#W. C. Fields

[citizenscreen]

Remembering W. C. Fields on his birthday #botd

[gatutor]

ZaSu Pitts-W. C. Fields "Mrs. Wiggs of the cabbage patch" 1934, de Norman Taurog.

[canesenzafissadimora]

Cucino con il vino, a volte ci aggiungo anche del cibo....

buona cena

[diana-andraste]

Her eyebrows at the end though...

Mae West and Joseph Calleia in My Little Chickadee, 1940

[thepopculturearchivist]

And now for something completely different...

JUDGE, March 15, 1924

[old-hollywood-smash-or-pass]

[teledyn]

Come Up and See Me Sometime…

I'm curious about pop icons. For earlier eras, a single phrase immediately identified a single person, a skirt blown up by a passing subway below said Marilyn, a face with a lightening bolt makeup was Bowie.

Somehow I got to be this age before I ever really noticed Sammy Kaye. A chance interview from the mid-70s made me wonder how that happened: Sammy Kaye was a top-tier star of the Swing Era, and I'm not unfamiliar with Swing, yet the name, if it ever came up, was glossed over, I had no recordings, not even in Various Artists complilations. Intrigued, I looked up the movie Sammy mentioned, endorsing it for the artistic freedom and respect it afforded the band

and yes, that's your Star Wars intro, on a film released on D-Day 1944.

But, being curious, I asked my 25 year old (who has led many a swing band) and no, never heard of him. Really. What about W.C.Fields?

And there I got my Future Shock. W.C. who? Ok, well, Edgar Bergen then? Blanks. A paper I read on music history had pondered this, as to why some artists are remembered as iconic for their time but not the many eligible others, the many who were as honoured, sometimes more, by their era. The paper concluded the 20th Century would likely be identified as the era of Bob Dylan.

Here in the 21st century, who are our cultural symbols? Who are the pop icons so distinctive and ubiquitous that a single phrase, a graphic line, a gesture or a feature of their face even badly drawn instantly recalls who they are?

[dailylooneys]

Cracked Ice

(1938, Frank Tashlin)

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[fuckyeahquotesposts]

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it.

W.C. Fields

[litandlifequotes]

I am free of all prejudice. I hate everyone equally.

― W.C. Fields

[citizenscreen]

“If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it.”

- W. C. Fields (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946)

[gatutor]

W. C.Fields-Freddie Bartholomew-Elsa Lanchaster "David Copprfield" 1935, de George Cukor.

[davidhudson]

W. C. Fields, January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946.

[movieassholes]

Master Copperfield. We've lost our tempers, perhaps. Eh, no need of that. I'm a very humble person, Master Copperfield, I've no wish to rise above my place.

Uriah Heep - David Copperfield (1935)

[anokha-swad]

Bert Williams (1874-1922) was a key figure in the development of African-American entertainment. In an age when racial inequality and stereotyping were commonplace, he became the first black American to take a lead role on the Broadway stage, and did much to push back racial barriers during his long career. Fellow vaudevillian W.C. Fields, who appeared in productions with Williams, described him as "the funniest man I ever saw – and the saddest man I ever knew.

How high is the light above Is everybody thinking 'bout a thing called love My, my there's a light ahead Is everybody waiting 'till the thing turns red Hey, hey we've a while to go Is everybody ready 'cause the thing must roll My life ain't no ball and chain It's a summer of forgiveness And the fall of pain And the money's O.K. And the money's O.K.

Hey, hey you and I agree They burned our rivers And they burned our trees My, my we've a while to go Is everybody willing 'cause the thing must roll My life ain't no ball and chain It's a summer for existence and the fall again My life ain't no given up It's a never ending story 'bout a thing called love And the money's O.K. And the money's O.K.

Did you ever wonder in your life, What then? Were you ever hit by lightning twice or ten times thinking All we do is live and die

If all we do is life and die Then tell me about the birds that fly Tell me about the summer rain And evenings whispering your name If all we did is die and live Will springtime be there to forgive Son of laughter, son of pain Somewhere over bows of rain

I loved you more - more than anything I loved you more - than the driving rain I loved you more - more than words can say

If all we did is life and die Then tell me about the birds up high Tell me about the summer rain And evenings whispering your secret name If all we did is die and live Will springtime be there to forgive Son of laughter, son of pain Somewhere over bows of rain

I loved you more - more than anything I loved you more - than the driving rain I loved you more - more than words can say

Did you ever wonder in your life, What then? Were you ever hit by lightning twice or ten times thinking All we do is live and die

***

This song brings balance to my soul.