TOTIE FIELDS 1960s Standup Comedy Act

The great and sadly missed Totie Fields performs her standup comedy routine in this 1960s clip.

"You're gonna see lips, like you've never seen before,
You're gonna see hips, you'll remember ever more,
You're gonna see passion, that'll set your pulses on fire!
You're gonna see fashion, not many women acquire.
And when you put them all together, what do you see?
Fascinating, Intoxicating, Scintillating, Captivating - stunning me!

You're gonna see eyes; like you've never dreamed before,
You're gonna see thighs, that could start another war —
And when you put them all together, what do you see?
You see adorable, wonderful, beautiful, sexy me!"
— (excerpt) the morbidly obese Totie Fields, lyrics from "Stunning Me" original music
with orchestra for Las Vegas revue ca. 1971

Totie Fields (May 7, 1930 — August 2, 1978) American comedian, singer and actress. Fields was famous for her self-effacing humor, ad-lib wit and ebullient good humor. All her life she battled a weight problem, (she weighed 200 pounds and was only five feet tall) but instead of letting it get her down incorporated it into her act with great results. She never used obscene humor but her use of double entendre was extensive. In addition to stand up comedy, she was a talented singer who could tackle serious ballads but mostly enjoyed regaling audiences with humorous songs written for her performances.

"Shirley Temple had charisma as a child. But it cleared up as an adult."
— Totie Fields

Sophie Feldman was born in Hartford, Connecticut. The family moved to Boston not long after and she started singing in clubs in Boston at a very young age. She began a serious career in comedy in the famous "Borscht Belt" in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York. Their were nightly shows at these resorts, which catered to a predominately Jewish clientele.
She was brought to the attention of Ed Sullivan show after he saw her performing in a New York City night club. She was a hit and went on to appear on Sullivan's show forty times. When not appearing in Las Vegas or New York night clubs, she appeared on television talk shows, including the Mike Douglas Show and frequented the Merv Griffin show.

The versatile Fields wrote a funny diet book entitled "I Think I'll Start on Monday: The Official 8 1/2 oz. Mashed Potato Diet (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1972).

"Do you like to shop? Ya like to bargain? I do. The other day I bought 20 pairs of panty hose for fifteen cents a piece. They had the seam running up the front. What can you do? I figured I'd learn to walk backwards."
— Totie Fields