Kenneth Williams

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Kenneth Williams
Born Kenneth Charles Williams
22 February 1926(1926-02-22)
Islington, London, England
Died 15 April 1988 (aged 62)
Camden, London, England
Occupation Actor, Comedian, Broadcaster, Raconteur
Years active 1948–1988
For other uses, see Ken Williams.

Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was a British comic actor, star of 26 Carry On films and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne, as well as being a witty raconteur.

Contents

[edit] Life and career

Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February 1926 in Bingfield Street, King's Cross, London.[1] The son of barber Charles Williams, he was educated at Lyulph Stanley School. Although his education was nothing special, he was a voracious reader throughout his life and in his interviews he could often quote entire poems or literary extracts purely from memory. His relationship with his parents — he adored his supportive, theatrical mother, Louisa ("Lou" or "Louie"), but hated his homophobic, morose and selfish father — was key to his personality, Williams later claiming that all his acting and comedic talent came from his mother. Williams became an apprentice draughtsman to a mapmaker and joined the army in 1944 at the age of 18. He was part of the Royal Engineers survey section in Bombay when he first performed on stage, with Combined Services Entertainment along with Stanley Baxter and Peter Nichols.[2]

[edit] Comic performer

His professional career began in 1948 with roles in repertory theatre, but few serious parts suited his camp delivery. His failure to become a serious dramatic actor disappointed him, but potential as a comic performer gave him his 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, a radio series starring Tony Hancock. Williams went on to lend his distinctive vocal and comedic talents to the series until almost the end of its run, five years later.[3] His nasal, whiny, camp-cockney inflections (epitomised in his "Stop messing about..." catchphrase) became hugely popular with the listening public and would endure in popular lore for many years.[4] Despite the success and recognition the radio show brought him, Williams' own personal view was that theatre, film and television were 'superior' forms of entertainment to radio shows.

When Hancock decided to move the show away from what he considered to be 'gimmicks' and silly voices, Williams found himself having less to do on the programme. Tiring of his increasingly reduced appearances, Williams joined Kenneth Horne in 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; Dr Chou En Ginsberg, MA (failed), Oriental criminal mastermind; J. Peasemold Gruntfuttock, professional telephone heavy breather and dirty old man; and Sandy of the camp couple, Julian and Sandy (Julian was played by Hugh Paddick), and the double-act was notable for their double entendres and homosexual slang known as Polari. Williams and Hancock started out as good friends and would regularly discuss philosophical matters in one another's company, their discussions sometimes lasting an entire night. However, after Hancock cut many of Williams' appearances on the show, they fell out and Williams distanced himself from Hancock from then on. His reaction to the news of Hancock's suicide in Sydney, Australia, on 24 June 1968, as recorded in his diary, was one of indifference to the death of his former friend and criticism of Hancock's decline in both his career and personal life. This was a stark contrast to his fond thoughts and praise of Hancock in his diaries from previous years.

Williams appeared in West End revues including Share My Lettuce with Maggie Smith and written by Bamber Gascoigne, and Pieces of Eight with Fenella Fielding, which included material written by Peter Cook, then still a student at Cambridge University, including One Leg Too Few and Interesting Facts, that would both become well known routines in Cook's own stage performances. Williams' last revue was One over the Eight, with Sheila Hancock. Williams later starred opposite Jennie Linden in My Fat Friend in 1972. He also appeared with Ingrid Bergman in a stage production of George Bernard Shaw's Captain Brassbound's Conversion in 1971. Particularly in the theatre, Williams was famous for breaking character, ad-libbing and talking to the audience.

[edit] Carry On

Williams worked in television and British films, notably the Carry On series[5] (1958–1978 and 1992) with its British double entendre-laced humour, which were highly successful but for which he, along with the rest of the cast, was poorly paid. In his diaries Williams claims he earned more in a British Gas commercial than the entire Carry On series — although that might only be true if one adds the fee he earned from the highly popular spin-off cartoon series Willo the Wisp (taken up by the BBC rather than the commercial TV network). In his diaries he was often highly critical of the Carry On films, both of his own performances and those of his fellow actors. This was the case with many of the films, television programmes, stage plays and radio shows he appeared in. Despite this private criticism, he appeared in more of the Carry On films than any of his fellow actors, and spoke fondly of them in his interviews. Peter Rogers, producer of the series, maintained a good relationship with Williams. He recollected, "...Kenneth was worth taking care of, because while he cost very little — £5,000 a film — he made a very great deal of money for the franchise."[6] Although making a good living, Williams lived in small flats in north London from the mid-1950s until his death, and after his father died his beloved mother Louisa always lived close by him, even in the next door flat by the end of his life. The best known flat Williams lived in was in the now demolished block on Osnaburgh Street.

