So many of these great comics lived with a dark side to their lives....laughing on the outside and saddness on the inside.... Kenneth was a comic genuis..He knew what we wanted of him, it just never made him happy personally it seems ....RIP Kenneth..thanks for the laughlines.
Probably one of the best actors i know, i wish i knew him in person i feel that he wasnt a twisted guy as some people said and he will be missed greatly by me and i am sure millions of others around the world :'(
makes you laugh the way that michael p says that appearing on a chat show was 'forlorn'...made a few quid out of forlorn folk then parky!!? As for giles brandreth... what a leech!!!! yuk! Our ken was worth a thousand of each of them... honest, forthright, REAL!!!! Oh if any of today's so-called stars could even get close to his ability!
Dear Kenneth, you are sadly missed for your frank and self deprecatory humour and your erudition in this dismal world of empty celebrity. You were a national treasure. We glimpsed your pain often but we never thought you would end like you did.
Dear Kenneth, you are sadly missed for your self deprecatory humour and your erudition in this dismal world of empty celebrity. You are a national treasure. We glimpsed your pain often but we never thought you would end like you did.
listen to him in "round the horne" made in the sixties and you will be amazed at how well he could create characters. i don't care a toss if he was gay or straight or whatever all i know is that he had a talent for making people laugh and that is a great skill to have. he coped with life, like it or not and got on with the job. when he grew too tired he let it go. i think i have an idea of how he felt about life. you did make a difference kenneth, you really did.
I saw Carry on Emmanuel this month. It is awful. Nothing like the other carry on films - none of the sexual innuendos and instead smut. Not funny at all. I am not surprised Kenneth was ashamed of it. But think of all the really good stuff he did instead - the other Carry Ons are brilliant!
No one I fear was capable of returning even in part to him the gift that he shared with all of us. I find his compassion for others so deep and so tragic; to know that the very laughter he created was based on the contradictions within his own life. Had we known just how much of himself he was revealing to us, perhaps he could have found some relief from his pain in his lifetime. RIP Kenneth, you were brilliant and we love you warts and all.
Brilliant, genius, they broke the mould. Cliches utterly applicable here. I shared not his politics nor his gnarled misanthropy - but what an honour it would have been to have talked with him.
@Edward1312 I wasn't defending him, merely pointing out the difference between a talk show host to a person who just shows constantly and shows nothing for it afterwards.
Yeah but in the 70s he was also reduced to doing voiceovers for adverts for lavatory cleaners (Brobat Blue) and British Gas. This from a lad who'd wowed the West End as the Dauphin. As said around 1.31 here, fewer people were phoning back. I remember when he came to do some guest spot thing at our local church hall fete in Harrow in 1978 - such low rent stuff. How he must have hated it.
I couldn't disagree more with the man in the red zip-up top speaking at around 7'15". I've read Kenny's diaries as many people have. He took his life (if that's what he did) because of the constant agony of an ulcer, piles and back pain. He was depressed on and off all his life and had put up with it but it was the daily and nightly pain that did his head in at the end. Unless I read the wrong diaries.
@BNCA70 - im only up to early 1976 atm but to a degree i think he put it in a nutshell. its certainly debatable, hence the open verdict i think. i suffer from depression regularly & understand the lows, & often feel suicidal, but in a more rational mind know i wouldnt (although i've tried, but that's another story). pain, ageing & the things this fella mentions wd make definite grounds for suicide i reckon. it seems reasonable, but i hv a few nagging doubts that it mayve been accidental.
Like other comedians such as Tony Hancock, Ted Ray, Frankie Howerd and Charles Hawtrey ......Kenneth Williams was cursed with a depressive personality trait. He never failed to make other people happy....just not himself.
what I dont understand is if he could get pills for sleeping, why not for the pain? Also, I understand mental illness has been taboo for many years (all over, here in the US, but expeically in the UK ala Tony Hancock) but why wouldn't he seek help if he could talk about it on tv for millions to hear and see? It seems help was around the corner but he just couldn't grasp it. Of course, all questions in vain. RIP Mr. Williams
I do take offence. My meaning was nothing against Mr. Williams, did you not read my praise? For some reason, he just couldn't get to anything to fix the problem. Why don't you inquire into a statement before you shoot off a rude and idiotic statement like that. Makes you sound like the kind of people Mr. Williams deplored. Moronic, insensitive, peons. Shove off & leave me alone.
