W. C. Fields from Sound Film and Radio Comedy to Stardom
Subtitle: Becoming a Cultural Icon
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: Jan 08, 2019
Language: eng
Format: hardcover
Number of pages: 428
ISBN-13: 9781137473295
Description: W.C. Fields is known as a virtuoso comedian and legendary iconoclast who gave the gift of laughter to multitudes. As the first author to use the newly-opened Fields Papers at the Academy library, Arthur Frank Wertheim illuminates the comedian's arduous ascent to stardom during Hollywood's golden age. The book reveals details of Fields's turbulent private life, from his wife's refusal to divorce, to his estranged son, and to his fleeting relationships with women. Here is a portrait of an aggrieved artist whose emotional anguish found refuge in his poignant comedy about life's frustrations and the human condition. This third volume in Wertheim's trilogy documents Fields's rise to iconic status during the counterculture 1960s, creating a legacy of his comedy for generations to come.
Notes: Source title: W. C. Fields from Sound Film and Radio Comedy to Stardom: Becoming a Cultural Icon (Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History)