This Day in History: American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer, William Claude Dukenfield, better known as W. C. Fields, was born on this day (January 29) in 1880. Fields's comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathetic character despite his supposed contempt for children and dogs.
Among his trademarks were his raspy drawl and grandiloquent vocabulary. Field's was also known for his wit and humor. Some of his quotes are:
I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.
I am free of all prejudice. I hate everyone equally.
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it.
Start every day off with a smile and get it over with.
Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people.
Fell in love with a beautiful blonde once. Drove me to drink. And I never had the decency to thank her.
I like children. If they're properly cooked.
A thing worth having is a thing worth cheating for.
Once, during Prohibition, I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water.
Never try to impress a woman, because if you do she'll expect you to keep up the standard for the rest of your life.
Marry an outdoors woman. That way, if you have to throw her out into the yard for the night, she can still survive.
I always keep some whiskey handy in case I see a snake...which I also keep handy.
I once spent a year in Philadelphia, I think it was on a Sunday.
Fields had a substantial library in his home. Although a staunch atheist—or perhaps because of it—he studied theology and collected books on the subject. According to a popular story, according to biographer James Curtis), actor Thomas Mitchell caught Fields reading a Bible. Mitchell asked what he was doing, and Fields replied, "Looking for loopholes."
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