It was a shame to hear that such a beloved man like Kenneth Willianms had the ability to make everyone love him but being able to love himself as well as his life were quite the opposite. It just shows us how dedicated he was to pleasing his audience.
In 1976 I saw my first Carry On movie. It was Carry On Cruising. I laughed my ass off, and Kenneth's character was the one I most closely associated with that film. For me, it began a long, ongoing love affair with the Carry On flicks. RIP Kenneth.
Kenny has long been a hero of mine. He suffered for his art and subsequently became the caricature he created himself.
I know there is to be another scribe based on his diaries but I don't have a publishing date at the moment. I always felt the diaries left out so much, and wished they were available 'uncut'. RIP KW
i was working in euston centre post office,and i served him,he was sending a packet,and complaining about the price,great character,wasnt he?-his mums best friend
R.I.P Kenneth. I have been a great fan of the Carry on Series. I come from India where Carry On had a cult following during my college days in the 80s.
poor love, he was a good man. It's a good thing that it's easier for gays to "come out" now. I miss him too and agree that it's a shame that he didn't love himself as so many others did.
@blondesprite1 - you know though.... i wonder if it is that much easier. sure it's legal now and far fewer people give a damn, but if you're tortured with it within your own conscience you might never get past it. i've known a couple of people like that. i'm trying to decide whether KW felt that way, combined with the legality of homosexuality, mixed with with his frequent jaunts overseas to pay for "philately"....
I read some of his diaries, but it was all too bleak and I stopped after a while. From my partial reading, it doesn't seem too likely that he got that peace someone above talked about.
I think that Kenneth Williams was an amazing man and I think it is so sad that he was so sad when he had such an uncanny ability to make everyone else very cheerful and laugh so very much.
I have to agree with Miriam, I believe he killed himself. If Kenneth were born, to quote the words of another gone to soon legend, , "In another place and time" who knows how this moment would end.
I have to believe he found peace at the end of the road. God looks after His flock when they return to the field.
Who the hell does Michael Parkinson think he is saying" Williams had become the most forlorn of creatures who existed for the talk show" but Michael surely thats you !
@Edward1312 There's a difference between making your living as a talk show host and being a professional who is only known at certain junctures of their career for appearing on talk shows. Take Truman Capote, after he wrote In Cold Blood, he was only known for appearing on talk shows and he was falling apart in front of the camera. That's what I think he meant.
ive all his diaries bt i dunno about him takin his own live i think it might of been accidental just to get away frm the pain that ad plagued him all his life.
Really sad. I have seen all to often this sort of self loathing eat away at homosexual men. His comedy was born through adversity and is a caricature of the supposed gay stereotype.
Kenneth was wonderful and his books are painfully insightful of such a troubled star. I remember meeting him at a book signing for Acid Drops in Nottingham and the second time was when I worked for his neighbour in Osnaburg Street. Sad even that block is no longer and insteada glitzy office/apartment block. Hilariously funny man with deeply honest and disturbing observations of life.
Very sad! I think he was a very lonely person, but great in different ways. His book is great, a recommended read, you nust read his diaries, one of my favourite books. Sad to hear his home is now demolished, why?
Too bad Kenneth didn't enjoy himself as thoroughly as his audiences, especially me. His life and inner thoughts were/are 1000X more interesting and entertaining than the best Carry On movie. Definitely a true talent and smart man.
Poor Kenneth.I really do think he commited suicide..If he was alive today i think his life would have been ALOT different.His voice was so distinctive.OH, Matron.
so do i . the last words in his diary would suggest it too . the pain fomr his medical problems was just too much for him . i don;t belive he had any mental illness just a bad view of himself and extreme phyiscal pain .
and don't forget what society can do to the most tabula-rasa kind of spirit. especially when you were a homosexual in his days. many great people, like charles laughton, suffered similar tortures. this sucks. the best always leave too soon. rip, kenneth.
I believe that certain people have a self destruct button. It would appear to me that Kenneth Williams only "lived" when performing and all the rest of the time was existing.
