Tommy Fields (28 June 1908 – 3 June 1988) was a British actor, variety entertainer and

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

performer. He was the younger brother of

Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was a British actress, singer and comedian. A star of cinema and music hall, she was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...

Early life

Fields was born Tom Stansfield, the youngest of four children and only son of Frederick Stansfield (1874–1956) and his wife Sarah Jane 'Jenny' Stansfield née Bamford (1879–1953),Tommy Fields
The Official Gracie Fields Website in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. His great-grandfather, William Stansfield (b.1805), of

Hebden Bridge Hebden Bridge is a market town in the Calderdale district of West Yorkshire, England. It is in the Upper Calder Valley, west of Halifax and 14 miles (21 km) north-east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the Hebden W ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, was a descendant of the Stansfield family of Stansfield,

. As a boy Field enjoyed being with his father on his

allotment Allotment may refer to: * Allotment (Dawes Act), an area of land held by the US Government for the benefit of an individual Native American, under the Dawes Act of 1887 * Allotment (finance), a method by which a company allocates over-subscribed ...

where Fred Stansfield operated as an illegal

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays out bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds In probability theory, odds provide a measure of the probability of a particular outco ...

and 'rat worried'.

Stage career

While his older sisters, including Gracie were on tour with their manager

Archie Pitt Archie Pitt (1882 – 12 November 1940) was a British music hall performer, showman and talent agent. He is best known for his marriage to Gracie Fields whose career he managed. Archie Pitt's Band – a junior pit orchestra and revue band that t ...

(also the husband of Gracie Fields), Tommy Field remained at home with his parents until it was time for him to join his sisters in their act on stage. His own wish was to join the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, but he was overruled by his mother, and he made his first stage appearance in 1921 at

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

.Fields and Rossini
British Variety Artists of the 1930s & 1940s database In 1924 he joined his sisters' review act ''Mr Tower of London'', initially selling

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. In some places, one can send a postcard f ...

s of his sisters for a penny during the interval, and in time joining them on stage. In the revue ''Mr Tower of London'' he garnered good reviews as the ticket conductor in the 'Mr Tower’s Omnibus' scene.Tommy Fields
Manchester Theatre History website In 1926 Tommy Fields joined his sisters Gracie and Edith as the principal comedian in

's new revue ''By Request'', and when they were joined by

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

ist Nino Rossini (1901–1965), he and Tommy Fields decided to form a new

double act A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act, often highlighting differences in their characters' ...

, Fields and Rossini, with Tommy Fields playing the violin and performing eccentric dancing and Rossini playing his accordion and performing comedy. During 1928 and 1935 Fields and Rossini toured South Africa with

before joining

's new revue, ''The Show’s the Thing'', in which he sang three solos, "I Wish She'd Come Along Now", "Connie in the Cornfield", and "I Ain't Certain". Throughout the 1930s Fields and Rossini met with success, playing at various venues, including the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

on the same bill as Gracie Fields. They played at other variety theatres including the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, City of Westminster, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the Lond ...

, the

Hackney Empire Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as "the most beautiful theat ...

and the

Holborn Empire Weston's Music Hall was a music hall and theatre that opened on 16 November 1857 at 242-245 High Holborn in London, England. In 1906, the theatre became known as the Holborn Empire. History Early years The theatre was constructed on the site ...

. In December 1937 the duo appeared in the

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale with ancient origins. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition :File:Round about our Coal Fire, or, Christmas Entertainments, 4th edn, 1734.pdf, On C ...

'' at the Empress Theatre in

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

in which Fields played Dame Trot. The double act separated at the end of 1938 when Fields decided to pursue a solo stage career. In 1939 he recorded two songs with his sister Gracie, "Two Sleepy People" and "The Umbrella Man", and in 1948 "Papa, Won't You Dance With Me?". He later recalled, "We only recorded a few songs together. They weren’t very good, but I treasure them." The two also performed together on the soundtrack version of "Love Is Everywhere" (written by

Harry Parr-Davies Harry Parr-Davies (24 May 1914 – 14 October 1955) was a Welsh composer and songwriter. He was born Harry Parr Davies in Briton Ferry, Neath, South Wales, and was educated at Neath Grammar School. He was considered a musical prodigy, hav ...

