W.C. Fields
Born Claude William Duckinfield on
Jan. 29, 1880
in Philadelphia, PA
Died
Dec. 25, 1946
The image of W.C. Fields in most people's minds is a caricature: the top-hatted, hard-drinking, bulbous-nosed crook and swindler who loved to say "my little chickadee," "never give a sucker an even break" and "Godfrey Daniel," his euphemism for swearing. But there was much more to Fields than that: Like the other great early film clowns — Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy — he was a true artist. Born William Claude Dukenfield on Jan. 29, 1880, in Philadelphia — the first child of a huckster-horse trainer and his wife — Fields took his stage name at age 17 when he performed as a juggler. Touring in burlesque and vaudeville and eventually headlining in the Ziegfeld Follies in 1915, he developed a number of comic routines including a golf and pool huckster and a beleaguered family man. Fields may have had a running on-screen feud with Baby LeRoy, but the fact of the matter is he liked children. He was a soft touch with a buck when it came to friends in need. Although his screen characters liked to drink some, he never played a drunk. And despite cultivating the persona of a cynical curmudgeon, there was a definite sentimental streak running through most of his films.
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Two thoughts about W.C. Fields
FIELDS IS THE GREATEST COMIC OF ALL TIME ...... JAUNTY, ALL JESUS LOVE TO YOU.
For personal, unique information, and rare family photos of our grandfather, W.C. Fields, do visit, enjoy and share the Official W.C. Fields Web site www.wcfields.com.
Best wishes,
Dr. Harriet A. Fields (granddaughter)
www.wcfields.com
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