„Ich bin frei von Vorurteilen. Ich hasse jeden gleich.“
"I am free of all prejudice. I hate everyone equally."
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W. C. Fields geboren als William Claude Dukenfield war ein US-amerikanischer Schauspieler, Komiker, Drehbuchautor und Jongleur. Bekannt wurde er seit der Jahrhundertwende als Unterhalter in Vaudeville-Shows sowie am Broadway, ehe er ab den 1920er-Jahren zum Star zahlreicher Filmkomödien avancierte. In seinen Rollen verkörperte Fields zumeist misanthropische und egoistische Familienväter mit einer Vorliebe für Alkohol. Seine Figuren hegten meist leidenschaftlichen Hass gegen ihr kleinbürgerliches Leben – nörgelnde Ehefrauen, nervige Kinder, Hunde, Nachbarn, der Beruf – und blieben gerade deshalb dem Zuschauer sympathisch. Er gehörte zeitlebens zu Amerikas beliebtesten Komikern. Wikipedia
„Ich bin frei von Vorurteilen. Ich hasse jeden gleich.“
"I am free of all prejudice. I hate everyone equally."
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"Don't say you can't give up drinking. It's easy. I've done it a thousand times."
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„Beginne jeden Tag mit einem Lächeln und bring ihn damit hinter dich“
"Start every day off with a smile and get it over with."
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"Whilst traveling through Afghanistan, we lost our corkscrew. Had to live on food and water for several days."
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„Ich habe nie für jemanden gestimmt. Ich habe immer dagegen gestimmt.“
"I never voted for anybody. I always voted against."
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"I was in love with a beautiful blonde once, dear. She drove me to drink. That's the one thing I'm so indebted to her for."
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"I didn't squawk about the steak, dear. I merely said I didn't see that old horse that used to be tethered outside here."
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“Here lies W. C. Fields. I would rather be living in Philadelphia.”
This was an epitaph Fields proposed for himself in a 1925 article in Vanity Fair. It refers to his long standing jokes about Philadelphia (his actual birthplace), and the grave being one place he might actually not prefer to be. This is often repeated as "On the whole, I'd rather be in Philadelphia.", or "All things considered, I'd rather be in Philadelphia." which he might have stated at other times. It has also sometimes been distorted into a final dig at Philadelphia: "Better here than in Philadelphia." Fields' actual tomb at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California simply reads "W. C. Fields 1880–1946".
“Never give a sucker an even break.”
According to Collier's (28 November 1925), Fields is said to have used this line as early as 1923 in the musical comedy play Poppy. It became the title of one of his films in 1941 (and Fields' character also spoke this line in the sound film version of Poppy [1938] and in You Can't Cheat an Honest Man [1940]).
“I'd rather have two girls at twenty-one each, than one girl at forty-two.”
You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1940)
To a waitress, in Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941)
“She's all dressed up like a well-kept grave.”
In reference to Jan Duggan's character in The Old Fashioned Way (1934)
“And it ain't a fit night out for man nor beast.”
The Fatal Glass of Beer (1933). Fields adapts an English proverb that was popular in the 17th century. (James Howell, English Proverbs (1659): "When the wind is in the east it is good for neither man nor beast"; John Ray, English Proverbs (1670): "When the wind's in the East, It's neither good for man nor beast." In rhyming "east" with "beast" the proverb refers to weather patterns in the British isles.)
“Mr. Fields, could you tell me the reason for your well-known aversion to water?” “Delighted, my dear,” he replied with suddenly increased bonhomie. “Never touch the stuff—very unhealthy. Fish fuck in it.”
Quelle: Halliwell’s Hundred: A filmgoer’s nostalgic choice of films from the golden age By Leslie Halliwell, New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons 1982, Pg. 231: "The story goes that a polite young lady journalist invited him to lunch at Chasen’s in hope of a story. Lunch in his case was a liquid affair, and left him uncommunicative. Noticing the passion with which he shooed away the hovering waiter with the ice water jug, she seized an opening. “Mr. Fields, could you tell me the reason for your well-known aversion to water?” “Delighted, my dear,” he replied with suddenly increased bonhomie. “Never touch the stuff—very unhealthy. Fish fuck in it.”
As quoted in "One Word More: Liberalism Can Be a Bit Confusing" by Ralph McGill, in The Atlanta Constitution (14 August 1938)