born in el dorado, arkansas, fletcher had refined his act over at least twenty years in vaudeville before the 1940s. he would come on stage dressed in rags, acting drunk, muttering and complaining about trying to find his way home. he would then bring out a ladder, and try to set it up so he could get in through a window. every so often he would crash sprawling on the floor while shouting "open the door, richard !".