W. C. FIELDS - DOCUMENT SIGNED 01/28/1939 - HFSID 277617

W. C. FIELDS
Internal Revenue Service document signed by Fields in 1939. Fields, who often criticized the income tax in his acts, signed this document to show his agreement to terms regarding his tax deficiencies.
Document signed "W C Fields".  Also signed by a representative of the Treasury Department. 1 page, 8x10¼, one part of a triplicate carbon copy.  Jan. 28, 1939. Titled: "Consent Fixing Period of Limitation upon Assessment of Income and Profits Tax". Stamped in purple ink in upper right corner: "Received/Jan 30 1939/Internal Revenue Agent in Charge/Los Angeles Division". Fields was not fond of the income tax, as can be seen from a number of his one-liners, such as, "I could juggle anything in my day. Balls, cigar boxes, knives...But there was one thing I could never juggle. My income tax." This document, which signified Fields' agreement to terms regarding tax deficiencies, shows that the war between him and the IRS escalated beyond jokes on at least one occasion. Red-nosed, gravel-voiced, bottle-hitting Fields (1880-1946, born William Claude Dukenfield in Darby, Pennsylvania) began his film career in silent films. He later excelled in such films as David Copperfield (1935) as Micawber, My Little Chickadee (1940) with Mae West and The Bank Dick (1940). The vaudeville veteran, who appeared in every version of the Ziegfeld Follies from 1915 to 1921, made his last film, Sensations of 1945, in 1944. Fields was also a regular performer on Charlie McCarthy's radio shows. Lightly toned and creased. Paperclip impression and rust stains near upper left corner. Folded three times and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition.