Weber and Fields

Weber and Fields (wĕb`ər), American comedy team. The partners were Joe Weber (Joseph Maurice Weber), 1867–1942, and Lew Fields (Lewis Maurice Schanfield), 1867–1941, both born in New York City. At the age of eight they were performing together on the Bowery, and shortly afterward they began their professional career. Appearing in beards, loud checked clothes, and low-crown derbies, they were beloved by millions and became the prototypes of future comedy teams. Fields was tall and aggressive, while Weber was short and the brunt of the jokes. They were noted for their slapstick antics, their dialect jokes, and their burlesques of popular plays. They opened and managed Weber and Fields Music Hall on Broadway (1896–1904), where they presented many of the leading stars of the time. A quarrel separated them in 1904, but they resumed their partnership in 1912. Both went into semiretirement after 1930.