Kenneth Williams

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Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams

Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was an English comic actor, star of twenty six Carry On... films and notable radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne, as well as a witty raconteur on a wide range of subjects.

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Kenneth Williams was born in Bingfield Street, King's Cross, London, the son of a hairdresser (Charles Williams). He was educated at Lyulph Stanley School. His relationship with his parents — he adored his vivacious mother, Louisa ("Lou"), but hated his morose and selfish father — was key to the development of his personality. Williams became an apprentice draughtsman to a mapmaker and joined the army aged 18. He was part of the Royal Engineers survey section in Bombay when he had his first experience of going on stage with Combined Services Entertainment along with Stanley Baxter and Peter Nichols.

After the war, his career began with a number of roles in repertory theatre, but few serious parts were to lend themselves to his style of delivery. His failure to become established as a serious dramatic actor would disappoint him, but it was his potential as a comic performer that gave him his big break. He was spotted playing the Dauphin in George Bernard Shaw's St Joan in 1954 by the radio producer Dennis Main Wilson, who was casting Hancock's Half Hour. He would lend his distinctive voice and amazing vocal talent to the radio series to almost the end of its run, five years later. His nasal, whiny, camp-cockney inflections (epitomised in his famous "Stop messing about...." catchphrase) would endure in popular lore for many years.

When Hancock tired (or grew jealous) of him, Williams joined Kenneth Horne in the series Beyond Our Ken (1958–1964), and its sequel, Round the Horne (1965–1968). In the latter, his roles included Rambling Syd Rumpo, the eccentric folk singer; The Amazing Proudbasket, human cannonball; J. Peasemould Gruntfuttock, professional telephone heavy breather and dirty old man; and Sandy of the extremely camp couple, Julian and Sandy (Julian was played by Hugh Paddick), notable for their double entendres and use of the underground gay slang, Polari.

Williams appeared a series of West End revues including Share My Lettuce with Maggie Smith and written by Bamber Gascoigne, and Pieces of Eight, which included sketch material from Peter Cook who was still a student at Cambridge. The revue included a number of Cook sketches such as One Leg Too Few that would become classics and also starred Fenella Fielding. Williams' last revue was One over the Eight, in which he starred with Sheila Hancock. Williams later starred opposite Jennie Linden in the stage hit My Fat Friend in 1972. He also appeared with Ingrid Bergman in a highly successful stage production of George Bernard Shaw's Captain Brassbound's Conversion in 1971.

Williams worked extensively in television and British films, most famously the Carry On... series with its very British "nudge nudge" double entendre-laced humour, but for which he along with the rest of the cast were very poorly paid. Williams' diaries claimed he earned more in a British Gas commercial he did during the 1970s than he made out of the entire "Carry On" series put together — although that might only be considered true if one adds in the considerable fee he earned from the highly successful spin-off cartoon series Willo the Wisp (ironically taken up by the BBC rather than the commercial TV network). Despite making a good living in his later years, he lived in a series of small flats in north London.

Particularly in the theatre, he was famous for breaking out of character and talking to the audience. He was a regular panelist on the BBC radio panel game Just a Minute from its second season in 1968 until his death and regularly presented the children's story-reading series Jackanory. He was also a "professional" talk-show guest, able to regale an audience with amusing (and often risqué) anecdotes on every subject. He was extremely well read and occasionally used to stand in as host on the popular early evening Wogan talk show. He jointly holds the record (with Billy Connolly) as having made most appearances on Michael Parkinson's eponymous chat show, having been a guest on eight occasions.

Williams publicly insisted that he was celibate, but in private found his homosexuality difficult to deal with. His diaries contain many references to unconsummated or barely consummated relationships, described in code as "traditional matters" or "tradiola", probably because homosexuality was still a criminal offence in the United Kingdom for much of the period covered by the diaries. He befriended Joe Orton who wrote the role of Inspector Truscott in Loot (1966) for him and enjoyed holidays with Orton and Kenneth Halliwell in Morocco. Other close friends included fellow thespians Maggie Smith, Stanley Baxter, Gordon Jackson and his wife Rona Anderson, Beverly Cross and Sheila Hancock. By turns gregarious and reclusive, Williams was also fond of the company of fellow 'Carry On' regulars Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Connor, Hattie Jacques and Bernard Bresslaw.

In later years Williams' health declined, along with that of his elderly mother, and his depression deepened. He died on 15 April 1988 from an overdose of barbiturates. An inquest recorded an open verdict into his death as it was not possible to establish whether his death was the result of suicide or an accident. (Williams' mentally unstable father had died after drinking a bottle of disinfectant in 1962.)

The main protagonist for the "suicide" theory was Gyles Brandreth, a friend of Williams for many years (and who edited two editions of Acid Drops for him) mainly centring on his dread of hospitals (despite being a self-confessed hypochondriac) and on the last sentence Williams wrote in his diary:

"By 6.30 pain in the back was pulsating as it's never done before … so this, plus the stomach trouble combines to torture me — oh — what's the bloody point?"

Friends continue to maintain that, because of Williams' devotion to Lou (for whom he bought the flat next to his), he would never in her lifetime have seriously contemplated suicide. The best-selling posthumous publication of his diaries and letters, both edited by Russell Davies, not only caused some controversy over their contents (particularly Williams' often caustic remarks about many of his fellow professionals), but also revealed the periodic bouts of despondency (often primed by feelings of isolation and underachievement) that marked his life.

Williams' flat was later bought by Rob Brydon and Julia Davis for the writing of their dark comedy series, Human Remains. The building is due to be demolished in a controversial regeneration scheme agreed in 2006.

Like fellow Carry On Star Joan Sims, Kenneth Williams lived alone for the whole of his life and never had a partner. However he did propose marriage to Joan Sims, but she declined, calling him too homosexual to serve well as a husband.

almost complete

  • Acid Drops
  • Back Drops
  • Just Williams
  • I Only Have To Close My eyes
  • The Kenneth Williams Diaries
  • The Kenneth Williams Letters

Williams has been portrayed in two separate made-for-television films. In 2000, Adam Godley played him in the story of Sid James and Barbara Windsor's love affair, Cor Blimey! Subsequently, in 2006, Michael Sheen gave an uncanny impression in Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!.

Perhaps the most well-known portrayal of Williams, however, came in theatre, in David Benson's 1996 Edinburgh Fringe show, Think No Evil of Us - My Life With Kenneth Williams, which subsequently toured and ran to much acclaim in London's West End. David Benson reprised his performance again to critical acclaim in a number of shows at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe .

 v • d • e Carry On films
Main Cast: Kenneth Williams | Joan Sims | Charles Hawtrey | Sid James | Kenneth Connor | Peter Butterworth | Bernard Bresslaw | Hattie Jacques | Jim Dale | Barbara Windsor | Terry Scott
Films: Sergeant • Nurse • Teacher • Constable • Regardless • Cruising • Cabby • Jack • Spying • Cleo • Cowboy • Screaming • Don't Lose Your Head • Follow That Camel • Doctor • Up the Khyber • Camping • Again Doctor • Up the Jungle • Loving • Henry • At Your Convenience • Matron • Abroad • Girls • Dick • Behind • England • Emmannuelle • Columbus
TV: Laughing • Christmas Specials • That's Carry On!   Unmade: Spaceman  Upcoming: London
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