W.C. Fields: His Follies and Fortunes - Softcover
“By the time of his death, on Christmas Day, 1946, he was widely acknowledged to have become the greatest comic artist ever known.”
Born William Claude Dukinfield, he was son of a London cockney who migrated to Philadelphia in the late 1870’s
Better known as W C. Fields, he began his performance career as a silent juggler.
Gradually Fields incorporated comedy into his act, before appearing in the Broadway musical comedy Poppy where he played a colourful conman.
From then on, scoundrels would be a particular specialty of the comedian on the big screen.
Famous for his fondness for alcohol, Fields often filmed scenes for movies inebriated. His characters picked fights with children and he loved provoking the censors with double entendres.
All these contributed to Fields becoming a well-loved comic actor.
Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Lewis Taylor chronicles the incredible life story of W.C. Fields from his childhood as a knockabout street urchin to his heyday as the celebrity who hobnobbed with Edward VII.
W C. Fields: His Follies and Fortunes, rich in both humour and pathos, is as marvellous in as Mr. Fields himself.
Praise for W. C. Fields: His Follies and Fortunes
“Fields makes all the modern beats look like little Lord Fauntleroys He was a supreme artist and a supreme individual and Taylor does him full justice.” - Harry Golden
“Robert Lewis Taylor has written a hilarious history of the fabulous comedian, written it with understanding, sympathy and a gay respect for the scandalous facts involved.” - The New York Times
“It brings its subject vividly, unforgettably back to life.” - The Washington Post
Robert Lewis Taylor (1912-1998) was born in southern Illinois and educated at Southern Illinois University and the University of Illinois. Upon graduation he lived in Europe and in Polynesia; then, after a brief interlude as editor of a weekly newspaper, became a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In 1940 he joined The New Yorker magazine as a writer of profiles and other long pieces, and remained a member of the staff. Mr. Taylor is author of the-Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Travels of Jamie McPheeters. Taylor also wrote the bestselling biography Winston Churchill: An Informal Study of Greatness.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
From AudioFile:
One of the oldest biographies of Fields remains one of the most inclusive, even in this era of kiss-and-tell writing. Taylor introduces Fields as a deprived, neglected child who became tough and bitingly witty as a result of his hard life. The book ends with his alcoholism and death. However, neither author nor narrator becomes sentimental in retelling this almost melodramatic story. Parker takes the brilliant writing and relates it much as Fields himself would probably tell his own story. He not only recreates Fields's one-of-a-kind voice, but presents background text and glimpses of other stars of the era in an awesome range. The listener can imagine Fields's grumpy face and hear the ice cubes clinking in his beloved martini. S.G.B. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
From Library Journal:
A reprint of the 1949 publication on the turbulent life of the comic actor. LJ 's reviewer said then, "Highly Recommended" (10/15/49). Fields's everlasting popularity makes that just as true today.-- MR
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherNew American Library
- ISBN 10 0451001079
- ISBN 13 9780451001078
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages288
- Rating
(No Available Copies)
Search Books: Create a WantIf you know the book but cannot find it on AbeBooks, we can automatically search for it on your behalf as new inventory is added. If it is added to AbeBooks by one of our member booksellers, we will notify you!
Create a Want