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. There are different people named Ken Williams: Kenneth Roy Williams (1890-1959), a baseball outfielder. ... Image File history File links Kennethwilliams. ... February 22 is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... April 15 is the 105th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (106th in leap years). ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the Queen England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 967 AD  Area  -  Total 130,395 km²  50,346 sq mi  Population  -  2007 estimate 50... Comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humour with an intent to provoke[[ laughter in general). ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... The Carry On films were a long-running series of British low-budget comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. ... Biography published in 1978 (1983 paperback reprint shown) Anthony John Hancock, best known as Tony Hancock (May 12, 1924 – June 24, 1968) was a major figure in British television and radio comedy in the 1950s and 1960s. ... Kenneth Horne Kenneth Horne (February 27, 1907 - February 14, 1969) was a British comedian and businessman. ... A raconteur is a person known for telling amusing stories and anecdotes. ...

Life and career

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. Kings Cross is an place in the London Borough of Camden. ... The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army. ... This article or section should be merged with Mumbai Mumbai (previously known as Bombay) is the worlds most populous conurbation, and is the sixth most populous agglomeration in the world. ... Stanley Baxter, (born May 24, 1926 in Glasgow, Scotland), is a comic actor and impressionist, best known for his UK TV shows. ...

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. George Bernard Shaw (born 26 July 1856, Dublin, Ireland died November 2, 1950, Hertfordshire, England) was an Irish writer. ... Dennis Main Wilson (born 1924, died 1997) was producer of The Goons and Hancocks Half Hour for BBC radio and Till Death Us Do Part for BBC television. ... Hancocks Half Hour was a famous BBC radio comedy series of the 1950s starring Tony Hancock. ...

When Hancock tired (or grew envious) 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. Peasemold 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. Kenneth Horne Kenneth Horne (February 27, 1907 - February 14, 1969) was a British comedian and businessman. ... Beyond Our Ken (1958-1963) was a radio programme, the predecessor to Round the Horne (1964-1969). ... Round the Horne was one of the most influential BBC Radio comedy programmes, comparable to The Goon Show in its influence on other comedy programmes. ... Rambling Syd Rumpo was a folk singer character played by English comedian Kenneth Williams in the radio comedy series Round the Horne. ... Julian and Sandy were characters on the BBC radio programme Round the Horne, played by Kenneth Williams and Hugh Paddick, with scripts written by Barry Took and Marty Feldman. ... Hugh Paddick (Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire August 22, 1915 – November 11, 2000 in London), was a British actor, who appeared in the 1960s BBC radio show Round the Horne in sketches such as Charles and Fiona (as Charles) and Julian and Sandy (as Julian). ... GAY can mean: Gay, a term referring to homosexual men or women The IATA code for Gaya Airport Category: ... Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. ... Polari (or alternatively Palare, from Italian parlare, to talk) was a form of cant slang used in the gay subculture in Britain. ...

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. West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre in London, or sometimes more specifically for shows staged in the large theatres of Londons Theatreland. Along with New Yorks Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in... A revue is a type of theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches that satirize contemporary figures, news, or literature. ... Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE (born 28 December 1934), better known as Dame Maggie Smith, is a two-time Academy Award, and Emmy-winning English film, stage, and television actress. ... Bamber Gascoigne (born 1935) is a British television presenter and author. ... Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English satirist, writer and comedian. ... Fenella Fielding (born November 17, circa 1930) is an English-born actress. ... Sheila Hancock OBE (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress and comedienne. ... Jennie Linden (born 8 December 1939 in Worthing) is an English film and television actress. ... Original West End production poster My Fat Friend is a play by Charles Lawrence. ...   (pronounced in Swedish, but usually in English, IPA notation) (August 29, 1915 – August 29, 1982) was a three-time Academy Award-winning and two-time Emmy Award-winning Swedish actress. ... George Bernard Shaw (born 26 July 1856, Dublin, Ireland died November 2, 1950, Hertfordshire, England) was an Irish writer. ... Captain Brassbounds Conversion (1900) is a play by George Bernard Shaw. ...

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, the most well-known location being Portland Place. The Carry On films were a long-running series of British low-budget comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. ... Nudge nudge is a sketch from the third Monty Pythons Flying Circus episode, How to Recognise Different Types of Trees From Quite a Long Way Away. Spoiler warning: Idles character gets on the nerves of Jones character. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This page is about the former gas monopoly in the United Kingdom for information about the successor companies please see Centrica, BG Group and Transco. ... The Carry On films were a long-running series of British low-budget comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. ... For Will o the wisp see ignis fatuus Willo the Wisp is the name of a British 1980s cartoon series. ... Portland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London. ...

Particularly in the theatre, he was famous for breaking out of character and talking to the audience. He was a regular panellist 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. The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game which has been running continuously since its first broadcast on December 22, 1967. ... Jackanory is a long-running BBC childrens television series that was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. ... Wogan was a chat show on British television, hosted by Terry Wogan. ... William Billy Connolly, CBE, (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter, and actor. ... Michael Parkinson CBE (born 28 March 1935) is an English journalist and television presenter. ... Parkinson is a chat show presented by Michael Parkinson. ...

