It’s time. But I got sympathy both times. [53] In it he strongly cautions fellow performers that all of his "acts (and businesses therein) are protected by United States and International copyright", and he stresses that he and his attorneys in New York and Chicago will "vigorously prosecute all offenders in the future". His stage costume from 1915 onward featured a top hat, cut-away coat and collar, and a cane—an appearance remarkably similar to the comic strip character Ally Sloper, who may have been the inspiration for Fields' costume, according to Roger Sabin. In September 1937 Fields returned to Hollywood to "star" in Paramount's complicated musical variety anthology The Big Broadcast of 1938 while starring with Martha Raye, Dorothy Lamour and Bob Hope. She adopted a dozen kids and lived in Paris. Although lacking formal education, Fields was well read and a lifelong admirer of author Charles Dickens, whose characters' unusual names inspired Fields to collect odd names he encountered in his travels, to be used for his characters. [91] In 1971, when Fields was seen as an anti-establishment figure, Dodd, Mead issued a reprint, illustrated with photographs of the author. In fact, some of our favorite quotes of all time are attributed to him. [67], While performing in New York City at the New Amsterdam Theater in 1916, Fields met Bessie Poole, an established Ziegfeld Follies performer whose beauty and quick wit attracted him, and they began a relationship. Even as he was dying at age 78, he was measuring light. [76] His role in Paramount Pictures' International House (1933), as an aviator with an unquenchable taste for beer, did much to establish Fields' popular reputation as a prodigious drinker. ", "W. C. Fields' Widow Wins – Entitled to Half $771,000, Though Long Estranged, Judge Rules", "Son of W. C. Fields Toasts Him in Tea – Comic's Namesake, Here for Festival, Is a Teetotaler", "Final Tribute to William Rexford Fields Morris: 1917–2014", "An Interview with WC Fields' 94-year-old son", "W.C. Fields, 66, Dies; Famed as Comedian – Mimicry Star of the Films Since 1924 Got Start as a $5-a-Week Juggler – Rarely Followed Script – Raspy Remarks and 'Know-It-All' Perspective Made Him Nation-Wide Character", "Here A Comic Genius, There A Comic Genius", "Lucky Luke – Ballad of the Daltons (1978) – English 4/8", "At the Ziegfeld Follies: Various Entertainers in the Big Show, as Seen by the THEATRE MAGAZINE'S Artist", "Funnyman W. C. Fields Has His Own Way of Keeping Himself Fit", "W.C. Fields: The red-nosed, raspy-voiced funnyman, who never gave a sucker an even break, dies on Christmas Day", Criterion Collection essay by Dennis Perrin on, Chase And Sanborn Hour 1937-05-09 (01) Guest – Ann Harding, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=W._C._Fields&oldid=1009537743, Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale), Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2013, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with Trove identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with multiple identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Story by J.P. McEvoy and W.C. Fields; extant, Two reels; story by W.C. Fields (uncredited), Fields as contributing writer (uncredited), Original story by "Charles Bogle" (W.C. Fields), Story by "Mahatma Kane Jeeves" (W.C. Fields). The only thing a lawyer won’t question is the legitimacy of his mother. [84], In 1936, Fields' heavy drinking precipitated a significant decline in his health. Paul J. [72] Poole died of complications of alcoholism in October 1928,[73] and Fields contributed to her son's support until he was 19 years of age. Money Women I. W. C. Fields. (Despite the charitable nature of the movie, Fields was paid $15,000 for this appearance; he was never able to perform in person for the armed services.) Losing three friends in less than a year sent Fields into a deep depression, plus he stopped eating, his back pain flared up, and his chronic lung congestion trouble returned with a vengeance, eventually turning into pneumonia. Fields, who edited a biography titled "W.C. Fields by Himself".The book dispelled many longstanding stories about Fields, including ones of his living for years on the street. We miss out on the richness of the complete story of Buddha. Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote the Sherlock Holmes stories, died at age 71 in his garden. [5] Fields' mother, Kate Spangler Felton (1854–1925), was a Protestant of British ancestry. Blues guitarist Leadbelly said, “Doctor, if I put this here guitar down now, I ain’t never gonna wake up.” And he was right. His family gathered around his bed, and his son said it was time to move on. Critics rank him with Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and the Marx Brothers … A friend had dropped by to check on him a few days before and found him reading the Bible. Just before his death that year, Fields recorded a spoken-word album, including his "Temperance Lecture" and "The Day I Drank a Glass of Water", at Les Paul's studio, where Paul had installed a new multi-track recorder. His next starring role was in It's the Old Army Game (1926), which featured his friend Louise Brooks, later a screen legend for her role in G. W. Pabst's Pandora's Box (1929) in