Who took the role of W C Fields in the 1976 film 'W C Fields and Me'?
"W. C. Fields and Me W. C. Fields and Me is a 1976 American biographical film released by Universal Pictures, directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Rod Steiger and Valerie Perrine. The screenplay by Bob Merrill is based on a memoir by Carlotta Monti, mistress of actor W. C. Fields during the last 14 years of his life. The story begins in 1924 in New York City, where W. C. Fields is a Ziegfeld Follies headliner, and ends with his 1946 death in California at age 66. In between, it dramatizes his life and career with emphasis on the latter"
"purists undoubtedly will be outraged with the many inaccuracies in it], this movie biography . . . has a certain appeal thanks to Steiger's handling of the lead role . . . Rather than ape Fields, [he] creates his own interpretation of the man, capturing subtle nuances that create a better-rounded character."" The film has never been released on home video due to the successful efforts of Fields' grandson, a judge in California, to keep it from public view. W. C. Fields and Me W. C. Fields and Me is a 1976 American biographical film released by Universal Pictures, directed"
"W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer. Fields' comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist, who remained a sympathetic character despite his snarling contempt for dogs and children. His career in show business began in vaudeville, where he attained international success as a silent juggler. He gradually incorporated comedy into his act, and was a featured comedian in the Ziegfeld Follies for several years. He became a star in the Broadway musical comedy ""Poppy"" (1923), in which he played"
"a ""Hommage to Mack Sennett"" (1934). Fields is one of the figures that appears in the crowd scene on the cover of The Beatles' 1967 album ""Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"". The United States Postal Service issued a W.C. Fields commemorative stamp on the comedian's 100th birthday, in January 1980. Information for this filmography is derived from the book, ""W. C. Fields: A Life on Film"", by Ronald J. Fields. All films are feature length except where noted. W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an"
"1927, he made a negotiated payment to her of $20,000 upon her signing an affidavit declaring that ""W. C. Fields is NOT the father of my child"". Poole died of complications of alcoholism in October 1928, and Fields contributed to her son's support until he was 19 years of age. Fields met Carlotta Monti (1907–1993) in 1933, and the two began a sporadic relationship that lasted until his death in 1946. Monti had small roles in two of Fields' films, and in 1971 wrote a memoir, ""W.C. Fields and Me,"" which was made into a motion picture at Universal Studios"
"Carlotta Monti Carlotta Monti (January 20, 1907 – December 8, 1993) was an American film actress, who was W. C. Fields' companion in his last years. Born Carlotta Montijo in Los Angeles, California, Monti appeared in B-movies and uncredited bit parts including ""Kiss of Araby"" (1933), ""Tarzan the Fearless"" (1933) and ""Night Cargo"" (1936). She met Fields in 1932 and their relationship lasted until his death in December, 1946. She had small roles in his films ""Man on the Flying Trapeze"" (1935) and ""Never Give a Sucker an Even Break"" (1941). Monti's best-selling memoir, ""W. C. Fields & Me"", published"
"busyness. Within his first few minutes on screen he (1) gets drunk, (2) whines, (3) pleads for understanding, (4) weeps and (5) goes to bed alone."" Later that year, Steiger starred as an Irish Republican Army terrorist who plans to blow up the Houses of Parliament in Don Sharp's British thriller ""Hennessy"". John Simon of ""New York Magazine"" wrote: ""This fellow Hennessy, as played by Rod Steiger, is about as interesting and likable as a Guy Fawkes dummy."" The following year, Steiger portrayed the comic actor W. C. Fields in an Arthur Hiller biopic, ""W. C. Fields and Me"", for"
"W.C. Fields / I Would Rather Be Living in Philadelphia."" In reality, his interment marker bears only his stage name and the years of his birth and death. In 1937, in an article in ""Motion Picture"" magazine, Fields analyzed the characters he played: You've heard the old legend that it's the little put-upon guy who gets the laughs, but I'm the most belligerent guy on the screen. I'm going to kill everybody. But, at the same time, I'm afraid of everybody—just a great big frightened bully . ... I was the first comic in world history, so they told me,"
"W. C. Fields, playing himself, is seen admiring a billboard advertising his previous film, ""The Bank Dick"" (1940). He encounters various hecklers and minor calamities, including a classic scene with a rude, sassy diner waitress (Jody Gilbert). His doting niece, Gloria Jean, also playing herself, is on her way to rehearse some songs at the studio, where she demonstrates her classically trained coloratura soprano. Fields himself is also there to pitch a script to Franklin Pangborn, playing a producer named ""Mr. Pangborn"". Fields and Pangborn read through the script, which comes to life in a series of scenes: Fields and"
