by Moe Zilla

Created on: February 04, 2008

W.C. Fields was a scheming rascal who hated children. So it's ironic that much of his famous screen personality came out of his own unique childhood experiences.

As a young boy he'd pretend to be drowning near the beach in Atlantic City. A crowd would gather to watch his "rescue," after which they'd spend money on the boardwalk's vendors. For his "drowning" services, Fields was paid a hefty commission. But one legend says that it was exposure to the cold that also gave Fields his familiar hoarse voice. (And fistfights with older children may have contributed to the comical shape of his round, funny nose.)

Other early influences were equally important. In 1870 the U.S. census had asked his father to identify his profession, and he'd replied "huckster." Young W.C. Fields aided his father in this business, but ran away from home at the age of 11. Fields continued learning how to please an audience by working as a "newsie," calling out the latest headlines to sell newspapers on the street corner. Fields delighted in an alternate approach, discovering strange stories and strange names buried deep within the newspaper, and shouting out these unusual news stories instead. Even when he began making movies, he delighted in giving his characters equally elaborate names, like Larson E. Whipsnade or Augustus Q. Winterbottom.

Fields found his way to show business by working in vaudeville, but possibly embarrassed about his voice, he performed his act silently. Instead Fields mastered the art of juggling, performing an amazing trick in which he'd balance a stick on his forehead, and then kick a hat into the air so it would land on the stick. He created the character of an unshaven bum in torn clothing, humbly performing these magical feats of dexterity. He was the first American to be asked to give a command performance to the King and Queen of England.

By 1915, Fields reached the big time, beginning a six-year stint with the Ziegfield Follies, now performing straight comedy routines. He was 46 years old before he filmed his first (silent) movie in 1926. Within ten years he'd developed a reputation as an ornery actor, but his expert comic timing (and funny voice) made him a star on radio. This opened the door for more movie work, and he was even the first choice to play the huckster-ish wizard in "The Wizard of Oz" in 1939 (though he eventually rejected the part).

W.C. Fields was said to hate children and Christmas. Ironically, he died after a long, full, and unpredictable life - on Christmas Day, 1946.

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