Germany. [74], Fields met Carlotta Monti (1907–1993) in 1933, and the two began a sporadic relationship that lasted until his death in 1946. He said this to a dog that brought him a dead bird. On the basis of his work in that film and Griffith's subsequent production That Royle Girl, Paramount offered Fields a contract to star in his own series of feature-length comedies. In Song of the Open Road (1944), Fields juggled for a few moments and then remarked, "This used to be my racket. His last word was “Mozart!”, Blues singer Bessie Smith died saying, “I’m going, but I’m going in the name of the Lord.”, Composer Jean-Philippe Rameau objected to a song sung at his bedside. [123], A best-selling biography of Fields published three years after his death, W.C. Fields, His Follies and Fortunes by Robert Lewis Taylor, was instrumental in popularizing the idea that Fields' real-life character matched his screen persona. The film's whimsical title comes from a line spoken by Fields about ten minutes into the film. Actor WC Fields playing poker with cowboys in a scene from the film 'My Little Chickadee', Hollywood, California, 1939. In 1928, he appeared in The Earl Carroll Vanities. Information for this filmography is derived from the book, W. C. Fields: A Life on Film, by Ronald J. Author Herman Melville died saying, “God bless Captain Vere!” referencing his then-unpublished novel Billy Budd, found in a breadbox after he died. [101][102] After a lengthy period of litigation his remains were cremated on June 2, 1949,[103] and his ashes interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale. Put in my coffin a deck of cards, a mashie niblick, and a pretty blonde.” A “mashie niblick” is a type of golf club. I love you.". [25] He later said, "I wanted to become a real comedian, and there I was, ticketed and pigeonholed as merely a comedy juggler. [7][8], Claude Dukenfield (as he was known) had a volatile relationship with his short-tempered father. [ link to www.drmardy.com ] W. C. Fields died at age sixty-seven on December 25, 1946, his life cut short by his notorious alcohol consumption (by some accounts, he drank as much as two quarts of gin a day). Among his recognizable trademarks were his raspy drawl and grandiloquent vocabulary. Then quit. Welles's bosses at RKO Radio Pictures, after losing money on Citizen Kane, urged Welles to choose as his next film a subject with more commercial appeal. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. [20] In 1900, seeking to distinguish himself from the many "tramp" acts in vaudeville, he changed his costume and makeup, and began touring as "The Eccentric Juggler". Fields is a comic icon in movie history. Last Post; WC Fields Factory 3.0.4 is in Development 1 2 3. [60] Hattie was educated and tutored Fields in reading and writing during their travels. Grandfather of Ronald J. [58] Of that body of work, Fields between 1918 and 1930 applied for and received 20 copyrights covering 16 of his most important sketches, the ones that Fields biographer Simon Louvish has described as the "bedrock" upon which the legendary comedian built his stage career and then prolonged that success through his films. I have always been a friend of the drinking man; I respect him for his courage to withdraw from the world of the thinking man. You are out of tune.”, Frank Sinatra died after saying, “I’m losing it.”. One has to die to know exactly what happens after death, although Catholics have their hopes.”, Basketball great “Pistol" Pete Maravich collapsed during a pickup game. On movie sets, Fields shot most of his scenes in varying states of inebriation. Listening to one of Paul's experimental multi-track recordings, Fields remarked, "The music you're making sounds like an octopus. Fields figured in an Orson Welles project. An almost tremendous disservice has come about from the human need to lift the Buddha up and place him on a pedestal of perfect purity. We'll drink breakfast together! [64], By 1907 he and Hattie separated; she had been pressing him to stop touring and settle into a respectable trade, but he was unwilling to give up show business. Although a staunch atheist—or perhaps because of it—he studied theology and collected books on the subject. “I’m looking for loopholes,” Fields whispered. He died at age 65 in a Boston hotel. [71] Fields' relationship with Poole lasted until 1926. Max Ernst painted a Project for a Monument to W.C. Fields (1957), and René Magritte made a Hommage to Mack Sennett (1934). His last words: “God damn the whole friggin’ world and everyone in it but you, Carlotta.” He was speaking to Carlotta Monti, his longtime mistress. He said, “What the devil do you mean to sing to me, priest? His life story is told in the movies Lucky Luciano, The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano, and many more. Want to add to price a user-defined amount. The session was arranged by one of his radio writers, Bill Morrow, and was Fields' last performance. [66] Their correspondence would at times be remarkably tense, however, with Fields accusing Hattie of turning their son "against" him and demanding more money from him than he could afford. O'Connor was a singer, dancer, and actor known for his role in Singin' in the Rain. His role in the show required him to deliver lines of dialogue, which he had never before done onstage. Take me down to the bar! [16] Fields enabled his father to retire, purchased him a summer home, and encouraged his parents and siblings to learn to read and write, so they could communicate with him by letter.