Kurt at 21:13, 10 January 2023

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	\|death_place = [[w:Wimbledon, London\|Wimbledon]], England		\|death_place = [[w:Wimbledon, London\|Wimbledon]], England
	\|occupation = Comedian		\|occupation = Comedian
	\|\|{{Marriage\|Constance Dawkins\|1933\|1950}}		\|spouse = {{Marriage\|Constance Dawkins\|1933\|1950}}
	}}		}}

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	\|occupation = Comedian		\|occupation = Comedian
			\|\|{{Marriage\|Constance Dawkins\|1933\|1950}}
	}}		}}

Kurt at 21:11, 10 January 2023

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	\|birth_name = Sidney Arthur Field		\|birth_name = Sidney Arthur Field
	\|image = File:Sid Field.jpg		\|image = File:Sid Field.jpg
	\|caption = ~~Field in 1949~~		\|caption =
	\|birth_date = {{birth date\|1904\|04\|01\|df=y}}		\|birth_date = {{birth date\|1904\|04\|01\|df=y}}
	\|birth_place = [[w:Birmingham\|Birmingham]], England		\|birth_place = [[w:Birmingham\|Birmingham]], England

Kurt at 21:09, 10 January 2023

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	\|name = Sid Field		\|name = Sid Field
	\|birth_name = Sidney Arthur Field		\|birth_name = Sidney Arthur Field
	\|image = File:Sid Field~~, 1949~~.jpg		\|image = File:Sid Field.jpg
	\|caption = Field in 1949		\|caption = Field in 1949
	\|birth_date = {{birth date\|1904\|04\|01\|df=y}}		\|birth_date = {{birth date\|1904\|04\|01\|df=y}}
	\|birth_place = [[Birmingham]], England		\|birth_place = [[w:Birmingham\|Birmingham]], England
	\|death_date = {{death date and age\|1950\|02\|03\|1904\|04\|01\|df=y}}		\|death_date = {{death date and age\|1950\|02\|03\|1904\|04\|01\|df=y}}
	\|death_place = [[Wimbledon, London]], England		\|death_place = [[w:Wimbledon, London\|Wimbledon]], England
	\|occupation = Comedian		\|occupation = Comedian
	}}		}}

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External links

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	* {{IMDb name\|id=0276044\|name=Sid Field}}		* {{IMDb name\|id=0276044\|name=Sid Field}}
	* {{YouTube\|J8QIWPM-gzY\|Sid Field Golfing Sketch}}		* {{YouTube\|J8QIWPM-gzY\|Sid Field Golfing Sketch}}

	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Field, Sid}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Field, Sid}}

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	{{Short description\|English comedian (1904–1950)}}		{{Short description\|English comedian (1904–1950)}}
	~~{{EngvarB\|date=November 2017}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=November 2017}}~~
	~~{{refimprove\|date=August 2018}}~~
	~~{{about\|the British comedian\|the American author of screenwriting books\|Syd Field\|the comedy American writer and actor who worked with [[Abbott and Costello]]\|Sidney Fields}}~~
	{{infobox person		{{infobox person
	\|name = Sid Field		\|name = Sid Field

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en>WikiCleanerBot: v2.05b - Bot T20 CW#61 - Fix errors for CW project (Reference before punctuation)

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v2.05b - Bot T20 CW#61 - Fix errors for CW project (Reference before punctuation)

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{{Short description|English comedian (1904–1950)}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{refimprove|date=August 2018}}
{{about|the British comedian|the American author of screenwriting books|Syd Field|the comedy American writer and actor who worked with [[Abbott and Costello]]|Sidney Fields}}
{{infobox person
|name = Sid Field
|birth_name = Sidney Arthur Field
|image = File:Sid Field, 1949.jpg
|caption = Field in 1949
|birth_date = {{birth date|1904|04|01|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Birmingham]], England
|death_date = {{death date and age|1950|02|03|1904|04|01|df=y}}
|death_place = [[Wimbledon, London]], England
|occupation = Comedian
}}

'''Sidney Arthur Field''' (1 April 1904 – 3 February 1950) was an English comedy entertainer who was popular in the 1940s.

