Man on the Flying Trapeze

The Life and Times of W. C. Fields

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by Simon Louvish

Type

Biographies

Subject

Actor > W.C. Fields

Keywords

W.C. Fields

Publishing date

1999

Publisher

W. W. Norton & Co

1st publishing

1997

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 576 pages
6 x 9 ¼ inches (15.5 x 23.5 cm)

ISBN-10
ISBN-13

0-393-31840-0
978-0-393-31840-1

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Book Presentation:
"[Fields] was his own greatest creation, and in Louvish, this complicated artist has finally found the biographer he deserves."―Malcolm Jones, Jr., Newsweek
Man on the Flying Trapeze is the first biography in decades ― and the only accurate one ― of the beloved cinematic curmudgeon and inimitable comic genius W. C. Fields. Simon Louvish brilliantly sifts through evidence of Fields's own self-creation to illuminate the vaudeville world from which Fields sprang and his struggles with studios and censors to make his hilarious films-in the process confirming suspicions (yes, he did drink) and confounding them (he doted on his grandchildren). "One of the best movie biographies to come along in quite some time. . . . [A] book to cherish."―Film Review "[Man on the Flying Trapeze] nicely regales us with many vaudevillian stories. . . . Louvish does a heroic job."―Katharine Whittemore, New York Times Book Review "A rapturous, giddy, and irrepressible book. . . . Let us be clear: this is a delight, a marvel of research . . . and a superb argument for the case that William Claude Dukenfield was, and is, the greatest comic the movies have given us."―David Thomson "At last 'the Great Man' (as Fields called himself, accurately) has a great biography."―Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Illustrated

About the Author:
Simon Louvish is the author of nine critically acclaimed novels, including The Days of Miracles and Wonders. He teaches film at the London International Film School and writes frequently about the Golden Age of comedy.

Press Reviews:
A rapturous, giddy, and irrepressible book. . . . Let us be clear: this is a delight, a marvel of research . . . and a superb argument for the case that William Claude Dukenfield was, and is, the greatest comic the movies have given us. -- David Thomson

At last 'the Great Man' (as Fields called himself, accurately) has a great biography. -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

One of the best movie biographies to come along in quite some time. . . . [A] book to cherish. -- Film Review

[Fields] was his own greatest creation, and in Louvish, this complicated artist has finally found the biographer he deserves. -- Malcolm Jones, Jr., Newsweek

[Man on the Flying Trapeze] nicely regales us with many vaudevillian stories. . . . Louvish does a heroic job. -- Katharine Whittemore, New York Times Book Review

See the publisher website: W. W. Norton & Co

See the complete filmography of W.C. Fields on the website: IMDB ...