The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Kim Fields
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| Repository: | The HistoryMakers |
| 1900 S. Michigan Avenue |
| Chicago, Illinois 60616 |
| (312) 674-1900 |
| info@thehistorymakers.com |
| http://www.thehistorymakers.com |
| Interviewer: | Julieanna Richardson |
| Videographer: | Matthew Hickey |
| Title: | Video Oral History Interview with Kim Fields |
| Dates: | November 21, 2002 |
| Abstract: | (ABSTRACT) |
| Quantity: | 8 Betacam SP videocassettes, 1 half-Hollinger box containing (NUMBER) folders of accompanying materials. |
| Identification: | A2002.215 |
| Language: | The interviews and records are in English |
Film and television personality Kim Fields was born on May 12, 1969, in New York City to her actress mother, Chip Fields. She has one sister, Alexis, who is also an actress. At age five, she made her television debut on Sesame Street. However, her most recognizable job as a young child was her role in the classic Mrs. Butterworth syrup commercial at age seven.
Fields played the young daughter on the short-lived series, Baby, I'm Back. Then, in 1979, she landed the role of Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey on the hit show, The Facts of Life, where she grew up in front of the television audience until the show ended in 1988. In 1980, she played a gymnast on the NBC movie, Children of Divorce.
After The Facts of Life, Fields attended Pepperdine University and graduated in 1990 with a B.A. in communications and film. There, she started her own production company, Victory Entertainment, specializing in television, film and theater.
In 1993, Fields returned to TV in another hit series. She played the role of Regine Hunter opposite Queen Latifah in the Fox sitcom, Living Single. In 1998, Living Single went off the air and Fields founded Little Mogul Holdings. In 1994, she received an NAACP Image Award for Best Director for bringing Vanities to the stage in Los Angeles. In 1995, she was again honored by the NAACP with an Image Award for Best Actress in Fight the Good Fight.
Fields has also directed Nickelodeon's Keenan and Kel and Taina, Disney's The Jersey, and episodes of Living Single. She has made guest appearances on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Keenan and Kel, Cupid and Strong Medicine. She has also starred in: Martin (1992), The Golden Palace (1992), The Crew (1995), C. Bear and Jamal (1996), Music of the Heart (1999) and An Invited Guest (1999). Fields also starred in the independent feature film Me and Mrs. Jones.
Biographical Note by The HistoryMakers®
This life oral history interview with Kim Fields was conducted by Julieanna Richardson on 2002-11-21 in The HistoryMakers, 1900 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. and is recorded on 8 30-minute Betacam SP videocassettes. Access copies exist on Betacam SP, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1. The interview contains information on (COMPLETE ONE SENTENCE DESCRIPTION OF INTERVIEW). Accompanying materials in the collection include Kim Fields's correspondence with The HistoryMakers® related to the interview; a copy of the signed release form and the production report; the biographical information used by the interviewer to prepare for the interview (DETAILS); paper copies of the interview transcripts, 3 1/2" floppy disks with electronic copies of the transcripts; selected quotes for video clips; photocopies of photographs captured on video; XML files with metadata created in editing and cataloguing the interview for The HistoryMakers Digital Video Library; and paper copies of these XML files.
Restrictions on Access
Access to paper records is restricted. Other restrictions may be applied on a case-by-case basis.
Restrictions on Use
All use of materials must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers® and appropriate credit must be given. All use credits must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers®. Copyright is held by The HistoryMakers®.
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| This record series is indexed under the following controlled access terms. |
| Contributors: |
| | Fields, Kim, 1969- |
| | Hickey, Matthew |
| | Richardson, Julieanna |
| Persons: |
| | (PERSONS) |
| Corporate Bodies: |
| | (CORPORATE BODIES) |
| Family Names: |
| | Fields |
| Places: |
| | (PLACES) |
| Subjects: |
| | (SUBJECTS) |
| Document Types: |
| | Video oral history interview |
| Titles: |
| | The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Kim Fields |
Accompanying materials: Accompanying materials are filed in (NUMBER) folders in a half-Hollinger box and shelved at The HistoryMakers® Archives and Collection Library by accession number, separately from the videos.