), from the 1935 film ''

Look Up and Laugh ''Look Up and Laugh'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Basil Dean and starring Gracie Fields, Alfred Drayton and Douglas Wakefield. The film is notable for featuring an appearance by Vivien Leigh in an early supporting role. Plot Gracie ...

''. He continued to appear on variety bills throughout the 1960s, including appearing at the Opera House Theatre in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

on a bill that included

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

and

Richard Hearne Richard Lewis Hearne (30 January 1908 – 23 August 1979) was an English actor, comedian, producer and writer. He is best remembered for his stage and television character Mr Pastry. Career Hearne was born in Norwich, Norfolk, in 1908, the s ...

. In addition, he appeared in musicals, including in a revival of ''Mr Tower of London'' (1949) and ''

Where's Charley? ''Where's Charley?'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by George Abbott. The story was based on the 1892 play '' Charley's Aunt'' by Brandon Thomas. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1948 and was revived on Broadway ...

'' in 1950, a musical version of '' Charley’s Aunt''. He continued to perform with his sister

, the last time in 1957 in

Hughie Green Hugh Hughes Green OStJ (2 February 1920 – 3 May 1997) was an English radio and television presenter, game show host and actor. Early life Green was born in Marylebone, London, to a Scottish father, Hugh Aitchison Green, a former British Army ...

's ''Saturday Spectacular''. In 1962 he played the

pantomime dame A pantomime dame is a traditional role in British pantomime. It is part of the theatrical tradition of '' travesti'' portrayal of female characters by male actors in drag. Dame characters are often played either in an extremely camp style, or el ...

Widow Twanky in ''Aladdin'' at the Pavilion Theatre in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

opposite

Adam Faith Terence Nelhams Wright (23 June 1940 – 8 March 2003), known as Adam Faith, was an English singer, actor, and financial journalist. As a British rock and roll teen idol, he scored consecutive No. 1 hits on the UK singles chart with " What ...

in the title role.

Film and television

His film and television roles included: Sidney Pearson in ''

Look up and Laugh ''Look Up and Laugh'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Basil Dean and starring Gracie Fields, Alfred Drayton and Douglas Wakefield. The film is notable for featuring an appearance by Vivien Leigh in an early supporting role. Plot Gracie ...

'' (1935); Tommy Barcroft in ''

The Penny Pool ''The Penny Pool'' is a 1937 British comedy film directed by George Black (producer), George Black and starring Douglas Wakefield, Billy Nelson (English actor), Billy Nelson and Chuck O'Neil. It was made at Highbury Studios.Wood p.96 Cast Refe ...

'' (1937); Member of the Three Bolas in '' Keep Smiling'' (1938); ''Jack Hylton's Monday Show'' (1958); ''Gracie Fields: Sing As We Go'' (1984)Tommy Fields

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

(BFI) database

Personal life

He was married three times: to dancer Cynthia Rawson in 1947, with whom he had two daughters, Melanie Stansfield (1951–) and Isla Stansfield (1953–); to dancer Dorothy Whiteside in 1930, with whom he had a son, Michael Frederick John Stansfield (1934–2008), and Annette Thornton in 1967, with whom he had a daughter, Marisa Stansfield (1968–). He died in

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

in June 1988 and was buried in the churchyard of St Laurence's Church at Telscombe Village in Sussex.

References

External links

Tommy Fields

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fields, Tommy 1908 births 1988 deaths English film actors English television actors English male comedians British music hall performers Musicians from Lancashire Male actors from Rochdale 20th-century English singers 20th-century English comedians British comedians 20th-century English male singers British novelty song performers Comedians from Lancashire