W.C. Fields

Object Details

Exhibition Label: Born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Convinced that being "a definite personality" was one of the keys to stardom, W. C. Fields invented a larger-than-life persona as a loveable misanthrope that was part and parcel of the comic characters he portrayed. After an early career as a masterful juggler on the vaudeville circuit, Fields found his way to Broadway in 1915, where he joined Florenz Ziegfeld’s celebrated Follies and honed his comedic skills. He scored a hit as a small-time con artist in the Broadway musical Poppy (1923) and reprised the role in D. W. Griffith’s Sally of the Sawdust (1925)—just one of the many silent films that showcased his talent. Fields made the transition to talking pictures with ease, delivering memorable performances in movies such as David Copperfield (1935), The Bank Dick (1940), and My Little Chickadee (1940), for which he wrote the original screenplay with co-star Mae West.

Credit Line: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Elsie M. Warnecke

1938

Medium: Color carbro print
Dimensions: Image: 42.3 x 32.6 cm (16 5/8 x 12 13/16"); Sheet: 43.7 x 33.9 cm (17 3/16 x 13 3/8"); Mount: 50.7 x 40.7 cm (19 15/16 x 16"); Mat: 71.1 x 55.9 cm (28 x 22")

National Portrait Gallery

Topic: Exterior; Costume\Dress Accessory\Flower; Costume\Headgear\Hat\Top hat; Home Furnishings\Drinking vessel\Mug; Food\Beverage\Alcoholic\Beer; William Claude Fields: Male; William Claude Fields: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor\Theater; William Claude Fields: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor\Movie; William Claude Fields: Performing Arts\Performer\Comedian; William Claude Fields: Performing Arts\Performer\Entertainer\Radio; Portrait

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm47ef01ef8-1670-43c0-a5c5-97ddcf06f766