Biographical Sketches

Much imitated film comedian known for his curmudgeonly wit.

1879-1946. William Claude Dukenfield was born in Philadelphia to Cockney immigrant James Dukenfield and American Kate Felton. William dropped out of school after four years to work with his father selling vegetables from a horse cart. His father beat him often so William left home at eleven, living in a hole in the ground and stealing his food and clothing. At thirteen he got a job delivering ice, and began to practice juggling, an art at which he became extremely skilled. At fourteen he was hired as a juggler at Fortescue's Pier in Atlantic City , New Jersey . He went on to become one of vaudeville's most successful performers, billed as "W. C. Fields, the Eccentric Tramp Juggler."

Italian immigrant farmworker who became the biggest wine maker in California.

1859-1927. Secundo Guasti immigrated to Los Angeles in 1878 from Asti, Italy , via Mexico . In Italy he had been a farm laborer. In Los Angeles he hired on as a cook in an Italian restaurant. There he fell in love with and married the daughter of the proprietor. He and his wife explored the desert area around Cucamonga and discovered a plentiful water table beneath the sandy soil, leading them to believe the area was suitable for growing wine grapes. In 1901, Guasti purchased some 5,000 acres in the area around South Cucamonga at 75 cents an acre. While many scoffed, Guasti in 1904 established the Italian Vineyard Company and soon built it into the largest winery in California . Guasti started several varieties of grapes and wine that he imported from Italy and France .

Important figure in winning the vote for women in California. Cofounder of the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation.

1859-1934. Dora Fellows was born and grew up in the coal mining region of Pennsylvania. Her father, like her future husband's, was a mine manager, and the two families were friends. John and Dora married in 1882 after Dora returned to Pennsylvania from a year's attendance at Wellesley College. Their only child, Sidney, died at the age of three of scarlet fever, an event that motivated the couple's move across country to the budding metropolis of Los Angeles. There, John set up a medical practice and entered into business as a real estate investor. He and Dora established themselves in local society. Dora assisted in her husband's medical office and hosted social gatherings at home. She joined the Friday Morning Club, the Ruskin Art Club, and other groups involved in cultural and civic affairs.

Hardware millionaire, early West Adams social leader, amateur scientist and astronomer, and donor of the Hooker 100 inch telescope at Mt. Wilson, the largest telescope in the world when it was built.

John Hooker (1838-1911) and his wife Katharine Putnam Hooker (1849-1935) (see entry) were important figures in the early days of West Adams society, between 1886 and 1911. John, born in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, was a hardware and steel-pipe millionaire. John went to California in 1861, living first in San Francisco. In 1869 he married Katharine Putnam of San Francisco. They had two children, both born in San Francisco, Marian, in 1875, and Lawrence, in 1878. Sometime after that they moved to Los Angeles.