Kenneth Williams

Kenneth Williams
Publicity photo of Williams in the early 1960s
Birth name	Kenneth Charles Williams
Born	(1926-02-22)22 February 1926 Islington, London, England
Died	15 April 1988(1988-04-15) (aged 62) Camden, London, England

Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was an English actor, best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist.

He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 Carry On films, and appeared in many British television programmes and radio comedies, including series with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.

Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February 1926 in Bingfield Street, King's Cross, London, the son of Louisa ("Lou" or "Louie") Morgan (1901-1991) and Charles Williams (1899-1962), a barber and strict Methodist from Somers Town, London. Later, while filming "Carry On Up The Khyber" in Snowdonia, Wales, Kenneth Williams was interviewed for Welsh TV news and told the interviewer "My mother was a Morgan from Pontnewydd and my father from Port Talbot". The interview also appears in the ITV documentary series "Carry On Forever".

Between 1935 and 1956, Kenneth lived with his parents above his father's barber shop at 57 Marchmont Street, Bloomsbury, and on 11 October 2009 Nicholas Parsons, the actor and TV presenter, unveiled a blue plaque on the building. The plaque was organised by the Marchmont Association in partnership with The Heritage Foundation.

Kenneth Williams stated in his diaries that he believed he had Welsh ancestors due to his parents' surnames. Williams had a half-sister, Alice Patricia "Pat", born illegitimately before Louie had met Charlie Williams, and three years before Kenneth was born. He was educated at Lyulph Stanley School, later becoming apprenticed as a draughtsman to a mapmaker. His apprenticeship was interrupted by the Blitz, and he was evacuated to Bicester, and the home of a bachelor veterinary surgeon. It provided his first experience of an educated, middle-class life, and he loved it. He returned to London with a new accent. In 1944, aged 18, he was called up to the Army. He became a sapper in the Royal Engineers Survey Section, doing much the same work that he did as a civilian. When the war ended he was in Singapore, and he opted to transfer to the Combined Services Entertainment Unit, which put on revue shows. While in that unit he met Stanley Baxter, Peter Nichols, and John Schlesinger.