W.C. Fields   Life Mask

This is a wall hanging life-cast of W.C. Fields made as display piece. The lifecast was originally made for make-up effects, and mask creation for his feature film work. This casting is made of a sturdy white professional grade plaster. Although this originated as a life mask much sculpting and smoothing took place on this cast to give it a classic sculptured look. There isn’t any skin detail on this cast but the expression is all Fields. Select Thumbnail For Larger Image William Forsche offers you this high quality life mask direct from his Hollywood collection "I have personally been collecting and creating life masks in Hollywood for over 25 years." "This is a professionally made modern casting made of the highest grade materials available." - William Forsche (Select thumbnail below to read an article about the artist)  Please Visit Our Other Life Mask Auctions Performer's Bio, Film & Television Appearances Biography for W.C. Fields Date of Birth 29 January 1880, Darby, Pennsylvania, USA Date of Death 25 December 1946, Pasadena, California, USA (stomach hemorrhage) Birth Name Claude William Dukenfield, Nickname Bill Uncle Claudie (self reference) Height 5' 8" (1.73 m) Mini 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-six. 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. IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan Spouse Harriet Hughes (8 August 1900 - 25 December 1946) (his death) 1 child Trade Mark Usually portrayed rather pessimistic, aggressive and suspicious-natured men with great fondness of alcohol. Yet, this same character was at the same time dogged by his wife and he rarely managed to speak up against her. He is remembered for his hatred of children, but did in fact frequently possess great fatherly affection for his daughter. Trivia Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California, USA, in the Great Mausoleum, Holly Terrace entrance, Hall of Inspiration. He was the second choice to play the title role in The Wizard of Oz (1939). There are still some arguments as to why he turned the part down. Some sources say that he refused to play "The Wizard" because MGM wouldn't pay the salary he wanted, but according to Doug McClelland, author of "Down The Yellow Brick Road", Fields was too busy writing and acting in his latest film for Universal Pictures - You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939) - to be loaned out to MGM to play the part. Had a lifetime disdain for music; this he attributed to having to hear his father's singing day and night as a child, loudest when "the old patriarch" was drunk (companion Carlotta Monti claimed Fields once hit her with a cane, to stop her humming with a guitar). When expected to sing in a role, he almost always made a complete farce of both the lyrics and his performance. Pictured on a 15¢ US commemorative postage stamp in the Performing Arts and Artists series, issued 29 January 1980 (100th anniversary year of his birth). Grandfather of Ronald J. Fields, who edited a biography titled "W.C. Fields by Himself". The book dispelled many longstanding stories about Fields, including ones of his living for years on the street. Young Fields did indeed run away from home after fights with his father, but usually no farther than his grandmother's, and he would return home the next day. He stayed with his grandmother just before beginning his professional career as a juggler. Enshrined in the Juggling Hall of Fame. The lawyer Larsen E. Pettifogger in the comic strip "Wizard of Id" is drawn to look like him. While stories of Fields' alcohol consumption (and the consequences thereof) were a regular part of his act, and he was rarely seen without a drink at hand, nobody could recall ever actually seeing him drunk, or out of control. Reportedly had hidden microphones installed along the front walk to his Hollywood home; Fields would slip into a small room to listen to guests talking as they departed. When someone spoke negatively about him, Fields would amuse himself by alluding to what they'd said, the next time he saw them. Stopped drinking for over a year during his career, when a friend died of alcohol-related causes, but eventually went back to it. Fields' wife Hattie became his partner in his juggling act after their marriage; he sent her home to his parents when she became pregnant. After Fields returned from the road, they discovered they'd grown apart, but Hattie wouldn't give him a divorce, and when Fields refused to "find a regular job", she began badmouthing him to their young son, William Jr.. Fields predicted that the boy would grow up to see the truth of the situation (Fields never failed to support his family, however much or little he was earning)... and it happened. While father and son rarely saw each other over the years, Fields was proudly introduced to his firstborn grandson (W.C. Fields III) before his death. Could juggle or balance practically anything he could lift or carry; Fields unnerved his despised mother-in-law by keeping a lit cigar, a candle (in holder), or a beer bottle balanced atop his head at mealtimes, never seeming to notice its presence. Although one of his most famous quotes is "Never work with animals or children." he secretly admired children. Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith, pg. 160-163. