The "canary incident" in W.C. Field's 1928 Earl Carroll's vanities stage dental skit.
W.C. Fields (1880-1946), a gifted writer, director and performer, became one of the greatest comedians, jugglers and pantomimes of all time. This crusty, opinionated curmudgeon, whose multifaceted career spanned most of the 20th century, made his name in burlesque, vaudeville, the legitimate stage, silent pictures, talkies, radio, books and recordings. 1-3 He died before a new media -- television - could have brought him even more success. The following article explores a fascinating incident which occurred in the 1928 New York Vanities production on Broadway. A highly popular dental skit written by Fields and entitled "An Episode at the Dentist's," involved the controversial, on-stage employment of a live canary. Documented here are the findings and out come of a legal hearing in which Fields was accused of "cruelty to a canary."
Christen
Arden G
AG
Department of Oral Biology, Indiana University nicotine Dependence Program, Indiana University School of Dentistry and Medicine, USA.
Christen
Joan A
JA
D000827:Animal Welfare / Q000266:history; D000818:Animals; D002171:Canaries; D004324:Drama / Q000266:history*; D006665:History of Dentistry; D049673:History, 20th Century; D008513:Medicine in Literature; D009518:New York