W.C. Fields
Known for Acting · 64 credits
- Born
- 1880-01-29
- Died
- 1946-12-25
- Place of birth
- Darby, Pennsylvania, USA
- Also known as
- William Claude Dukenfield · Bill Fields · Charles Bogle · Mahatma Kane Jeeves · Otis Criblecoblis
Biography
William Claude Dukenfield was the eldest of five children born to Cockney immigrant James Dukenfield and Philadelphia native Kate Felton. He went to school for four years, then quit to work with his father selling vegetables from a horse cart. At eleven, after many fights with his alcoholic father (who hit him on the head with a shovel), he ran away from home. For a while he lived in a hole in the ground, depending on stolen food and clothing. He was often beaten and spent nights in jail. His first regular job was delivering ice. By age thirteen he was a skilled pool player and juggler. It was then, at an amusement park in Norristown PA, that he was first hired as an entertainer. There he developed the technique of pretending to lose the things he was juggling. In 1893 he was employed as a juggler at Fortescue's Pier, Atlantic City. When business was slow he pretended to drown in the ocean (management thought his fake rescue would draw customers). By nineteen he was billed as "The Distinguished Comedian" and began opening bank accounts in every city he played. At age twenty-three he opened at the Palace in London and played with Sarah Bernhardt at Buckingham Palace. He starred at the Folies-Bergere (young Charles Chaplin and Maurice Chevalier were on the program).
He was in each of the Ziegfeld Follies from 1915 through 1921. He played for a year in the highly praised musical "Poppy" which opened in New York in 1923. In 1925 D.W. Griffith made a movie of the play, renamed Sally of the Sawdust (1925), starring Fields. Pool Sharks (1915), Fields' first movie, was made when he was thirty-five. He settled into a mansion near Burbank, California and made most of his thirty-seven movies for Paramount. He appeared in mostly spontaneous dialogs on Charlie McCarthy's radio shows. In 1939 he switched to Universal where he made films written mainly by and for himself. He died after several serious illnesses, including bouts of pneumonia.
Known For
Wogan
1982
as Self
The Movie Orgy
1968
as Self (archive footage)
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
1997
as Self (archive footage)
David Copperfield
1935
as Wilkins Micawber
If I Had a Million
1932
as Rollo La Rue
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
TV Shows (1)
Movies (63)
The Movie Orgy
1968
as Self (archive footage)
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
1997
as Self (archive footage)
David Copperfield
1935
as Wilkins Micawber
If I Had a Million
1932
as Rollo La Rue
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940
as Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976
as (archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975
as Self (archive footage)
Tales of Manhattan
1942
as Professor Pufflewhistle (uncredited)
Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths
1990
as (archive footage)
Man on the Flying Trapeze
1935
as Ambrose Wolfinger
Alice in Wonderland
1933
as Humpty-Dumpty
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
1982
as Self (archive footage)
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
1976
as Self - Tribute Montage (archive footage)
The Bank Dick
1940
as Egbert Sousé
Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984
as (archive footage)
Mississippi
1935
as Commodore Jackson
The Big Parade of Comedy
1964
as Wilkins Micawber in 'David Copperfield' (archive footage)
International House
1933
as Professor Quail
Show-Business at War
1943
as Self
My Little Chickadee
1940
as Cuthbert J. Twillie
The Fatal Glass of Beer
1933
as Mr. Snavely
You Can't Cheat an Honest Man
1939
as Larson E. Whipsnade
Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her
1994
as Self (archive footage)
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults
1999
as (archive footage)
Follow the Boys
1944
as W. C. Fields
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
1941
as The Great Man
Poppy
1936
as Eustace McGargle
Million Dollar Legs
1932
as The President
You're Telling Me!
1934
as Sam Bisbee
The Circus: Premiere
1928
as Self
The Hollywood Clowns
1979
as (archive footage)
The Pharmacist
1933
as Mr. Dilweg
Running Wild
1927
as Elmer Finch
The Big Broadcast of 1938
1938
as T. Frothingill Bellows / S.B. Bellows
Hooray for Hollywood
1976
as Self (archive footage)
Down Memory Lane
1949
as (archive footage)
Two Flaming Youths
1927
as Gabby Gilfoil
It's a Gift
1934
as Harold Bissonette
The Old-Fashioned Way
1934
as The Great McGonigle / Squire Cribbs in 'The Drunkard'
Sally of the Sawdust
1925
as Professor Eustance McGargle
Song of the Open Road
1944
as W.C. Fields
Fools for Luck
1928
as Richard Whitehead
Sensations of 1945
1944
as W.C. Fields
The Golf Specialist
1930
as J. Effingham Bellweather
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
1934
as Mr. Stubbins
W.C. Fields: Straight Up
1986
Her Majesty, Love
1931
as Bela Toerrek
Hollywood on Parade No. B-10
1934
as Self
It's the Old Army Game
1926
as Elmer Prettywillie
The Dentist
1932
as Dentist
So's Your Old Man
1926
as Samuel Bisbee
Vaudeville
1997
as Self (archive footage)
The Barber Shop
1933
as Cornelius O'Hare
Pool Sharks
1915
Tillie and Gus
1933
as Augustus Winterbottom
Six of a Kind
1934
as Sheriff John Hoxley
Janice Meredith
1924
as A British Sergeant
Tillie's Punctured Romance
1928
as Ring Master
How to Break 90 #3: Hip Action
1933
as Himself
W.C. Fields: 6 Short Films
2000
The Potters
1927
as Pa Potter
That Royle Girl
1925
as Professor Royle
About W.C. Fields
William Claude Dukenfield was the eldest of five children born to Cockney immigrant James Dukenfield and Philadelphia native Kate Felton. He went to school for four years, then quit to work with his father selling vegetables from a horse cart. At eleven, after many fights with his alcoholic father (who hit him on the head with a shovel), he ran away from home. For a while he lived in a hole in the ground, depending on stolen food and clothing. He was often beaten and spent nights in jail. His first regular job was delivering ice. By age thirte… With 64 credits spanning from 1915 to 2000, W.C. Fields has appeared in 63 films and 1 TV show.
Fans searching for W.C. Fields movies, W.C. Fields filmography, or the latest projects starring W.C. Fields can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular W.C. Fields Movies
- The Movie Orgy (1968) — as Self (archive footage)
- The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender (1997) — as Self (archive footage)
- David Copperfield (1935) — as Wilkins Micawber
- If I Had a Million (1932) — as Rollo La Rue
- Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage (1983) — as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Where to Watch W.C. Fields Films
Most W.C. Fields movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring W.C. Fields, check our movies catalogue and browse page.