History Creator / KennethWilliams

* DuelingStarsMovie: [[invoked]] There was an alleged hatred between Williams and Sid James, possibly due to social background (Sid was a former lieutenant from the South African army who emigrated to England so he escape accusations of cheating on his two wives and having secret love children) and classism. This is possibly why they rivalled each other in ''Carry On'' movies, but because of Sid's popularity with the audience, Williams ended up losing.
* FamousLastWords:

* FamousLastWords: -> "Oh, what's the bloody point?"

* SadClown: His published diaries had entries of him having suicidal thoughts, talking about depression, and his last entry was apparently "What's the bloody point?!"

However, behind the scenes, Williams was facing problems in his personal life. Upon realizing that he was homosexual, [[{{gayngst}} he spent most of his life resenting and hating himself]], due to being [[RaisedCatholic raised Methodist Catholic]]. Then he began to become depressed and suicidal, eventually being found dead in his flat on April 15th 1988 after an overdose of antidepressants. Whether it was an accident or a suicide is debatable to this day. His diaries from his adulthood were collected up and published, and are loved by thousands of Kenneth Williams fans around the world.

* CountryMatters: He got away with a long semi-serious rant against radio show host Nicholas Parsons, repeatedly calling one of Britain's national treasures a "complete cult" and variations on this theme in front of a live audience. He got away with this by pointing to the undeniable fact the genial veteran entertainer Nicholas was indeed enjoying cult status among students and younger listeners, and all he was doing was drawing attention to the fact, with no adverse or alternative inferences intended.

* DuelingStarsMovie: [[invoked]] There was an alleged hatred and hatred between Kenneth and Sid James, possibly due to social background (Sid was a former lieutenant from the South African army who emigrated to England so he escape accusations of cheating on his two wives and having secret love children) and classism. This is possibly why they rivalled each other in ''Carry On'' movies, but because of Sid's popularity with the audience, Williams ended up losing.

* JockDadNerdSon: Kenneth didn't have a good relationship with his father due to clashing interests. His father was interested in boxing, playing darts, and drinking beer in the pub with friends whereas Kenneth enjoyed training to be an actor and performing to an audience. The day his dad died, Williams was due on stage at the local theatre, but he refused to go and see him because of this.
* OddFriendship: With Creator/MaggieSmith, before she became a world-famous Oscar-winning actress. Kenneth said his friendship with her was a "knot" that he didn't want to ever be untied.
* OldShame: [[invoked]] One of the most famous cases from the ''Carry On'' series. Kenneth wanted to be credited as a serious actor who occasionally did the odd comedic role, however, after appearing in a few movies in the film series, he began to get {{Type Cast}}ed. In his diaries, he wrote about how he hated being in the series and how much it had wrecked his career, from the measly salary he earned (despite being a regular) to the characters he had to portray, but he hated how he would agree to be in the next movie without hesitation. This is probably why he refused to be in anything associated with the franchise outside of the movies.

