I keep a bottle of whiskey handy in case of snakebite
I also keep a snake handy
Yes, he was. In fact, Fields started his performing career as a juggler, and my favorite part of any W. C. Fields movie is when he does a bit of juggling. What movie is it with the cigar-box manipulation? He made it look easy, but try it sometime.
I read somewhere that Fields used to like to pass someone a brimming bowl of soup at one of his dinner parties, drop it, and catch it just above the floor without spilling any.