9781137300669

A virtuoso comedian, W. C. Fields is often called a comic genius and legendary iconoclast who gave the gift of laughter to multitudes during his epoch and left a legacy of humor for future generations. Using the newly opened W. C. Fields Papers at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Library, this groundbreaking book explores how he became a comedian during his lesser known stage career from 1898 to 1930 - years of hardship and exaltation that had a major influence on his comedy and characterizations in his films. The volume also uncovers new knowledge about Fields's traumatic private life and complex personality, revealing an aggrieved artist whose emotional anguish found refuge in his poignant comedy about life's frustrations and the human condition.

Arthur Frank Wertheim has written several books on twentieth century American culture, including Vaudeville Wars, The New York Little Renaissance and Radio Comedy. He has also edited three volumes: The Papers of Will Rogers, Will Rogers at the Ziegfeld Follies, and American Popular Culture. A former American history professor at the University of Southern California, USA, as well as an administrator at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA, his awards include a Fulbright grant to teach at the University of Indonesia.

Prologue: It's the Old Army Game
Introduction
PART I: THE FLEDGLING YEARS
1. Meet the Dukenfields
2. Life with Father
PART II: THE TRAINING GROUND
3. The Tramp Juggler
4. Initiation Rites
5. The Sly Conjurer
6. The Big Time
PART III: "ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE"
7. "A Master Pantomimist"
8. "My Art Never Satisfies Me"
9. To the Antipodes
10. The Trouper on the Flying Trapeze
11. The Ham Tree
PART IV: "WHAT THEREFORE GOD HATH JOINED TOGETHER, LET NOT MAN PUT ASUNDER"
12. The Breakup
13. The Affair
PART V: THE LABYRINTH TO THE ZIEGFELD FOLLIES
14. The Road to the Palace
15. The Second Home
16. "They Had Me Sweating Blood"
17. Backstabbed
Epilogue: The Defining Moment

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W. C. Fields from Burlesque and Vaudeville to Broadway Becoming a Comedian

W. C. Fields from Burlesque and Vaudeville to Broadway Becoming a Comedian

1137300663

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