W.C. Fields
akteur
W. C. Fields foar CBS Radio, 1938
persoanlike bysûnderheden
echte namme	William Claude Dukenfield
nasjonaliteit	Amerikaansk
berne	29 jannewaris 1880
berteplak	Philadelphia
stoarn	25 desimber 1946
stjerplak	Pasadena
jierren aktyf	1898–1946
offisjele webside
(in) IMDb-profyl

Fields op in pasfoto, 1919

W.C. Fields

W.C. Fields, pseudonym fan William Claude Dukenfield (Darby, Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), 29 jannewaris 1880 - Pasadena (Kalifornje), 25 desimber 1946) wie in Amerikaansk komyk, jongleur en akteur.

Fields rûn mei 11 jier fan hûs wei en krige doe wurk by de vaudeville. Op syn 21e reizge er mei in koartswilige jonglearact troch Noard-Amearika en Jeropa. Yn 1906 makke er syn debút op Broadway yn de musikal-komeedzje The Ham Tree.

Krekt as doetiids faak barde mei vaudeville-artysten wurke Fields ek yn de stomme film, mar bekend is er wurden troch de Broadway-musikal Poppy út 1923. Letter spile er ek yn lûdsfilms.

Fields troude mei in vaudeville-sjongster, Harriet 'Hattie' Hughes, op 2 april 1900. Harren soan William Claude Fields jr., waard berne op 28 july 1904. Fields hie de namme dat er bern net lije mocht, mar hy wie letter al tige wiis mei syn bernsbern. Hy krige ek noch in soan by syn freondinne Bessie Poole yn 1917, William Rexford Fields Morris.

Yn 1936 moast Fields in skoft mei syn wurk ophâlde troch sykte, dy't ferslimme waard troch syn alkoholisme. (Sitaat taskreaun oan Fields: "I can't stand water because of the things fish do in it."). Nei behanneling foar delirium tremens kaam er wêrom yn 1938 mei radiowurk en yn 1940 spile er mei Mae West yn My little Chickadee.

W.C. Fields stoar oan in maachblieding op de ienichste frije dei dy't er hie yn 't jier, op Earste Krystdei, in dei dêr't er it grau oan hie. Syn minnaresse aktrise Charlotte Monti hat in boek skreaun mei anekdoates oer Fields: W.C. Fields and me.

Sitaten

Fan W.C. Fields binne ferskate bjusterbaarlike útspraken bekend:

• "On the whole, I'd rather be in Philadelphia", doe't se him fregen wat der op syn grêfstien stean moast.
• "I am free of all prejudice. I hate everyone equally"
• Oer Charlie Chaplin: "The son of a bitch is a ballet dancer. He's the best ballet dancer that ever lived and if I get a chance, I'll strangle him with my bare hands"
• "If at first you don't succeed try, try again. Then quit. There's no use in being a damn fool about it."
• Is dêr libben op oare planeten?: "There better be, there's none on this one!"
• "A thing worth having is a thing worth cheating for"
• "Start your day with a smile and get it over with"
• "A man's got to believe in something. I believe I’ll have another drink."
• "It reminds me of my journey to the wilds of Afghanistan. We lost our corkscrew and had to survive on nothing but food and water for several days."
• "The world is getting to be such a dangerous place, a man is lucky to get out of it alive."
• "I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it."
• "Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite. And furthermore, always carry a small snake."
• "As my dear Uncle Ludbach said, just before they sprung the trap, 'You can't cheat an honest man, never give a sucker an even break, or smarten up a chump.'"
• Doe't men him frege "Do you like children??", hat er ienkear antwurde: "I do if they're properly cooked."
• "Marriage is better than leprosy, because it's easier to get rid of"
• "There comes a time in the affairs of men, my dear Blubber, when you must grab the bull by the tail and face the situation."
• "God damn the whole fucking world and everyone in it except you, Carlotta."

Filmografy

Literatuer

• James Curtis: W. C. Fields. A Biography. Back Stage Books, New York 2004 ISBN 0-8230-8442-6
• Donald Deschner: The Films of W. C. Fields. Citadel, New York 1966
• William K. Everson: The Art of W. C. Fields. Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis 1967
• Ronald J. Fields (Hrsg.): W. C. Fields by Himself. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs 1973
• Ronald J. Fields: A Life on Film. St. Martins, New York 1984
• Gene Fowler: Minutes of the Last Meeting. Viking, New York 1954
• Carlotta Monti (mei Cy Rice): W. C. Fields and Me. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs 1971
• Robert Lewis Taylor: W. C. Fields: His Follies and Fortunes. Doubleday, Garden City 1949

Keppeling om utens

• "W.C. Fields: The Radio Years"
• W.C. Fields jonglearjend
• Criterion samling essays troch Dennis Perrin on W.C. Fields: Six Short Films
• The Fatal Glass of Beer
• (iPod formaat) yn it Internet Archive
• Bibliografy