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387 Has a medical syndrome named after him - 'W.C. Fields syndrome', characterized by rhinophyma (rosacea of the nose) associated with alcoholism. His wife was born in 1878. She died November 7, 1963. His son, with wife Hattie, William C. "Claude" Dukenfield,was born on July 28, 1904. He had another son, born on August 15, 1917, with girlfriend Bessie Poole, named William Rexford Fields Morris. Grandchildren: Ruthie, Everett, and Bill. Appears on sleeve of The Beatles' "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". According to film historians, he performed in only one film exactly according to script and as directed. That one was MGM's The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger (1935), in which he co-starred with Freddie Bartholomew, who was only ten years old. Fields admired the Charles Dickens book and wanted desperately to play Mr. Micawber in the movie, so he agreed to forego his usual ad-libs and put aside his distaste at working with child actors. Slipped a dose of gin into Baby LeRoy's milk bottle during a movie shoot, when the set nurse left for a bathroom break; production had to stop for a day until the child could sober up (Fields reportedly sent money later to LeRoy's family, after the boy's screen career ended and they had financial trouble). Usually wrote or co-wrote the screenplays to his movies; the aliases he used ("Mahatma Kane Jeeves", "Otis Criblecoblis", etc.) for the writing credits came from the unusual names he encountered on the road, in his vaudeville days. Legend has it that on the set of You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939), a stagehand was cleaning out Fields' dressing room and accidentally bumped into a table on which Fields had placed a bottle of whiskey. He caught the bottle before it hit the floor, but the cork had popped out and he couldn't find it. He placed the bottle back on the table and left. Later Fields came back to the dressing room, and a few minutes afterwards stormed out, roaring "Who took the cork out of my lunch?" It was generally assumed that his prominent proboscis was the result of his drinking, an assumption he himself fueled in his comedy. However, it is believed to have actually been a physical characteristic inherited from his mother's side of the family. Through much of his early career, he was a silent juggler. It wasn't until he was in his mid-30s that be began to add verbal comedy to his act He said that The Marx Brothers were the only act he couldn't follow on the live stage. He is known to have appeared on the same bill with them only once, during an engagement at Keith's Orpheum Theatre in Columbus, OH, in January 1915. At the time the Marx Brothers were touring "Home Again", and it didn't take Fields long to realize how his quiet comedy juggling act was faring against the anarchy of the Marxes. Fields later wrote of the engagement (and the Marxes), "They sang, danced, played harp and kidded in zany style. Never saw so much nepotism or such hilarious laughter in one act in my life. The only act I could never follow . . . I told the manager I broke my wrist and quit.". Was an accomplished amateur cartoonist. He often provided his own illustrations for his publicity material during his vaudeville days, and sent sketches and self-drawn holiday cards to his friends, all his life. Is portrayed by Chuck McCann in Mae West (1982) (TV) and by Rod Steiger in W.C. Fields and Me (1976) Lived with Carlotta Monti for fourteen years. Was good friends with John Barrymore According to friends, the biggest laugh he ever got as a stage performer was when a monologue he was giving on-stage was interrupted by a long, loud crash of objects backstage. After the crashing stopped, and the audience was silent, Fields gave a one-word comment in a stage whisper: "Mice!" Although his marriage to Harriet Hughes lasted until his death in 1946, they separated as early as in 1904. Father of W. C. Fields, Jr. (b. 1903) Although he is quoted as saying that he was "the best ballet dancer in the world.", secretly he was extremely jealous of Charles Chaplin, whom he had known when he was younger, for achieving worldwide fame and adoration. Rock-and-roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis has said on several occasions that Fields is his favorite comedian. Although well known for his addiction to alcohol today, Fields did in fact rarely touch alcohol until he was in his mid-30s. He began his career in vaudeville as a juggler, and with that profession he could not afford to drink a lot, as his act demanded precise coordination and concentration in order to succeed. His father was a US Civil War veteran; "W.C. Fields by Himself" includes a photograph of his father wearing his old Army uniform. The last movie he starred in, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941), included a character he'd always wanted to have in one of his movies: a young woman (in this case his niece, played by Gloria Jean) who loved him unconditionally. He admired African-Americans, and spoke out in favor of fairer treatment for them during the days of segregation in the US. He generously paid off the $4000 mortgage on the house of his African-American cook. He once ordered from his premises a man who used the "N-word" within earshot of his staff. Fields always regretted not having more formal education. He traveled with a trunk