Cover Image

Man on the flying trapeze : the life and times of W.C. Fields

Louvish has burrowed deep into a wealth of show business archives, including Fields's obsessively maintained and rarely seen theatrical scrapbooks. He lovingly traces the origins of Fields's comedy in his self-authored vaudeville sketches and follows his progress from the stage (where he w...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Louvish, Simon.
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: New York : W.W. Norton, 1997.
Edition:1st American ed.
Subjects and Genres:
Fields, W. C. > (William Claude), > 1880-1946.
Comedians > United States > Biography.
Motion picture actors and actresses > United States > Biography.
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
LEADER 03350cam a2200481 a 4500
001 marc-296940
005 20231017152331.0
008 970605s1997 nyua bq 001 0beng
010 |a  97023731  
020 |a 0393041271 
020 |a 9780393041279 
029 1 |a NLGGC  |b 181044935 
029 1 |a YDXCP  |b 1395112 
029 1 |a NZ1  |b 3376360 
029 1 |a AU@  |b 000026734752 
029 1 |a AU@  |b 000013263369 
029 1 |a HEBIS  |b 060446404 
029 1 |a GEBAY  |b 2805498 
035 |a (franklin)9978848427803681 
035 |a (hsp)marc-296940 
035 |a (OCoLC)ocm37107125 
035 |a (OCoLC)37107125 
040 |a DLC  |c DLC  |d BAKER  |d NLGGC  |d YDXCP  |d BTCTA  |d NIALS  |d UAB  |d GEBAY  |d QQR 
043 |a n-us--- 
049 |a QQRA 
050 0 0 |a PN2287.F45  |b L68 1997 
084 |a 24.32  |2 bcl 
100 1 |a Louvish, Simon. 
245 1 0 |a Man on the flying trapeze :  |b the life and times of W.C. Fields  |c Simon Louvish 
250 |a 1st American ed. 
260 |a New York :  |b W.W. Norton,  |c 1997. 
300 |a ix, 564 p. :  |b ill. ;  |c 25 cm. 
504 |a Includes bibliographical references (p. 537-539) and index. 
504 |a Filmography: p. 497-512. 
520 |a Louvish has burrowed deep into a wealth of show business archives, including Fields's obsessively maintained and rarely seen theatrical scrapbooks. He lovingly traces the origins of Fields's comedy in his self-authored vaudeville sketches and follows his progress from the stage (where he was renowned as the world's greatest juggler) to the silent screen to the talkies. Not the least of Louvish's accomplishments is his rich resurrection of the vanished show business world of the music halls and Ziegfeld Follies, the wellspring of much of this century's greatest comedy, whether on stage or screen. Fields's Hollywood work of the thirties and forties included such howlingly funny films as It's a Gift, Man on the Flying Trapeze, You Can't Cheat an Honest Man, My Little Chickadee, The Bank Dick, and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, whose very titles - along with such Fields catch phrases as "It ain't a fit night out for man nor beast" - have entered our language. 
520 8 |a Often scripted by Fields himself under such puckish pseudonyms as Mahatma Kane Jeeves and Otis Criblecoblis, these films featured some of the worst marriages, memorably dysfunctional families, obnoxious pets, and bratty children in all of popular culture - all converging on the hapless figure of Fields himself, the enduring archetype of the American male at bay. (Fields's one non-comic film role that of Micawber in David Copperfield, was equally indelible.) Louvish highlights Fields's tragic struggles in these years against studio heads, censorship, alcoholism, and illness - in the course of which he created some of the greatest gems of film humor. 
600 1 0 |a Fields, W. C.  |q (William Claude),  |d 1880-1946. 
650 0 |a Comedians  |z United States  |v Biography. 
650 0 |a Motion picture actors and actresses  |z United States  |v Biography. 
852 0 0 |a Historical Society of Pennsylvania  |b Closed Stacks  |h PN 2287 .F45 L68 1997  |t 1 
911 |a 280157 
HLD 0 |b HSPLib  |c hspclosed  |h PN 2287 .F45 L68 1997  |8 22709266680003681 
ITM |r 22709266680003681  |b 1  |h 0  |g hspclosed  |e hspclosed  |8 23709266670003681  |a non-circ  |q 2022-07-08 12:14:33 US/Eastern  |i PN 2287 .F45 L68 1997  |d HSPLib  |f HSPLib 

Need Help?

Search Tips Research By Mail Contact the Library

Similar Items