Cleese and Curtis make Fields a big man on campus

John Cleese meets the local media, April 1. Robert Barker/Univ. Photography

By Franklin Crawford

When John Cleese last visited Cornell as an A.D. White Professor-at-Large, he brought along Simon Hicks, a conservationist. The time before that, he teamed up with legendary Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman. This go-round, Cleese corralled author James Curtis for company. The timing could not have been better. Curtis' biography of classic movie comedian W.C. Fields had hit the cover of The New York Times Sunday book review section on March 30, and Curtis was on the eastern leg of a U.S. book tour. On April 1 Cleese and Curtis co-delivered a lecture, "W.C. Fields: A Comedian for Politically Incorrect Times," to a packed audience in the Statler Auditorium.

During an informal interview with local media at the A.D. White House earlier that day, Cleese sat alongside Curtis fielding a variety of questions about comedy, Hollywood history, Oscars, moviemaking, screenwriting and, of course, the life and works of W.C. Fields.

"One of the great things about my jobs as a professor-at-large is that I can bring absolutely the top people here," said Cleese. "And then not only do the students get a chance to talk to the real experts, but I don't have to do much work."

That last bit is pure understatement because Cleese, as usual, made good use of his time on campus. He'd spent the morning in a social sciences class and kept to his usual eclectic and busy schedule.

The choice of Curtis for a companion was not happenstance. During his 2001 visit, Cleese said he wanted to lecture on Fields. Cleese had recently met Curtis in a Santa Barbara, Calif., wine bar following a fund-raising event. When Cleese heard that Curtis was publishing a Fields biography, he immediately saw another opportunity to arm himself with an expert during his next trip to Cornell.

While Cleese was happy to answer questions about his own career, he was keen on sticking to the point and deferring to his colleague. Curtis, also the author of James Whale: A New World of Gods and Monsters (1998) and Between Flops (1982), an acclaimed biography of writer-director Preston Sturges, is an executive consultant to the computer and health care industries. But he is passionate about the bygone era of American entertainment culture.

"What interests me about comedians like Fields [is] the value that was placed on genuine wit -- they were cleverer in an intelligent sophisticated way at that time than they seem to be today," Curtis said. "Of course, there are exceptions to that, and there is good work being done today. But it was more frequent in those days when they were dealing with large issues like the Great Depression, World War II and to a lesser degree Prohibition. They took these great issues and were able to do something extraordinary with them."

But what separates Fields from other comic geniuses of his time like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton was that Fields was a miniaturist, said Curtis.

Curtis

"Chaplin was dealing with great social issues of the day; Buster Keaton was sinking whole ships and bringing buildings down around himself," he said. "But Fields was grappling with flypaper and dogs and small children. What he was dealing with was timeless -- the petty annoyances that everybody has to contend with, and I think for that reason it is possible for Fields to transcend his time and place because human nature doesn't change."

In other words, Fields' comedy is fresh, 60 years later, in large part because, Curtis said, "Fields was both a great verbal comedian and a great physical comedian."

Cleese, who provided a book-jacket blurb for Curtis' biography, concurred. He said Fields' comedy is universal. In the liner notes Cleese called Curtis' book "the definitive biography of America's most profound comedian."

Cleese also stated that the biography "examines all the myths and stereotypes connected with W.C., and comes up with a fascinating, sympathetic, but utterly convincing picture of a man who was generous yet stingy, who was both a dream and a nightmare to work with, who could be warm or distant, who meticulously planned each word and gesture, and yet who, whatever happened, managed to ad lib something hilarious. The book is also a riveting account of the evolution of show business, from vaudeville via Broadway to radio and film, but with the utterly unique figure of the great W.C. Fields shining throughout, sad, funny and strangely loveable."

It is interesting to note that in the days following Cleese's latest visit, it was difficult to find a W.C. Fields movies in the local video stores that hadn't been checked out. When Cleese brought William Goldman, the effect at both the campus and local libraries was similar: It was hard to find a Goldman book or a video of a movie Goldman had scripted that was still on the shelves.

Cleese has one or two visits left in his tenure as a professor-at-large. He didn't make any promises, but he did mention -- for the second time -- the possibility of bringing actor Kevin Kline along with him next time. Put your order in for "A Fish Called Wanda" ahead of time.

Call it the Cleese effect.