The dark humor of comedian and movie star W.C. Fields will appeal to anyone with a cynical bent. Famous for repeatedly uttering "I hate you" in his stylized way, Fields was born in 1879 as William Claude Dukenfield. He worked in vaudeville and the circus in his early career. The Ziegfeld Follies rocketed him to fame and he made his first movie, 'Pool Sharks', in 1915. He suffered from many illnesses but returned to the screen, writing his own scripts for 'The Bank Dick' and 'Never Give a Sucker an Even Break'. He continued to be dogged by illness and never fully recovered, dying in 1946. He was a man full of paradoxes, either the nicest or the meanest guy to work with, depending on who you talked to. Chronic illness can certainly change a person's view of life and perhaps this goes some way towards explaining his jaundiced outlook. Here are some of the best lines attributed to W.C. Fields:

Asked how he liked children, "Parboiled," he supposedly said. Another source has the response as "they are very good with mustard."

The science fiction writer Ray Bradbury ('Fahrenheit 451') reported that, when he was 14, he spotted Fields in front of the Paramount studios and asked Fields to sign his autograph book. Fields scribbled something and handed it back, saying, ""There you are, you little son of a b*tch."

"Women are like elephants to me. I like to look at 'em, but I wouldn't want to own one."

Do you believe in clubs for women?, Fields was asked. "Yes, if every other form of persuasion fails."

"A woman drove me to drink - and I hadn't even the courtesy to thank her."

Asked if he wanted a fizzy Bromo Seltzer for a hangover, he said, "Ye Gods, no! I couldn't stand the noise."

"Now don't say you can't swear off drinking; it's easy. I've done it a thousand times."

"If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it."

Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people.

Start every day off with a smile and get it over with.

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