Life never reached his expectations. For me Kenneth William and all of the Carry on Brigade were a part of my early TV memories and are now firmly in my heart. God Bless You Kenneth Williams and "FRYING TONIGHT!!!"
hollow ,there is nothing wrong with ones deciding to terminate their exsistance, it does not prove mental illness, but dealing with sickenss and severe depression and had live long enough is to me logical.
I have to agree with hollowhead to an extent,some people are only truly happy when doing what they love, the rest of life never quite measures up. This has nothing to do with mental illness however . there is a distinct difference between suicide and suicidal ideation driven by illnes and what hollowhead describes
I often saw KW in a small cafe behind Picadilly Circus back in the 70s. He was often with friends, but I never heard or saw him laugh. When he walked only one arm moved and the other stayed rigid by his side. He always left alone and disappeared into the crowds.
This is fascinating,but I have to say,it was never proved conclusively that Ken commited suicide nobody knows for certain one way or the other. There are people who say it was perfectly possible Ken took his own life due to depression/illness,but others say he would never have done that to his mother,Lou,whom he loved dearly and who was dependent on him, so I guess we'll never know for certain what really happened in his flat that night.
I visited London today and was saddened to find the demolition of 8, Marlborough House, Osnaburgh Street, NW1, Where Kenneth moved to on 3/8/72 and subsequently was found dead at on 15/4/88. It was a beautiful building and is in the process of been replaced by a monstrosity and the commemorative plaque in a land fill somewhere?
ALL the actors from the carry on films were brilliant-they were like a family and i honestly dont think the films would have been as successful if the parts had been played by other actors.Sid,Hattie,Ken-you all made us laugh and are very sadly missed-you made us all proud to be british.god bless you all
My all time idol...what a brilliant man !..the ultimate english man,the voice,the stature the humour and mannerism.
around the horne radio show and the carry on films are the best and funniest comedy this country as ever produced.
love you kenny...now you deserve all the peace you were searching for...you live on down here and give us such pleasure..your infectious laugh was superb...RIP KENNY.
Kenneth gave so many people great joy during his life - me included. I hope that many more, yet to be born will enjoy his wonderful laugh. Thank you Mr. Williams and God Bless.
He was close to 65 -throughout the diary he was mindful of staying solvent till then
I think it was the pain what done him in. He never could handle physical pain stoically. He had suicidalist tendencies (mentioned from when he was a young man)< and he had his poison stash. It just needed a tipping point - the tum and the back. A split-second decision...
1) Not sure I agree about the dwindling work being a big cause. I've just re-read the diaries and I get the sense that he was doing ok financially - the advert revenue he was getting was far higher than the film work he'd done previously.
its sad to say that id never even heard of him till last night when i watched kenneth williams-fabulosa on bbc2 and i actually was really interested. i watched the carry on matron on after and found it utterly hilarious! an amazing comic. needless to say i am young. but i wish i had heard of him before now. legend.
His sister was called Pat,they did National Service together. I believe in later years they drifted apart slightly although Ken was extremely fond of her.
ok..hehe i got caught out belletook, same applies to me sweetie, could have sworn she went first! never mind, good to be corrected now and then, everything else ive posted? i remain defiant!!!..and i am unanimous!!!
if you are referring to the "myth" that kenneth did not like having people use his bathroom, as petty as it might seem, it is true nevertheless, read your history, and the biog. dear boy! Ken was a loner, happy with his own company most of the time, and of course lou until she passed! engage brain before opening the gob dear!
ooh! matron, got a touch of the alzies dear! I WAS going to say that Ken was born 22nd feb 1926, and me? feb 23rd 1949, pisceans together duckie! Ken , my hero!
Funkyfox, If you visited me, unlike Kenneth i would have let you use my bathroom, he did NOT relish the thought of someone elses bum on his toilet seat! Therefore he didnt get many visitors, tragedy! Bless Him!
some people in the business should NOT be able to sleep at night!I do realise also that sometimes Ken was his own worst enemy, with his behaviour, sometimes going right over the top...well he was an artiste so sue him! A comedian of genius, A man with a big heart, for his friends and his public. It's not tawdry or perverted as i am convinced that had Ken had the opportunity to discuss things with at least one other that he trusted, events would not have gone the way they did! RIP Ken
seriously, if i was that way inclined he would be real easy to fall in love with! It's not a tawdry thing, it's not a perversion, it's that having studied his life, his travails, his achievements, and not least his big heart, his compassion, despite what he sometimes appeared to be, he would be a loyal and lifetime friend and partner. I find that 99% of his views and opinions coincide with mine. A comedian of genius, he was, nevertheless used and abused by the entertainment industry!! pt1
The irony is that Williams ended his own life due to the agony of stomach ulcers - just before scientists finally realised a bacterium could in fact live in stomach acid - and cure with antibiotics.
