W. C. Fields by Himself", it was shown that Fields was married (and subsequently estranged from his wife), and financially supported their son and loved his grandchildren. Fields was born William Claude Dukenfield in Darby, Pennsylvania, the oldest child of a working-class family. His father, James Lydon Dukenfield (1840–1913), was from an English family that emigrated from Sheffield, England in 1854. James Dukenfield served in Company M of the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment in the American Civil War and was wounded in 1863. Fields' mother, Kate Spangler Felton (1854–1925), was a Protestant of British ancestry. The 1876 "Philadelphia City Directory "lists James Dukenfield
Stage name his professional name as a legal name, changed it back to his birth name in 1986. Another example is Marvin Lee Aday, known by his stage name, Meat Loaf. In a similar way, actress and singer Miley Cyrus was born Destiny Hope Cyrus, but found "Miley" more comfortable, making it her legal name. Entire musical groups have been known to adopt a common stage surname, the most notable arguably being the Ramones. Recent examples include Those Darlins and Los Campesinos!. Notes Stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers, such as actors, comedians, singers and