Kenneth Williams

Kenneth Williams had an uneasy relation with his father, Charlie. Charlie died after consuming carbon tetrachloride stored in a cough mixture bottle. Scotland Yard considered him a suspect in his father’s death.

Published posthumously, his diaries revealed that he suffered from depression and loneliness as a result of professional failure and ill-health. He could never come to terms with his homosexuality.

He was discovered dead due to an overdose of barbiturates. It is still a mystery whether it was an accidental death or suicide. He was cremated at East Finchley Cemetery.

Kenneth Charles Williams was born on February 22, 1926 to Louisa Morgan and Charles Williams, a barber. Alice Patricia, his half sister was born to Louisa out of wedlock from a relation before marriage.

He attended Lyulph Stanley School and trained to be a mapmaker's draughtsman. In 1944, he enrolled in the Army and was posted in Bombay as a part of the Royal Engineers survey section. His first stage appearance was with the Combined Services Entertainment.

Kenneth Williams started his acting career in 1948, performing in repertory theatre, after he was discharged from the army, but was frustrated over his inability to do dramatic roles.

In 1954, producer Dennis Main Wilson cast him in ‘Hancock's Half Hour’, a radio series, after watching him as the Dauphin in Bernard Shaw’s ‘St Joan’. His amusing, nasal, high-pitched voice brought him recognition.

When ‘Hancock's Half Hour’ changed its format, he found himself sidelined. Between1958 and 1964, he starred on the radio show, ‘Beyond Our Ken’, anchored by comedian Kenneth Home.

In 1964, he joined ‘Round the Horne’ the sequel to ‘Beyond Our Ken’. His recurring characters included the folk singer Rambling Syd Rumpo and Dr Chou En Ginsberg, MA (failed), the Oriental criminal mastermind.

Two homosexual characters on ‘Round the Horne’ became particularly popular– Julian and Sandy played by Hugh Paddick and Kenneth Williams respectively. The sketch used double entendre, puns, adlibs and taglines.

Kenneth William’s comic portrayal of Julius Caesar as a scared coward who hides behind his bodyguard in ‘Carry on Cleo’ made it one of the 12 most popular British movies in 1965.

In the 1968 film, ‘Carry on… up the Khyber’, considered the best of the Carry On franchise, he plays the villainous Khasi of Kalabar. Set in British India, his wisecracks teased the British stereotype.