Very poignant - especially the bit about creating laughter but not being able to do it for himself. I've read the diaries and they are harrowing in the extreme - he rips into everyone, but most of all he hits at himself, esp after about 1980.
i found this heard to wach as i am only young .when/as i was waching this i was breaking out in tears,which sows you how much i admire him. i wish i could of met him !
im only young but i really like this guy as a comedian it sounds like he was quite a tragic figure in real life it makes me sad to think he wasn't able to be comfortable in his own skin
A tragedy of a life, never completely understood, self-deprecating, suicidal - I can empathise that it could happen to any of us. But he brought great pleasure to us all over the years!
Yes - I agree. Nobody will ever know the inner pain of a great artist like Kenneth. All we can do is speculate. But as you say, he brought great pleasure to many, and he still does to this day. We all live so close to the edge.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
my roomate met him and asked him over for a drink..purely social. he cornered me in the kitchen and tried to grope me etc and got very nasty when i rebuffed him. he was a sad lonely gay guy but brilliant
It will always remain debateable as to whether Kenneth did commit suicide in April 1988, as there are several arguments for and against, but another intriguing fact was his mentally unstable Father, who he hated, also committed suicide after drinking a bottle of disinfectant in December 1962.
Kenneth Williams was not a man who covered himself. He was out and proud and very well spoken. This is one man who would never have anyhting cosmetic. The Real Deal.
So many of these great comics lived with a dark side to their lives....laughing on the outside and saddness on the inside.... Kenneth was a comic genuis..He knew what we wanted of him, it just never made him happy personally it seems ....RIP Kenneth..thanks for the laughlines.
pyrofella 1 month ago
The Smiths song: Please, please, please, please (let me get what I want) always seemed to me to be about Kenny.
TomthatiscalledTom 1 month ago
thanks for willo the whisp Sir RIP
bigrarr 2 months ago
Probably one of the best actors i know, i wish i knew him in person i feel that he wasnt a twisted guy as some people said and he will be missed greatly by me and i am sure millions of others around the world :'(
AeroplaneCentral 5 months ago
Whoose the Narrator and the person in the interview at 7.52
grant24678 6 months ago
@grant24678 - the narrator is Maureen Lipman and the interviewer at 7.52 is Mavis Nicholson.
YouMart27 1 month ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
WHY IS IT OLD GAYS ALWAYS WANT TO KILL THEMSELFS ??
michaelwright999 6 months ago
@michaelwright999 Mmm, I guess we won't know until you try and kill yourself in years to come.
VIPHighlander 4 months ago
@VIPHighlander Ohhh TOUCHED A NERVE, HAVE I DEARY ?
michaelwright999 4 months ago
@michaelwright999 Themselfs? I can see you paid attention in school.
HisSpaceIsHollow 3 months ago
@HisSpaceIsHollow YOU BETCH
michaelwright999 3 months ago
So sad, what a great yet tragic man. Miriam Margoyles speaks for us all here I think.
pj8883 6 months ago
Remembered FOREVER!! REST IN PEACE our friend Kenneth.
kevlength 8 months ago
rip kennith
TheAlexa1978 8 months ago
He was a funny bugger. RIP Kenneth, you truly were one of a kind.
INDIANBLANKET 8 months ago
makes you laugh the way that michael p says that appearing on a chat show was 'forlorn'...made a few quid out of forlorn folk then parky!!? As for giles brandreth... what a leech!!!! yuk! Our ken was worth a thousand of each of them... honest, forthright, REAL!!!! Oh if any of today's so-called stars could even get close to his ability!
freddiesback 9 months ago
he was a great Actor and comedian.
missserenity81 10 months ago
A person who everyone loved but he just didnt love himself
Carbon657 10 months ago
I saw Kenneth the day before he died walking round the back of the BBc building, he looked so sad and then I found out he died taht tnight.