==Early years==
Field was born in [[Ladywood]], [[Birmingham]], [[Warwickshire]], the son of Albert (a candlemaker) and Bertha (a dressmaker). Field spent most of his childhood in Birmingham. As a child, he charged his friends "admission" to his back garden impression shows. He also [[busking|busked]] and performed in the queues at his local cinema dressed as [[Charlie Chaplin]] (once being cautioned by police for his activities). Field was later praised by Chaplin himself, at whose parties Field was a regular invitee.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sid Field {{!}} British actor (1904–50) |url=https://www.silversirens.co.uk/people/sid-field/ |access-date=2022-12-13 |website=Silver Sirens |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Field was educated at Conway Road, Stratford Road and Golden Hillock Road schools, and attended Sunday school at Emmanuel Church, Walford Road. His cousins, "''the Workmans"'', performed in concerts at Moseley Road Swimming Baths in the city, where Field made his stage debut, singing "What A Life" at the age of nine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sid Field {{!}} British actor (1904–50) |url=https://www.silversirens.co.uk/people/sid-field/ |access-date=2022-12-13 |website=Silver Sirens |language=en-GB}}</ref>

His first professional engagement, with "The Kino Royal Juveniles", came in July 1916, after his mother responded to an advertisement in the ''[[Birmingham Mail]]''. He later worked as an [[understudy]] to [[Wee Georgie Wood]] in a Birmingham [[pantomime]], then appeared in review at the Bordesley Palace and the Mission Hall in Church Road, [[Yardley, Birmingham|Yardley]]. To assuage the young Sid's stage fright, Bertha gave him a glass of [[Port (alcohol)|port]] to drink: by the age of 13, he was dependent on alcohol.{{sfn|Goodwin|1999|p=86}}

==Success==
Sidney Field was considered unusual among comedy performers of the day, as his act was a multitude of characters and impersonations, at a time when most variety ([[vaudeville]]) acts were more limited in nature. Despite his flair for comedy and acting, it was not until he had spent decades touring provincial [[music hall]]s that Field finally achieved prominence, appearing in London's [[West End theatre|West End]] as ''Slasher Green'', the [[Cockney]] ''"[[wide boy]]"'' or ''"''[[spiv]]''"''. His rise to stardom was quick.

In ''Strike a New Note'' (1943), ''Strike it Again'' (1944) and ''Piccadilly Hayride'' (1946), he had his audiences roaring with laughter. One reviewer commented that he was the only comedian who had the audience literally "falling off their seats with laughter". He was loved for his routines involving a naïve approach to the billiards table and the golf course, played with his [[double act|straight man]], [[Jerry Desmonde]]. [[Terry-Thomas]] acted as compere for the shows and appeared with Field in one of the sketches.{{sfn|Hope-Hawkins|Nicholls|2004}}

On 5 November 1945, Field appeared in the ''[[Royal Variety Performance]]''. Appearing again in 1946, he became one of the few artists to make an appearance in two consecutive Royal Performances. 18 months later in 1948, Field was topping the bill at the [[London Palladium]], replacing [[Mickey Rooney]].

Field had a starring role in ''[[That's the Ticket]]'' (1940) but ''[[London Town (1946 film)|London Town]]'' (1946) is often referred to as his first film in error. Some of his best-remembered sketches are preserved here. Field made one more film, ''[[Cardboard Cavalier]]'' (as Sidcup Buttermeadow), co-starring with [[Margaret Lockwood]]. However, cinema was not Field's most effective medium, and his films were neither critical nor commercial successes.

It is perhaps because of this lack of recorded material on film or TV, that Field is now largely forgotten. Only the three films and some recorded variety material survive. He influenced a generation of comedians and pioneered the use of [[character acting]] in comedy. He was cited as a comic favourite by [[Eric Morecambe]], [[Eric Sykes]], [[Frankie Howerd]], [[Tommy Cooper]], among many others, and an influence to [[Tony Hancock]]. He was described by [[Bob Hope]] as being 'probably the best comedian of them all.'<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sid Field {{!}} British actor (1904–50) |url=https://www.silversirens.co.uk/people/sid-field/ |access-date=2022-12-13 |website=Silver Sirens |language=en-GB}}</ref> [[Laurence Olivier]], during an interview with [[Kenneth Tynan]] in 1966, cited Field as a strong influence on his acting, saying, 'Of all people I have ever watched with the greatest delight, I think, was in another field entirely, was Sid Field… I still borrow from him, freely and unashamedly.'<ref>{{cite web|title=Sir Laurence Olivier : Great Acting 1966 Interview with Kenneth Tynan|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_J1u8_r7jo |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/j_J1u8_r7jo| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

His only straight role came in 1949 in [[Mary Coyle Chase|Mary Chase]]'s play ''[[Harvey (play)|Harvey]]'', (as Elwood P. Dowd, the role played in the 1950 film by [[James Stewart]]). Members of the Royal Family went to see the play in August.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 August 1949 |title=King and Queen see play from stalls |pages=3 |work=Dundee Courier}}</ref>