"his Richard III. Christopher Plummer played the title role. A film version was released in 2012, with Plummer again taking the main role. Barrymore had been a friend and drinking companion of Fields. In the 1976 film ""W.C. Fields and Me"", Barrymore was played by Jack Cassidy. Barrymore's friend, Errol Flynn, played him in a 1958 film ""Too Much, Too Soon"", an adaptation of the autobiography of Diana Barrymore, with Dorothy Malone playing the female lead. Howard Thompson, the film critic of ""The New York Times"", wrote that ""Flynn, as the late John Barrymore, a moody, wild-drinking ruin of a"
"several of his films following this one. You're Telling Me! You're Telling Me! is a 1934 American pre-Code comedy film released by Paramount Pictures, and starring W. C. Fields; this film is a remake of his earlier silent film ""So's Your Old Man"" (1926), and both films are adapted from the story ""Mr. Bisbee’s Princess"" by Julian Leonard Street. Sam Bisbee (W. C. Fields) is an optometrist and an amateur inventor. His daughter Pauline (Joan Marsh) is in love with Bob Murchison (Buster Crabbe), but Bob's upper-class mother (Kathleen Howard) wants nothing to do with anyone related to uncouth Sam"
"a colorful small-time con man. His subsequent stage and film roles were often similar scoundrels, or henpecked everyman characters. Among his recognizable trademarks were his raspy drawl and grandiloquent vocabulary. The characterization he portrayed in films and on radio was so strong it was generally identified with Fields himself. It was maintained by the publicity departments at Fields' studios (Paramount and Universal) and was further established by Robert Lewis Taylor's biography, ""W. C. Fields, His Follies and Fortunes"" (1949). Beginning in 1973, with the publication of Fields' letters, photos, and personal notes in grandson Ronald Fields' book ""W. C. Fields"
"for Fields and comedy, while conceding that the scenes without Fields were ""painfully frail"" and would provoke some squirming and eye-rolling. More recently, ""The Age of Comedy"" was unimpressed, finding the film uninteresting and over-serious apart from Fields' presence, and Fields not at his best. The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: Poppy (1936 film) Poppy is a 1936 comedy film starring W. C. Fields and Rochelle Hudson. The film was based on a 1923 stage revue of the same name starring Fields and Madge Kennedy. This was the second film version of the revue, following"
"Fields his ""alternate"" 1935 Academy Award for Best Actor: ""For playing a marvelous character no other comic could conceive, and making us laugh nonstop for 65 minutes, Fields deserves the Oscar."" Man on the Flying Trapeze Man on the Flying Trapeze (UK title: The Memory Expert) is a 1935 comedy film starring W. C. Fields as a henpecked husband. As with his other roles of this nature, Fields is put-upon throughout the film, but triumphs in the end. Ambrose Wolfinger works as a ""memory expert"" for a manufacturing company's president; he keeps files of details about all the people President"
"will find incomprehensibly silly. Probably you also will laugh your head off."" Never Give a Sucker an Even Break Never Give a Sucker an Even Break is a 1941 Universal Pictures comedy film starring W. C. Fields. Fields also wrote the original story, under the pseudonym ""Otis Criblecoblis"". Fields plays himself, searching for a chance to promote a surreal screenplay he has written, whose several framed sequences form the film's center. The title is derived from lines from two earlier films. In ""Poppy"" (1936), he tells his daughter, ""If we should ever separate, my little plum, I want to give"
"Never Give a Sucker an Even Break Never Give a Sucker an Even Break is a 1941 Universal Pictures comedy film starring W. C. Fields. Fields also wrote the original story, under the pseudonym ""Otis Criblecoblis"". Fields plays himself, searching for a chance to promote a surreal screenplay he has written, whose several framed sequences form the film's center. The title is derived from lines from two earlier films. In ""Poppy"" (1936), he tells his daughter, ""If we should ever separate, my little plum, I want to give you just one bit of fatherly advice: Never give a sucker an"
"character as hairless. After two days of work, he disliked his performance in the dailies and asked to be replaced. It was said at the time that ""he looked as though he were about to molest the child."" Selznick released Laughton who, in turn, recommended comedian and Dickens scholar W. C. Fields for the part. A clause in Fields' contract stated that he had to play the part with a British accent, but as he had difficulty learning the lines he had to read off cue cards and thus speaks in his own accent in the role. His defense: ""My"
