It’s W.C. Fields Birthday. In a 1947 interview with Newsweek, the legendary performer stated, “In my lifetime, I imagine, I have consumed at least $200,000 worth of whiskey.” In modern dollars, that’s well over $3,000,000. His favorite quart? I.W. Harper Kentucky Straight Bourbon. True story: Hours after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Fields wheeled a hand truck to the nearest liquor store and loaded it up with six cases of gin. On his way home he ran into a friend who was curious as to why he needed 72 bottles of liquor. Fields answered, “I think it’s going to be a short war.”