Neptunekid 10 months ago
sad that no one cared all the enjoyment and fun he gave us RSP
mike242096 10 months ago
Poor demented man. Thanks for the memories and rest in piece
cowpat44 10 months ago
Dear Kenneth, you are sadly missed for your frank and self deprecatory humour and your erudition in this dismal world of empty celebrity. You were a national treasure. We glimpsed your pain often but we never thought you would end like you did.
oldsyphilitic 11 months ago 2
Dear Kenneth, you are sadly missed for your self deprecatory humour and your erudition in this dismal world of empty celebrity. You are a national treasure. We glimpsed your pain often but we never thought you would end like you did.
oldsyphilitic 11 months ago
listen to him in "round the horne" made in the sixties and you will be amazed at how well he could create characters. i don't care a toss if he was gay or straight or whatever all i know is that he had a talent for making people laugh and that is a great skill to have. he coped with life, like it or not and got on with the job. when he grew too tired he let it go. i think i have an idea of how he felt about life. you did make a difference kenneth, you really did.
remotewall 11 months ago 2
Comment removed
Breeslave 1 year ago
he left his poor old mum behind
innit27 1 year ago
"As the carry on films reached their climax"..Oooooooo behave
kady7869 1 year ago
oh matron
rocksoliddude1 1 year ago
I believe it was Oscar Wilde who once said, "Life it too cruel, too brutal and too short." R.I.P.
downhill240 1 year ago
I saw Carry on Emmanuel this month. It is awful. Nothing like the other carry on films - none of the sexual innuendos and instead smut. Not funny at all. I am not surprised Kenneth was ashamed of it. But think of all the really good stuff he did instead - the other Carry Ons are brilliant!
alanheath3 1 year ago
No one I fear was capable of returning even in part to him the gift that he shared with all of us. I find his compassion for others so deep and so tragic; to know that the very laughter he created was based on the contradictions within his own life. Had we known just how much of himself he was revealing to us, perhaps he could have found some relief from his pain in his lifetime. RIP Kenneth, you were brilliant and we love you warts and all.
steeletara01 1 year ago
Brilliant, genius, they broke the mould. Cliches utterly applicable here. I shared not his politics nor his gnarled misanthropy - but what an honour it would have been to have talked with him.
BoonyBanny 1 year ago
i have been listening to the wonderful series ROUND THE HORNE via cd and downloads lately. williams was magic in this series.
remotewall 1 year ago
Mr Bluth I dont know why you are defending Michael Parkinson, the man is a talentless arrogant arsehole.
Edward1312 1 year ago
@Edward1312 I wasn't defending him, merely pointing out the difference between a talk show host to a person who just shows constantly and shows nothing for it afterwards.
PeterBluth 9 months ago
i love all the greats kenneth williams, charles hawtrey, tony hancock all passed away in a really sad way
joydivision808 1 year ago
RIP Kenneth. A talented man with his own inner demons.
daisydeb 1 year ago 2
kenneth williams did the voice over for the 80's childrens
series willow the whisp and for an advert for north sea ferries
in the 80's and had his own chat show shortley before he
died in 88 still an iconic comic today frying tonight anyone.
FRANKIESHANOWSKIY2K0 1 year ago
@FRANKIESHANOWSKIY2K0
Yeah but in the 70s he was also reduced to doing voiceovers for adverts for lavatory cleaners (Brobat Blue) and British Gas. This from a lad who'd wowed the West End as the Dauphin. As said around 1.31 here, fewer people were phoning back. I remember when he came to do some guest spot thing at our local church hall fete in Harrow in 1978 - such low rent stuff. How he must have hated it.
custardaghost 1 year ago
I couldn't disagree more with the man in the red zip-up top speaking at around 7'15". I've read Kenny's diaries as many people have. He took his life (if that's what he did) because of the constant agony of an ulcer, piles and back pain. He was depressed on and off all his life and had put up with it but it was the daily and nightly pain that did his head in at the end. Unless I read the wrong diaries.
