Customer Reviews

W.C. Fields: His Follies & Fortunes

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found this to be a fascinating book. From Fields' childhood and adolescent years, through his vaudeville and film years, and to his final ending, one is given a close-up look at The Great Man through the eyes of those closest to him. His day-to-day life away from the movie set and stage is covered in great detail and the reader learns that Fields the actual person had much in common with the roles he played in his movies - in fact, if anything, he was more eccentric than his characters. He could be a real cheapskate - but he also could be generous and big-hearted, even to those whom he didn't know well.

I enjoyed reading the stories of how he would just on the spur of the moment decide to pack up one of his cars (the Lincoln with the chromed engine being a favorite), take a friend or two and his personal assistant, and head out for days or even weeks on a trip just driving and sightseeing. What a change in his life from his early teen days when for a while he actually lived in a hole in the ground in Philadelphia.

This is such an in-depth and fascinating look at WC Fields' entire life, I think it should be regarded as possibly the definitive biography of him. It was written not long after his death when the memories of those involved were still fresh and accurate. If you like Fields, GET THIS BOOK. Start at page one and you'll devour the whole thing. It's great reading.

Just as Will Rogers never met a man he didn't like, W.C. Fields has not yet met a biographer who could faithfully reveal this extraordinary life. This book, the very first biography by a gifted writer and close crony and idolator of Fields, stands up as a very entertaining, fun read. No pretense is made of its veracity, and the author revels in passing along as truth the many legends, embellishments, half-truths, fictions, conceits, misdirections and heresies propagated and condoned by Fields himself during a lifetime of playing anyone but his true extremely complicated self to the outside world. His close friends, Taylor included, gleefully abetted this cover-up, and his book continues the conspiracy. With that ton of salt, it remains immensely entertaining and worthwhile reading!

This book is a fun read for fans of W.C. Fields. But accuracy was not a major issue for the author. Many of the stories have since been disproven by better biographers who bothered to do some research. The author here just accepted all of Fields's gag stories and the output of Paramount's publicity department.

This book can be enjoyed, but it should be regarded as a work of fiction that loosely touches on some aspects of the reality of Fields's life.

If you want an actual biographer of Fields, you'd do much better with Simon Louvish.

Excellent biography. The DEFINITIVE bio of the funniest man ever. Book is in good condition, though the spine is creaky and the pages odorous, this only adds to the mystique of WC Fields. For the price paid, a great deal. For a book almost sixty years old, what more could I expect? A collectable version would be worth every dollar.