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

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the double martini before
breakfast was the normal
complement of his adult life.
He drank all day long but,
according to Mr.. Taylor, he
was never drunk-alcohol
was in his rare case the
abettor not the destroyer Of
work. When in an interview
a friend said that Fields
hasn't been able to get off
the hard stuff" the comedian
took an ad in the Hollywood
Reporter in which he averred:
". q. I have never been late or
missed a performance either
on screen, stage, or radio in
some 40-odd years. 1t is
true that I take a little rum
and Coca-Cola or a martini
incidentally, but I am very
proud of my record. I
have been looking for an
excuse to take q full-page ad
in the Reporter for some
time. Here it is"
More than most actors,
probably, Fields private life
and his life on stage and
screen were indiStinguish-
able. AS a boy in Philadel-
phia he stole to keep alive;
later, when he was the rage
of London and q guest in
Buckingham Palace, he stole
beef and rabbits hanging in
butcher shops as a kind Of
subtle compliment to the
English people: finally, the
pilfering in his pictures ap-
pealed to the latent klepto-
mania of his audiences. The
murky ambiguity Of his own
phrase you can't cheat an
honest man" is typical of his
fine sense Of the comic, Just
as Leo Rosten's imperishable
judgment of Fields-"A man
who hates dogs and children
can't be all bad"-is the
pithiest appraisal Of his
genius. Longer, but no less
perceptive, is the following
insight of Mr.. Taylor about
the filming Of Poppy" in
1885:
%. Though sick, Fields
was no less autocratic, mulish
and irritating. He had fixed
on a new word Che often
carried a pocket dictionary
to look up words with which
he was unfamiliar) and he
adopted redundancy" as
having agreeable possibilities
of articulation. To the dis
may of the script writer's,
about every fifth line he
lifted his hat and, with a
pleasing sneer, cried Pardon
my redundancy apropos Of
nothing. Fields was in this
period approaching an almost
fatal illness, and he had
never been funnier. His con-
descension, the spurious be-
reavement Of q man used to
elegance, as he approached a
hot-dog stand with Rochelle
Hudson, was a kind Of key
to his whole stage character.
"A little tote 0rGS, something
to spread on it?' he asked the
countermap, after viewing
the naked wiener. And when
he heard the snarling reply.
What's that, brother?' he
hastily exclaimed, Pardon
my redundancy and took q
forlorn, ignoble bite"
Fields was married when
he was a young man, but the
couple soon separated. In his
later years the comedian
lived in a vast Hollywood
mansion with two remark
able girls who were at once
employees and friends. Magda
Michael came to demonstrate
a dictaphone, stayed on
IL years as his secretary,
and later became the execu-
trix Of his estate: Carlotta
Monti was his companion,
friend and practical nurse
for IL years. Although pool
and poker were favorite
pastimes in his pictures,
Fields never gambled, pre-
Sumably because of the pos
sibility Of losing, but enjoyed
golf and tennis. His expert
ness as juggler gave him an
uncanny eye and a sure
knowledge Of the dynamic
properties Of spheres-he
could read the label of a re-
volving Is rpm. photograph
record, and could drive a
tennis ball with such english
that it would bounce back
across the net.
Since Fields in his will
stipulated that he was to
have no funeral whatsoever,
it would doubtless have
amused him wryly to know
that he was destined to have
three "a nonsectarian one
arranged by his wife at which
Edgar Bergen preached, then
a Catholic service also ar
ranged by Mrs. Fields, and
finally a spiritualist reading
provided by Miss Monti. The
major part of his estate,
100000 in cash, was left to
be used for the establishment
of the "W. c. Fields College
for Orphan White Boys and
Girls, Where No Religion Of
Any Sort Is To Be Preached"
Fields had no continuing
color prejudice. According to
Mr.. Taylor, his affections
for races and sects veered
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