BNCA70 1 year ago
@BNCA70 - im only up to early 1976 atm but to a degree i think he put it in a nutshell. its certainly debatable, hence the open verdict i think. i suffer from depression regularly & understand the lows, & often feel suicidal, but in a more rational mind know i wouldnt (although i've tried, but that's another story). pain, ageing & the things this fella mentions wd make definite grounds for suicide i reckon. it seems reasonable, but i hv a few nagging doubts that it mayve been accidental.
playgirlc 1 year ago
Oh dear god bless his soul and his work. He is my comic idol and he certainly never deserved such pain in his life. I hope he is at last at peace.
s0052701 1 year ago 3
comedians these days fall a long way short and will never be as good as comeedians past ie.KW !!!
bondsee 1 year ago 2
Like other comedians such as Tony Hancock, Ted Ray, Frankie Howerd and Charles Hawtrey ......Kenneth Williams was cursed with a depressive personality trait. He never failed to make other people happy....just not himself.
TheWhitehall 1 year ago
R.I.P GREAT man!
rupinder2 1 year ago
Infamy, infamy, they`ve all got it in for me. The greatest comedy clip ever in my opinion. R.I.P to a comedy great.
Scooby71Doo 1 year ago 5
@Scooby71Doo "Frying Tonight!"
lewisner 1 year ago
@lewisner oh yes another great one.
Scooby71Doo 1 year ago
Heartwrenching. Thank you.
Repose ein paix, Mr. Williams. <3
superlovedoko 1 year ago
what I dont understand is if he could get pills for sleeping, why not for the pain? Also, I understand mental illness has been taboo for many years (all over, here in the US, but expeically in the UK ala Tony Hancock) but why wouldn't he seek help if he could talk about it on tv for millions to hear and see? It seems help was around the corner but he just couldn't grasp it. Of course, all questions in vain. RIP Mr. Williams
makthnife 1 year ago
@makthnife No offence. but it seem's you neither 'grasp' it.
tourrettes1 1 year ago
@tourrettes1
I do take offence. My meaning was nothing against Mr. Williams, did you not read my praise? For some reason, he just couldn't get to anything to fix the problem. Why don't you inquire into a statement before you shoot off a rude and idiotic statement like that. Makes you sound like the kind of people Mr. Williams deplored. Moronic, insensitive, peons. Shove off & leave me alone.
makthnife 1 year ago
It was a shame to hear that such a beloved man like Kenneth Willianms had the ability to make everyone love him but being able to love himself as well as his life were quite the opposite. It just shows us how dedicated he was to pleasing his audience.
legendkiller2004 1 year ago
In 1976 I saw my first Carry On movie. It was Carry On Cruising. I laughed my ass off, and Kenneth's character was the one I most closely associated with that film. For me, it began a long, ongoing love affair with the Carry On flicks. RIP Kenneth.
ftsjr 1 year ago
I read some of his diarys and i wanted to slit me wrist after, He was so depressed and dreary! Must've been hard for him
Dee1271 1 year ago
were did u read them at ??? are they on the net ????
martsstricky1988 1 year ago
@martsstricky1988 I don't know hun, i got his book out the library. Have a look there
Dee1271 1 year ago
lolasweetheart ... please let me know when new scribe is out please , and it's title , thank you
plumdom 1 year ago
What a terrible shock fo his mother to walk in on him like that.
seonidh 1 year ago
Kenny has long been a hero of mine. He suffered for his art and subsequently became the caricature he created himself.
I know there is to be another scribe based on his diaries but I don't have a publishing date at the moment. I always felt the diaries left out so much, and wished they were available 'uncut'. RIP KW
LolaSweetheart 1 year ago
Does anyone can tell me what was his illness?Why did he suffered so much?:((
FreyaBlack 1 year ago
1:05 most hillarious cycling posture ever! lol
cheekydance 2 years ago
i meant to say,his mims best friend lived in the same council block as me,in somers town estate
COLONEL961 2 years ago
i was working in euston centre post office,and i served him,he was sending a packet,and complaining about the price,great character,wasnt he?-his mums best friend
COLONEL961 2 years ago
Louie moved in with her daughter Pat.
barryhigh 2 years ago
R.I.P Kenneth. I have been a great fan of the Carry on Series. I come from India where Carry On had a cult following during my college days in the 80s.