"stage appearance of the two performers as a team. In the RKO Radio Pictures film, ""The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle"" (1939), Fields appeared as himself, re-enacting a slapstick comedy scene from ""The Hen-Pecks"". They gave a cameo performance performing their ""casino"" routine in the 1940 movie ""Lillian Russell"". Lew Fields died in Beverly Hills, California on July 20, 1941. Fields was the father of Dorothy, Herbert and Joseph, all of whom enjoyed theatrical careers of their own. Fields was Jewish. The backstage hostility in Neil Simon's play and film ""The Sunshine Boys"" is reportedly based on the team"
"You're Telling Me! You're Telling Me! is a 1934 American pre-Code comedy film released by Paramount Pictures, and starring W. C. Fields; this film is a remake of his earlier silent film ""So's Your Old Man"" (1926), and both films are adapted from the story ""Mr. Bisbee’s Princess"" by Julian Leonard Street. Sam Bisbee (W. C. Fields) is an optometrist and an amateur inventor. His daughter Pauline (Joan Marsh) is in love with Bob Murchison (Buster Crabbe), but Bob's upper-class mother (Kathleen Howard) wants nothing to do with anyone related to uncouth Sam Bisbee. Even Sam's wife Bessie (Louise Carter)"
"would have starred Fields, but the project was shelved, partly because of contract difficulties, and Welles went on to adapt ""The Magnificent Ambersons"". During the early planning for his film ""It's a Wonderful Life"", director Frank Capra considered Fields for the role of Uncle Billy, which eventually went to Thomas Mitchell. A best-selling biography of Fields published three years after his death, ""W.C. Fields, His Follies and Fortunes"" by Robert Lewis Taylor, was instrumental in popularizing the idea that Fields' real-life character matched his screen persona. In 1973, the comedian's grandson, Ronald J. Fields, published the first book to significantly"
"It's the Old Army Game It's the Old Army Game is a 1926 American silent comedy film starring W. C. Fields and Louise Brooks. The ""army game"" is the shell game, a con-trick which WC Fields observes being played. ""It's the old army game"" he says, sagely. The film was directed by A. Edward Sutherland, billed as Eddie Sutherland, and co-stars Sutherland's aunt, the stage actress Blanche Ring in one of her few silent film appearances. The film is based on the revue ""The Comic Supplement"" by Joseph P. McEvoy and Fields, and included several skits from Fields' stage plays."
"challenge this idea, ""W. C. Fields by Himself, His Intended Autobiography"", a compilation of material from private scrapbooks and letters found in the home of Hattie Fields after her death in 1963. According to Woody Allen (in a ""New York Times"" interview from January 30, 2000), W. C. Fields is one of six ""genuine comic geniuses"" he recognized as such in movie history, along with Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Groucho and Harpo Marx, and Peter Sellers. The Surrealists loved Fields' absurdism and anarchistic pranks. Max Ernst painted a ""Project for a Monument to W.C. Fields"" (1957), and René Magritte made"
"film as an ""auspicious debut"", with Fields' routines and pacing already finely honed. It was one of two short films Fields made for a company called Gaumont, distributed by Mutual. He and Ross made another short around the same time, ""His Lordship's Dilemma."" Pool Sharks Pool Sharks (also sometimes known as The Pool Shark) is a 1915 silent short film. The film is notable for being the film acting and writing debut of W. C. Fields, and also features an early stop-motion animation scene, during a game of pool. Following a standard style of the era, the film is a"
"film career. W. C. Fields makes his final movie appearance before his death in 1946. Other performers in the film include Sophie Tucker, Lyle Talbot, Dorothy Donegan, Cab Calloway, Gene Rodgers, Woody Herman, and Les Paul. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music Scoring. Sensations of 1945 Sensations of 1945 is a 1944 American musical-comedy film directed by Andrew Stone. Released by United Artists, the film was an attempt to recapture the ensemble style of films such as ""Broadway Melody of 1936"" by showcasing a number of top musical and comedy acts of the day, in"
"Michael J. Pollard Michael John Pollard (born Michael John Pollack Jr.; May 30, 1939) is an American actor. He is best known for playing C.W. Moss in the 1967 film ""Bonnie and Clyde"", which earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination. Pollard was born in Passaic, New Jersey. He is the son of Sonia V. (née Dubanowich) and Michael John Pollack. His parents were both of Polish descent. His mother was born in New York and his father was born in New Jersey. Pollard's father supported his wife and Michael, Jr. by working 60 hours a week"
