Joseph Albert Fields was born in
New York City, the son of
vaudevillean Lew Fields, he graduated from
DeWitt Clinton High School and attended
New York University before enrolling in the
American Expeditionary Force during
World War I, after which he remained in
Paris until 1922. His early writing career was spent churning out
screenplays for mostly
B-movies, beginning with
The Big Shot in 1931.
Fields made his
Broadway debut in 1938 with the play
Schoolhouse on the Lot, co-written with
Jerome Chodorov, who became a frequent collaborator. The prolific pair went on to write
My Sister Eileen (1940),
Junior Miss (1941),
The French Touch (1945),
Wonderful Town (1953),
The Girl in Pink Tights (1954),
Anniversary Waltz (1954), and
The Ponder Heart (1956).
With
Anita Loos, Fields wrote the book for the
Jule Styne musical
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and he collaborated with
Oscar Hammerstein II on the book for
Flower Drum Song. He also co-produced and wrote the screen adaptation of the latter, garnering a
Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Written American Musical.
Fields won the Tony Award for Best Musical for
Wonderful Town and was nominated in the same category for
Flower Drum Song.
As a director, Fields helmed
Arthur Miller's The Man Who Had All the Luck (1944), his own plays
I Gotta Get Out (1947) and
The Tunnel of Love (1957), and
The Desk Set (1955).
Fields was the brother of writer/
lyricist Dorothy and writer
Herbert. Depending upon the source, he died in either New York City
http://www.answers.com/topic/joseph-field or
Beverly Hillshttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276284/.