Betacam, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1 access copies are held for in-house use at The HistoryMakers®; Betacam SP, VHS and DVD playback hardware is provided for in-house viewing of the access copies; MPEG-1 copies are searchable and viewable via a digital video database.
The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Kim Fields, November 21, 2002. The HistoryMakers® African American Video Oral History Collection, 1900 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois.
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Video Oral History Interview with Kim Fields, Tape 1, November 21, 2002, TRT: 00:30:45.
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| Kim Fields talks of her early childhood in Harlem. She is quite descriptive in her earliest memories of her grandmother and mother. While Kim's father is only briefly mentioned, her mother, Chip Fields, is spoken of in great detail as she has proven to been a huge inspiration on Kim's life. She watched her mother act at a young age which motivated Kim to take on the profession. At seven years old Kim moved from New York to Los Angeles with her mother in order to be closer to the entertainment industry. Upon arrival, Kim auditioned and is hired for her first acting role in a Mrs. Butterworth's syrup commercial. Kim is asked about her early beginnings with the children's program Sesame Street. In a very funny and revealing moment, Kim admits that she never appeared in the show and that her young and creative mind made up the story during her first interview with 'TV Guide.' |
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Video Oral History Interview with Kim Fields, Tape 2, November 21, 2002, TRT: 00:30:59.
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| Kim Fields stresses the strong belief that her mother did an amazing job raising her even though she was quite young and busy with her own acting career. The differences between New York and Los Angeles were staggering to Kim. While Fields's mother, Chip Fields, worked on a few popular programs, Kim landed a role in a television commercial and officially begun her career. When asked if she remembers seeing herself on televison for the first time she admits that she doesn't but that she does remember the excitement her mother had on the phone when being informed of her early roles. Although Fields loved acting, she reveals that she missed being in school; until her junior year when she was allowed to attend high school before going to the set of 'The Facts of Life.' In high school Fields was involved with many activities and enjoyed the feeling of being out of the spotlight. Fields then discusses her experience in the short-lived program 'Baby, I'm Back.' Her recollection of this period of time is one of a learning process. She talks of some bad acting habits she had at this point but was still thought of as an incredibly talented actress even though she was not taking acting classes. But, in certain situations, Fields's mother coached her and passed along acting knowledge to her daughter. As Fields's became more experienced and successful she also became more aware of the business aspect of entertainment. Although Kim's success surpassed her mother's, it never became an issue in their strong relationship. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Kim Fields, Tape 3, November 21, 2002, TRT: 00:30:13.
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| At age eight Kim Fields worked on her first television series 'Baby, I'm Back' which taught her the day-to-day responsibilities and rules that child actors need to learn when working on a series. After only one season, 'Baby, I'm Back' was cancelled and Fields set out for other roles. She soon won a role on 'The Facts of Life' despite producers' reservations about her height. For the first season she wore roller skates to add some extra inches. Fields's role as 'Tootie' on 'The Facts of Life' propelled her into superstardom and she talks in detail about her life in the public eye. Fields speaks positively about the cast of 'The Facts of Life' and describes the feeling of family that they shared together. She also discusses the importance of child actors' parental figures. When asked about her connection to the African American community, Fields is quick to share many examples from her past on her race awareness as a child to current support for African American politicians. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Kim Fields, Tape 4, November 21, 2002, TRT: 00:30:09.
