Kenneth Williams(1926-1988)
- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
The acting bug bit Kenneth Williams when, as a student, his English
teacher suggested he try out for a school play. He found that he
enjoyed it tremendously, but when he raised the possibility at home of
becoming an actor, his father forbade it. Williams was eventually sent
to art school in London in 1941. In 1944 he was drafted into the army,
and although posted to the Royal Engineers, he managed to land a job in
the Combined Services Entertainment unit, where he got a chance to act
in shows that were put on to entertain the troops, and even designed
the posters that advertised the shows.
After his discharge from the army he began to work as a professional actor, and traveled the country in repertory companies. It was in a production of "Saint Joan", where he played the Dauphin, that a radio producer saw him and hired him to do voice characterizations on a popular radio comedy show, "Hancock's Half Hour". His penchant for wild, off-the-wall characters led to his being hired by the producers of the "Carry On" comedy series, where he performed in 26 entries in the long-running series. When the series ended, Williams returned to radio work, and also made the rounds of the TV talk shows in addition to writing several books, including his autobiography. Later in his life Williams developed a serious ulcer, and was given medication to combat the pain. On April 15th 1988, he was found dead in his bed; it was determined that in addition to his regular pain pills, he had apparently taken some sleeping pills the night before, and the combination of those and his regular medication proved fatal.
After his discharge from the army he began to work as a professional actor, and traveled the country in repertory companies. It was in a production of "Saint Joan", where he played the Dauphin, that a radio producer saw him and hired him to do voice characterizations on a popular radio comedy show, "Hancock's Half Hour". His penchant for wild, off-the-wall characters led to his being hired by the producers of the "Carry On" comedy series, where he performed in 26 entries in the long-running series. When the series ended, Williams returned to radio work, and also made the rounds of the TV talk shows in addition to writing several books, including his autobiography. Later in his life Williams developed a serious ulcer, and was given medication to combat the pain. On April 15th 1988, he was found dead in his bed; it was determined that in addition to his regular pain pills, he had apparently taken some sleeping pills the night before, and the combination of those and his regular medication proved fatal.
