said inThe Old Fashioned Way,"She's all dressed up like a well-kept grave."
• Kathleen Howard,as a nagging wife or antagonist
• Baby LeRoy,as a preschool child fond of playing pranks on Fields's characters
• Franklin Pangborn,a fussy, ubiquitous character comedian who played in several Fields films, most memorably as J. Pinkerton Snoopington inThe Bank Dick
• Alison Skipworth,as his wife (although 16 years his senior), usually in a supportive role rather than the stereotypical nag
• Grady Sutton,typically a country bumpkin type, as a foil or an antagonist to Fields's character
• Bill Wolfe, as a gaunt-looking character, usually a Fields foil
• Tammany Young,as a dim-witted, unintentionally harmful assistant, who appeared in seven Fields films until his sudden death from heart failure in 1936

Unrealized film projects

W. C. Fields was (withEd Wynn) one of the two original choices for the title role in the 1939 version ofThe Wizard of Oz.Fields was enthusiastic about the role, but ultimately withdrew his name from consideration so he could devote his time to writingYou Can't Cheat an Honest Man.Aljean Harmetz,author ofThe Making of The Wizard of Oz,also said that the studio would not meet his price.

Fields figured in anOrson Wellesproject. Welles's bosses atRKO Radio Pictures,after losing money onCitizen Kane,urged Welles to choose as his next film a subject with more commercial appeal. Welles considered an adaptation ofCharles Dickens'The Pickwick Paperswhich would have starred Fields, but the project was shelved, partly because of contract difficulties,and Welles went on to adaptThe Magnificent Ambersons.

During the early planning for his filmIt's a Wonderful Life,directorFrank Capraconsidered Fields for the role of Uncle Billy, which eventually went toThomas Mitchell.

Influence and legacy

A best-selling biography of Fields published three years after his death,W. C. Fields, His Follies and Fortunesby Robert Lewis Taylor, was instrumental in popularizing the idea that Fields's real-life character matched his screen persona.In 1973, the comedian's grandson, Ronald J. Fields, published the first book to challenge this idea significantly,W. C. Fields by Himself, His Intended Autobiography,a compilation of material from private scrapbooks and letters found in the home of Hattie Fields after her death in 1963.

According toWoody Allen(in aNew York Timesinterview from January 30, 2000), Fields is one of six "genuine comic geniuses" he recognized as such in movie history, along withCharlie Chaplin,Buster Keaton,GrouchoandHarpo Marx,andPeter Sellers.

TheSurrealistsloved Fields's absurdism and anarchistic pranks.Max Ernstpainted aProject for a Monument to W. C. Fields(1957), andRené Magrittemade anHomage toMack Sennett(1934).

Fields is one of the figures that appears in the crowd scene on the cover ofThe Beatles' 1967 albumSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

TheFiresign Theatretitled the second track of their 1968 albumWaiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him"W. C. Fields Forever", as a pun referring to the Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever".

An LP of voice tracks from his movies was released by Decca in 1969. It reached #13 inCanada.

TheUnited States Postal Serviceissued a commemorative stamp on the comedian's 100th birthday, in January 1980.

There is a poster of Fields on the wall of Sam's bedroom on the TV showFreaks and Geeks.