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| Kim Fields explains that her formative years were spent with the cast of 'The Facts of Life.' She values these relationships and looked up to cast member Nancy McKeon. The importance of having a strong network of friends outside of the entertainment industry comes through; Kim's friends came from a variety of places including school and church. The conversation moves to specifics about 'The Facts of Life' episodes where Kim Fields lists off some of her favorites. As a contrast she also talks of a script that she refused to work from based on her set of values. In the show's eighth season Fields starts to have some doubts when more characters are added to the cast. She talks of how she started to think of acting outside of 'The Facts of Life.' As was mentioned earlier in the interview, 'The Facts of Life' was a spin-off of 'Diff'rent Strokes.' Fields speaks of her relationship with the child stars of that show and of the differences that the casts had compared to each other. Fields's experience in college and her value of having an education to fall back on finish off the segment. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Kim Fields, Tape 5, November 21, 2002, TRT: 00:29:17.
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| After 'The Facts of Life,' Kim Fields is able to become a full-time student at Pepperdine University. She enjoys her time away from the spotlight and gets involved with the school's television station where she hosts her own talk show. Fields does some theater during this time and also begins learning more about the business side of the entertainment industry. On the subject of career longevity Fields parallels her career to that of a professional sports team and makes the point that in order to stay fresh she needed to move herself around and entertain different ideas as well as hire a different manager. Even though Fields enjoys not being in the public eye at this time she also realizes that being in this sort of transition period can become dangerous. She stays positive though knowing that her time to reenter the spotlight will eventually come. In 1993 this time does come as 'Living Single' airs and quickly finds a solid audience. Fields speaks of show's chemistry of cast, writers and producers. Queen Latifah's involvement to the show is touched upon as well as the first season's success. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Kim Fields, Tape 6, November 21, 2002, TRT: 00:30:18.
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| Kim Fields speaks of some of her favorite episodes and memories from 'Living Single.' In a similar fashion to her feelings on her favorite 'Facts of Life' episodes, she says that episodes that dealt with issues that were able to help viewers were most important. Fields believes that 'Living Single' was true to life and able to teach all races about African American sisterhood by bringing their relationships to television. After discussing the positive aspects of being on 'Living Single' she admits to becoming detached from the show based on creative differences. At this point her marriage is also going through major problems. Fields leaves 'Living Single' and divorces in 1998. Although Regine, the character Fields played on 'Living Single,' differs in many ways from Fields's true personality she enjoys the role and is inspired to take on challenging roles in the future. Fields comments on individual cast members Kim Cole, Queen Latifah, Erika Alexander, T.C. Parson and John Hinton. She then goes into detail on her relationship with Johnathan Franklin Freeman. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Kim Fields, Tape 7, November 21, 2002, TRT: 00:29:57.
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| When asked of her current professional situation Kim Fields says that she is in a transition period. Although she is busy directing and producing she would like to get back into television acting. Personally she feels like she is in a proper spiritual place and talks of her hopes to get married and have children. The challenge of maintaining a marriage and a family interests Fields. She makes it known that she is fully ready to take on such a challenge and make it her priority even though it will mean putting her career on hold. She then talks in detail about the drive one must have to make it in the entertainment industry and gives examples based on successful African American entertainers. Oddly enough, Fields is inspired more by athletes than by entertainers. She gives the example of football players advancing the field even though at first glance they don't have anywhere to run. Fields feels that different networks have been successful with airing African American programs and makes a point that American culture is more accepting today than it was in the past. When asked of her legacy Fields explains that she would rather be remembered for a body of work, not just a specific role. Briefly, Kim's mother, Chip Fields, career is discussed. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Kim Fields, Tape 8, November 21, 2002, TRT: 00:16:21.
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| When talking with youth interested in working in the entertainment industry, Kim Fields wants to make sure that they are aspiring for the right reasons. She makes a point that one cannot be successful in the industry if they are only in it for fame and fortune. Fields talks of giving back to the community where she grew up in Harlem, New York and tells of a plan to build an amphitheater in a park where she spent time as a child. Kim Fields is then reminded of her childhood and explains how that little girl is still, in a way, inside her even though she has changed in so many ways. Fields speaks of future roles she'd like to tackle and keeps her mind open to try character types she has not yet experienced. She would live to be remembered for her body of work, not just a specific role. Kim Fields then speaks briefly about Sally Field's career and how she'd like to mirror it and be cast in more motion pictures. |