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.
Acted in 48
2000s
- 2000
W.C. Fields: 6 Short Films
Movie
1990s
- 1999
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults
(archive footage)
1980s
- 1986
W.C. Fields: Straight Up
Movie
- 1984
Going Hollywood: The '30s
(archive footage)
1970s
- 1979
The Hollywood Clowns
(archive footage)
- 1976
That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage)
1960s
- 1964
The Big Parade of Comedy
Wilkins Micawber in 'David Copperfield' (archive footage)
1940s
- 1949
Down Memory Lane
(archive footage)
- 1944
Sensations of 1945
W.C. Fields
Song of the Open Road
W.C. Fields
- 1942
Tales of Manhattan
Professor Pufflewhistle (uncredited)
- 1941
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
The Great Man
- 1940
The Bank Dick
Egbert Sousé
My Little Chickadee
Cuthbert J. Twillie
1930s
- 1939
You Can't Cheat an Honest Man
Larson E. Whipsnade
- 1938
The Big Broadcast of 1938
T. Frothingill Bellows / S.B. Bellows
- 1936
Poppy
Eustace McGargle
- 1935
Man on the Flying Trapeze
Ambrose Wolfinger
Mississippi
Commodore Jackson
David Copperfield
Wilkins Micawber
- 1934
It's a Gift
Harold Bissonette
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
Mr. Stubbins
The Old-Fashioned Way
The Great McGonigle / Squire Cribbs in 'The Drunkard'
You're Telling Me!
Sam Bisbee
Six of a Kind
Sheriff John Hoxley
- 1933
Tillie and Gus
Augustus Winterbottom
The Barber Shop
Cornelius O'Hare
International House
Professor Quail
The Pharmacist
Mr. Dilweg
The Fatal Glass of Beer
Mr. Snavely
- 1932
The Dentist
Dentist
Million Dollar Legs
The President
- 1931
Her Majesty, Love
Bela Toerrek
- 1930
The Golf Specialist
J. Effingham Bellweather
1920s
- 1928
Fools for Luck
Richard Whitehead
Tillie's Punctured Romance
Ring Master
- 1927
Two Flaming Youths
Gabby Gilfoil
Running Wild
Elmer Finch
The Potters
Pa Potter
- 1926
So's Your Old Man
Samuel Bisbee
It's the Old Army Game
Elmer Prettywillie
- 1925
That Royle Girl
Professor Royle
Sally of the Sawdust
Professor Eustance McGargle
- 1924
Janice Meredith
A British Sergeant
1910s
- 1915
Pool Sharks
Movie
Wrote 15
1940s
- 1941
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
Story
- 1940
The Bank Dick
Screenplay
My Little Chickadee
Screenplay
1930s
- 1939
You Can't Cheat an Honest Man
Story
- 1935
Man on the Flying Trapeze
Story
- 1934
It's a Gift
Story
The Old-Fashioned Way
Story
- 1933
The Barber Shop
Writer
The Pharmacist
Writer
The Fatal Glass of Beer
Writer
Too Many Highballs
Story
- 1932
The Dentist
Writer
- 1930
The Golf Specialist
Writer
1920s
- 1926
It's the Old Army Game
Theatre Play
1910s
- 1915
Pool Sharks
Writer
Appearances15
2020s
- 2024
Marlene Dietrich: Home Movies
Self
1990s
- 1997
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
Self (archive footage)
- 1994
Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her
Self (archive footage)
- 1990
1980s
- 1983
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1982
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
Self (archive footage)
1970s
- 1976
Hooray for Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
- 1975
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Self (archive footage)
1960s
- 1968
The Movie Orgy
Self (archive footage)
1940s
- 1943
Show-Business at War
Self
- 1940
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Self (archive footage)
1930s
- 1934
Hollywood on Parade No. B-10
Self
1920s
- 1928
The Circus: Premiere
Self