{"product_id":"man-on-the-flying-trapeze-the-life-and-times-of-w-c-fields-9780393318401","title":"Man on the Flying Trapeze: The Life and Times of W. C. Fields","description":"\u003cem\u003eMan on the Flying Trapeze\u003c\/em\u003e is the first biography in decades -- and the only accurate one -- of the beloved cinematic curmudgeon and inimitable comic genius W. C. Fields. Simon Louvish brilliantly sifts through evidence of Fields's own self-creation to illuminate the vaudeville world from which Fields sprang and his struggles with studios and censors to make his hilarious films-in the process confirming suspicions (yes, he did drink) and confounding them (he doted on his grandchildren). \"One of the best movie biographies to come along in quite some time. . . . [A] book to cherish.\"--\u003cem\u003eFilm Review\u003c\/em\u003e \"[\u003cem\u003eMan on the Flying Trapeze\u003c\/em\u003e] nicely regales us with many vaudevillian stories. . . . Louvish does a heroic job.\"--Katharine Whittemore, \u003cem\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e \"A rapturous, giddy, and irrepressible book. . . . Let us be clear: this is a delight, a marvel of research . . . and a superb argument for the case that William Claude Dukenfield was, and is, the greatest comic the movies have given us.\"--David Thomson \"At last 'the Great Man' (as Fields called himself, accurately) has a great biography.\"--\u003cem\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/em\u003e (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLouvish, Simon:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cstrong\u003eSimon Louvish\u003c\/strong\u003e is the author of nine critically acclaimed novels, including \u003cem\u003eThe Days of Miracles and Wonders\u003c\/em\u003e. He teaches film at the London International Film School and writes frequently about the Golden Age of comedy.","brand":"W. W. Norton \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50844425945362,"sku":"9780393318401","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_05a90c4a-e1e2-4426-87f2-f790a0dec3ef.jpg?v=1737320003","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/man-on-the-flying-trapeze-the-life-and-times-of-w-c-fields-9780393318401","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}