W. C. Fields was an interesting fellow

[NNN0LHI]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._C._Fields

W. C. Fields

William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer. Fields was known for his comic persona as a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathetic character despite his snarling contempt for dogs, children and women.

The characterization he portrayed in films and on radio was so strong it became generally identified with Fields himself. It was maintained by the movie-studio publicity departments at Fields's studios (Paramount and Universal) and further established 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 has been shown that Fields was married (and subsequently estranged from his wife), and he financially supported their son and loved his grandchildren.

However, Madge Evans, a friend and actress, told a visitor in 1972 that Fields so deeply resented intrusions on his privacy by curious tourists walking up the driveway to his Los Angeles home that he would hide in the shrubs by his house and fire BB pellets at the trespassers' legs. Several years later Groucho Marx told a similar story on his live performance album, An Evening with Groucho.

Fields had a substantial library in his home. He was a staunch atheist; despite that, or perhaps because of it, he also studied theology, and owned several volumes on the subject as well as more than one Bible. Gene Fowler, noticing a Bible on the shelf, asked Fields, "What the hell are you doing with that?" Fields replied, "Been lookin' for loopholes".

[hack89]

1. "Been lookin' for loopholes". - classic line. nt

[dipsydoodle]

2. Indeed

[Bluenorthwest]

3. WC wrote almost all of his own material, only one other wrote well enough to please him- Mae

West. West also wrote all of her own stuff, except for the bits WC Fields wrote for her. The industry was so sexist then that Mae did not get credit as writer even on the film versions of her hit plays.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

10. I thought they hated each other.

[catnhatnh]

4. Some contemptible scoundrel has stolen the cork....

...from my bottle of lunch.

[CosmicDustBunny]

5. "Ah, water. Never touch the stuff. Fish fuck in it, ya know." - my favorite of his quotes.

[oneshooter]

11. "It rusts pipes, and fish make love in it"

[Geoff R. Casavant]

6. I had read once, he was so afraid of becoming poor again . . .

. . . he would open bank accounts in every city he visited.

The problem was, he would open them under pseudonyms (the reason for this was never explained). So after his death that money was for all intents and purposes, lost.

[no_hypocrisy]

8. He opened different accounts under different names to evade the IRS.

[no_hypocrisy]

7. My favorite story.

Fields booked a job in Australia which necessitated a long voyage on a steamer.

He first bought a large trunk and dragged it to a used book store. He then asked to buy all the books that an educated man should read, filled up the trunk, and read all those books to Australia, while in Australia, and back to the U.S. on the steamer.

[Archae]

9. I loved how Charlie McCarthy and Fields got along...

NOT!

They razzed each other something fierce.

Fields would describe a table as one of McCarthy's relatives, (made of wood, naturally,) and McCarthy would say Fields was under it.

[edbermac]

12. An Evening With Groucho: mentioning all the booze in Fields' attic

One day he allowed me in his house, and he had a ladder there, and it led up to an attic, and in this attic he had 50,000 dollars worth of whisky. Un-opened cases of whisky. And I said to him "Bill, what have you got that booze there for? We haven't had prohibition in twenty-five years." He said "It may come back."