The comic and his cruisers: W.C. Fields and his Lincolns

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Cars and comedies are a great match – just think of what Harold Lloyd or Laurel & Hardy did in, to or with Ford Model Ts. But comedians with a genuine enthusiasm for old motors are perhaps a little rarer. We have already seen American comedian Jack Benny here, as well as Louis de Funès from France. But so far, we had missed out on W.C. Fields.

To this day, there is something delightfully absurd about the image of W.C. Fields, born William Claude Dukenfield in 1880. The man once quipped: “I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.” He was known for his fondness for alcohol as well as for his on-screen grumpiness. Yet his taste in automobiles was perhaps rather more serious.

Unlike many of his Hollywood contemporaries, Fields did not flaunt the latest foreign exotic. Instead, he stuck with Detroit’s finest, owning a 1932 Lincoln Limousine as well as a 1933 KB convertible roadster. The latter is pictured here with the man himself. These were machines as grand as his ego, with ample power from their V12 engines, yet certainly more elegant. The Limousine came in stately black, the Roadster with coachwork by LeBaron. They were, perhaps, cars that whispered taste after all. Fields died on Christmas Day in 1946. His Lincoln KB LeBaron Roadster is beautifully restored. What became of the Limousine?

Words: Jeroen Booij
Picture: Lincoln Car Museum

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