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W. C. Fields: A Biography, by James Curtis
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Before he ever made a movie or spoke a word onstage, W. C. Fields was one of the greatest pantomimists and comedians in the world. His career spanned the whole of the twentieth century—in burlesque, vaudeville, the legitimate stage, silent pictures, talkies, radio, books, and recordings. Only death prevented him from working in television.
He shared the vaudeville stage with Sarah Bernhardt and Houdini; he made a command performance before Edward VII; he was compared to Chaplin and Keaton and became one of the great comedians in radio. He wrote, directed, and performed (Mae West and Fields were among the first writer/actor/directors) in some of the most enduring and brilliant comedies of all time, including It’s a Gift, My Little Chickadee, and The Bank Dick. He appeared in fifty pictures and wrote fifteen of them. His understanding of the need to lie and swindle, and his ability to make the most innocent phrase sound lewd, made him a star.
Now James Curtis tells the story of Fields’ life and work. Drawing on Fields’ papers and manuscripts, he shows us the passion and intellect that fueled Fields’ talent and the background that gave such bite and edge to his comedy. Curtis shows us, in illuminating detail, just how Fields’ extraordinary art evolved on the stage in the early part of the twentieth century and how he not only incorporated it into his films, but how it came to define his persona decades later.
He writes of Fields’ hardscrabble Philadelphia childhood; of his father, a drunken breaker of horses who beat his son; of Fields’ clever hands that were quick to master stealing and juggling (he took up the latter—it allowed him to sleep late); of his years in burlesque and minstrelsy; of his seventeen years in vaudeville, hopping trains early on, living a life half in the theater, half on the lam, making his way into the big time, never satisfied with his “act,” always working on something newer and more striking. Curtis writes of Fields’ starring years with the Ziegfeld Follies, finding his voice and his character amid one of the greatest assemblages of comic talent on a single stage (Will Rogers, Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, among others); appearing in every Ziegfeld show from 1915 through 1921; of his marriage to a fellow performer, the birth of their son, and their travels together on the Circuit, until Mrs. Fields decided she’d had enough and left—the theater and her marriage. Fields never again loved so deeply.
We see Fields’ extraordinary work in the movies, both silent pictures in New York (first directed by D. W. Griffith in the starring role in Sally of the Sawdust, which Fields created on Broadway in Poppy) and in the talkies from 1927 to 1945.
Curtis’ biography narrates the life and the art of the actor James Agee called “the toughest and most warmly human of all screen comedians.”
- Sales Rank: #962705 in Books
- Published on: 2003-03-04
- Released on: 2003-03-04
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.49" h x 1.70" w x 6.52" l,
- Binding: Hardcover
- 595 pages
Amazon.com Review
James Curtis's W.C. Fields is the finest biography of the bulb-nosed comedian ever published, allowing the real Fields (1880-1946) to emerge after decades of obfuscation. Fields was always presumed to be the same boozy, child-hating curmudgeon that he played on stage and screen, but Curtis (author of acclaimed biographies of directors Preston Sturges and James Whale) shows us a multidimensional Fields who triumphed in every facet of show business from vaudeville and Broadway to radio and film. A world-class juggler, Fields (born William Claude Dukenfield, in Philadelphia) honed his act for each new venue, evolving out of necessity as silent movies gave way to the advent of sound. As Fields enjoys the luxuries of Hollywood stardom, the pleasure of Curtis's book grows glamorously infectious.
