Bert Fields

Summing Up: A Professional Memoir

In 2021, Fields published Summing Up: A Professional Memoir , recounting his long career as an attorney. His insider's look into the world of the famous is sometimes artfully revealing. For example, Fields was already one of Michael Jackson's lawyers when the singer was accused of sexually abusing a child; he resigned due to what he saw as Elizabeth Taylor's interference. (In the book he says that he remains convinced that Jackson was innocent of the charges, however.) Other tales are much lighter in tone; for instance, Gore Vidal turned to Fields when a movie studio refused to credit his work on the screenplay for the 1987 film The Sicilian. Fields won his case, but then Vidal, after seeing the movie, exclaimed, "Keep my name off that piece of s***!"

Novels and historical writing

In 2018, Fields published Gloriana: Exploring The Reign Of Elizabeth I. Elizabeth I, aka the Virgin Queen, was a colorful figure who still manages to stimulate the popular imagination more than 400 years after her death. Fields' wide-ranging biography spans the entire Tudor dynasty, with Elizabeth's rise to power, her completion of England's break from the Roman Catholic Church, the war with Spain, and her constantly evolving entourage of advisers, favorites, and paramours. Fields delves into the curios of Elizabeth's life. Was she truly a virgin? Did she sanction the murder of the wife of nobleman Robert Dudley? What were her true thoughts on Roman Catholicism?

Fields introduces readers to aspects of the queen that they may not have heard before. He finds plenty of intrigues to challenge conventional notions of the queen. Full-color portraits from the National Portrait Gallery in London and a timeline of the queen's life round out this volume. Its 450-plus pages belie what a quick read it actually is, showing how good of a resource it is for information on the Good Queen Bess.

In September 2015, Fields published Shylock: His Own Story . In "The Merchant Of Venice" Shakespeare gives us only a brief and limited view of Shylock, an enigmatic character who varies with each actor's interpretation. Now, we're given Shylock's full story, his dangerous background, his life, loves and challenges as an educated Jew in 16th century Venice, the motivation for demanding his seemingly bizarre 'bond,' as well as what occurred after his fateful confrontation with Portia and the Doge. The novel was published by Marmont Lane. It is dedicated to Fields' friend, the actor Dustin Hoffman.

In 2011, Fields was awarded the Crystal Quill Award by the Shakespeare Center Of Los Angeles for his work on William Shakespeare. In 2005, he published the non-fiction book Players: The Mysterious Identity of William Shakespeare, which deals with the authorship of the plays and sonnets of William Shakespeare.

The conclusion Fields reached is that the probability that the princes were, in fact, murdered is about 50% to 70%, and if they were, the probability that Richard did it is in the same range, so the logical probability that Richard is guilty is 25% to 49%, which is less than 50-50. Fields says DNA analyses of the bones dug up in the Tower of London in 1674 would change the odds on whether the princes were murdered but might not affect the odds on who did it, if anyone did, so this mystery may never be solved.

Open letter to the German chancellor In 1997, Fields conceived an open letter to then-German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, published as a newspaper advertisement in the International Herald Tribune, which drew parallels between the "organized oppression" of Scientologists in Germany and Nazi policies espoused by Germany in the 1930s. The letter was signed by 34 prominent figures in the U.S. entertainment industry, including the top executives of MGM, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, and Sony Pictures Entertainment as well as actors Dustin Hoffman and Goldie Hawn, director Oliver Stone, writers Mario Puzo and Gore Vidal, and talk-show host Larry King.

As a teacher Fields taught at Stanford Law School and lectured annually at Harvard Law School.

Musician A serious music enthusiast, Fields performed with his good friend and client George Harrison. He performed and recorded professionally as a singer and vibraphonist with Les Deux Love Orchestra, led by Bobby Woods.

Celebrating his 92nd birthday, he released his first single, a cover of the Gene Autry classic, "Back In The Saddle."

Actor In 1967, Fields portrayed prosecutor "Hal Davies" on an episode of Dragnet. Fields was the real-life lawyer for the show's creator and lead actor, Jack Webb.

Personal life Fields was noted as having "cultivated a dapper and urbane image, based in part on his fondness for English tailoring and English history", according to the Los Angeles Times.

He married three times. After graduating from law school, Fields married his college sweetheart, Amy Markson, with whom he had one son, James Elder Fields (born 1955). In 1960, he married fashion model Lydia Minevitch (daughter of musician Borrah Minevitch) whose divorce he had handled two years prior. She died of lung cancer in 1986, after 27 years of marriage. He met his third wife, art expert Barbara Guggenheim, after she hired him to defend her when, in 1989, she was sued by Sylvester Stallone; they married in 1991. and Annabelle Fields.

Death Fields died at his home in Malibu, California, from complications of Long COVID on August 7, 2022, at age 93.

He was buried at a private service at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary in Los Angeles.

Memorial On October 2, 2022, a memorial was held for Bert Fields at The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center. Speakers included Tom Cruise, Rich Eisen, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Susan Estrich, Dustin Hoffman and his daughter Ali Hoffman, Michael Ovitz, Elaine May, members of his family, and his wife, Barbara Guggenheim.