[edit] Radio and television shows

Williams was a regular on the BBC radio panel game Just a Minute from its second season in 1968 until his death. He was a frequent contributor to BBC2's What's My Line? in the 1970s and presented several editions of the children's story-reading series Jackanory. He also appeared on Michael Parkinson's interview programme on eight occasions, during which he told many anecdotes from his career. In addition, Williams was one of the stand-in hosts on the Wogan talk show in 1986.

[edit] Personal life and death

On October 14, 1962 Williams' father, Charles, was rushed to hospital after drinking carbon tetrachloride which was stored in a bottle of cough mixture. Williams refused to visit him and on the following day went out for lunch then to the cinema. Charles died during the afternoon and an hour after being informed, Williams went on stage in the West End where he gave one of his better performances. The coroners court recorded a verdict of accidental death due to corrosive poisoning by carbon tetrachloride with no explanation of how the poison came to be in the bottle.[7]

Several years later Williams turned down an offer of work with Orson Welles in America which would have been a major career move. According to his own account he had declined as he did not like America and had no desire to ever work there. However, a more likely reason was that he had been denied a visa because Scotland Yard considered him a suspect in his father's death.[8]

Williams insisted he was celibate, and his diaries suggest this was — at least from his early 40s onwards — in part because he found his homosexuality difficult to deal with and the attendant lifestyle distasteful. He lived alone all his adult life and appears never to have had a steady companion or a romantic relationship of any great significance. His diaries contain many references to unconsummated or barely consummated dalliances, which he describes as "traditional matters" or "tradiola" (homosexuality was a criminal offence in the UK before 1967). He did, however, befriend the gay playwright Joe Orton (who wrote the role of Inspector Truscott in Loot (1966) for him) and enjoyed holidays with Orton and lover Kenneth Halliwell in Morocco. Other close friends included Stanley Baxter, Gordon Jackson and his wife Rona Anderson, Sheila Hancock, Maggie Smith and her playwright husband, Beverley 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.

Williams rarely revealed details of his private life, though he spoke to Owen Spencer-Thomas about his loneliness, despondency and underachievement in two half-hour documentary programmes entitled Carry On Kenneth on BBC Radio London.[9] In later years his health declined, along with that of his elderly mother (she died in July 1991), and his depression deepened. He died on 15 April 1988 in Camden.[10] The cause of death was an overdose of barbiturates.[11] An inquest recorded an open verdict, as it was not possible to establish whether his death was suicide or accident.[12] However, Williams' diaries reveal he had often had suicidal thoughts throughout his life, and as far back as his earliest diaries he noted that there were times when he couldn't see any point in existence at all.

[edit] In popular culture

The posthumous publication of his diaries and letters, edited by Russell Davies, caused controversy — particularly Williams' caustic remarks about fellow professionals — and revealed the bouts of despondency, often primed by feelings of isolation and underachievement, that marked his life. Williams wrote in his diaries from the age of 14 in 1940 right up until his death some 48 years later, although his earliest diary to survive into publication was the one for 1942 when he reached 16 years of age. Williams kept pocket-sized diaries for 1942 and 1947 (he kept no diaries for 1943 to 1946 as he was touring the Far East in the army); a desk diary for 1948; pocket-sized diaries for 1949 and 1950; desk diaries for 1951 to 1965; standard edition desk diaries for 1966 to 1971, and finally A4-sized executive desk diaries for 1972 to 1988. He claimed that writing in his diaries eased the loneliness he often felt.

The flat Williams had lived in was bought by Rob Brydon and Julia Davis for the writing of their dark comedy series Human Remains. The building was demolished in May 2007 and according to the actor David Benson's Myspace blog, he and ex-Radio 1 DJ Wes Butters broke in to take photos prior to demolition.