This is also the semi-tragic story of a sickly alcoholic, prevented by Catholic restriction from divorcing his second wife, resulting in decades of estrangement from his only legitimate son. This lends poignancy to Fields that his comedy rarely revealed, but for every episode of bitter resentment, Curtis offers touching evidence of Fields's personal and professional generosity. Domestic passages are most revealing, both melancholy (for Fields, idleness was misery) and hilarious (as when he wages war on aggressive swans near his lakefront estate). Curtis also sets the record straight on Fields's numerous bank accounts, love affairs, and other Fields-related legends. As a biographer's act of compassion, Curtis chooses a perfect (and perfectly devastating) posthumous detail to end this remarkable book, essentially reuniting Fields with the family he never really had. If all comedy is born of pain, Curtis proves that Fields was the consummate comedian. --Jeff Shannon
From Publishers Weekly
Hattie Hughes, ex-wife and lifelong adversary of W.C. Fields (1880-1946), claimed "my husband was a coward. He liked to bully people." In Curtis's admirable biography, the comedian corroborates this assessment by calling himself "the most belligerent guy on the screen." Curtis, a biographer of James Whale and Preston Sturges, takes on another creative, deeply flawed protagonist, enabling readers to identify with Fields's drive, his unstable relationships and the anger that fueled so much of his humor. The "eccentric juggler," Fields slowly built a niche in vaudeville through such technical accomplishments as mastering six balls in one position. Showbiz struggle is never romanticized, and readers can sense and taste the unpleasantness of sleeping on trains, baggage delays and bad food, along with facing Florenz Ziegfeld, who hired comics and hated them all. Curtis dramatizes Fields's love life in dark detail, from his money-hungry wife, Hattie, to a succession of mistresses, prompting a friend to comment, "Bill changed women every seven years, as some people get rid of the itch." Though acclaimed as the definitive Wilkins Micawber in George Cukor's 1935 David Copperfield, much of the Micawber footage was cut, eliciting rage from Fields. Also fascinating is Fields's rejection of the wizard role in The Wizard of Oz. His screen partnership with Mae West, deftly documented, tells how two hefty egos coexisted until West accused Fields of demanding an undeserved credit on her script for My Little Chickadee. Curtis's sharp intelligence and a pungent modern edge in his writing make Fields relevant to contemporary readers unfamiliar with his classic work.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From The New Yorker
Fields had a big nose, he hated Philadelphia, he bludgeoned swans with a 5-iron, he was almost the wizard in "The Wizard of Oz," he drank himself to death. Everyone knows some tidbit about the beloved screen comedian, but Curtis fluently traces the entire arc of Fields's messy, overstuffed life. The details are irresistible: Fields had a knack for the grand gesture (sending an empty limousine to the set as a protest) and the stiletto wisecrack (he called Mae West "a plumber's idea of Cleopatra"). Curtis is inevitably hampered by the difficulty of explaining what can only be experienced: the effect of Fields's comedy onscreen. Nonetheless, he does an excellent job detailing the meticulous craftsmanship and relentless hard work through which Fields, who began his career as a mute juggler in vaudeville, became a comedian renowned for his verbal dexterity.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker
Most helpful customer reviews
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful.
An American Original
By Rob Hardy
The most famous quote by W. C. Fields is, "Any man who hates dogs and children can't be all bad." The trouble is, it wasn't said by him. It was said about him by, of all things, an anthropologist who was studying the motion picture industry. And it was not close to true about Fields. Among the many pleasing revelations in _W. C. Fields: A Biography_ (Knopf) by James Curtis is that Fields was not inimical to children. Oh, he didn't like dogs very much, but he owned a few and didn't put up objections against the species. And he didn't like Baby Leroy, the child co-star most associated with him. The [child] was terrified by Fields's appearance and could burst into tears at any scene, and it does seem to be true that Fields spiked the nipper's orange juice with gin to make him more a trouper. But throughout Fields's life he was partial to children. Will Rogers's son remembered Fields as a guest for dinner, both because he took time to talk to the boy, and because he juggled the brand new imported glass plates for his entertainment; his mother was not as well pleased. Watching kids at an Indian reservation play ball, he saw them using a wad of tape for a ball and a stick for a bat; he had an Indian pal buy full equipment, but warned, "If you tell a soul I did this, ...I'll never supply you with any more booze." He ingratiated himself to young Freddie Bartholomew, who played David Copperfield as a boy, by asking, "Tell me, son, are you a midget or am I overgrown?"
The stories about Fields and children are scattered throughout this large and detailed volume. It might be that they were a reaction against his own childhood, but that childhood was not as bad as he liked to make it seem. He early discovered he had a genius for juggling, and began imitating the comic tramp juggler acts he would see on the vaudeville circuit. He began talking more during the performances, conquering a stammer and forming a habit of ad libs that was to be a blessing and a curse throughout his career. He did less juggling as he worked in more legitimate theater, like the Ziegfeld Follies in which he performed from 1915 - 1925. He concentrated on sketches that emphasized physical comedy and his perpetual warfare against inanimate objects, like the family car, twisted pool cues and floppy golf clubs. Such performances were incorporated into his films, the best of which often were only excuses for a series of sketches. He had done some silent films, but worked in Hollywood full time starting when he was all of fifty-one years old. He had strong friendships, but a terrible marriage. His death at age 66 in 1946 was hastened by the alcohol he loved; he had drunk very moderately while his juggling act depended on superb coordination. His intake became legendary, and a part of his persona, and a recurrent joke that he himself enjoyed. He did not, though, play drunks on screen, however much the characters imbibed, and he was ashamed of those who let alcohol degrade their film work.