of books, reading whenever he could, and thought for a time about hiring a tutor. He lavished praise on "Readers' Digest" magazine, in later years. He was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 7004 Hollywood Boulevard and for Radio at 6316 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Inspired the character Captain Erasmus Mulligan in Morris' Lucky Luke graphic novel Western Circus. Painter/artist John Dekker painted W.C. Fields as Queen Victoria of England. Personal Quotes 'Twas a woman drove me to drink. I never had the courtesy to thank her. I never drink anything stronger than gin before breakfast. [when asked why he never drank water] I'm afraid it will become habit-forming. [when asked what he would like his epitaph to read] On the whole, I'd rather be in Philadelphia. [when asked whether he liked children] Ah, yes . . . boiled or fried. [when "caught" reading a Bible] Just looking for loopholes. Wouldn't it be terrible if I quoted some reliable statistics which prove that more people are driven insane through religious hysteria than by drinking alcohol? I like, in an audience, the fellow who roars continuously at the troubles of the character I am portraying on the stage, but he probably has a mean streak in him and, if I needed ten dollars, he'd be the last person I'd call upon. I'd go first to the old lady and old gentleman back in Row S who keep wondering what there is to laugh at. Horse sense is what a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. What contemptible scoundrel stole the cork from my lunch? What fiend put pineapple juice in my pineapple juice? If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then give up. No use being a damned fool about it. Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite, and furthermore always carry a small snake. Once during Prohibition, I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water. What a gorgeous day. What effulgent sunshine. It was a day of this sort the McGillicuddy brothers murdered their mother with an axe. Hell, I never vote for anybody. I always vote against. Children should neither be seen nor heard from...ever again. [looking back on his life] You know, I'd like to see how I would've made out without liquor. I am free of all prejudices. I hate everyone equally. The only thing a lawyer won't question is the legitimacy of his mother. Start every day with a smile, and get it over with. I remember Shakespeare's words because he was a great writer. I can't remember Hollywood lines; just as I may well recall a wonderful meal at Delmonico's many years ago, but not the contents of the garbage pail last Tuesday at Joe's Fountain Grill. Women are like elephants. They are interesting to look at, but I wouldn't like to own one. [on reading the Bible] I admit I scanned it once, searching for some movie plots . . . but I found only a pack of wild lies. A rich man is nothing but a poor man with money. Marriage is better than leprosy, because it's easier to get rid of. There comes a time in the affairs of man when he must take the bull by the tail and face the situation. [about comedian Bert Williams] He was the funniest man I ever saw, and the saddest man I ever knew. [on Charles Chaplin] He's the best ballet dancer in the world. Hollywood is the gold cap on a tooth that should have been pulled out years ago. I gargle with whiskey several times a day, and I haven't had a cold in years. The cost of living has gone up another dollar a quart. After two days in the hospital, I took a turn for the nurse. The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep. Drown in a cold vat of whiskey? Death, where is thy sting? A man who loves whiskey and hate kids can't be all that bad. Salary Follow the Boys (1944) $15,000 Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941) $125,000 The Bank Dick (1940) $125,000 My Little Chickadee (1940) $125,000 You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939) $125,000 The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938) $20,000 The Dentist (1932) $5,000/week Actor: 1940s 1930s 1920s 1910s Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941) .... The Great Man ... aka What a Man (UK) The Bank Dick (1940) .... Egbert Sousè ... aka The Bank Detective (UK) My Little Chickadee (1940) .... Cuthbert J. Twillie You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939) .... Larson E. Whipsnade The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938) .... T. Frothingill Bellows/S.B. Bellows Poppy (1936) .... Professor Eustace P. McGargle Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935) .... Ambrose Wolfinger ... aka The Memory Expert (UK) Mississippi (1935) .... Commodore Jackson The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger (1935) (as W. C. Fields) .... Micawber ... aka David Copperfield (USA: short title) It's a Gift (1934) .... Harold Bissonette Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1934) .... Mr. C. Ellsworth Stubbins The Old Fashioned Way (1934) .... The Great McGonigle/Squire Cribbs in 'The Drunkard' You're Telling Me! (1934) .... Sam Bisbee, Optometrist Six of a Kind (1934) .... Nuggetville Sheriff 'Honest John' Hoxley Alice in Wonderland (1933) .... Humpty-Dumpty Tillie and Gus (1933) .... Augustus Q. Winterbottom The Barber Shop (1933) .... Cornelius O'Hare International House (1933) .... Prof. Henry R. Quail The