William Claude Dukenfield

1880 – He was born this year in Darby, Pennsylvania. Fields left home at age 18 and entered vaudeville. By age 21 he was traveling as a comedy juggling act, becoming a headliner in both North America and Europe.

1900 – He married a fellow vaudevillian, chorus girl Harriet "Hattie" Hughes, on April 8 of this year.

1901 – He made his Broadway debut in the musical comedy The Ham Tree'.

1907 – They got separated, she pushed him to stop touring and settle down to a respectable trade, while he was reluctant to give up his own living.

1923 – He first hit big theatrical fame in the Broadway musical Poppy, where he perfected his persona as an oily, botched confidence man.

1935 – He achieved one of his career ambitions by playing the character Mr. Micawber, in MGM's David Copperfield.

1936 – He recreated his signature stage role in Poppy for Paramount Pictures.

1938 – Illness, deteriorated by his heavy drinking, stopped Fields' film work for a time, but he made a comeback trading insults with Edgar Bergen's dummy Charlie McCarthy on radio.

1941 – He was strong-minded to make a movie his way, with his own script and staging, and his own selection of supporting players. Universal finally gave him the opportunity, and the resulting film, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break.

1946 – He died of stomach hemorrhage.