"(1935) and as a foil to W.C. Fields in four films,""The Pharmacist"" (1933), ""Man on the Flying Trapeze"" (1935), ""You Can't Cheat an Honest Man"" (1939), and ""The Bank Dick"" (1940). Film historian William J. Mann characterizes Sutton as a typical ""Hollywood Sissy,"" that is as a gay actor who ordinarily portrayed an effeminate character for comedic effect. He continued to work throughout the 1950s and 1960s, finally retiring from acting in 1979. The strength of his association with Fields was such that it was mentioned in the commentary for ""My Fair Lady"". Sutton has a non-speaking role in some"
"Molly and Me Molly and Me is a 1945 American comedy film directed by Lewis Seiler, starring Monty Woolley, Gracie Fields, Reginald Gardiner and Roddy McDowall and released by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay was based on the novel written by Frances Marion and adapted by Roger Burford. In 1937 London, struggling vaudeville actress Molly Barry (Gracie Fields) grows tired of searching for roles and applies for a job as housekeeper for upper class gentleman John Graham (Monty Woolley). She informs her friends and fellow actors, Lily (Queenie Leonard) and Julia (Edith Barrett), about her plans, but since she does"
"lost film. Rumors of an extant print with French intertitles screened in Belgium in 2006 or earlier are hearsay and have not been substantiated. His Lordship's Dilemma His Lordship's Dilemma is a 1915 silent short comedy film produced by the Gaumont Film Company and distributed by the Mutual Film Corporation. The film stars W.C. Fields as a remittance man, and part of the film includes an adaptation of the comedian's famous golf routine. Supporting players include Bud Ross, who had also appeared with Fields in ""Pool Sharks"" that same year; and Fields' brother Walter, in his only known film appearance,"
"Ups (glow sticks), which won an award at the Cannes Film Festival. Fields made his Broadway debut in ""The King and I"" in 1978. This was the first revival starring Yul Brynner and Constance Towers. Fields was understudy for the role of Louis (the teacher's son) and also swing for the Royal Children (wearing a black wig and full body make-up so as to appear Siamese). Fields was also in the Turgenev play ""A Month in the Country"" (Roundabout Theater Company) starring Tammy Grimes, Farley Granger and Amanda Plummer. In 1980, Fields was cast as Tom of Warwick in the"
"C. Fields had starred in a series of comedies for Paramount in the 1930s. ""My Little Chickadee"" was Mae West's first screen performance since ""Every Day's a Holiday"" (1937) for Paramount Pictures. This was Fields' second performance for Universal, and West's only performance for Universal. It was also the last successful film of West's career; her three subsequent films would all fail at the box office. ""My Little Chickadee"" was the third of five films starring Fields to be directed by Edward Cline, an ex-Keystone Cop. The others were ""Million Dollar Legs"" (1932), ""You Can't Cheat an Honest Man,"" ""The"
"His Lordship's Dilemma His Lordship's Dilemma is a 1915 silent short comedy film produced by the Gaumont Film Company and distributed by the Mutual Film Corporation. The film stars W.C. Fields as a remittance man, and part of the film includes an adaptation of the comedian's famous golf routine. Supporting players include Bud Ross, who had also appeared with Fields in ""Pool Sharks"" that same year; and Fields' brother Walter, in his only known film appearance, listed in various sources as Walter ""Dukinfield"" or Walter ""Fields"" (the family name is usually rendered as ""Dukenfield""). ""His Lordship's Dilemma"" is considered a"
"So's Your Old Man So's Your Old Man is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Gregory La Cava and starring W. C. Fields and Alice Joyce. It was written by J. Clarkson Miller based on the story ""Mr. Bisbee's Princess"" by Julian Leonard Street as adapted by Howard Emmett Rogers. It was filmed at Astoria Studios in Queens, New York City. The film was remade as a talkie in 1934, with W. C. Fields again starring, under the title ""You're Telling Me!"" In 2008, ""So's Your Old Man"" was added to the United States National Film Registry. Sam"
"C. Fields on a Paramount set filming ""International House"" when the 1933 Long Beach earthquake struck was later revealed to have been faked by that film's crew for publicity purposes. Paramount mogul Adolph Zukor ""presented"" (produced) Paramount News and appeared in many of its newsreels throughout the years. The Paramount News slogan was ""The Eyes and Ears of the World"" (""The Eyes of the World"" in its early silent days) and was included in its well-known closing, which featured a cameraman turning a large 35 mm movie camera toward the audience. This was accompanied by a music theme titled ""Paramount"