Tragedy and Comedy

Tragedy and Comedy

All of my life I have been a fan of the great actor W.C. Fields, whose persona, both public and private, was formed by his use and abuse of alcohol. Fields was a master wordsmith, juggler and had a comedic timing second to none.

But it was his drinking habits and bulbous nose that gave him such a distinct onscreen personality. He was 66 years old when he died on Christmas Day, 1946. The official cause of death was sclerosis of the liver, caused by his alcoholism.

His juggling and the hilarious pool playing routines Fields recreated in his films, stemmed from his Vaudeville days, when he did not drink because he needed to be physically and mentally sharp to perform.

Life on the road was lonely and Fields was said to keep liquor in his dressing room as a means of attracting other actors to come for a visit. One day he joined his friends. In film, Fields’ characters were most always drinkers, suffering the scorn of a non-understanding wife, nagging mother in-law and disapproving daughter.

Even though he had success on film, his drinking eventually got in the way and Paramount Pictures let him go in 1936, but he made a comeback three years later with Universal, starring in “You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man.” In that film he continued his banter with Charlie McCarthy, the famous character created by ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. The two had fought on Bergen’s radio show in the preceding years. Fields quipped to McCarthy, “Is it true your father was a gate-leg table?” McCarthy fired back “If it is, your father was under it.” In 1940, he made “My Little Chickadee” with Mae West, whose disapproval of Fields and his drinking is Hollywood legend.

One of his last projects, The Temperance lecture, was also one of his best. During his performance he says, “Now don't say you can't swear off drinking; it's easy. I've done it a thousand times.” He adds, “How well I remember my first encounter with The Devil's Brew. I happened to stumble across a case of bourbon--and went right on stumbling for several days thereafter.”

There are so many quotes attributed to Fields, and famous lines from his movies, such as “Some weasel took the cork out of my lunch...,” from ‘You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man.’ Another famous Fields line was “I was in love with a beautiful blonde once. She drove me to drink; that's the one thing I'm indebted to her for,” from ‘Never Give a Sucker an Even break.’

The bigger than life Hollywood character was in reality a man suffering from the disease of alcoholism. The humor merely covered up what was a serious health issue, which cut his life short and interrupted a Hollywood career. He was able to get parts in films late in his career, but he was not given the opportunity to advance his own projects, without ample involvement with the studio.

Fields, for all of his celebrity and acclaim, is a tragic figure. Alcoholism was in the way. And alcoholism isn’t funny.

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