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!!Shows Examples Of
* AllGaysLoveTheater: In his stand-up, he once said that his father was against him going into the performing arts because "all the actors were poofs".
* ArmoredClosetGay: Despite his {{camp}} mannerisms and portrayals, there were many that didn't know he was homosexual until his death.
* BuryYourGays: Some of his ''Carry On'' roles made him the villain that always lost.
* CampStraight: His many film roles ended up as this.
* CountryMatters: He got away with a long semi-serious rant against radio show host Nicholas Parsons, repeatedly calling one of Britain's national treasures a "complete cult" and variations on this theme in front of a live audience. He got away with this by pointing to the undeniable fact the genial veteran entertainer Nicholas was indeed enjoying cult status among students and younger listeners, and all he was doing was drawing attention to the fact, with no adverse or alternative inferences intended.
* DrivenToSuicide: Debatable over whether his death was this or just an accident.
* DuelingStarsMovie: [[invoked]] There was an alleged hatred and hatred between Kenneth and Sid James, possibly due to social background (Sid was a former lieutenant from the South African army who emigrated to England so he escape accusations of cheating on his two wives and having secret love children) and classism. This is possibly why they rivalled each other in ''Carry On'' movies, but because of Sid's popularity with the audience, Williams ended up losing.
* GayBestFriend: Was either this to other actors, and had several ones himself. He never dated any of them because he believed in celibacy. Many assume it was because homosexual activity was illegal in the UK until 1967 so he couldn't be held against any references of "promoting" it if it was found in his writing (such as, if his diaries were to be eventually published, for example).
* JockDadNerdSon: Kenneth didn't have a good relationship with his father due to clashing interests. His father was interested in boxing, playing darts, and drinking beer in the pub with friends whereas Kenneth enjoyed training to be an actor and performing to an audience. The day his dad died, Williams was due on stage at the local theatre, but he refused to go and see him because of this.
* OddFriendship: With Creator/MaggieSmith, before she became a world-famous Oscar-winning actress. Kenneth said his friendship with her was a "knot" that he didn't want to ever be untied.
* OldShame: [[invoked]] One of the most famous cases from the ''Carry On'' series. Kenneth wanted to be credited as a serious actor who occasionally did the odd comedic role, however, after appearing in a few movies in the film series, he began to get {{Type Cast}}ed. In his diaries, he wrote about how he hated being in the series and how much it had wrecked his career, from the measly salary he earned (despite being a regular) to the characters he had to portray, but he hated how he would agree to be in the next movie without hesitation. This is probably why he refused to be in anything associated with the franchise outside of the movies.
* PerformanceArtist
* RefugeInAudacity: Frequently. His defence of his ''you complete cult!'' outburst against Nicholas Parsons is a good example.
* SadClown: His published diaries had entries of him having suicidal thoughts, talking about depression, and his last entry was apparently "What's the bloody point?!"
* SignatureLaugh: Though not as famous as Sid James' laugh, Kenneth Williams had a very distinctive high-pitched cackle if he found something especially funny. Sterling examples can be found in the IntoxicationEnsues scene in ''Film/CarryOnTeacher'' and many episodes of ''Radio/JustAMinute'', particularly when jokes are being made at the expense of chairman Nicholas Parsons (of whom Kenneth was none too fond).
* StarMakingRole: Mostly remembered today as a smug uptight man from ''Carry On''.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: [[invoked]] Was apparently approached by '''Creator/OrsonWelles''' to fly to Hollywood to appear in one of his films, but Williams turned it down because he didn't like the US.
** After an early run of stage successes, including a leading role in Shaw's ''St Joan'', Williams was hailed as a rising star in British serious drama and as a straight actor who, potentially, could be as good as Creator/LaurenceOlivier or Redgrave. Unfortunately for his serious ambitions, the comic roles took over and he was ever after typecast as a camp gay comedian. This was thought of as being incompatible with serious theatrical ambitions, and the radio comedy roles he only took for the money and because he genuinely liked his co-stars became the only work he could get.

He joined the army in WorldWarTwo and entertained many of the soldiers, realizing he wanted to become an actor. He began in theater in his twenties, appearing in ''Theatre/AnInspectorCalls'' and ''Theatre/TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest'' as well as other West End stage productions, before being picked up by Tony Hancock to be in ''Radio/HancocksHalfHour'' alongside Creator/HattieJacques and Creator/SidJames to play characters in comedy sketches.

'''Kenneth Charles Williams''' (February 22nd 1926 -- April 15th 1988) was an English actor, comedian and radio personality, mostly known for his 26 appearances in the ''Film/CarryOn'' film series, and several TV appearances.

* DuelingStarsMovie: There was an alleged hatred and hatred between Kenneth and Sid James, possibly due to social background (Sid was a former lieutenant from the South African army who emigrated to England so he escape accusations of cheating on his two wives and having secret love children) and classism. This is possibly why they rivalled each other in ''Carry On'' movies, but because of Sid's popularity with the audience, Williams ended up losing.

* OldShame: One of the most famous cases from the ''Carry On'' series. Kenneth wanted to be credited as a serious actor who occasionally did the odd comedic role, however, after appearing in a few movies in the film series, he began to get {{Type Cast}}ed. In his diaries, he wrote about how he hated being in the series and how much it had wrecked his career, from the measly salary he earned (despite being a regular) to the characters he had to portray, but he hated how he would agree to be in the next movie without hesitation. This is probably why he refused to be in anything associated with the franchise outside of the movies.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Was apparently approached by '''Creator/OrsonWelles''' to fly to Hollywood to appear in one of his films, but Williams turned it down because he didn't like the US.
** After an early run of stage successes, including a leading role in Shaw's ''St Joan'', Williams was hailed as a rising star in British serious drama and as a straight actor who, potentially, could be as good as Olivier or Redgrave. Unfortunately for his serious ambitions, the comic roles took over and he was ever after typecast as a camp gay comedian. This was thought of as being incompatible with serious theatrical ambitions, and the radio comedy roles he only took for the money and because he genuinely liked his co-stars became the only work he could get.

'''Kenneth Charles Williams''' (February 22nd 1926 -- April 15th 1988) was an English actor, comedian and radio personality, mostly known for his 26 appearances in the ''Film/CarryOn'' film series, and several TV appearances. He joined the army in WorldWarTwo and entertained many of the soldiers, realizing he wanted to become an actor. He began in theater in his twenties, appearing in ''Theatre/AnInspectorCalls'' and ''Theatre/TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest'' as well as other West End stage productions, before being picked up by Tony Hancock to be in ''Radio/HancocksHalfHour'' alongside Creator/HattieJacques and Creator/SidJames to play characters in comedy sketches.