This is a thorough and engrossing biography of an American character who still matters. Not only are there detailed descriptions of life on the theatrical road and the difficulties of motion picture production in the 1940s, but there are insights into many of the characters with whom Fields worked. Memorable among these is Edgar Bergen, a shy and reticent man, who used his wooden alter ego, Charlie McCarthy to insult others and fight battles. The famous Fields - McCarthy radio duels are here shown to be surprisingly personal. There have been few Hollywood performers who have deliberately perverting such American ideals as industriousness and generosity; screen comics now may be tasteless, but they are not subversive. Fields risked pushing his audience away with all manner of not just exaggerated shortcomings but also vices, and allowed his comic creations to be held inseparable from his own personality. There is no one else who could have put the holiday advertisement in _Variety_, as he did in 1928: "Happy New Year to almost everybody."
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful.
THE ART AND LIFE OF AN AMERICAN GENIUS
By Mike Fontanelli
Finally, THE definitive biography of one of the most revered figures ever to appear on the world stage or step before a motion picture camera. While there've been almost two dozen books about Fields published already (mostly filmographies, quote books, picture books or screenplays), this collection is essential for several important reasons. First of all, it's one of the best biographies of a film personality ever written. Head and shoulders above Simon Louvish's sluggish MAN ON THE FLYING TRAPEZE, more ambitious than Ronald J. Fields' collection of letters and radio scripts (W.C. FIELDS BY HIMSELF), on a literary par with Robert Lewis Taylor's brilliant W.C. FIELDS: HIS FOLLIES AND FORTUNES (but without that author's fictional flights of fancy), James Curtis turns out to be the ideal biographer of the iconoclastic comedian.
Setting the record straight regarding volumes of Fieldsian apocrypha, the legend remains intact whilst the enigmatic man behind it emerges for perhaps the first time in print. Full of nostalgia, fascinating revelations about Fields' working methods and creative approach to filmmaking, scandalous professional behavior, revealing personal data, heretofore unsuspected alliances (it comes as no surprise that Fields was a fan and drinking pal of his temperamental soulmate, H.L. Mencken), and many, many wonderful anecdotes. The ideal book to curl up with on a winter's eve (when it ain't a fit night out for man nor beast), with the necessary pitcher-full of your favorite "snake bite remedy," as Fields would say. (He'd also recommend you always carry a small snake...) A worthy tribute to a giant of American comedy. ***** 5 stars, easy.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful.
GODFREY DANIELS!
By Steven K. Szmutko
James Curtis offers a well-researched and engagingly written biography of one of the most enigmatic figures ever to appear in the entertainment business. W.C. Fields was one of the most talented, yet underused (by contemporary definition) performers in show business, whether in vaudeville, burlesque, Broadway, Hollywood or radio. Originally a physical performer (juggling) before evolving into a diverse comedian and actor, Fields spent his entire life developing a unique public persona that became, in all appearances, to be the private man as well. Mr. Curtis paints a textured portrait of a man by turns, remarkably generous, yet often parsimonious, stubbornly difficult, yet frequently courtly and gracious.
The book focuses on Mr. Fields personal life to a level rarely reached in more traditional biographies. The chapters on Field's childhood and early days in show business provide tremendous insight on the man he would become and explain the contradictory nature of the man. There is a sense of tragedy of a great man who begins to fade, both in physical abilities and later, mental acuity, consumed by alcoholism, an unhappy marriage and a number of failed personal relationships. The book reads like a novel as Mr. Curtis blends description and dialogue seamlessly throughout the 600+ pages.
I was struck by the revelations of W.C. Fields personal graciousness and generosity as most previous biographies of the man portray him as a rather one-dimensional caricature. Yet, like most great talents, Fields was an incredibly complex man. This biography does him, nearly 60 years after his death, justice.
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