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
TV Shows (1)
Movies (63)
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
1997
as Self (archive footage)
The Movie Orgy
1968
as Self (archive footage)
David Copperfield
1935
as Wilkins Micawber
Alice in Wonderland
1933
as Humpty-Dumpty
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976
as (archive footage)
Song of the Open Road
1944
as W.C. Fields
Mississippi
1935
as Commodore Jackson
Janice Meredith
1924
as A British Sergeant
Poppy
1936
as Eustace McGargle
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975
as Self (archive footage)
If I Had a Million
1932
as Rollo La Rue
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940
as Self (archive footage)
Follow the Boys
1944
as W. C. Fields
Man on the Flying Trapeze
1935
as Ambrose Wolfinger
The Pharmacist
1933
as Mr. Dilweg
The Big Parade of Comedy
1964
as Wilkins Micawber in 'David Copperfield' (archive footage)
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
1982
as Self (archive footage)
International House
1933
as Professor Quail
Tales of Manhattan
1942
as Professor Pufflewhistle (uncredited)
Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths
1990
as (archive footage)
My Little Chickadee
1940
as Cuthbert J. Twillie
Show-Business at War
1943
as Self
Six of a Kind
1934
as Sheriff John Hoxley
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
1976
as Self - Tribute Montage (archive footage)
You Can't Cheat an Honest Man
1939
as Larson E. Whipsnade
Hooray for Hollywood
1976
as Self (archive footage)
The Big Broadcast of 1938
1938
as T. Frothingill Bellows / S.B. Bellows
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
1941
as The Great Man
It's the Old Army Game
1926
as Elmer Prettywillie
The Bank Dick
1940
as Egbert Sousé
Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984
as (archive footage)
Million Dollar Legs
1932
as The President
Tillie and Gus
1933
as Augustus Winterbottom
The Hollywood Clowns
1979
as (archive footage)
The Dentist
1932
as Dentist
Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her
1994
as Self (archive footage)
Her Majesty, Love
1931
as Bela Toerrek
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
1934
as Mr. Stubbins
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults
1999
as (archive footage)
Down Memory Lane
1949
as (archive footage)
Running Wild
1927
as Elmer Finch
Vaudeville
1997
as Self (archive footage)
Sensations of 1945
1944
as W.C. Fields
You're Telling Me!
1934
as Sam Bisbee
The Fatal Glass of Beer
1933
as Mr. Snavely
The Golf Specialist
1930
as J. Effingham Bellweather
W.C. Fields: Straight Up
1986
The Circus: Premiere
1928
as Self
Pool Sharks
1915
How to Break 90 #3: Hip Action
1933
as Himself
It's a Gift
1934
as Harold Bissonette
The Old-Fashioned Way
1934
as The Great McGonigle / Squire Cribbs in 'The Drunkard'
The Potters
1927
as Pa Potter
Fools for Luck
1928
as Richard Whitehead
The Barber Shop
1933
as Cornelius O'Hare
W.C. Fields: 6 Short Films
2000
Two Flaming Youths
1927
as Gabby Gilfoil
Hollywood on Parade No. B-10
1934
as Self
That Royle Girl
1925
as Professor Royle
So's Your Old Man
1926
as Samuel Bisbee
Tillie's Punctured Romance
1928
as Ring Master
Sally of the Sawdust
1925
as Professor Eustance McGargle
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 Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender (1997) — as Self (archive footage)
- The Movie Orgy (1968) — as Self (archive footage)
- David Copperfield (1935) — as Wilkins Micawber
- Alice in Wonderland (1933) — as Humpty-Dumpty
- That's Entertainment, Part II (1976) — as (archive footage)
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.