W. C. FIELDS - DOCUMENT SIGNED 11/12/1924 CO-SIGNED BY: FLORENZ "FLO" ZIEGFELD JR. - HFSID 283420

W. C. FIELDS and FLO ZIEGFELD
Both sign and initial a typed documentary letter (1924) extending Fields' contractual obligation to a Ziegfeld production.
Documentary Letter signed: "W. C. Fields", "F. Ziegfeld, Jr." , 1 page, 7¼x10½. New York City, 1924 November 12. On Ziegfeld's New Amsterdam Theatre letterhead to W. C. Fields, New York City. Both have initialed a one-line ink addition in Ziegfeld's hand. Noting that Fields' current Equity Run-of-the-Play Contract for J. P. McEvoy's "Comic Supplement" expires on June 1, 1925, Fields agrees to extend his commitment after that date at the rate of $1,750 per week, provided that Fields is successful through the Actors Equity Association in getting released from a conflicting commitment with Phillip Goodman. Fields' weekly salary is to rise to $2,000 per week if "Comic Supplement" should continue running into 1926. Red-nosed, gravel-voiced, bottle-hitting American comedian W. C. FIELDS (1880-1946), born William Claude Dukenfield, began his career in silents, later excelling in such films as David Copperfield (as Micawber), My Little Chickadee (with Mae West) and The Bank Dick. 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. FLORENZ ZIEGFELD, JR. (1867-1932, born in Chicago, Illinois) managed Sandow, the strong man. In 1896, he turned to theatrical management. His promotion of a French beauty, Anna Held, using press releases about her milk baths, brought her fame and set a pattern of star-making through publicity. Held and Ziegfeld were married from 1897 until they divorced in 1913. In 1907, Ziegfeld produced his first revue, The Follies of 1907, modeled on the Folies-Bergère of Paris but less risqué. The New York revue's combination of semi-nudity, pageantry and comedy was repeated successfully for 23 more years in the Ziegfeld Follies, until the Great Depression ended the annual spectacles. McEvoy's comic sketches were part of the Ziegfeld Follies of 1925, which ran for 88 performances at the New Amsterdam Theatre, closing on September 19, 1925. Intersecting folds and scattered creases. Otherwise, fine condition.