Kenneth Williams

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Kenneth Charles Williams (born February 22, 1926 in London , † April 15, 1988 ibid) was a British actor and comedian .

Life

Williams had his breakthrough as a comedian in 1954 when he became a permanent member of the radio comedy show Hancock's Half Hour alongside Tony Hancock and Sidney James , which also featured other long-lasting radio programs such as Beyond our Ken , Round the Horne (both with Kenneth Horne) as well the BBC game show should follow Just a Minute . Numerous programs have now appeared on DVD and still make Williams one of the most popular radio comedians in England.

In addition, Williams has had numerous appearances in movies, especially in productions of Peter Rogers under the direction of Gerald Thomas . Rogers and Thomas turned 30 comedies of varying quality, within the meaning of the Commedia dell'arte always the same types of roles almost always the same actors presented embodies and their titles in the original always carry-on ... began. There Kenneth Williams often played the counterpart of fellow actor Sidney James , with whom he shared a lifelong mutual antipathy. In 25 films (out of 30) in the series, Williams played the nasal snob, often in one of the leading roles. The range of roles ranged from the chief physician ( The Totally Crazy Hospital ) to a British frigate captain in Nelson's time ( It's crazy - a dismantled frigate ) , the Khasi von Kalabar ( everything under control - nobody looks through ) or a Frankenstein caricature ( It's crazy - alarm in the horror castle) to parodies of historical personalities like Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex ( Heinrich's bed stories or How the garlic came to England ) or Julius Caesar ( It's crazy - Caesar loves Cleopatra ) . Although Williams had a very negative opinion of the quality of the productions, he especially enjoyed working with the rest of the comedians and the production staff around Rogers and Thomas. In addition, he often lent his voice to cartoons (like all the characters in Willo das Waldlicht ).

Kenneth Williams died on April 15, 1988 from a drug overdose . In addition to some biographical books about and by Kenneth Williams, his collected diaries have now been published. In 2006 his diaries were featured in the television movie Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! filmed. Kenneth Williams is played here by Michael Sheen .

Filmography (selection)

Fonts (selection)

  • Acid drops. London 1980.
  • Back drops. Pages From a Private Diary , London 1983.
  • Just Williams. To Autobiography. London 1985.
  • The Kenneth Williams Diaries. published by Russell Davies, London 1993.

literature

  • Michael Freedland: Kenneth Williams. London 1990.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Williams, Kenneth
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Williams, Kenneth Charles (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actor and comedian
DATE OF BIRTH February 22, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH April 15, 1988
Place of death London