TheJFK1976 2 years ago 12
poor love, he was a good man. It's a good thing that it's easier for gays to "come out" now. I miss him too and agree that it's a shame that he didn't love himself as so many others did.
blondesprite1 2 years ago 42
@blondesprite1 - you know though.... i wonder if it is that much easier. sure it's legal now and far fewer people give a damn, but if you're tortured with it within your own conscience you might never get past it. i've known a couple of people like that. i'm trying to decide whether KW felt that way, combined with the legality of homosexuality, mixed with with his frequent jaunts overseas to pay for "philately"....
playgirlc 1 year ago
if you like the book you would love fantabulosa
01275399889 2 years ago
His diaries are published 'angelindskiesxxx'. The best book I have ever read!
I love Kenneth. Sorely missed.
TripleX808 2 years ago 7
@TripleX808
It's a pity I can't find that book in Hungary! I really want to get it!:(
FreyaBlack 1 year ago
I love Kenneth William and all these old actors, mainly from the carry on films cos they really did have tragic lives and in some cases lonely ones.
These "celebrities" today think they have problems but it's nothing compared to stories like Kenneth Williams'.
R.I.P Kenneth, you truly are a great memory in my mind and an inspiration to us all
samswhore 2 years ago 4
I read some of his diaries, but it was all too bleak and I stopped after a while. From my partial reading, it doesn't seem too likely that he got that peace someone above talked about.
peterhowardlawson 2 years ago
I think that Kenneth Williams was an amazing man and I think it is so sad that he was so sad when he had such an uncanny ability to make everyone else very cheerful and laugh so very much.
kerrylinda40 2 years ago
I have to agree with Miriam, I believe he killed himself. If Kenneth were born, to quote the words of another gone to soon legend, , "In another place and time" who knows how this moment would end.
I have to believe he found peace at the end of the road. God looks after His flock when they return to the field.
PeterBluth 2 years ago
how terribly sad. Poor Kenneth. Did his diaries ever get published? I guess he never really understood how much he was loved.
angelindskiesxxx 2 years ago 2
i'm in tears at this, such a sad life, he deserved better
Lizzy0191 2 years ago 4
genius
kabir144 2 years ago
Who the hell does Michael Parkinson think he is saying" Williams had become the most forlorn of creatures who existed for the talk show" but Michael surely thats you !
Edward1312 2 years ago 5
That was a typical smug Parky comment, nothing could ne further fron the truth.
Lamvesp 2 years ago 6
brilliant comment! and so true!
iloveribena 2 years ago
@Edward1312 There's a difference between making your living as a talk show host and being a professional who is only known at certain junctures of their career for appearing on talk shows. Take Truman Capote, after he wrote In Cold Blood, he was only known for appearing on talk shows and he was falling apart in front of the camera. That's what I think he meant.
PeterBluth 1 year ago
RIP Hope you are happier where ever you are now,
fredahatch 2 years ago 2
ive all his diaries bt i dunno about him takin his own live i think it might of been accidental just to get away frm the pain that ad plagued him all his life.
Brilliant comedian .... bt misunderstood by many
R.I.P kenneth
ChefsXxXAtXxXIt 2 years ago
Really sad. I have seen all to often this sort of self loathing eat away at homosexual men. His comedy was born through adversity and is a caricature of the supposed gay stereotype.
A great entertainer and many laughs had.
Thanks for posting.
kingy002 2 years ago 2
Miriam's words are just exquisite.
aussiepiper 2 years ago
Tears of laughter, incomparable voice. RIP Kenneth, Carry on making us laugh...
teeringzooi 2 years ago
Tears of a clown. God bless him.
bloodravenuk 2 years ago
Kenneth was wonderful and his books are painfully insightful of such a troubled star. I remember meeting him at a book signing for Acid Drops in Nottingham and the second time was when I worked for his neighbour in Osnaburg Street. Sad even that block is no longer and insteada glitzy office/apartment block. Hilariously funny man with deeply honest and disturbing observations of life.
za22by 2 years ago
Very sad! I think he was a very lonely person, but great in different ways. His book is great, a recommended read, you nust read his diaries, one of my favourite books. Sad to hear his home is now demolished, why?
fraserkatie 2 years ago 2
Top man, way up there.
captainhowdy1967 2 years ago 2
sobbing here how sad he was so wonderful :-(,,,,,,,,,,,
Cherstars 2 years ago 4
What an extremely sad story. Shame he wasn't as happy in his life as he made countless people happy with his comedy.