Caricatures and imitations

• The character Horatio K. Boomer in theFibber McGee and Mollyradio show had a persona and delivery very much like the characters portrayed by Fields.
• CartoonistAl Hirschfeldportrayed Fields in caricature many times, including the book cover illustrations forDrat!,A Flask of Fields,andGodfrey Daniels!– all edited by Richard J. Anobile.
• The Amazing Mumford’s voice onSesame Streetis equivalent to Fields’s.
• Fields is among the many celebrities caricatured in the 1936Merrie MelodiesshortThe Coo-Coo Nut Grove.
• Fields is seen sitting on the spectators' bench in the Disney cartoonMickey's Polo Team(1936).
• He appears as W. C. Fieldmouse in the Merrie Melodies shortThe Woods Are Full of Cuckoos(1937).
• In the 1938Silly SymphoniescartoonMother Goose Goes HollywoodFields is caricatured asHumpty Dumpty,in reference to his role in the live-action filmAlice in Wonderland(1933).
• One episode ofThe Flintstonesfeatured a tramp who gets old clothes belonging to Fred from his wife Wilma, then when Fred attempts to take back a coat, is trounced with the tramp's cane. The tramp has Fields's voice and persona.
• A 1960s Canadian cartoon series for kidsTales of the Wizard of Ozfeatured a Wizard with a voice imitation of Fields, a nod to the real-life choice of Fields to play the Wizard in the 1939 film classic oppositeJudy Garland.
• The Firesign Theatre usedPhilip Proctor's voice impersonation of Fields for two characters on their albumsWaiting for the Electrician or Someone Like HimandHow Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All.
• The Wizard of Idcomic strip contains a shady lawyer character, a Fields caricature named "Larsen E. Pettifogger".
• Paul Freesadapted a Fields comic routine for the animated TV specialThe Mad, Mad, Mad Comediansin 1970.
• In 1971Frito-Layreplaced theFrito BanditoTV ad campaign with one featuring W. C. Fritos, a round, top-hat wearing character modeled on the movie persona of Fields. Also, circa 1970Sunkist Growersproduced a series of animated TV ads featuring the "Sunkist Monster", whose voice was an impression of Fields performed byPaul Frees.
• A caricature of Fields appears in theLucky Lukecomic book albumWestern Circusand again in the animated featureLucky Luke: The Ballad of the Daltons.
• The TV showGigglesnort Hotelfeatured a puppet character named "W. C. Cornfield" who resembled Fields in appearance and voice.
• ImpressionistRich Littleoften imitated Fields on his TV seriesThe Kopycats,and he used a Fields characterization for theEbenezer Scroogecharacter in hisHBOspecialRich Little's Christmas Carol(1978), a one-man presentation ofA Christmas Carol.
• Derek Newarkportrayed Fields in the 1983Channel 4television specialHollywood Hits Chiswick,in which Fields visits the site of his performance at theChiswick Empire.
• Actor Bob Leeman portrayed Fields in the 1991 movieThe Rocketeer.
• In the second series of the TV dramaGangstersa character named the White Devil is introduced, who styles himself W.D. Fields, affecting the vocal mannerisms and appearance of Fields to confuse and confound his enemies. Played by series writerPhilip Martin,he himself is credited in the final episode as "Larson E. Whipsnade" after Fields's character inYou Can't Cheat an Honest Man.
• Canadian actor Andrew Chapman played Fields in a vaudeville-themed episode of "Murdoch Mysteries"in season 8, titled" The Keystone Constables ".
• ComedianMark Prokschimpersonates Fields in a number ofOn Cinemaepisodes, beginning with the series' Second Annual Oscar Special and continuing through a majority of the seasons.

Filmography

Information for this filmography is derived from the book,W. C. Fields: A Life on Film,by Ronald J. Fields. All films are feature length except where noted.