[17]. ", Fields: "Oh, not at all, Edgar, I love children. [44], Fields' 1934 classic It's a Gift includes another one of his earlier stage sketches, one in which he endeavors to escape his nagging family by sleeping on the back porch, where he is bedeviled by noisy neighbors and salesmen. In others, he cast himself as a victim: a bumbling everyman husband and father whose family does not appreciate him. “Katrinka” never did marry, and indeed she remained by Fields’ side until his death in 1946. The Firesign Theatre titled the second track of their 1968 album Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him "W.C. Fields Forever", as a pun referring to the Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever". [34] However, the following three films Fields made at Astoria, So's Your Old Man (1926, remade as You're Telling Me! Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it. As he was being prepped for surgery, a nurse asked him, “Is there anything you can’t take?” Rich replied, “Yeah, country music.”, Johnny Ace, an R&B singer, died in 1954 while playing with a pistol during a break in his concert set. Hell, I never vote for anybody, I always vote against. [40], In the sound era, Fields appeared in thirteen feature films for Paramount Pictures, beginning with Million Dollar Legs in 1932. Mizner was best known for his bon mots, though he was a successful playwright, too. Fields' last words. When his daughter reminded him of this, he gently removed his oxygen mask and whispered: “And now for a final word from our sponsor—.”, When Groucho Marx was dying, he let out one last quip: “This is no way to live!”. buptkie/bumpkie–a dud (evidently). You’re my girl. Some are rehearsed and contrived; others are spontaneous and witty. “This dying is boring.”, As Benjamin Franklin lay dying at the age of 84, his daughter told him to change position in bed so he could breathe more easily. He joined ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and Bergen's dummy Charlie McCarthy on The Chase and Sanborn Hour for weekly insult-comedy routines. [32] He reprised his Poppy role in a silent-film adaptation, retitled Sally of the Sawdust (1925) and directed by D. W. Griffith for Paramount Pictures. William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880[1] – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer. Dying words are a very special form of quotation. The United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp on the comedian's 100th birthday, in January 1980.[127]. Today's program, Last Words. ", McCarthy: "If it is, your father was under it!". I booted Baby LeRoy ... then, in another picture, I kicked a little dog . Fields fraternized at his home with actors, directors and writers who shared his fondness for good company and good liquor. Display an additional field per product only in the shopping cart and checkout. W. C. Fields - Last Words! They include the seemingly prosaic "Charles Bogle", credited in four of his films in the 1930s; "Otis Criblecoblis", which contains an embedded homophone for "scribble"; and "Mahatma Kane Jeeves", a play on Mahatma and a phrase an aristocrat might use when about to leave the house: "My hat, my cane, Jeeves".[118]. He turned to his wife and said, “You are wonderful,” then clutched his chest and died. Oh wow. I thought I'd lost it!". Wodehouse. God damn the whole friggin’ world and everyone in it but you, Carlotta.” His subsequent stage and film roles were often similar scoundrels or henpecked everyman characters. And, seen in that way, last words, attempts at last words, a one final shot at figuring it all out, summing it all up, they have this way of asserting the fact of our existence at the exact moment of our annihilation. W.C Fields was not only full of funny quotes and one liners, he also had a knack for making profound statements on life. His last word: “Stopped.”, According to Steve Jobs's sister Mona, the Apple founder's last words were, "Oh wow. Curtis, James. In 1940 he made My Little Chickadee, co-starring with Mae West, and then The Bank Dick in which he has the following exchange with Shemp Howard, who plays a bartender: Fields: "Was I in here last night, and did I spend a $20 bill? Promotional Poster for WC Fields' 1940 feature film, "The Bank Dick"As a young vaudeville performer, WC Fields (1880-1946) lived in poverty and near starvation. He said, “I don’t know what I may seem to the world. By the early 1900s, while touring, he was regularly called the world's greatest juggler. ), Fields' screen character often expressed a fondness for alcohol, a prominent component of the Fields legend. Don’t you dare ask God to help me!”, Bo Diddley died giving a thumbs-up as he listened to the song “Walk Around Heaven.” His last word was “Wow.”, Baseball player “Moe” Berg’s last words: “How did the Mets do today?”, The poet's last words were, “I must go in, for the fog is rising.”, As Truman Capote lay dying, he repeated, “Mama— Mama— Mama.”, The hardest-working man in show business said, “I’m going away tonight.”, Surgeon