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 Stanley Baxter, Gordon Jackson and his wife Rona Anderson, Sheila Hancock, Maggie Smith and her playwright husband Beverly Cross. By turns gregarious and reclusive, Williams was also fond of the company of fellow Carry On... regulars Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Connor, Hattie Jacques, Joan Sims and Bernard Bresslaw. He once proposed marriage to Joan Sims, but she declined, calling him too homosexual to serve well as a husband.^{[citation needed]} Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... Joe Orton Joe Orton (Born: John Kingsley Orton 1 January 1933, Leicester, England. ... Loot is a play by Joe Orton. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Stanley Baxter, (born May 24, 1926 in Glasgow, Scotland), is a comic actor and impressionist, best known for his UK TV shows. ... Gordon Cameron Jackson, OBE (December 19, 1923 - January 15, 1990), was a prolific Scottish character actor, best known for his roles in the film The Great Escape and the television series, Upstairs Downstairs (for which he won a best supporting actor Emmy Award) and The Professionals. ... Rona Anderson born 3 August 1926 in Edinburgh, Scotland is a Scottish actress known for her film work. ... Sheila Hancock OBE (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress and comedienne. ... Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE (born 28 December 1934), better known as Dame Maggie Smith, is a two-time Academy Award, and Emmy-winning English film, stage, and television actress. ... The Carry On films were a long-running series of British low-budget comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. ... Barbara Ann Deeks MBE (born 6 August 1937), better known as Barbara Windsor, sometimes known as Babs Windsor, is an English actress. ... Kenneth Connor (1916-1993) Kenneth Connor, MBE (6 June 1916 – 28 November 1993) was a British comedy stage, radio, film and TV actor, best known for the Carry On films. ... Josephine Edwina Jacques (7 February 1922 – 6 October 1980), better known by the stage name Hattie Jacques, (pronounced Jakes) was a British comedy actress born in Sandgate, Kent. ... Irene Joan Marian Sims (May 9, 1930, Laindon, Essex - June 28, 2001) was a British actress. ... Bernard Bresslaw (February 25, 1934 - June 11, 1993) was an English actor who was trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. ... Irene Joan Marian Sims (May 9, 1930, Laindon, Essex - June 28, 2001) was a British actress. ...

Williams lived alone for the whole of his adult life. In later years his 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's mentally unstable father had committed suicide after drinking a bottle of disinfectant in 1962.) April 15 is the 105th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (106th in leap years). ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Barbiturates are drugs that act as central nervous system depressants, and by virtue of this they produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to anesthesia. ... Disinfection of a floor using a mop Disinfectants are antimicrobial agents that are applied to non-living objects to destroy microorganisms, the process of which is known as disinfection. ...

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: Gyles Daubeney Brandreth (born March 8, 1948 in Germany) is a celebrity, author and politician in the United Kingdom. ...

"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's 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. This article refers to the Radio 2 presenter and journalist. ...

A flat in the building that Williams had lived in was later bought by Rob Brydon and Julia Davis for the writing of their dark comedy series, Human Remains.^{[citation needed]} The building was demolished in May 2007; ex-Radio 1 DJ Wes Butters and actor David Benson broke in to take photos immediately prior to demolition.^{[citation needed]} Rob Brydon (born Robert Brydon Jones, May 3, 1965, Baglan, Port Talbot) is a Welsh actor, comedian and impressionist most famous for his role as Keith Barret in the BBC comedy Marion and Geoff and The Keith Barret Show. ... Julia Davis (born 1966, Bath, Somerset, England) is a British comedy writer and performer. ... Human remains refer to portions of a human body that are left after a person dies. ...

In April 2007, Williams' line 'Infamy, Infamy, they've all got it in for me', was voted the greatest one-liner in movie history by a poll of a thousand comedy writers, actors, impressarios and members of the public for the launch of Sky Movies Comedy Channel.