Release date	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1915	(untitled film)	Himself	Ed Wynn	Lost film;this short comedy sketch was presented as part of theZiegfeld Follies of 1915;Ed Wynn appeared live on stage as a movie director, interacting with the characters shown on the screen
September 19, 1915	Pool Sharks	The pool shark	Edwin Middleton	One reel; story by W. C. Fields; extant
October 3, 1915	His Lordship's Dilemma	Remittance man	William Haddock	One reel; lost film
October 27, 1924	Janice Meredith	A British sergeant	E. Mason Hopper	extant
August 2, 1925	Sally of the Sawdust	Professor Eustace P. McGargle	D. W. Griffith	extant
October 7, 1925	That Royle Girl	Daisy Royle's father	D. W. Griffith	lost film
May 24, 1926	It's the Old Army Game	Elmer Prettywillie	A. Edward Sutherland	Story by J.P. McEvoy and W. C. Fields; extant
October 26, 1926	So's Your Old Man	Samuel Bisbee	Gregory La Cava	extant
January 31, 1927	The Potters	Pa Potter	Fred C. Newmeyer	lost film
August 20, 1927	Running Wild	Elmer Finch	Gregory La Cava	extant
October 17, 1927	Two Flaming Youths	J. G. "Gabby" Gilfoil	John S. Waters	lost film
March 3, 1928	Tillie's Punctured Romance	The Ringmaster	A. Edward Sutherland	lost film
May 7, 1928	Fools for Luck	Richard Whitehead	Charles F. Reisner	lost film
August 22, 1930	The Golf Specialist	J. Effingham Bellwether	Monte Brice	Two reels; story by W. C. Fields (uncredited)
October 26, 1931	Her Majesty, Love	Bela Toerrek	William Dieterle
July 8, 1932	Million Dollar Legs	President of Klopstokia	Edward Cline
October 2, 1932	If I Had a Million	Rollo La Rue	Norman Taurog
October 9, 1932	The Dentist	Himself	Leslie Pearce	Two reels; story by W. C. Fields (uncredited)
March 3, 1933	The Fatal Glass of Beer	Mr. Snavely	Clyde Bruckman	Two reels; story by W. C. Fields (uncredited)
April 21, 1933	The Pharmacist	Mr. Dilweg	Arthur Ripley	Two reels; story by W. C. Fields (uncredited)
June 2, 1933	International House	Professor Quail	A. Edward Sutherland
June 24, 1933	Hip Action	Himself	George Marshall	One reel; Fields and other screen actors observe a golf demonstration byBobby Jones
July 28, 1933	The Barber Shop	Cornelius O'Hare	Arthur Ripley	Two reels; story by W. C. Fields (uncredited)
September 8, 1933	Hollywood on Parade No. B-2	Himself	Louis Lewyn	One reel; guest appearance, withChico Marx
October 13, 1933	Tillie and Gus	Augustus Q. Winterbottom	Francis Martin	Fields as contributing writer (uncredited)
October 22, 1933	Alice in Wonderland	Humpty Dumpty	Norman McLeod
February 9, 1934	Six of a Kind	Sheriff "Honest John" Hoxley	Leo McCarey
April 6, 1934	You're Telling Me!	Sam Bisbee	Erle C. Kenton	Fields as contributing writer (uncredited)
April 27, 1934	Hollywood on Parade No. B-10	Himself	Louis Lewyn	One reel
July 13, 1934	The Old Fashioned Way	The Great (Marc Antony) McGonigle	William Beaudine	Story by "Charles Bogle" (W. C. Fields)
October 19, 1934	Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch	Mr. C. Ellsworth Stubbins	Norman Taurog
November 30, 1934	It's a Gift	Harold Bissonette	Norman McLeod	Original story by "Charles Bogle" (W. C. Fields)
January 18, 1935	David Copperfield	Wilkins Micawber	George Cukor
March 22, 1935	Mississippi	Commodore Orlando Jackson	A. Edward Sutherland
July 26, 1935	Man on the Flying Trapeze	Ambrose Wolfinger	Clyde Bruckman	Story by "Charles Bogle" (W. C. Fields)
June 19, 1936	Poppy	Professor Eustace P. McGargle	A. Edward Sutherland
February 18, 1938	The Big Broadcast of 1938	T. Frothingill Bellows S. B. Bellows	Mitchell Leisen
February 17, 1939	You Can't Cheat an Honest Man	Larson E. Whipsnade	George Marshall	Story by "Charles Bogle" (W. C. Fields)
February 9, 1940	My Little Chickadee	Cuthbert J. Twillie	Edward Cline	Bar scene written by W. C. Fields
November 29, 1940	The Bank Dick	Egbert Sousè	Edward Cline	Story by "Mahatma Kane Jeeves" (W. C. Fields)
October 10, 1941	Never Give a Sucker an Even Break	The Great Man	Edward Cline	Original story by "Otis Criblecoblis" (W. C. Fields). Final starring film.
unreleased	The Laziest Golfer	Himself	(unknown)	Footage shot but never assembled
October 30, 1942	Tales of Manhattan	Professor Postlewhistle	Julien Duvivier	Sequence with Fields cut from original release, restored for home video.
May 5, 1944	Follow the Boys	Himself (Guest sequence)	A. Edward Sutherland	Fields revived his old trick pool table routine
June 21, 1944	Song of the Open Road	Himself (Guest sequence)	S. Sylvan Simon	Fields juggled for a few moments
June 30, 1944	Sensations of 1945	Himself (Guest sequence)	Andrew L. Stone	Fields revived part of his old "Caledonian Express" sketch (last appearance)

