W. C. Fields (1880?-1946), was the stage name of William Claude Dukenfield, an American comedian, born in Philadelphia. At the age of 11 Fields ran away from home. While supporting himself at odd jobs, he learned to juggle.
He went from vaudeville into the Ziegfeld Follies in 1915. He played a seedy, genteel, but always sharped-tongued drunkard. His film debut was in 1925 in Sally of the Sawdust. Other films included If I Had a Million, Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, and Song of the Open Road. He appeared in several short comedies as well as in Earl Carroll's Vanities and George White's Scandals.