* GayBestFriend: Was either this to other actors, and had several ones himself. He never dated any of them because he believed in celibacy. Many assume it was because homosexual activity was illegal in the UK until 1967 so he couldn't be held against any references of "promoting" it if it was found in his writing.

Between the films, Williams continued to appear on television, radio and stage, also appearing as a guest star on many projects (such as ''Series/{{Jackanory}}'') in the media. He eventually gained his own television segment on the show ''An Audience With...'', in which he performed stand-up and had celebrity guests. One of the last things he ever did was voice the characters of ''WesternAnimation/WillowTheWisp'' in 1981.

He also appeared in the Kenneth Horne-starring radio series ''Beyond Our Ken'' and its SpiritualSuccessor ''Radio/RoundTheHorne'' in which he played a variety of characters -- including a {{camp}} man alongside Hugh Paddick, and was a fixture of the panel on ''Radio/JustAMinute'' from 1968 to his death twenty years later. In 1958, he appeared as a snobbish National Serviceman in a film project named ''Creator/CarryOnSergeant'', which went on to create the ''Film/CarryOn'' franchise, in which Williams appeared in the most films out of the entire recurring cast, portraying {{smug snake}}s and [[SophisticatedAsHell sophisticated middle-class]] characters.

8 RefugeInAudiacity: Frequently. His defence of his ''you complete cult!'' outburst against Nicholas Parsons is a good example.

* JockDadNerdSon: Kenneth didn't have a good relationship with his father due to clashing interests. His father was interested in playing darts and drinking beer in the pub with friends whereas Kenneth enjoyed training to be an actor and performing to an audience. The day his dad died, Williams was due on stage at the local theatre, but he refused to go and see him because of this.

** After an early run of stage successes, including the leading role in Shaw's ''St Joan'', Williams was hailed as a rising star in British serious drama and as a straight actor who, potentially, could be as good as Olivier or Redgrave. Unfortunately for his serious ambitions, the comic roles took over and he was ever after typecast as a camp gay comedian. This was thought of as being incompatible with serious theatrica ambitions, and the radio comedy roles he only took for the money and because he genuinely liked his co-stars became the only work he could get.

'''Kenneth Charles Williams''' (February 22nd 1926 -- April 15th 1988) was an English actor, comedian and radio personality, mostly known for his 26 appearances in the ''Film/CarryOn'' film series, and several TV appearances. He joined the army in WorldWarTwo and entertained many of the soldiers, realizing he wanted to become an actor. He began in theater in his twenties, appearing in ''Theatre/AnInspectorCalls'' and ''Theatre/TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest'' as well as other West End stage productions, before being picked up by Tony Hancock to be in ''Radio/HancocksHalfHour'' alongside Hattie Jacques and Creator/SidJames to play characters in comedy sketches.

He also appeared in the Kenneth Horne-starring radio series ''Beyond Our Ken'' and its SpiritualSuccessor ''Radio/RoundTheHorne'' in which he played a variety of characters -- including a {{camp}} man alongside Hugh Paddick, and was a fixture of the panel on ''Radio/JustAMinute'' from 1968 to his death twenty years later. In 1958, he appeared as a snobbish National Serviceman in a film project named ''Carry On Sergeant'', which went on to create the ''Film/CarryOn'' franchise, in which Williams appeared in the most films out of the entire recurring cast, portraying {{smug snake}}s and [[SophisticatedAsHell sophisticated middle-class]] characters.

* JockDadNerdSon: Kenneth didn't have a good relationship with his father due to clashing interests. His father was interested in playing darts and drinking beer in OurLocal whereas Kenneth enjoyed training to be an actor. The day his dad died, Williams was due on stage at the local theatre, but he refused to go and see him because of this.

He also appeared in ''Radio/RoundTheHorne'' in which he played a variety of characters -- including a {{camp}} man alongside Hugh Paddick, and other radio shows like ''Radio/JustAMinute'' and ''Beyond Our Ken''. He then joined a film project named ''Carry On Constable'', which led on to create the ''Film/CarryOn'' franchise, in which Williams appeared in the most films out of the entire recurring cast, portraying {{smug snake}}s and [[SophisticatedAsHell sophisticated middle-class]] characters.

* ArmoredClosetGay[=/=]TransparentCloset: Despite his {{camp}} mannerisms and portrayals, there were many that didn't know he was homosexual until his death.

* ArmoredClosetGay: Despite his {{camp}} mannerisms and portrayals, there were many that didn't know he was homosexual until his death.

* GayBestFriend: Was either this to other actors, and had several ones himself. He never dated any of them because he believed in celibacy, but same-sex marriage wasn't legal in England at the time.

* SadClown: His publish diaries had entries of him having suicidal thoughts, talking about depression, and his last entry was apparently "What's the bloody point?!"