==Personal Life, Death and legacy==
He married Constance 'Connie' Dawkins (1910-1992), stage actress, in 1933, Birmingham.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 February 1950 |title=Mr. Sid Field |pages=9 |work=Times |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS153569860/TTDA?u=rtl_ttda&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=79110f74 |access-date=25 August 2022 |via=The Times Digital Archive}}</ref> They had two daughters and son. In December 1949 he returned from a cruise on the Durban Castle taken for health reasons.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 November 1949 |title=The Variety Stage |pages=3,5 |work=The Stage}}</ref> On 3 February 1950, during the run of Harvey, Field died from a heart attack at his home, Arran Cottage, Parkside, [[Wimbledon, London]].<ref>{{Cite journal |date=7 April 1950 |title=FIELD, Sidney Arthur |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/38880/page/1769/data.pdf |journal=The London Gazette |issue=38880 |pages=1769}}</ref> He was 45. Over 300 people attended his funeral at [[Putney Vale Cemetery|Putney Vale Crematorium]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 February 1950 |title=Sid Field |pages=3-4 |work=The Stage}}</ref> Later that month, a memorial service was held at London's [[St Martin-in-the-Fields]], with lessons read by [[Laurence Olivier]] and [[Ted Ray (comedian)|Ted Ray]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 February 1950 |title=SID FIELD ST. MARTIN'S SERVICE |pages=5 |work=The Stage}}</ref> A midnight matinée benefit for his wife and children, held on 25 June 1951, was attended by the [[Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark|Duchess of Kent]], [[Aneurin Bevan]] and [[Noël Coward]]. The cast list included [[Jack Hylton]], [[Bud Flanagan]], [[Arthur Askey]], [[Tommy Trinder]], all six of the original [[Crazy Gang (comedy group)|Crazy Gang]], [[Peter Ustinov]], [[George Robey]] and many more, totalling over 240.

There is a [[Birmingham Civic Society]] blue plaque commemorating Sid Field on the front of 152 Osborn Road,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Plaques |first=Open |title=Sid Field blue plaque |url=https://openplaques.org/plaques/1561 |access-date=2022-12-13 |website=openplaques.org |language=en-GB}}</ref> where he grew up, and a memorial in the foyer of the [[Prince of Wales Theatre]] in London, which says:<blockquote>''"To the memory of the great comedian Sid Field, who made his first appearance in the West End at this theatre on 18 March 1943 and who played his last performance here on 2 February 1950."''</blockquote>

In 1994 the actor [[David Suchet]] played Sid Field in a stage play of his life (''What a Performance''), and in October 2011, Suchet followed this up as the presenter of a [[BBC Four]] documentary about Sid Field. In the programme, Suchet meets stars such as [[Eric Sykes]], [[Leslie Phillips]] and [[Nicholas Parsons]] who remember Field's epic stage shows.

==Prince of Wales Theatre shows==
* 1943 – ''Strike a New Note''
* 1944 – ''Strike it Again''
* 1946 – ''Piccadilly Hayride''
* 1949 – ''[[Harvey (play)|Harvey]]''

==Film appearances==
* 1940 – ''[[That's the Ticket]]''
* 1946 – ''[[London Town (1946 film)|London Town]]''
* 1949 – ''[[Cardboard Cavalier]]''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|30em}}
*{{cite book|last=Goodwin|first=Cliff|title=When the Wind Changed: The Life and Death of Tony Hancock|year=1999|publisher=[[Century (imprint)|Century]]|location=London|isbn=978-0-7126-7615-1}}
*{{cite ODNB|last1=Hope-Hawkins|first1=Richard|last2=Nicholls|first2=C. S.|title=Stevens, Thomas Terry Hoar (Terry-Thomas) (1911–1990)|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/39948|access-date=11 March 2012|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/39948|year=2004}}
*{{cite book|last=Fisher|first=John|title=What a Performance: the Life of Sid Field|year=1975|publisher=Seeley|isbn=978-0-85422-113-4}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=0276044|name=Sid Field}}
* {{YouTube|J8QIWPM-gzY|Sid Field Golfing Sketch}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Field, Sid}}
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1950 deaths]]
[[Category:English male comedians]]
[[Category:Music hall performers]]
[[Category:Comedians from Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:20th-century English comedians]]
[[Category:People from Ladywood]]

Sid Field - Revision history

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Kurt at 22:52, 30 December 2022

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en>WikiCleanerBot: v2.05b - Bot T20 CW#61 - Fix errors for CW project (Reference before punctuation)