Biography
Friends and Family
Anthony Quinn
[Friend]
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Gene Fowler
[Friend]
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John Barrymore
[Friend]
Trivia and Quotes
Quotes
 After two days in the hospital, I took a turn for the nurse. The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep.
(About comedian Bert Williams) "He was the funniest man I ever saw, and the saddest man I ever knew."
A rich man is nothing but a poor man with money.
Hollywood is the gold cap on a tooth that should have been pulled out years ago.
I gargle with whiskey several times a day, and I haven`t had a cold in years.
I remember Shakespeare`s words because he was a great writer. I can`t remember Hollywood lines; just as I may well recall a wonderful meal at Delmonico`s many years ago, but not the contents of the garbage pail last Tuesday at Joe`s Fountain Grill.
On Chaplin: "He`s the best ballet dancer in the World."
The cost of living has gone up another dollar a quart.
There comes a time in the affairs of man when he must take the bull by the tail and face the situation.
Women are like elephants. They are interesting to look at, but I wouldn`t like to own one.
(looking back on his life) "You know, I`d like to see how I would`ve made out without liquor."
Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite, and furthermore always carry a small snake.
Children should neither be seen nor heard from...ever again.
Hell, I never vote for anybody. I always vote against.
I am free of all prejudices. I hate everyone equally.
Once during Prohibition, I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water.
Start every day with a smile, and get it over with.
The only thing a lawyer won`t question is the legitimacy of his mother.
What a gorgeous day. What effulgent sunshine. It was a day of this sort the McGillicuddy brothers murdered their mother with an axe.
(When asked whether he liked children) "Ah yes...boiled or fried."
Horse sense is what a horse has which keeps it from betting on people.
I like, in an audience, the fellow who roars continuously at the troubles of the character I am portraying on the stage, but he probably has a mean streak in him and, if I needed ten dollars, he`d be the last person I`d call upon. I`d go first to the old lady and old gentleman back in Row S who keep wondering what there is to laugh at.
I never drink anything stronger than gin before breakfast.
If at first you don`t succeed, try, try again. Then give up. No use being a damned fool about it.
What fiend put pineapple juice in my pineapple juice?
When asked what he would like his epitaph to read: "on the whole, I`d rather be in Philadelphia"
When asked why he never drank water: "I`m afraid it will become habit-forming."
Wouldn`t it be terrible if I quoted some reliable statistics which prove that more people are driven insane through religious hysteria than by drinking alcohol?
`Twas a woman drove me to drink. I never had the courtesy to thank her.
Trivia
According to friends, the biggest laugh he ever got as a stage performer was when a monologue he was giving on-stage was interrupted by a long, loud crash of objects backstage. After the crashing stopped, and the audience was silent, Fields gave a one-word comment in a stage whisper: "Mice!"
Although he is quoted as saying that he was "The best ballet dancer in the world.", secretly he was extremely jealous of Charlie Chaplin, whom he had known when he was younger, for achieving worldwide fame and adoration.
Although well known for his addiction to alcohol today, Fields did in fact rarely touch alcohol until he was in his mid-thirties. He began his career in vaudeville as a juggler, and with that profession he could not afford to drink a lot, as his acts demanded soberness in order to succeed.
Is portrayed by Chuck McCann in Mae West (1982) (TV) and by Rod Steiger in W.C. Fields and Me (1976)
Rock`n`Roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis has said on several occasions that W.C. Fields is his favorite comedian.
Was an accomplished amateur cartoonist. He often provided his own illustrations for his publicity material during his Vaudeville days, and sent sketches and self-drawn holiday cards to his friends, all his life.
Fields said that the Marx Brothers were the only act he couldn`t follow on the live stage. He is known to have appeared on the same bill with them only once, during an engagement at Keith`s Orpheum Theatre in Columbus, Ohio, January 1915. At the time, the Marx Brothers were touring `Home Again`, and it didn`t take Fields long to realize how his quiet comedy juggling act was faring against the anarchy of the Marxes. Fields later wrote of the engagement (and the Marxes), "They sang, danced, played harp and kidded in zany style. Never saw so much nepotism or such hilarious laughter in one act in my life. The only act I could never follow...I told the manager I broke my wrist and quit."
