Al. G. (Alfred Griffith) Field

Known professionally as Al G. Field, Alfred Griffith Field is generally identified in reference sources as Alfred Griffin or Alfred Griffith Hatfield, a performer and minstrel-show producer active in the United States. Sources differ on some basic details, including whether he was born in 1848, 1850, or 1852, but they agree that he built a long career in popular entertainment and died in 1921.

He became especially associated with Al G. Field's Minstrels, one of the better-known touring minstrel companies of its era. Library and historical sources describe him as a performer, manager, and impresario whose career also included circus work before he became widely known as a minstrel producer.

For readers today, his main interest lies in the window he gives onto the entertainment world of his time. His memoir, Watch Yourself Go By, reflects the voice of a seasoned stage man remembering the people, travel, and business of American touring entertainment, while also belonging to a performance tradition that is now understood in a much more critical historical light.