W. C. Fields : his follies and fortunes (1949)

W. C. Fields plied to Fields. He stands up well among the great moneylovers of his day. In fact, few persons in any profession have ever had a more wholesome regard for a dollar. He realized that if audiences were cool to his act Irwin would drop him without a qualm, and he planned his campaign accordingly. As punishment for his greed, Irwin decreed that Fields should lead off the bill — an impossible spot for a juggler. Stragglers and program rustlers blurred those delicate climaxes so vital to the appreciation of precise sleight of hand. However, of the opening performance, in Newark, a critic wrote, "Easily the best act on Irwin's bill last night was the opener, an up-and-coming youngster named W. E. Fields. We'll keep an eye on you, Mr. Fields!" Fields was undisturbed by the fact that the critic misfired on his middle initial; it was five or six minutes after the paper hit the street when he appeared in Irwin's office. "Seen the reviews?" he said pleasantly. "That's a hard edition to make," said Irwin. "Most of the boys have to leave real early." "It's here on page five," continued Fields. "Man says, 'Easily the best act ' " "This is the minor league," Irwin assured him. "The real critics come later." "I didn't get to finish," Fields said. "What I was about to say was, I need fifty a week." Irwin howled like a man stricken, but he had little choice. He agreed to the fifty, and the tour proceeded. It went smoothly as far as Cincinnati, where a reporter for the Inquirer wrote, "Fields was a scream. Irwin has a real find there." A few minutes after edition time, Fields, heavy with papers, sought out the manager again. "Looked over the news, Fred?" he asked, having decided, democratically, on the given name. 60