Kenneth Connor
| Kenneth Connor | |
|---|---|
 Publicity photo of Connor |
|
| Born | 6 June 1918 London, England, UK |
| Died | 28 November 1993 (aged 75) London, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1920–93 |
| Known for | Carry On films 'Allo 'Allo! (TV series) |
| Spouse | Margaret ?–1993 (his death) |
Kenneth Connor MBE (6 June 1918[1][2] – 28 November 1993) was an English comedy stage, radio, film and TV actor, best known for his appearances in the Carry On films.
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[edit] Career
Born the son of a naval officer in Islington, London,[1] Connor first appeared on the stage at the age of 2. By 11 years old, he had his own act. After periods at drama school and the army – during which time he participated in the British invasion of Rome – he returned to the stage. He found more success, however, in BBC radio comedy, particularly in comedian Ted Ray's Ray's a Laugh where played the brother-in-law and other oddball characters such as Sidney Mincing. He also on occasion appeared in The Goon Show, standing in for regular cast members struck down by illness.
In 1955, Connor gained a small role in the film The Ladykillers (1955) as a taxi driver. In 1958, he was cast in the first Carry On film, Carry On Sergeant and became one of the regular cast in the series, appearing in seventeen of the original thirty films and many of the associated television productions. Alongside Kenneth Williams and Eric Barker, Connor was one of only three actors to appear in both the first and last of the original sequence of Carry On films (Carry On Sergeant and Carry On Emmanuelle).
In his earlier Carry On appearances, Connor frequently played the romantic lead or other sympathetic straight roles, while later appearances saw him play pompous unsympathetic characters such as married men with wandering eyes and lascivious remarks. In Carry On Nurse (1959), his real-life son Jeremy[3] appeared as his character Bernie Bishop's son. In 1961, he starred with fellow Carry On stars Sid James and Esma Cannon in the comedy film What a Carve Up!. In the early 1960s, he appeared as various characters in the Four Feather Falls puppet series.
Between 1971 and 1973, Connor joined Dad's Army stars Arthur Lowe and Ian Lavender on the BBC radio comedy Parsley Sidings. In contrast with some of his Carry On co-stars, Connor found further success on the London stage playing a leading role alongside Frankie Howerd in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and he also appeared in West End revues. On television he appeared in The Black and White Minstrel Show, as Whatsisname Smith in the children's show Rentaghost (1983–1984), and as Monsieur Alfonse in 'Allo 'Allo! (1984–1992) and Uncle Sammy Morris in Hi-de-Hi! (1986–1988). He also made guest appearances in sitcoms including That's My Boy and You Rang, M'Lord? and he made a memorable cameo in an episode of Blackadder the Third in 1987, alongside fellow veteran comic star Hugh Paddick.
His final TV appearance, as Mr Warren in The Memoirs Of Sherlock Holmes episode The Adventure of the Red Circle, was broadcast posthumously in 1994. He was in over fifty movies and was honoured by the Queen with an MBE in 1991.
He made his first stage appearance at the age of two and was still working just two days before his death, with an appearance on Noel Edmond's Telly Addicts.
Connor died of cancer at his home in Harrow, London in 1993,[4] and was survived by his wife Margaret (Miki), his son and three grandchildren, Thomas, Hayley and Rose, all of whom have been accomplished child actors.
[edit] Television roles
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 to 1971 | On the House | Gussie Sisson |
| 1975 to 1976 | Carry On Laughing | Various |
| 1983 to 1984 | Rentaghost | |
| 1984 to 1992 | 'Allo 'Allo! | Monsieur Alfonse |
| 1986 to 1988 | Hi-de-Hi! | Uncle Sammy Morris |
| 1987 | Blackadder the Third | Enoch Mossop |
| 1994 | Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes | Mr. Warren |
[edit] Selected filmography
- Poison Pen (1939)
- Don't Say Die (1950)
- Miss Robin Hood (1952)
- There Was a Young Lady (1953)
- Marilyn (1953)
- The Black Rider (1954)
- The Ladykillers (1955)
- Davy (1957)
- Carry On Sergeant (1958)
- Make Mine a Million (1959)
- Carry On Nurse (1959)
- Carry On Teacher (1959)
- Watch Your Stern (1960)
- Carry On Constable (1960)
- Dentist in the Chair (1960)
- Nearly a Nasty Accident (1961)
- His and Hers (1961)
- Carry On Regardless (1961)
- A Weekend with Lulu (1961)
- Dentist on the Job (1961)
- What a Carve Up! (1961)
- Carry On Cruising (1962)
- Carry On Cabby (1963)
- Carry On Cleo (1964)
- Gonks Go Beat (1965)
- Cuckoo Patrol (1967)
- Rhubarb (1969)
- Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969)
- Carry On Up the Jungle (1970)
- Carry On Henry (1971)
- Carry On Matron (1972)
- Carry On Abroad (1972)
- Carry On Girls (1973)
- Carry On Dick (1974)
- Carry On Behind (1975)
- Carry On England (1976)
- Carry On Emmannuelle (1978)
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=URAqg07LMlz3gfXu8C4q1g&scan=1. Retrieved February 21 2011.
- ^ BFI biodata
- ^ Jeremy Connor at IMDb
- ^ Fade to Black 4th Ed - Paul Donnelley, Omnibus Press, 2010
[edit] External links
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