Further reading

Articles

• "The Man Who Juggles",The New York Star(December 19, 1908)
• "At the Ziegfeld Follies: Various Entertainers in the Big Show, as Seen by the THEATRE MAGAZINE'S Artist",Theatre Magazine(October 1921)
• "Funnyman W. C. Fields Has His Own Way of Keeping Himself Fit",Life(May 12, 1941), pp. 104–106, 109
• "W. C. Fields: The red-nosed, raspy-voiced funnyman, who never gave a sucker an even break, dies on Christmas Day",Life(January 6, 1947), pp. 63–64, 66
• Jan Kindler, "Elysian Fields",Playboy(March 1969)

Books

• W. C. Fields,Fields for President(1940, 1971) Dodd, MeadISBN0396064191.(Humorous essays about Fields's stance on marriage, politics, finance, etc.)
• Robert Lewis Taylor,W. C. Fields: His Follies and Fortunes(1949) Doubleday & Co., (1967) New American LibraryISBN0451506537.(First book biography, with many firsthand quotes from friends and colleagues)
• Gene Fowler,Minutes of the Last Meeting(1954) Viking Press
• Eddie Cantor,As I Remember Them(1963) Duell, Sloan & Pearce
• Donald Deschner (ed.),The Films of W. C. Fields(1966, 2000) Citadel Press
• Corey Ford,"The One and Only W. C. Fields" fromThe Time of Laughter(1967) Little, Brown
• William K. Everson,The Art of W. C. Fields(1967) Random HouseISBN0517012324.(First book-length examination of the Fields films)
• Richard J. Anobile (ed.),Drat!: Being the Encapsulated View of Life by W. C. Fields in His Own Words(1968) World Publishing
• David Robinson,The Great Funnies: A History of Film Comedy(1969) E.P. Dutton
• Bosley Crowther,"W. C. Fields Comedy Festival" fromNew York Times Film Reviews, 1959–1968(1970) Arno Press
• Andre Sennwald, capsule reviews fromNew York Times Film Reviews, 1932–1938(1970) Arno Press
• Raymond Durgnat,"Suckers and Soaks" fromThe Crazy Mirror: Hollywood Comedy and the American Image(1970) Dell Publishing
• Andrew Bergman,"Some Anarcho-Nihilist Laff Riots" fromWe're in the Money: Depression America and Its Films(1971) New York University Press
• Otis Ferguson,"The Great McGonigle" fromThe Film Criticism of Otis Ferguson(1971) Temple University Press
• Carlotta Monti(with Cy Rice),W. C. Fields and Me(1971) Prentice-Hall,ISBN978-0139444548.(basis of the1976 filmstarringRod Steiger)
• Richard J, Anobile (ed.),A Flask of Fields: Verbal and Visual Gems from the Films of W. C. Fields(1972) W.W. Norton
• Leonard Maltin,Selected Short Subjects(first published asThe Great Movie Shorts,1972) Crown Publishers, (revised 1983) Da Capo Press
• Ronald J. Fields (ed.),W. C. Fields by Himself: His Intended Autobiography with Hitherto Unpublished Letters, Notes, Scripts and Articles(1973) Prentice-HallISBN0139444629.
• W. C. Fields (with Charles Grayson),The Bank Dick(1973) Simon & Schuster (the August 22, 1940 screenplay)
