The following day, Charlie died and, an hour after being given the news, Kenneth went on stage in the West End. He was cremated at East Finchley Cemetery; his ashes were scattered in the memorial gardens. When Hancock steered his show away from what he considered gimmicks and silly voices, Williams found he had less to do.

From the Archive: Whatever Happened To Judy Geeson. [11], Williams's professional career began in 1948 in repertory theatre. [5], On 22 February 2014—on what would have been Williams' 88th birthday—an English Heritage blue plaque was unveiled at Farley Court off Marylebone Road, where Williams lived between 1963 and 1970 in Flat 62. [24], On 14 October 1962, Kenneth's father, Charlie Williams, was taken to hospital after drinking carbon tetrachloride that had been stored in a cough-mixture bottle. Williams was fondly regarded in the entertainment industry; in private life however he suffered from depression. They were both true originals. She was always bursting with pride about her Kenneth … Williams had been a Methodist, though he spent much of his life struggling with Christianity's teachings on homosexuality. [3] His parents were Charles George Williams, who managed a hairdressers in the Kings Cross area, and Louisa Alexandra (née Morgan), who worked in the salon.

Other close friends included Stanley Baxter, Gordon Jackson and his wife Rona Anderson, Sheila Hancock and Maggie Smith and her playwright husband, Beverley Cross. ", "Kenneth Williams – Interview by Owen Spencer Thomas – BBC London Radio", "The Pain of Laughter; The Last Days of Kenneth Williams", "Kenneth Williams: secret loves behind the life of a tormented man", "Michael Sheen carries off the life of Kenneth Williams", "Carry On star Kenneth Williams granted blue plaque", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kenneth_Williams&oldid=983820262, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the ODNB, Articles with dead external links from June 2016, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
There was also Kenneth's sister Pat but they were never that close and she seemed to pop in and out of his life. Speaking at the ceremony, his Carry On co-star Barbara Windsor said: "Kenny was a one off, a true original".[46][47]. His roles in Round the Horne included Rambling Syd Rumpo, the eccentric folk singer; Dr Chou En Ginsberg, MA (failed), Oriental criminal mastermind; J. Peasemold Gruntfuttock, telephone heavy breather and dirty old man; and Sandy of the camp couple Julian and Sandy (Julian was played by Hugh Paddick).

Happy Valentine's Day from Carry On Blogging!

Williams had a half-sister, Alice Patricia "Pat", born in 1923 before Louie had met Charlie Williams, and three years before Kenneth was born.
[21] He once talked for almost a minute about a supposed Austrian psychiatrist called Heinrich Swartzberg, correctly guessing that the show's creator, Ian Messiter, had just made the name up. I wonder what she made of him, not to mention Kenneth Halliwell. Carry On Voting: Kenneth Williams' Best Performance, Carry On Hero of the Week: Peter Butterworth. Tiring of this reduced status, he joined Kenneth Horne in Beyond Our Ken (1958–64), and its sequel, Round the Horne (1965–68). ", "Kenneth Williams: The greatest diarist since Pepys? Despite the success and recognition the show brought him, Williams considered theatre, film and television to be superior forms of entertainment. Kenneth Williams read eight "Just William" stories for Argo in the early 1980s. Williams grew up in Central London in a working-class family. Kenneth, who had never got on well with his father, refused to visit him. [6] He was educated at The Lyulph Stanley Boys' Central Council School,[7][8] a state-owned Central school on the corner of Camden Street and Plender Street,[9] near Mornington Crescent in Camden Town in north west London, later becoming apprenticed as a draughtsman to a mapmaker. [12] Main Wilson was casting Hancock's Half Hour, a radio series starring Tony Hancock. Kenneth Williams stated in his diaries that he believed he had Welsh ancestors due to his parents' surnames. Jack the Pot Boy    Valley of Song (9-Jun-1953), Do you know something we don't? [37] The programmes were researched and written by Wes Butters and narrated by Rob Brydon. Louie was always first to stand up for her boy, quick to defend him and completely loyal. Despite this, he spoke fondly of the Carry Ons in interviews.

