The Legend of Whitey:Â  W. C. Fields'
Philadelphia Roots (Part 6)
©  by Howard Tyson. Used by permission. Comments
   FieldsÂ’ career had three stages, which sometimes overlapped.  He toured the world  between 1903 and 1914, juggling
before several crowned heads of Europe.  King Edward VII saw Fields' act in a theater and invited him to perform at
BuckinghamPalace.  Following the show, His Majesty came forward and shook Fields' hand.    His younger brother, Walter
Dukenfield, acted as his assistant from 1907 until c. 1918.  While on tour in Germany (c. 1901) Fields saw a fantastic juggler in
the same show "a dwarf "who could keep 12 balls aloft while riding a horse.  This flustered  him and he began to screw up,
getting so disgusted that he kicked a dropped hat into the audience.  The crowd laughed and clapped uproariously, so he
kicked five more hats at them, which nearly triggered a standing ovation.  Being an empiricist, he made the hat-kicking bit part
of his routine.
    Fields had grown weary of vaudeville juggling by 1914, and wanted to branch out into comedy acting.  When New  York
producer Charles Dillingham offered him a role in the musical Watch Your Step in October of that year, Fields accepted and
cabled from Australia that he would arrive in Syracuse, New York for rehearsals in about a month.  He booked passage on the
first steamer out of Freemantle.  After a grueling 39 day voyage, he took a train from New  York City to Syracuse to join the
company.  Dillingham dropped him from the cast three days later.  A livid and discouraged Fields went back to New York in
search of work.  He never traveled outside the U. S. again.Â
   W. C. soon signed with the Ziegfeld Follies.  He juggled and did comedy skits, such as "A Game of Golf," "A Metropolitan
Tube Station,"and "ThePullman Sleeper" for the Follies from 1915 to 1925.  Though his juggling routine was a "dumb act,"
Fields had filled in as a supporting comedy actor since 1898.  In 1906 he had several speaking parts in The Ham Tree, a
traveling comedy revue produced by McIntyre &  Hart.  Fields had his movie debut in "Pool Sharks," a 10 minute "short"  filmed
on Long  Island, New York in 1915.  The comedian also did stints with George White's Scandals (1922) and Earl Carroll's
Vanities (1928.)Â  In 1923 he played the lead role in the successful Broadway production of Poppy, a role he would reprise in the
silent movie Sally of the Sawdust and the talking picture Poppy (1936.)Â Â  This first phase of his acting career lasted with
variable success up until the advent of "talkies" in 1930.  He sunk to a nadir in 1931 while playing in the Broadway bomb
Ballyhoo.
   Fields became disenchanted with the New York theater scene after Ballyhoo flopped in 1931.  Around March of that year he
allegedly withdrew  350,000 dollars cash (cf. Taylor p. 211) from multiple New York bank accounts, packed his belongings, and
drove all the way to Los Angeles in a big 1930 Lincoln.  Upon arrival in Hollywood, he rapped on the desk of a hotel with his
gold-headed cane and demanded the bridal suite.  When the clerk told him it was reserved for men with brides, Fields replied
that heÂ’d pick one up in town and return shortly.
   Widely viewed as a has-been, Fields received no offers for 18 months.  Finally, he prevailed upon Mack Sennett, who hired
him to make some comedy shorts, including classics such as "The Dentist" (released Dec. 9, 1932,) "The Barber," and "The
Pharmacist."
   Following the success of the Sennett shorts, he became a leading comic actor for Paramount (with some assignments
from MGM and Universal,) as well as a radio show personality with Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on NBC.  When in
character, Fields spoke with a drawl and constantly mumbled humorous asides.  These derived from Philadelphia sources:  
his mother, and Senator Boies Penrose.  Kate Dukenfield had a habit of speaking out loud to others, then murmuring ironic
remarks in low tone.  Many Philadelphia aristocrats of that period spoke in a drawl, including Republican boss Boies Penrose.
  ClaudeÂ’s Uncle Bill Felton was a protégé of the senator, and got elected Sheriff on the Republic ticket in the late 1890's
and early 1900's.  The young man may have heard Penrose speak and learned to mimic his style.  When reading Penrose
newpaper quotes, you can almost hear W. C. Fields' voice.  A high-ranking independent Republican challenged Penrose to
appoint a man "big and high-minded enough to lead the party in Harrisburg."Â
"Y-a-a-s," replied the politician, "why not find him yourself?"Â  Opponent (and drinking companion) James H. Lewis, once
attacked Penrose on the senate floor over the tariff question.  Reporters asked him whether he and Lewis were still friends.  
"Y-a-as, after dark."  James Smart theorizes that Claude also imitated his father's huckster calls:  "Watermelons!  Red ripe
tomatoes!  Sweet Sugar Corn!  He drew out each vowel, prolonged each syllable" (Smart, p. 3) Of course, several Fields'
movie characters (Garry Gilfoil, Eustace McGargle, Cuthbert Twillie, Larson E. Whipsnade) were charlatans of the P. T. Barnum
stamp, who spoke in the melodramatic style of 19th century ham actors.
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