• W. C. Fields (with John T. Neville, et al.),Never Give a Sucker an Even Break(Rupert Hughes, et al.)Tillie and Gus(1973) Simon & Schuster (Continuity scripts derived from these films)
• Penelope Gilliatt,"To W. C. Fields, Dyspeptic Mumbler, Who Invented His Own Way Out" fromUnholy Fools: Wits, Comics, Disturbers of the Peace(1973) Viking Press
• Gerald Mast,The Comic Mind: Comedy and the Movies(1973, 2nd ed. 1979) University of Chicago Press
• Donald W. McCaffrey, "The Latter-Day Falstaff" fromThe Golden Age of Sound Comedy(1973) A.S. Barnes
• Nicholas Yanni,W. C. Fields(1974) Pyramid Library
• Richard J. Anobile (ed.),Godfrey Daniels!: Verbal and Visual Gems from the Short Films of W. C. Fields(1975) Crown
• Walter Kerr,The Silent Clowns(1975) Alfred A. Knopf, (1990) Da Capo Press
• Stuart Byron and Elizabeth Weis (eds.),The National Society of Film Critics on Movie Comedy(1977) Grossman/Viking
• Leonard Maltin,The Great Movie Comedians(1978) Crown
• Will Fowler,The Second Handshake(1980) Lyle Stuart
• Louise Brooks,"The Other Face of W. C. Fields" fromLulu in Hollywood(1982) Alfred A. Knopf
• Ronald J. Fields,W. C. Fields: A Life on Film(1984) St. Martin's Press
• Wes D. Gehring,W. C. Fields: A Bio-Bibliography(1984) Greenwood Press
• Gerald Weales,Canned Goods as Caviar: American Film Comedy of the 1930s(1985) University of Chicago Press
• David T. Rocks,W. C. Fields: An Annotated Guide(1993) McFarland & Co.
• Wes D. Gehring,Groucho and W. C. Fields: Huckster Comedians(1994) University Press of Mississippi
• Simon Louvish,It's a Gift(1994) British Film Institute
• Simon Louvish,Man on the Flying Trapeze: The Life and Times of W. C. Fields(1999) Faber & FaberISBN0393041271.(New biography with new research)
• Ronald J. Fields with Shaun O'L. Higgins,Never Give a Sucker an Even Break: W. C. Fields on Business(2000) Prentice-Hall
• James Curtis,W. C. Fields: A Biography(2003) Alfred A. KnopfISBN0375402179.(Thedefinitive, comprehensive biography, with many "apocryphal" stories from previous bios corrected)
• Scott MacGillivrayand Jan MacGillivray,Gloria Jean:A Little Bit of Heaven(2005) iUniverseISBN978-0595674541.(Authorized biography with recollections of Fields at work)
• Wes D. Gehring,Film Clowns of the Depression(2007) McFarland & Co.
• Gregory William Mank (et al.),Hollywood's Hellfire Club(2007) Feral House
• Arthur Frank Wertheim.W. C. Fields from Burlesque and Vaudeville to Broadway: Becoming a Comedian(Palgrave Macmillan, 2014). xxvi, 264 pp.
• James L. Neibaur,The W. C. Fields Films(2017) McFarland and Co.

External links

• Official website
• W. C. FieldsatIMDb
• W. C. Fieldsat theInternet Broadway Database
• W. C. Fieldsdiscography atDiscogs
• Criterion Collection essay by Dennis Perrin onW. C. Fields: Six Short Films
• Bibliography
• W. C. Fields's first show for theChase And Sanborn Hour 1937-05-09 (01) Guest – Ann Harding