Performances

Films

almost complete

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Trents Last Case Trents Last Case is a detective novel (1913) by E. C. Bentley; a 1920 silent movie based on the book and directed by Richard Garrick; a 1929 silent movie adapted to the screen from the book by... Painting based on The Beggars Opera, Scene V, William Hogarth, c. ... Laurence Olivier, as photographed in 1939 by Carl Van Vechten Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (May 22, 1907 – July 11, 1989) was an English actor and director, esteemed by many as the greatest actor of the 20th century. ... Carry On Sergeant is the first Carry On film, and its first public screening was on 1st August 1958 at Screen One, London. ... Carry On Nurse is the second Carry On film, released in 1959. ... Carry On Teacher is the third Carry On film, released in 1959. ... Carry On Constable is the fourth Carry On film. ... Carry on Regardless is the fifth Carry on // Plot Summary for Carry On Regardless The Helping Hands agency employs some very strange people to perform some very strange jobs! Even the simplest of tasks get bungled by the incompetent but lovable staff, as they get given jobs ranging from taking... Carry On Cruising is the sixth Carry on film. ... Carry on Jack is the eighth movie in the Carry On movie series. ... Carry On Spying is the ninth movie in the Carry On movie series. ... Carry On Cleo is the tenth film in the Carry On film series. ... Carry On Cowboy is the eleventh in the Carry On series of films. ... Carry On Screaming! is the twelfth Carry On film. ... Dont Lose your head is the thirteenth Carry on Film it is set in France and England during the time of the French revolution. ... Follow That Camel is the fourteenth Carry On film (and, like its predecessor, does not have the words Carry On in its original title). ... Carry On Doctor is the fifteenth Carry on film // Plot Summery Francis Bigger, preacher and healer, ends up in hospital in this chaotic Carry-on medical movie. ... Carry On up the Khyber is the sixteenth Carry On film, released in 1968. ... Carry On Camping is arguably one of the most famous Carry On films, released on 3 July 1969 in the UK, but produced in late 1968. ... Carry On Again Doctor is the eighteenth Carry On film. ... The Carry On films were a long-running series of British popular low_budget comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rodgers. ... Carry On Henry is the 21st of the Carry On series. ... The Carry On films were a long-running series of British popular low_budget comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rodgers. ... The Carry On films were a long-running series of British popular low-budget comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. ... Carry On Abroad is the twenty fourth Carry On film, released in 1972. ... Carry On Dick was the 26th Carry On film. ... Carry On Behind is a 1975 film in the British Carry On series of comedies. ... The Hound of the Baskervilles was a 1978 comedy film spoofing The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. ... The Carry On films were a long-running series of British popular low-budget comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. ...

Television

• International Cabaret
• Jackanory
• Willo the Wisp
• Galloping Galaxies
• An Audience with Kenneth Williams
• Some You Win
• Whizzkids Guide
• Lets Make a Musical
• Meanwhile on BBC2
• Join Jim Dale
• The Wednesday Play
• BBC Sunday Night Theatre
• Saint Joan
• Sword of freedom
• The School
• Dick and the Duchess
• The Armoured Car
• Moby Dick Rehearsed
• Misalliance

Jackanory is a long-running BBC childrens television series that was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. ... For Will o the wisp see ignis fatuus Willo the Wisp is the name of a British 1980s cartoon series. ... The Wednesday Play was a British television drama anthology series, which ran on BBC ONE from 1964 to 1970. ... Saint Joan is a 1923 play by G. Bernard Shaw that he wrote shortly after the Roman Catholic Church canonized Joan of Arc. ... Moby Dick Rehearsed is the title of a play written and directed by Orson Welles. ... Misalliance is a play written in 1909-1910 by the Nobel Prize-winning playwright G. Bernard Shaw. ...

Radio

• Hancock's Half Hour
• Beyond Our Ken
• Round the Horne
• Kenneth Williams Playhouse
• Oh Get On with It
• Stop Messing About
• Just a Minute
• The Wind in the Willows

Hancocks Half Hour was a famous BBC radio comedy series of the 1950s starring Tony Hancock. ... Beyond Our Ken (1958-1963) was a radio programme, the predecessor to Round the Horne (1964-1969). ... Round the Horne was one of the most influential BBC Radio comedy programmes, comparable to The Goon Show in its influence on other comedy programmes. ... Image:Stop Mess. ... Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game which has been running continuously since its first broadcast on December 22, 1967. ... Ratty and Mole, as interpreted by E. H. Shepard The Wind in the Willows is a classic of childrens literature written in 1908 by Kenneth Grahame. ...

Books

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

Portrayals

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 played him in the BBC Four drama Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!. Adam Godley is and actor who played Mr. ... Sid James Sid James (8 May 1913–26 April 1976) was a film and television actor. ... Barbara Ann Deeks MBE (born 6 August 1937), better known as Barbara Windsor, sometimes known as Babs Windsor, is an English actress. ... Michael Sheen (born 5 February 1969) is an award-winning Welsh actor, known for his work on stage and film. ... BBC Four Ident BBC Four is a BBC television channel available to digital television (Freeview, satellite and cable) viewers in the UK. The successor to an earlier digital channel called BBC Knowledge, BBC Four began on March 2, 2002 – its first evenings programmes being simulcast on BBC Two. ...

David Benson's 1996 Edinburgh Fringe show, Think No Evil of Us - My Life With Kenneth Williams saw Benson playing the character of Williams, and after touring, the show ran in London's West End. Benson reprised his performance again in a number of shows at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe. A street performer on the Royal Mile, with volunteer (2004). ...

References

HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by Rupert Murdochs News Corporation. ...

External links

• Stop Messin' About - The Kenneth Williams Website
• The Kenneth Williams Appreciation Society - Online since 1997
• Carry On Line: Official Website of the Carry On films
• Arts: Kenneth Williams
• BBC Four Interviews: Kenneth Williams
• Kenneth Williams:Fantabulosa!
• Kenneth Williams at the Internet Movie Database
• David Benson's website
• Fyne Times -Gay Great