W. C. Fields from Burlesque and Vaudeville to Broadway: Becoming a Comedian [Paperback]

W. C. Fields was a virtuoso comedian, often called a comic genius, legendary iconoclast, and Great Man, who brought so much laughter to millions while enduring so much anguish. This book explores his little-known, long stage career from 1898 to 1930, which had a major influence on his comedy and screen presence.Prologue: It's the Old Army Game Introduction PART I: THE FLEDGLING YEARS 1. Meet the Dukenfields 2. Life with Father PART II: THE TRAINING GROUND 3. The Tramp Juggler 4. Initiation Rites 5. The Sly Conjurer 6. The Big Time PART III: ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE 7. A Master Pantomimist 8. My Art Never Satisfies Me 9. To the Antipodes 10. The Trouper on the Flying Trapeze 11. The Ham Tree PART IV: WHAT THEREFORE GOD HATH JOINED TOGETHER, LET NOT MAN PUT ASUNDER 12. The Breakup 13. The Affair PART V: THE LABYRINTH TO THE ZIEGFELD FOLLIES 14. The Road to the Palace 15. The Second Home 16. They Had Me Sweating Blood 17. Backstabbed Epilogue: The Defining MomentArthur Frank Wertheim has written several books on twentieth-century American culture, including Vaudeville Wars, The New York Little Renaissance, and Radio Comedy. He has co-edited three volumes: The Papers of Will Rogers and edited Will Rogers at the Ziegfeld Follies and American Popular Culture. A former American history professor at the University of Southern California, USA, as well as?visiting professor?at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA, his awards?range from?a Fulbright grant to teach at the University of Indonesia to a fellowship on biography at The Norman Mailer Center, USA.