Man on the Flying Trapeze: The Life and Times of W. C. Fields (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The Master of Ceremonies and General Manager himself strides out from behind a tent flap, pushing his way vigorously through the thin crowd of dilapidated..." (more)
Key Phrases: golf sketch, purple bark sarsaparilla, boy juggler, New York, Bill Fields, Gene Fowler (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

The first serious biography of the legendary comedian in nearly 50 years, and one worthy of its hero. Even people who have never seen a W.C. Fields film probably know him as a man who loved to drink and hated dogs and children. Most likely, they would assume that the onscreen character and the offscreen man were one and the same. But Louvish, in his lively biography, delves beneath the surface and discovers an artist who carefully built this character as a comic construct. The real Fields had nothing against dogs, and, yes, even enjoyed the company of children. (The drinking, however, was authentic.) Louvish, who teaches at the London International Film School, is clearly a Fields fan, and this lends his book a warmth uncommon in show- business biographies. He aims the book at his fellow fans, and uses a chatty, conversational tone: sharing stories and trading opinions and favorite gags over some Fieldsian libation. But the tone doesn't hide the exceptional research he has done. He vividly paints the details of Fields's life and the vaudeville, film, and radio worlds he moved in. Most importantly, in extensively describing Fields's early career, he presents the classic films not as the solitary miracles they appear to be, but as the culmination of an extensive career that saw Fields a major star on the world stage as early as the turn of the century. Louvish is also a novelist (The Silencer, 1993), and in the book's coda (in which he imagines Fields entering heaven and greeting his vaudevillean friends), he demonstrates that even the hokiest of concepts can be moving when presented with passion and commitment. He concludes with a brief but sharply perceived analytical afterword. At last ``the Great Man'' (as Fields called himself, accurately) has a great biography. (photos) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

A rapturous, giddy, and irrepressible book. . . . Let us be clear: this is a delight, a marvel of research . . . and a superb argument for the case that William Claude Dukenfield was, and is, the greatest comic the movies have given us. -- David Thomson

At last 'the Great Man' (as Fields called himself, accurately) has a great biography. -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

One of the best movie biographies to come along in quite some time. . . . [A] book to cherish. -- Film Review

[Fields] was his own greatest creation, and in Louvish, this complicated artist has finally found the biographer he deserves. -- Malcolm Jones, Jr., Newsweek

[Man on the Flying Trapeze] nicely regales us with many vaudevillian stories. . . . Louvish does a heroic job. -- Katharine Whittemore, New York Times Book Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 574 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393318400
• ISBN-13: 978-0393318401
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #151,877 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Woo-hoo!" "Don't let the posie fool ya!", May 30, 2001

By	Scott R Stout "srstout2" (Philly suburbs) - See all my reviews

I really cannot understand why someone would give this book a bad review.

FIRST - It is rare that there is a book written about THE GREAT MAN. We should give a hearty handclap to those who take the time to revisit such a great comedian and orginal personality.

SECOND - It is rare that a book would be honest enough to say where it's shortcomings may be. Meaning that, much to my and I'm sure other peoples amusement, our friend W.C. did a lot of tall-tale telling in his day. It is hard to decifer where truth on his life lay. Louvish checks with all resources to find whre the turth may be. He had access to family members, W.C.'s own scrapbooks, library archives, etc. He presents the book in the begining as a sort of mystery - and that's what it is. Even W.C.'s own authorized bio is full of holes and tall tales - and Louvish proves it. Those who are familiar with THE GREAT MAN know that even he fouled up his own tale telling at times.

THIRD - This book is not only a biography but a historical account. A good biography should not only tell the story of a person but should also give you points of reference in regards to time, event, people & places. Louvish does this. He gives you helpful background on key people and places in W.C.'s life. It allows the reader to understand the subject clearer. And this information is presented clear and concise - not as a "filler" for the text.

FOURTH - For those who feel that Louvish is being a "wiseguy" by the way he writes I ask you to think about who the subject matter is! One of the biggest and most original wiseguy of them all. I feel it makes the book more personal and fun to read.

If you're a fan of Fields you read it & judge for yourself. However, unlike some more ignorant folk, you must remember that ANY biography is not an "end all" to who that person is. A personality is a many layered thing, and so is telling the story of someones' life.

Take the book as it is. An enjoyable journey into the world of W.C Fields. You may learn something new, or you may not. However I'm sure you'll enjoy!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Give Him an Even Break, October 25, 2002

By	Roger Lathbury (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Although I have reservations, Simon Louvish's *Man on the Flying Trapeze* is a thoroughly competent job, strong in many areas. Louvish paints the vaudeville show circuit out of which Fields's later inimitable character was born with just the right amount of detail. Fields's earliest years were spend both in America and in Europe as one of a series of variety acts presented as part of an evening's performance (he was often on stage for only 12 minutes), and Louvish recreates this ambiance with some deftness, not easy to do when researching materials 90 years old. The Ziegfeld Follies live again! Similarly, by the time Fields starts in motion pictures in 1915, and with an explicitness that grows throughout the book, Louvish gets behind Fields's connection with the studios that filmed him. Chapter 23 on the now obscure producer J. P. McEvoy is a great piece of detective work: here is a key figure who underlies most of Fields's most sympathetic satirical postures.

Louvish doesn't claim to have figured out what he cannot: what caused the breakdown of Fields's marriage to Hattie Hughes? A biography that does include many of Fields's well-known lines--"Have you had this tooth pulled before?"--and reprises the best skits has much else to relish: e. g., the movie studio atmosphere and the hilarious objections to Fields's then-too-smutty-but-now-tame-enough gags. Louvish represents dutifully if a little thinly Fields's decline from illnesses brought on by alcoholism.

Now a few cavils. We need more on why William Claude Dukenfield was able to transform his life into comedy. Why could he and not others sublimate his anger and tensions first into juggling and then into physical and finally verbal humor? If the book needs the inspiration of genius to answer this point, that nevertheless is what a Fields fan wants. It also needs a fuller, richer aesthetic and intellectual context in appraising Fields's films. Less consequentially, Louvish on occasion needs more distance from Fields; adopting the master's voice in the narrative ("Never give a sucker an even break, particularly when he might be your biographer," p. 165) blurs the vision instead of clarifying it. There are a few factual errors: *Babbitt* was published in 1922, not 1921; the poem on p. 388 that Louvish thinks is Fields's was written by Ogden Nash (surely the W. W. Norton Company has editors for such details?)

Nevertheless, *Man on the Flying Trapeze* is an entertaining and illuminating biography, and I am grateful for it. Godfrey Daniel!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great research, but a bit too dry(and not as in martini), March 26, 2002

By	J. Carroll "Jack" (Island Heights,NJ) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Man on the Flying Trapeze: The Life and Times of W. C. Fields (Hardcover)

Simon Louvish once again dazzles the reader with his tremendous research, and still is able to make an interesting subject boring. Louvish gathers many details about Fields' early life and career and uses this material to punch holes in the constantly repeated misinformation previous biographies contained (most of the misinformation was supplied by Fields himself. For the facts alone this book is worth the purchase for any fan of "The Great Man," but don't expect to be enthralled by the writing style of Louvish, who has a tendency to write while patting himself on the back. Not enough time is spent on Fields' movie career and his personal life remains a mystery despite Louvish's efforts. Probably the best biography available on W.C. Fields, which only proves how well he covered his tracks.