In April 2007, Williams' line "Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!" (from Carry On Cleo) was voted the greatest one-liner in movie history by a thousand comedy writers, actors, impresarios and members of the public for the launch of Sky Movies Comedy Channel.[13] The line was borrowed by scriptwriter Talbot Rothwell from Frank Muir and Dennis Norden, who had used it on their legendary radio show Take It From Here.[14]

In April 2008, BBC Radio 4 broadcast the two-part documentary The Pain of Laughter: The Last Days of Kenneth Williams. The programmes were researched and written by Wes Butters and narrated by Rob Brydon. Butters purchased a collection of Williams' personal belongings from the actor's godson, Robert Chidell, to whom they had been bequeathed.[15]

The first of the programmes claimed that, towards the end of his life and struggling with depression and ill health, Williams abandoned his Christian faith following discussions with the poet Philip Larkin. Williams had been a Methodist and took a keen interest in religion, though he spent much of his life struggling with Christianity's teachings on homosexuality.[16]

Kenneth Williams Unseen by Wes Butters and Russell Davies, the first Williams biography in 15 years, was published in October 2008.[17]

[edit] 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! (Godley had originated the role in the 1998 National Theatre play on which Cor Blimey! was based). Subsequently in 2006, Michael Sheen played him in the BBC Four drama Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!.

David Benson's 1996 Edinburgh Fringe show, Think No Evil of Us: My Life with Kenneth Williams saw Benson playing the character of Williams; after touring, the show ran in London's West End. Benson reprised his performance in a number of shows at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe and continues to tour with this portrayal.[18]

From 2003 to 2005, Robin Sebastian took on the Williams role in the hit West End stage show Round the Horne... Revisited, recreating his performance in 2008 for a new production called Round the Horne: Unseen and Uncut.

[edit] Performances

[edit] Films

[edit] Television

[edit] Radio

[edit] Books

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

[edit] Albums

  • Kenneth Williams on Pleasure Bent 1967, Decca LK 4856. Arrangements and musical direction by Barry Booth, sound supervision by Roger Cameron.
  • The World of Kenneth Williams 1970, Decca SPA 64. Stereo edition of recordings from the 1950s and 1960s.


Search Wikiquote Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Kenneth Williams

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ GRO Register of Births: MAR 1926 1b 408 ISLINGTON - Kenneth C. Williams
  2. ^ Army http://www.britmovie.co.uk/actors/w/004.html Retrieved 08/10/07
  3. ^ Hancock's Half Hour http://www.britmovie.co.uk/actors/w/004.html Retrieved 08/10/07
  4. ^ Stop messing about.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/thekennethwilliamsshow/ Retrieved 08/10/07
  5. ^ Carry On Films roles. He appeared in more films in the series than any other actor. http://www.britmovie.co.uk/actors/w/004.html Retrieved 08/10/07
  6. ^ Kenneth Williams Unseen by Wes Butters and Russell Davies, HarperCollins 2008, p224
  7. ^ "Did Kenneth Kill Himself?". Daily Mail (London). 2005-11-30. p. 32. "...in October 1962, Charlie Williams died after drinking a bottle of carbon tetrachloride in mysterious circumstances - a death that has eerie echoes of Williams' own. He drank from a bottle labelled Gees Linctus but which actually contained poison, and the coroner recorded a verdict of death by misadventure, due to bronchial pneumonia and carbon tetrachloride poisoning, self-administered, by accident. Many, perhaps Kenneth included, believed it was suicide." 
  8. ^ Did Kenneth Williams poison his father? October 31, 2008
  9. ^ Radio Times (London edition) July 23 - 29, 1977
  10. ^ GRO Register of Deaths: JUN 1988 14 1873 CAMDEN - Kenneth Charles Williams, DoB = 22 Feb 1926 aged 62
  11. ^ Overdose http://www.britmovie.co.uk/actors/w/004.html Retrieved 08/10/07
  12. ^ "Open verdict recorded on Williams". The Guardian (London). 1988-06-17. "Dr John Elliott, deputy coroner for inner north London said: The cause of death was a barbiturate overdose. Where Mr Williams would have got these from we would not be able to establish. There is no indication given as to why he should have taken this overdose and therefore I record an open verdict." 
  13. ^ Greatest one-liner http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6524729.stm Retrieved 08/10/07.
  14. ^ "A Kentish Lad", by Frank Muir, Bantam Press, ISBN 0-593-03452-x, 1997, p 141.
  15. ^ "The truth behind that famous smile", Radio Times 5–11 April 2008
  16. ^ BBC Radio 4: The Pain of Laughter: The Last Days of Kenneth Williams
  17. ^ HarperCollins http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/Content/Title/Default.aspx?id=40926
  18. ^ David Benson - JAMES SEABRIGHT

[edit] References

  • Williams, Kenneth (1993), Russell Davies, ed. The Kenneth Williams Diaries. London: HarperCollins.

[edit] External links

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Carry On films
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