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

"Mr. Fields' clever juggling and pantomime are the best feature of a nondescript entertainment called The Ham Tree, current at the Colonial." In the piece itself, Fields strayed somewhat off the subject. It seemed to be a complaining article, with special reference to acts that made use of large, noisy props. In the course of his choler it developed that his trouble could be traced to a family of French acrobats who had once preceded him in Paris and killed his routine entirely. Fields offered no solution for these acts, other than his implied suggestion that they be removed from the theater without delay. Toward the end, in a quieter vein, he went into a few of his own little turns. "My use of extension nippers," he wrote, "came from seeing them employed by the Viennese shopkeepers to lift articles from the window, customers declining to accept any but the identical goods displayed." He could probably have added a few lively, personal notes to the Viennese shopkeeper situation, had he chosen. The Ham Tree was a success of the period. Of the reviews that greeted it, that of the South Bend (Indiana) Tribune was regarded by some of the cast as being the most definitive : "Perhaps the best vaudeville bill ever offered in South Bend was Mclntyre and Heath and supporting company in The Ham Tree at the Auditorium last evening. The Ham Tree is called 'A Musical Novelty,5 but in reality it is a series of vaudeville features done up in a flimsy package which for want of any other name may be called 'A Plot.' Every once in a while the package is either forgotten or it is mislaid. No matter which, the audience is entertained and the laughs come thick and fast. "Mclntyre and Heath are clever blackface comedians. They are above the average and never do they have to resort to the tricks and horseplay so common in the variety of comedy which they essay. Generally speaking, their methods are quiet and their 123