Evening star., 1949-10-09
Fields, Even as Ghost,
Greatest Of the Clowns
A Biography and Reissue Films
Prove His Claim to Supremacy
By Jay Cormody

BY and large it has been melancholy echoes
folles and haunted by the specters of new teors
Nevertheless couple opened oddly
enough ghost. This OF your standard
of who achieved the unique distinction
of being funny in century that otherwise has been profoundly
Duknheld the ghosts name when he was
alive but only a few knew him by this label
He better known as w. c. Fields
Fields died in 1916, came back to antedoe manknds
mseres in two guises Holywoods inspired
reease pictures recall Of presumably lost laughter Which
horde scung to box-oces from one end OF the land 10
The second Lewis Taylors biography Of Fields
which now in the he e ase Dea
with subjects residual work must be major opus
~" Fields His Folles and Fortunes is such work
of those singular between author and hero which rarely
happens two hetmes If it does not win Taylor
there will be who think the judges should
be beheaded This naturally extreme point Of view and
probably would be discouraged by the publicity
of Doubleday, the publisher
AS october miracle field of biography Taylor has
writing funny book about the cenys funniest
man. is more of the laughter Fields himself
created 1t is merriment made Of the
magic potential absrdy achieves in words
Fields mad Interpretation of life for instance
of his hilarious caricature pomposiy poolroom
makes that Fields was natures perfect rebutta
Agers heroes and most other actual ana nctlona
characters of myth
Redeemed Himself
snarled faxed stole and otherwise reached the
ton bv methods normally deemed
himself fully giving world something infinitely finer
The first of the incongruous Jokes played back
life Fields boyhood He left home at the age
dropping his fathers head from the hayoft
family for him and he went
back Here Taylor suggests was the beginning OF the great
lonely pride which motivated the rest OF Fields life
Better STILL at least practically the beginning OF
discovery es corrosive truths One OF these that
might gifted lad witty. Fields
instantly his
had found his life's work. that Of being enter
found in vaudeville theater where he entranced
juggling Therefore school, family chores.
all ee including his fathers practice of hitting the boy with
shoves lost all power over Fields At first he could not jugge
fruit only dedicated boy could
he quickly matched these aptudes
Learned in LarcenOus School,
carniva institutions
learned Fields his early momentum He learned fast and
first objective any
Vaudeville under next and in this
dazzling expanding branch entertainment Fields cryazed
of his profound ambitions to make 81 900 week.
of Taylor biographer that he pictures Fields
and his fellow humans, dizzy drama of
Illustration character the comedian played Fields
life equal falling just half short Of his
greatest victories always little bit hollow, leav
Fields life just missapn enough to make him the funniest
character Of his time.
uproarious with the whole human which Fields
played characteristic of his daily
He had only few friends whose loyalty forced
to survive superhuman tests He rich and lived in mad
fear of He knew he great artist genius
could of his hold his public but ne always entertained the
thought of stangg rival funny He hated DOCTORS
hghpowered automobiles and to who looked they
would not hang around too long.
years Fields did anything that
entertaining fashion another which perhaps
why provided Taylor with funniest biographies