Biography
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Born
22 February 1926
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Died
15 April 1988 (aged 62)
"Honest vulgarity is the central tradition of English humour" (Kenneth Williams)
Kenneth Charles Williams was born at St Pancras Hospital, London on February 22nd 1926. Kenny will certainly be remembered best for his 26 appearances in the 31 'Carry On' movies; along with Sid James (who appeared in 19 of the films) he will be constantly recognised as a King of British Comedy. But there was far more to Kenneth than just the seaside postcard humour of 'Carry On', having made his stage debut at The Victoria Theatre, Singapore (while still in active service as a member of the Royal Engineers) he played Jiggs Kennedy in 'Seven Keys to Baldpate' by George M. Cohan. From 1948 onwards he would regularly turn up in repertory around all parts of the British Isles.
Kenneth died in his bed at home on April 15th 1988, he was 62. Although the coroner recorded an open verdict, Williams had in fact accidentally taken a handful too many of barbiturates with his wine that night. While nobody in the 'Carry On' or British Comedy world will believe for a second that he committed suicide, the fact remains that the last entry in his now famous diaries was simply; 'Oh - what's the bloody point?'. His old flat on Great Portland Street, London now contains a blue plaque to the great man…
To a whole generation before and since 'Carry On', Kenneth Williams WAS British Comedy.
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