@article{806617,
      recid = {806617},
      author = {Wertheim, Arthur Frank,},
      title = {W.C. Fields from the Ziegfeld Follies and Broadway stage  to the screen : becoming a character comedian /},
      publisher = {Palgrave Macmillan,},
      address = {New York :},
      pages = {1 online resource :},
      year = {2016},
      abstract = {This book reveals how Fields became a character comedian  while performing in Broadway's most illustrious revue, the  Ziegfeld Follies. As the first biography to use the  recently opened Fields Papers at the Motion Picture  Academy, the book explores how Fields years as a Follies  entertainer portraying a beleaguered husband and a  captivating conman became a landmark turning point in his  career, leading to his fame as a masterful film comedian.  The book also untangles a web of mysteries about Fields's  turbulent private life, from the heartrending stories about  the tragic relationship with his calculating wife who  refused to divorce him, to his estranged son controlled by  his mother, to the seven-year extra-marital affair with a  chorus girl that led to the birth of an unwanted child.  This electrifying saga illuminates a complex dual  personality, whirling from tenderness to brusqueness, who  endured so much anguish in order to bring the gift of  laughter to millions. Although vilified by Ziegfeld and  assailed by demons, Fields survived the cutthroat rigors of  Broadway show biz to become a legendary American iconoclast  and cultural icon.},
      url = {http://library.usi.edu/record/806617},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94986-1},
}