(directed at Sheila Hancock, Aimi MacDonald and others). Williams had a half-sister, Alice Patricia "Pat", born in 1923 before Louie had met Charlie Williams, and three years before Kenneth was born. Their closeness, they claim, would have meant Kenneth would never have chosen that way out. I doubt it was the old age he had imagined for himself. By 1972, they were neighbours as Kenneth moved into a flat directly next to his mother's home.

I couldn't devote a week of Carry On Blogging to Kenneth Williams without writing about the very special relationship Kenny had with his mother. Sir Henry Baskerville Carry on Emmannuelle (1978) Carry On Behind (1975) Carry On Dick (1974) The Welsh actor Michael Sheen portrayed Williams. In many ways Kenneth replaced Charlie and this fact must not have been lost of Kenneth. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 Carry On films, and appeared in many British television programmes and radio comedies, including series with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.[1][2]. The basis for Kenneth and Louie's closeness was their shared sense of humour. Kenneth Williams' Best Carry On Performance: The r... Whatever Happened To ... Bruce Montgomery?

The actor had doubled his dosage of antacid without discussing this with his doctor; this, combined with the mixture of medication, is the widely accepted cause of death. Williams's last revue, in 1960, was One Over The Eight at the Duke of York's Theatre, with Sheila Hancock. Many of Kenneth's acting friends met and socialised with Louie and they clearly also loved her. He often privately criticised and "dripped vitriol" upon the films, considering them beneath him, even though he continued to appear in them.

[38], The first of the programmes said that, towards the end of his life and struggling with depression and ill health, Williams abandoned Christianity following discussions with the poet Philip Larkin. Benson reprised his performance at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe and continues to tour. Charlie Williams' sudden demise in 1962 brought mother and son even closer. Louisa, sometimes Lou, mostly Louie, was, I am quite sure the love of Kenneth's life. I can picture them always giggling with rude, childlike glee and I think in their prime, they relished each other. Joe Orton was also a frequent visitor and reveled in Louie's lack of airs and graces and her working class bravado. "[20]) He was also remembered for such phrases as "I've come all the way from Great Portland Street" (i.e.

Most read in Books. The plaque was unveiled on 11 October 2009 by Leslie Phillips, Bill Pertwee and Nicholas Parsons, with whom Williams performed. I'd still have loved to have been a fly on the wall. After a short spell in repertory theatre as a serious actor, he turned to comedy and achieved national fame in Hancock's Half Hour. [4] Between 1935 and 1956, Williams lived with his parents in a flat above his father's barber shop at 57 Marchmont Street, Bloomsbury. one block away) and "They shouldn't have women on the show!" While in that unit he met Stanley Baxter, Peter Nichols and John Schlesinger. "[19], Williams was a regular on the BBC Radio panel game Just a Minute from its second season in 1968 until his death. catchphrase) became popular with listeners. From the Archive: The Fantastic Ms Fraser. The latter included material specially written for him by Peter Cook, then a student at Pembroke College, Cambridge. Their double act was characterised by double entendres and Polari, the homosexual argot. After his father died, his mother Louisa lived near him, and then in the flat next to his. [42], David Benson's 1996 Edinburgh Fringe show, Think No Evil of Us: My Life with Kenneth Williams, saw Benson playing Williams; after touring, the show ran in London's West End. His authorised biography argues that Williams did not take his own life but died of an accidental overdose. Carry On Hero of the Week: Hattie Jacques, Kenny at 90: Kenneth Williams on Parkinson, Kenny at 90: The Kenneth Williams Diaries. [22], On television, he co-hosted his own TV variety series on BBC2 with the Young Generation entitled Meanwhile On BBC2, which ran for 10 episodes from 17 April 1971. They would frequently holiday together, dine out together and spend lots of social time in each others' company. It provided his first experience of an educated, middle-class life, and he loved it.