W.C. Fields’ Dirty Secret

What can the title of this post refer to, you wonder? W.C. Fields wore all of his sins on his sleeve: drinking, smoking, and professed animadversions for such untouchable subjects of societal sanctity as children, dogs, family, religion, and the New Deal. His will specifically stipulated that no black children receive any of his bequest to orphans, a rare example of an S.O.B. extending his meanness posthumously. So what could be left? Well, there’s the small matter of a second son.

The story of Fields’ legally recognized family is well known to fans of the comedian. He’d met his wife Hattie (Harriet) while both were in show business. Hattie retired from performing after their son Claude was born in 1904. Hattie wanted to settle down and live like most folks; Fields was not about to leave show biz. His hope was that wife and child would accompany him on the road, which was common in those days. So they separated, and never divorced. Both remained bitter about it for the rest of their lives. The countless shrewish wives and namby-pamby sons in Fields’ films, all lampoons of Hattie and Claude, were part of his literal revenge.

Further, though still married to Harriet, Fields was not about to be celibate. Starting in 1916 he took up with a showgirl named Bessie Poole. The following year, the product of their dalliance, William Rexford Fields Morris, was born. (I deduce that the surname was chosen because Fields was represented by the legendary talent agent William Morris). Unlike Hattie, Bessie was devoted to show business, so she gave the baby (whom Fields never even looked at) to her friends Edward and Rose Holden, to raise. Fields sent checks for the boy’s support until he turned 19 (1926). The following year he also paid off Poole to the tune of $20,000 under the condition she sign a paper disavowing Fields’ paternity. Poole died in 1928 at age 33. The official cause of death was alcoholism and complications therefrom including a heart ailment, but that has always been challenged by those familiar with the story due to the fact that she had been in a nightclub brawl the night before. At any rate, when reporters queried him following her death, Fields denied even knowing her.

As a boy in New Jersey, the adopted child was known as Bill Holden! (For you youngsters, there was once a major Hollywood actor by that name. I take nothing for granted anymore.) As a teenager, he went to visit his biological father on one occasion, and met his last paramour, Carlotta Monti. In much later years, his paternity was proved by DNA testing. Bill Morris served in the army during World War Two and settled in North Carolina, marrying a girl name Alice Roberta Mabry (1916-2008), who I’m started to realize is a distant relative of mine! My 5th great-grandmother was a Mabry of this same family, which goes back to Francis Maybury of Virginia and traces back to Shropshire. (Tens of thousands of folks can say the same).

We have neo-vaudeville performer Steve Langley, one time paddle-ball world record holder, bubble artist, and son of NASCAR driver Elmo Langley, to thank for a REMARKABLE video interview he conducted with Morris in 2012. Yes! 2012! Morris didn’t pass away until 2015, when he was 97 years old. He does indeed bear a resemblance to his biological father. You can see that interview here.

For more on variety entertainment, please see No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous,and for more on classic comedy see Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube.