Sidney Fields
Sidney Fields | |
---|---|
Born | Sidney Hirsch Feldman February 5, 1898 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Writer, actor |
Years active | 1920s-1966 |
Spouse | Marie E. Collins (m. 1928) |
Sidney Fields (February 5, 1898 — September 28, 1975), born Sidney Hirsch Feldman, was an American comedic actor and writer best known for his featured role on The Abbott and Costello Show in the 1940s (radio) and early 1950s (television). He was sometimes credited as "Sid Fields" or "Sidney Field".[1]
Early life
Fields was born Sidney Hirsch Feldman,
Career
As a teenager, he worked in amateur shows and local vaudeville as a "comedy monologist," and later became partner in a comedy team with
Although he knew them from their burlesque days, Fields began working with
Fields played the hot-tempered, bald-headed landlord of the rooming house where Abbott and Costello lived. He was a frequent target of gags and schemes foisted by the two main characters. Fields also played numerous other roles, almost always wearing a wig, moustache, glasses or other disguise. (These characters were often related to the landlord.) The ensemble cast included Hillary Brooke as a neighbor and love interest of Lou Costello's, Gordon Jones as Mike the Cop, who was a dimwitted comedic foil for the boys, Joe Besser as Stinky Davis, a 40-year-old man dressed in a Little Lord Fauntleroy suit, and Joe Kirk as Mr. Bacciagalupe, an Italian immigrant caricature who ran different small businesses, depending on the episode.
The show ran for two seasons and played in syndication for decades.[1] After the show ended, Sidney played occasional small roles in television shows, and worked as a staff writer and comedian in Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine.[1]
Fields retired to
Legacy
Fields, playing his role of Professor Melonhead, performed "Who's on First?" with Costello on Walgreen's 44th anniversary radio special when Abbott was sick and unable to perform.[4]
Jerry Seinfeld, a fan of the comedy team and TV series, volunteered to care for an elderly man named Sid Fields in a 1993 episode of Seinfeld called "The Old Man".
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-415-93853-2. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
- ^ U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 for Sidney Hirsch Feldman, February 15, 1942, accessed via Ancestry.com
- ^ a b Application for Marriage License, Sidney H. Feldman and Marie E. Collins, December 27, 1928, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, accessed via Ancestry.com
- ^ Fields & Costello routine, from the Walgreens 44th anniversary special (on radio).
External links
- Sidney Fields at AllMovie
- Sidney Fields at IMDb