Today would have been the 100th birthday of Laurence Olivier, but the focus of today's entry is another cinematic genius, W.C. Fields (1880-1946). According to my one of my favorite film writers Chuck Stephens of "Film Comment," Universal is releasing a second volume of Fields' films on dvd, including "The Man on the Flying Trapeze" (1935) and "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break" (1941). Alas, I haven't seen that many Fields films, but I definitely love "The Bank Dick" (1940) about a nitwit who becomes a bank guard.
Fields had something in common with my good friend Tom Angleberger of Christiansburg, Va. Like the late comedian, Angleberger, a children's book author (under the name Sam Riddleberger), is also a juggler! However, Fields' very first film, the short "Pool Sharks" (1915) , dealt with Fields' other major off-screen talent which was playing pool.
Stephens said that "Trapeze" is the 'last bourbon-breathed gasp of Prohibition cinema and an enduring salute to insobriety.
Various online biographies of Fields state that the entertainer was born in Philadelphia and in fact wanted his tomb stone to say: "I'd rather be in Philadelphia," which was meant to be a joke, but he did not get his wish. He is buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Ca.
At 11, Fields ran away from home and his first job was delivering ice.
He was first hired as an entertainer in Norristown, Pa. He later moved to clubs in Atlantic City, then vaudeville, and then Hollywood........
Fields was almost cast in "The Wizard of Oz," and he was the inspiration for the lawyer Larsen E. Pettifogger in the comic strip "The Wizard of Id." But, perhaps the most shocking trivial item about Fields is that he 'secretly admired children.'
There is a W.C. Fields Fan Club. They recently held a gala in Beverly Hills in his honor. Leonard Maltin, who was mentioned in my last entry on "The Breakfast Club" was the host of the May 18 event.
According to Stephens, when one views "Sucker," they will see Fields diving out of an airplane and landing in firewater. Ouch!
For more info on the W.C. Fields Fan Club, go to the link:
Film Comment
I want to thank everyone for passing through my blog. Among the highlights of my blog was an entry announcing that my sister Lale and her husband Matt Lovell of Colorado were adopting a Guatemalan baby..........it was a joke! Perhaps, Fields would've been proud.
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