W. C. Fields

Also known as W.C. Fields, William Claude Dukenfield, William Claude Fields

American comedian, actor, juggler and writer (1880–1946)

Person · Open Library

Born: 1879
Died: 1946
Works: 16

Top works

Drat!
I never met a kid I liked
The Bank Dick
Best of W. C. Fields
The Day I Drank a Glass of Water/Cassette (Radio Reruns)

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Acting · Darby, Pennsylvania, USA

William Claude Dukenfield was the eldest of five children born to Cockney immigrant James Dukenfield and Philadelphia native Kate Felton. He went to school for four years, then quit to work with his father selling vegetables from a horse cart. At eleven, after many fights with his alcoholic father (who hit him on the head with a shovel), he ran away from home. For a while he lived in a hole in…

Known for

W.C. Fields: 6 Short Films2000
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults — (archive footage)1999
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender — Self (archive footage)1997
Vaudeville — Self (archive footage)1997
Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her — Self (archive footage)1994
Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths — (archive footage)1990
W.C. Fields: Straight Up1986
Going Hollywood: The '30s — (archive footage)1984
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage — Self (archive footage) (uncredited)1983
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers! — Self (archive footage)1982

via TMDB

Music · MusicBrainz

Type: Person
Gender: Male
Origin: United States
Active from: 1880
Active to: 1946

Discography

Discogs

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners: 66
Total plays: 305

via Last.fm · W. C. Fields

Recent publications · Crossref

5 total works indexed

Review of Particle Physics
· 2018 · cited 5,702x
Genome-wide atlas of gene expression in the adult mouse brain
· 2006 · cited 5,215x
Review of Particle Physics
· 2012 · cited 5,090x
A novel genetic system to detect protein–protein interactions
· 1989 · cited 4,728x
Whole-Genome Random Sequencing and Assembly of <i>Haemophilus influenzae</i> Rd
· 1995 · cited 4,422x

via Crossref · CC0

Quotes

“Here lies W. C. Fields. I would rather be living in Philadelphia.”
“Never give a sucker an even break.”
“And it ain't a fit night out for man nor beast.”
“She's all dressed up like a well-kept grave.”
“I'd rather have two girls at twenty-one each, than one girl at forty-two.”
“Some contemptible scoundrel stole the cork from my lunch ...”

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Key facts

Born: William Claude Dukenfield , ( 1880-01-29 ) January 29, 1880, Darby, Pennsylvania , U.S.
Died: December 25, 1946 (1946-12-25) (aged 66), Pasadena, California , U.S.
Resting place: Forest Lawn Memorial Park , Glendale, California , U.S.
Other names: Charles Bogle Otis Criblecoblis Mahatma Kane Jeeves
Occupations: Actor comedian juggler writer
Years active: 1898–1946
Spouse: Harriet Hughes ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1900 )
Partner s: Bessie Poole (1916–1926), Carlotta Monti (1933–1946; his death)
Website: wcfields .com

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Official website: www.wcfields.com
Image: W. C. Fields, NPG 94 46 (cropped).jpg

Show 6 more facts

Commons category: W. C. Fields
date of birth: 1880-01-29
date of death: 1946-12-25
name in native language: W. C. Fields
start of work period: 1898-00-00
end of work period: 1946-00-00

Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

~40 min read

Article

William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American actor, comedian, juggler and writer. His career in show business began in vaudeville, where he attained international success as a silent juggler. He began to incorporate comedy into his act and was a featured comedian in the Ziegfeld Follies for several years. He became a star in the Broadway musical comedy Poppy (1923), in which he played a colorful small-time con man. His subsequent stage and film roles were often similar scoundrels or henpecked everyman characters.

Among his trademarks were his physical comedy, raspy drawl, large nose, and grandiloquent vocabulary. His film and radio persona was generally identified with Fields himself. It was maintained by the publicity departments at Fields's studios (Paramount and Universal) and was further reinforced by Robert Lewis Taylor's 1949 biography W. C. Fields, His Follies and Fortunes. Beginning in 1973, with the publication of Fields's letters, photos, and personal notes in grandson Ronald Fields's book W. C. Fields by Himself, it was shown that Fields was married (and subsequently estranged from his wife), financially supported their son and loved his grandchildren.