Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-07-29

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not enough dialogue from
the Fields movies. The book
simply isn't long enough-itS
341 pages should be twice
that number. But so much
said, all that can be brought
against it has been mentioned.
Enough Of carping; Mr.. Tay-
lor's biography is a talkative
and witty work of art on
every page Of which can be
seen the genius of the great
comedian.
Today, a quarter century
after the heyday of the W. C.
Fields movie, lines of the
comedian are quoted CASUALLY
in an attempted imitation
of the famous accent) with
am zing frequency, and
everybody delights either in
recalling scenes from THE
Bank Dick" or 'Never Give
a Sucker an Even Break" or
in having them recalled by
others. The most astonishing
revelation in Mr.. Taylor'S.
fact-filled book is that Fields,
although on the vaudeville
circuit or in the Follies, the
Scandals, or the Vanities he
usually was the outstanding
hit of the show, and although
he by the late sos had
become a national institution
universally known like the
Barrymores or Will Rogers,
nevertheless was not big box
office in the movies and did
not make much money for his
producers. Everybody knew
Fields, as everybody today
knows Albert Schweitzer, but
there were and are many who
would not presume to enjoy
either. The studios Fields
worked for can be compared
to the one Ingmar Bergman
now graceS; they were willing
to make great art possible,
even though there was little
money in it.
4 =
Born in Philadelphia in
1879, the son Of a London
cockney who traded in
fruits and vegetables, William
Claude Dukinfield. who later
changed his name to Fields,
although the entertainment
world was infested with the
moniker, soon developed two
great talents. He could juggle
anything, and he was adept
at petty thievery and free
lunch scrounging. His first
job was in Atlantic City,
where he was hired to swim
out in the ocean and attract
clientele for a boardwalk es-
tablishment by Stimulating
drowning. This livelihood was
too strenuous even for Fields,
whose youth was beset with
the severe hardships Of pen
ury. family hostility, and
escape from cops. He soon
turned to the vaudeville the
alter. where the perfection of
his juggling and the def tim
ing Of his comedy pantomime
made him a success from the
beginning of his career. His
financial troubles were not
over, however, for the timer
ant impresarios of those days
were much more adept at
hiring than at paying the
agreed-upon salaries, and on
several occasions Fields was
paid nothing at all for a tour.
His interest in money was
not born at this time, but it
took its lasting external form.
Fields could not wait to get
his money in a bank-any
bank would do-and he began
to open savings accounts in
any city he happened to be
in, and later in England and
Australia. The first deposit
was often the only one in
the bank book. BY the time
of his death, there were hun
dreds Of these books, and even
now there are doubtless many
inactive accounts under the
many names that Fields,
whose genius for inventing
names was equal to that
of Dickens, Shakespeare or
James, used in Sequestering
his funds. Although he lost
or forgot about savings &C
counts, those that remained
kept him a wealthy man, for
after the Wall Street crash
of 1929 he was in an all-caSh
position; he didn't own a
single stock.
The pseudonyms Of the
bank books lead one natu-
rally into Fields knack for
names. In general, his abil-
ity as a writer was not great.
but his gift for improvisa-
ton, especially Of names, was
striking, all the more so when
one remembers that his ca
reer was built on pantomime.
Fields never signed his own
name to a letter, and seldom
used the same one twice.
Among the best are: Charles
Boyle, Chester Snavely, Pep
pitone "a dentist), Possible
whaite & Smunn "a law
firm, Ampico j. Steinway,
Mahatma Kane Jeeves, the
Black Pussy Cat Cafe and
Snack Bar, A. Pismo Clam,
Cuthbert j. Twillie, Larson E.
Whipsnade, Ernest o. Potts
Of the Germantown Potts,
Ogiethorpe P. Bushmaster of
Punxsatawney, Pennsylvania,