It was generally assumed that his prominent proboscis was the result of his drinking, an assumption he himself fueled in his comedy. However, it is believed to have actually been a physical characteristic inherited from his mother`s side of the family.
Legend has it that on the set of You Can`t Cheat an Honest Man (1939), a stagehand was cleaning out Fields` dressing room and accidentally bumped into a table on which Fields had placed a bottle of whiskey. He caught the bottle before it hit the floor, but the cork had popped out and he couldn`t find it. He placed the bottle back on the table and left. Later Fields came back to the dressing room, and a few minutes afterwards stormed out, roaring "Who took the cork out of my lunch?"
Slipped a dose of gin into Baby LeRoy`s milk bottle during a movie shoot, when the set nurse left for a bathroom break; production had to stop for a day, until he could sober up. (Fields reportedly sent money later to LeRoy`s family, after the boy`s screen career ended and they had financial trouble.)
Through much of his early career, he was a silent juggler. It wasn`t until he was in his mid-30s that be began to add verbal comedy to his act
Usually wrote or co-wrote the screenplays to his movies; the aliases he used ("Mahatma Kane Jeeves", "Otis Criblecoblis", etc.) for the writing credits came from the unusual names he encountered on the road, in his vaudeville days.
According to film historians, he performed in only one motion picture exactly according to script and as directed. That one was MGM`s The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, and Observation of David Copperfield, the Younger (1935), in which he co-starred with Freddie Bartholomew, who was only ten years old. Fields admired the Dickens book, and wanted desperately to play Mr. Micawber in the movie, so he agreed to forego his usual ad libs, and put aside his distaste at working with child actors.
Although one of his most famous quotes is "Never work with animals or children." he secretly admired children.
Appears on sleeve of The Beatles` "Sgt Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band".
Has a medical syndrome named after him - `W.C. Fields syndrome`, characterized by rhinophyma (rosacea of the nose) associated with alcoholism.
Could juggle or balance practically anything he could lift or carry; Fields unnerved his despised mother-in-law by keeping a lit cigar or candle (in holder) balanced atop his head at mealtimes, never seeming to notice its presence.
Enshrined in the Juggling Hall of Fame.
Fields` wife Hattie became his partner in his juggling act after their marriage; he sent her home to his parents when she became pregnant. After Fields returned from the road, they discovered they`d grown apart, but Hattie wouldn`t give him a divorce, and when Fields refused to "find a regular job", she began badmouthing him to their young son, William Jr.. Fields predicted that the boy would grow up to see the truth of the situation (Fields never failed to support his family, however much or little he was earning)... and it happened. While father and son rarely saw each other over the years, Fields was proudly introduced to his firstborn grandson (W.C. Fields III) before his death.
Had a lifetime disdain for music; this he attributed to having to hear his father`s singing day and night as a child, loudest when "the old patriarch" was drunk. (Companion Carlotta Monti claimed Fields once hit her with a cane, to stop her humming with a guitar.) When expected to sing in a role, Fields almost always made a complete farce of both the lyrics and his performance.
He was the second choice to play the title role in The Wizard of Oz (1939). There are still some arguments as to why he turned the part down. Some sources say that he refused to play "The Wizard" because MGM wouldn`t pay the salary he wanted, but according to Doug McClelland, author of "Down The Yellow Brick Road", Fields was too busy writing and acting in his latest film for Universal Pictures - You Can`t Cheat an Honest Man (1939) - to be loaned out to MGM to play the part.
Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California, USA, in the Great Mausoleum, Holly Terrace entrance, Hall of Inspiration.
Pictured on a 15˘ US commemorative postage stamp in the Performing Arts and Artists series, issued 29 January 1980 (100th anniversary year of his birth).
Reportedly had hidden microphones installed along the front walk to his Hollywood home; Fields would slip into a small room to listen to guests talking as they departed. When someone spoke negatively about him, Fields would amuse himself by alluding to what they`d said, the next time he saw them.
Stopped drinking for over a year during his career, when a friend died of alcohol-related causes, but eventually went back to it.
While stories of Fields` alcohol consumption (and the consequences thereof) were a regular part of his act, and he was rarely seen without a drink at hand, nobody could recall ever actually seeing him drunk, or out of control.
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