Joseph Henry Green was checking his own pulse as he lay dying. [21] He manipulated cigar boxes, hats, and other objects in his act, parts of which are reproduced in some of his films, notably in the 1934 comedy The Old Fashioned Way. My reward? Go away kid, you bother me "I cook with wine, and sometimes I even add it to the food." People didn't know what the unmanageable baby might do to get even, and they thought the dog might bite me. Fields stayed quiet for a moment in deep thought and replied "Well fuck 'em!" That film, like You're Telling Me! Inspired by the success of the "Original Tramp Juggler", James Edward Harrigan,[18] Fields adopted a similar costume of scruffy beard and shabby tuxedo and entered vaudeville as a genteel "tramp juggler" in 1898, using the name W. C. "Women are like elephants to me; I like to look at them, but I wouldn't want to own one." William K. Everson says that the cruelty of this comedy made it "hardly less funny", but that "Fields must have known that The Dentist presented a serious flaw for a comedy image that was intended to endure", and showed a somewhat warmer persona in his subsequent Sennett shorts. The Sloper character may in turn have been inspired by Dickens' Mr Micawber, whom Fields later played on film. W.C. Fields (1880-1946), born William Claude Dukenfield in Darby, PA and died on Christmas Day in 1946 in a Pasadena hospital. Whipsnade says that his grandfather Litvak's last words, spoken "just before they sprung the trap", were: "You can't cheat an honest man; never give a sucker an even break, or smarten up a chump." He became a star in the Broadway musical comedy Poppy (1923), in which he played a colorful small-time con man. [125], According to Woody Allen (in a New York Times interview from January 30, 2000), Fields is one of six "genuine comic geniuses" he recognized as such in movie history, along with Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Groucho and Harpo Marx, and Peter Sellers.[126]. "[26] In 1913 he performed on a bill with Sarah Bernhardt (who regarded Fields as "an artiste [who] could not fail to please the best class of audience") first at the New York Palace, and then in England in a royal performance for George V and Queen Mary. In conclusion, there exists substantive evidence for this story. Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941) is a tour de force of W.C. Fields' off-beat humor, double-takes, broad comedy and priceless lines and sketches. We watch a West picture to observe Mae West turn the tables on men and we watch a Fields picture to watch Fields flout authority. His last words: “A certain butterfly is already on the wing.”. Universal finally gave him the chance, and the resulting film, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941), was a masterpiece of absurd humor in which Fields appeared as himself, "The Great Man". W. C. Fields. The rest, as they say, is history. “I knew it! Sequence with Fields cut from original release, restored for home video. [68][69][70] Neither Fields nor Poole wanted to abandon touring to raise the child, who was placed in foster care with a childless couple of Bessie's acquaintance. [77] Studio publicists promoted this image, as did Fields himself in press interviews. Grainger was an Australian composer who, with his dying words, told his wife Ella, “You’re the only one I like.”, Actor Michael Landon, best known for Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven, died of cancer in 1991. I was the first comic in world history, so they told me, to pick fights with children. Running Wild was the most successful of these, with a final cost of $179,000 and bringing in domestic rentals of $328,000 and another $92,000 from overseas. He was determined to make a movie his way, with his own script and staging, and his choice of supporting players. Fields with Shaun O'L. “If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. In reality, Fields was somewhat indifferent to dogs, but occasionally owned one. “Dictionary.”, Italian artist Raphael’s last word was simply “happy.”, Composer Gustav Mahler died in bed, conducting an imaginary orchestra. [51][52] Not surprisingly, as Fields' popularity with audiences continued to rise after 1915, following his initial work in films, other entertainers started to adopt and integrate parts of his successful acts into their own performances. He ran away from home repeatedly, beginning at the age of nine, often to stay with his grandmother or an uncle. W. C. Fields. [99] Fields' funeral took place on January 2, 1947, in Glendale, California.[100]. Reproduced p. 29, Louvish. For example, he copyrighted his original stage sketch "An Episode at the Dentist's" three times: in January 1919 and twice again in 1928, in July and August. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Eugene O’Neill was born in a room at the Broadway Hotel on what is now Times Square. Vladimir Ilych Lenin’s last words were, “Good dog.” (Technically, he said vot sobaka.) William Henry Seward, U.S. secretary of state and architect of the Alaska Purchase, was asked if he had any final words. He died in Miami in 1971, and his last words were, “I’ve never forgiven that smart-alecky reporter who named me Butterfingers.

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