In 1891, when his father injured himself by stepping on a shovel (in some accounts, a rake), 11-year-old W.C. Fields laughed at the mishap.
His father spanked him, and the next day, Fields left home. He only returned for brief visits with his mother when his father was away.
For a while, the homeless boy lived in a hole in a vacant lot. Later, he moved into rooms above a wheelwright’s shop.
The suite, furnished with “discarded chairs and stools,” represented a clubhouse for Fields and his friends, who brought him food from their families’ larders.
He also stole bakery items from stores and milk from residents’ porches.
The free lunches provided by saloons to their customers were additional sources of sustenance.
Fields would tell waiters to bring him two plates—one for himself and the other for his father. Fields would tell them that his absent father would be by shortly to buy drinks.
Not long after, he became an “overnight success” in movies.
