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Kenneth Williams Filmography
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Kenneth Williams: Life and Career
Kenneth Williams was born near Euston station, London, the son of a hairdresser. He was educated at Lyulph Stanley School. His relationship with his parents - he hated his father and adored his mother - was key to the development of his personality. Williams apprenticed as a draughtsman and joined the army aged 18. He was part of the Royal Engineers survey section in Bombay when he had his first experience of going on stage with Combined Services Entertainment.
After the war, his career began with a number of roles in repertory theatre, but few serious roles were to lend themselves to his style of delivery. His failure to be established as a serious dramatic actor would disappoint him, but it was his potential as a comic actor which gained him his big 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. He would lend his distinctive voice and amazing vocal talent to the radio series to almost the end of its run five years later.
Meanwhile he became a foil to Kenneth Horne in the series' Beyond Our Ken (1958-1963, and then consolidated this with its sequel Round the Horne (1964-1969). In the latter, his roles included the eccentric folk singer, Rambling Syd Rumpo, and Sandy of the extremely camp couple, Julian and Sandy (Julian was played by Hugh Paddick), notable for their arch
double entendres and use of the underground gay slang, Polari.
He also worked in television and British films, most notably the Carry On ... series. Particularly in the theatre, he was famous for breaking out of character and talking to the audience. He was a regular panellist on the BBC radio panel game, Just a Minute from its first show in 1967 until his death and regularly presented the children's story-reading series Jackanory. He was also a "professional" talkshow guest, able to regale an audience with amusing anecdotes on every subject. He was extremely well read and occasionally used to "stand in" as host on the popular early evening Wogan (talk) show.
Williams publicly insisted that he was celibate, but in private found his homosexuality difficult to deal with. His diaries contain many references to unconsumated or barely-consumated relationships, described in code as
traditional matters or tradiola, probably because homosexuality was still a criminal offense in the United Kingdom for much of the period the diaries cover. He befriended Joe Orton who wrote the role of Inspector Truscott in
Loot (1966) for him and enjoyed holidays with Orton and Kenneth Halliwell in North Africa. In later years his health declined. Despite making a good living, he lived throughout his life in a series of small flats in inner London.
He died on April 15, 1988 from an overdose of barbiturates. It was not definitely established whether this was accidental or suicide (Williams' father had died in similarly unclear circumstances when he had drunk a bottle of solvent). The last sentence Williams wrote in his diary was
"By 6.30 pain in the back was pulsating as it's never done before … so this, plus the stomach trouble combines to torture me - oh - what's the bloody point?". The posthumous publication of his diaries, edited by Russell Davies, caused some controversy.
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Latest Film News
Latest news on Kenneth Williams
EuropeAfter Trainspotting and zombies, a teaboy millionaire is tipped to win Boyle an Oscar
An uplifting yet grimly realistic tale of a young chai-wallah scraping a life out of poverty was last night being talked of as an Oscar contender after it took three awards at the British independent film awards (Bifas).Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, the story of a Mumbai teenage boy who astounds all around him by doing well on the Indian Who Wants To Be a Millionaire quiz show, won best film, best director and best newcomer for its British lead.In a night when honours were spread about, there were also three wins for Hunger, Steve McQueen's unflinching portrait of Bobby Sands and the hunger strikes; two for Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky; and one for In Bruges, Martin McDonagh's comedy about two Irish assassins sent to Belgium.But Boyle was the talk of the night. The former artistic director of the Royal Court theatre is already on many pundits' Oscar prediction lists after a film career which has seen him happily flip genres: from Edinburgh heroin addicts in Trainspotting to Leonardo DiCaprio in The Beach to zombies in 28 Days Later.Last night he was named best director at the Bifas and Slumdog Millionaire was best film. The film's young lead, Harrow-born Dev Patel - best known to British audiences as Anwar in E4's Skins - won best newcomer.Slumdog Millionaire, written by The Full Monty's Simon Beaufoy, tells the story of a Mumbai street child. As he does well on the quiz show, flashbacks chronicle his life, the realities of which Boyle does not flinch from showing.Boyle's film, a third of which is spoken in Hindi, opens in the UK on January 9 but has already gone down well on the festival circuit and opened to fantastic reviews in the US.A Rolling Stone critic said: "What I feel for this movie isn't just admiration, it's mad love."USA Today was similarly won over: "The beautifully rendered and energetic tale celebrates resilience, the power of knowledge and the vitality of human experience. Horrifying, humorous and life-affirming, it is, above all, unforgettable." The Los Angeles Times declared it "the best old-fashioned audience picture of the year".The Turner prize-winning artist Steve McQueen, who represents the UK at next year's Venice Biennale, won the best debut director award for Hunger and the film's cinematographer Sean Bobbit, won best technical achievement. Leading man Michael Fassbender won best actor for his astonishing - not least in the 33lbs of weight he had to lose - performance as Sands.Hunger is not a film for a cheery romantic night out. It shows the reality of the dirty protests in the Maze prison in stomach-churning detail. Nothing from the Sands story is stepped away from: the brutality, the torture and the alarming effects starvation has on a man's body.At the other end of the movie spectrum, Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky, which follows a relentlessly cheerful London teacher called Poppy, won two acting awards. Eddie Marsan won best supporting actor for his role as the crazed racist driving instructor, and Alexis Zegerman won best supporting actress as Poppy's best mate, Zoe.The well-fancied In Bruges, featuring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as a pair of chalk-and-cheese killers sent by their psychotic boss (Ralph Fiennes) to Bruges, came away with the best screenplay award for its writer and director Martin McDonagh. It was the playwright's film debut.Vera Farmiga won best actress for her role in concentration camp drama The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas, while the Israeli animation Waltz With Bashir won best foreign film.At the ceremony in Old Billingsgate Market, London, special awards were also given out. The actor David Thewlis was rewarded for his outstanding contribution to British film, while Michael Sheen - best known for being able to pass himself off as Kenneth Williams, Tony Blair and David Frost - was given the Variety award.It was the 11th Bifa ceremony, with the awards seeming to grow in stature each year. Co-directors Johanna von Fischer and Tessa Collinson, said: "It's been another stellar year for independent film in Britain, as represented by the diverse spread of nominations across the board.The winnersBest film Slumdog MillionaireBest director Danny Boyle, Slumdog MillionaireBest debut director Steve McQueen, HungerBest screenplay Martin McDonagh, In BrugesBest actress Vera Farmiga, The Boy in the Striped PyjamasBest actor Michael Fassbender, HungerBest supporting actress Alexis Zegerman, Happy-Go-LuckyBest supporting actor Eddie Marsan, Happy Go LuckyMost promising newcomer Dev Patel, Slumdog MillionaireBest achievement in production The EscapistRaindance award Zebra CrossingsBest technical achievement Sean Bobbitt, cinematography for HungerBest documentary Man on WireBest short Soft Best foreign Waltz With Bashir Outstanding contribution to British cinema David ThewlisVariety award Michael SheenSpecial Jury prize Joe DuntonDanny Boyleguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Published: Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:07:10 GMT - Source: Guardian.Co.Uk - Read the article
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