Man on the Flying Trapeze: The Life and Times of W. C. Fields

[FIELDS,WC] Louvish, Simon

ISBN 10: 0393041271 / ISBN 13: 9780393041279

Published by W W Norton & Co Inc, New York, 1997

About this Item

Stated: First American edition 1997. In addition, contains complete number line including number one. Hard cover in very good condition with rose-red boards, black spine cloth, and gold gilt spine lettering. Interior text block clean & tight; no writings; no markings noted. Contains black & white illustrations & photographs throughout. Dust jacket likewise very good; light edge wear to corners; dog-eared crease line at bottom of back flap; not price clipped. * From a review by David Thomson, "A rapturous, giddy, and irrepressible book . . . Let us be clear: This is a delight, a marvel of research . . .and a superb argument for the case that William Claude Dukinfield (1880-1946) was, and is, the greatest comic the movies have given us.".

Seller Inventory # M001416

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Man on the Flying Trapeze: The Life and Times of W. C. Fields
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc, New York
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0393041271
• ISBN 13: 9780393041279
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Film & Entertainers

About this title

Synopsis

The first biography in decades (and the only accurate one) of the comic genius behind Larson E. Whipsnade, Egbert Souse, Eustace McGargle, and other immortal examples of the American male at bay. Everyone seems to know the story of W. C. Fields, the curmudgeon of classic film comedy--his Dickensian childhood in Philadelphia, the numerous bank accounts opened around the world under outlandish names, and so on. All entertaining--and all completely untrue. Simon Louvish's meticulously researched and wonderfully entertaining biography is the first one to disentangle the facts from the pack of lies and myths mischievously nurtured by Fields himself. Louvish lovingly traces the origin of Fields's comedy in his self-authored vaudeville sketches and follows his progress from the stage (where he was renowned as the world greatest juggler) to silent screen to the talkies--including such howlingly funny films as The Bank Dick, My Little Chickadee, and You Can't Cheat an Honest Man. He highlights his tragic struggles against studio heads, censorship, alcoholism, and illness--in the course of which he created some of the greatest gems of film humor. Man on the Flying Trapeze is the story of an artist whose finest creation was himself--a fully achieved, imaginary person who finally subsumed his creator, to the immense benefit of us all.

About the Author

Simon Louvish is the author of nine critically acclaimed novels. He teaches film at the London International Film School and writes frequently about the Golden Age of comedy.