Pharmacist (1933) .... Mr. Dilweg ... aka The Druggist The Fatal Glass of Beer (1933) .... Mr. Snavely The Dentist (1932) .... Dentist If I Had a Million (1932) .... Rollo La Rue Million Dollar Legs (1932) .... The President Her Majesty, Love (1931) .... Bela Toerrek, Lia's Father The Golf Specialist (1930) .... J. Effingham Bellweather ... aka Broadway Headliners: The Golf Specialist (USA: series title) Fools for Luck (1928) .... Richard Whitehead Tillie's Punctured Romance (1928) .... Ring Mister Two Flaming Youths (1927) .... Gabby Gilfoil Running Wild (1927/I) .... Elmer Finch The Potters (1927) .... Pa Potter So's Your Old Man (1926) .... Samuel Bisbee It's the Old Army Game (1926) .... Elmer Prettywillie ... aka The Old Army Game (USA: review title) That Royle Girl (1925) .... Her Father Sally of the Sawdust (1925) .... Professor Eustance McGargle Janice Meredith (1924) .... A British Sergeant ... aka The Beautiful Rebel His Lordship's Dilemma (1915) .... Remittance man Pool Sharks (1915) Writer: 2000s 1960s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1910s The Fatal Glass of Fields (2008) (original writer) "Wayne and Shuster Take an Affectionate Look At..." (1 episode, 1965) - W.C. Fields (1965) TV episode (archive footage) (as Mahatma Kane Jeeves) Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941) (original story) (as Otis Criblecoblis) ... aka What a Man (UK) The Bank Dick (1940) (writer) (as Mahatma Kane Jeeves) ... aka The Bank Detective (UK) My Little Chickadee (1940) (screenplay) You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939) (story) (as Charles Bogle) Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935) (story) (as Charles Bogle) ... aka The Memory Expert (UK) It's a Gift (1934) (original story) (as Charles Bogle) The Old Fashioned Way (1934) (as Charles Bogle) (story) You're Telling Me! (1934) (writer) (uncredited) Tillie and Gus (1933) (uncredited) The Barber Shop (1933) (writer) The Fatal Glass of Beer (1933) (uncredited) Too Many Highballs (1933) (story) (uncredited) The Singing Boxer (1933) (writer) The Dentist (1932) (uncredited) The Golf Specialist (1930) (uncredited) ... aka Broadway Headliners: The Golf Specialist (USA: series title) The Family Ford (1930) (story) It's the Old Army Game (1926) (play "The Comic Supplement") ... aka The Old Army Game (USA: review title) Pool Sharks (1915) (writer) Soundtrack: 1940s 1930s Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941) (writer: "CHICKENS LAY EGGS IN KANSAS") (performer: "CHICKENS LAY EGGS IN KANSAS") ... aka What a Man (UK) Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935) ("On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" (1897) (uncredited)) ... aka The Memory Expert (UK) Director: Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935) (uncredited) ... aka The Memory Expert (UK) Self: 2000s 1940s 1930s 1920s "Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America" (1 episode, 2009) - Never Give a Sucker an Even Break: The Wiseguys (2009) TV episode Sensations of 1945 (1944) .... Himself, W.C. Fields ... aka Sensations (USA: reissue title) Song of the Open Road (1944) .... Himself Follow the Boys (1944) .... Himself Show Business at War (1943) .... Himself ... aka The March of Time Volume IX, Issue 10 Hollywood on Parade No. B-7 (1934) .... Himself How to Break 90 #3: Hip Action (1933) (uncredited) .... Himself, Bill Fields Hollywood on Parade No. A-9 (1933) (uncredited) .... Himself A Trip Through the Paramount Studio (1927) .... Himself Archive Footage: The Great Man: W.C. Fields (2005) (V) .... Himself "Broadway: The American Musical" - Syncopated City: 1919-1933 (2004) TV episode W.C. Fields: 6 Short Films (2000) (V) "Biography" - Don Ameche: Hollywood's Class Act (1999) TV episode (uncredited) .... Himself - Charles Dickens: A Tale of Ambition and Genius (1995) TV episode - W.C. Fields: Behind the Laughter (1994) TV episode "American Masters" - Vaudeville (1997) TV episode .... Himself 100 Years of Comedy (1997) (V) Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults (1997) (TV) .... Himself Legends of Comedy (1992) (TV) Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths (1990) (V) .... Himself W.C. Fields: Straight Up (1986) (TV) .... Himself The Hollywood Clowns (1979) (V) "Columbo" - How to Dial a Murder (1978) TV episode (uncredited) .... Himself America at the Movies (1976) .... Mr. Dilweg That's Entertainment, Part II (1976) .... Clip from 'David Copperfield' Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? (1975) Milton Berle's Mad Mad Mad World of Comedy (1974) (TV) .... Himself Hollywood: The Selznick Years (1969) (TV) (uncredited) .... Himself, film clip from 'David Copperfield' Hollywood My Home Town (1965) .... Himself "Wayne and Shuster Take an Affectionate Look At..." - W.C. Fields (1965) TV episode .... Various The Big Parade of Comedy (1964) .... Actor in 'David Copperfield' "The DuPont Show of the Week" - The Ziegfeld Touch (1961) TV episode .... Himself - Laughter USA (1961) TV episode .... Himself Screen Snapshots: Memories of Famous Hollywood Comedians (1952) .... Himself Down Memory Lane (1949) .... The dentist

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• Genre: Movie Memorabilia
• Modified Item: No
• Product Type: Props
• Type: Life Mask
• Original/Reproduction: Reproduction

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