KevCityboy 2 years ago 3
Too bad Kenneth didn't enjoy himself as thoroughly as his audiences, especially me. His life and inner thoughts were/are 1000X more interesting and entertaining than the best Carry On movie. Definitely a true talent and smart man.
SounzNice 3 years ago 2
Poor Kenneth.I really do think he commited suicide..If he was alive today i think his life would have been ALOT different.His voice was so distinctive.OH, Matron.
scrog77 3 years ago
so do i . the last words in his diary would suggest it too . the pain fomr his medical problems was just too much for him . i don;t belive he had any mental illness just a bad view of himself and extreme phyiscal pain .
irishmanufan 2 years ago
and don't forget what society can do to the most tabula-rasa kind of spirit. especially when you were a homosexual in his days. many great people, like charles laughton, suffered similar tortures. this sucks. the best always leave too soon. rip, kenneth.
hatgirl09 2 years ago
Mr Williams is a legend of the carry on shows!!
RIP:
russelltrigger 3 years ago
God Bless kenneth.
thx to you and the rest of the carry on team,
rip my friend.
endorbrook 3 years ago 2
+1 god bless him
wish he was alive today and i'd known him, lovely man
rucuwacr9s 2 years ago 2
I believe that certain people have a self destruct button. It would appear to me that Kenneth Williams only "lived" when performing and all the rest of the time was existing.
Life never reached his expectations. For me Kenneth William and all of the Carry on Brigade were a part of my early TV memories and are now firmly in my heart. God Bless You Kenneth Williams and "FRYING TONIGHT!!!"
hollowedhead 3 years ago
hollow ,there is nothing wrong with ones deciding to terminate their exsistance, it does not prove mental illness, but dealing with sickenss and severe depression and had live long enough is to me logical.
Clemburke1111 3 years ago 2
I have to agree with hollowhead to an extent,some people are only truly happy when doing what they love, the rest of life never quite measures up. This has nothing to do with mental illness however . there is a distinct difference between suicide and suicidal ideation driven by illnes and what hollowhead describes
sadielumay 2 years ago
sad, I just think when it comes to termintating one own life , is not really any one bussiness when one has reached a certain age.
Clemburke1111 2 years ago
Very true.
doctawho42 2 years ago
I often saw KW in a small cafe behind Picadilly Circus back in the 70s. He was often with friends, but I never heard or saw him laugh. When he walked only one arm moved and the other stayed rigid by his side. He always left alone and disappeared into the crowds.
lcilc 3 years ago
This is fascinating,but I have to say,it was never proved conclusively that Ken commited suicide nobody knows for certain one way or the other. There are people who say it was perfectly possible Ken took his own life due to depression/illness,but others say he would never have done that to his mother,Lou,whom he loved dearly and who was dependent on him, so I guess we'll never know for certain what really happened in his flat that night.
mistofoles 3 years ago
I visited London today and was saddened to find the demolition of 8, Marlborough House, Osnaburgh Street, NW1, Where Kenneth moved to on 3/8/72 and subsequently was found dead at on 15/4/88. It was a beautiful building and is in the process of been replaced by a monstrosity and the commemorative plaque in a land fill somewhere?
simontimelord 3 years ago
ALL the actors from the carry on films were brilliant-they were like a family and i honestly dont think the films would have been as successful if the parts had been played by other actors.Sid,Hattie,Ken-you all made us laugh and are very sadly missed-you made us all proud to be british.god bless you all
YORKIE230557 3 years ago 4
Such a tragic personal life never once shown through his brilliance on screen.
A legend, never to be forgotten.
Who will ever forget "infammy, Infammy, they've all got it infammy!"
probably one of the best lines ever, and as the Khasi of Kalabar in Khyber opposite the great Sid James, is to date, my favourite comedy film.
Stevieboyglos 3 years ago
My all time idol...what a brilliant man !..the ultimate english man,the voice,the stature the humour and mannerism.
around the horne radio show and the carry on films are the best and funniest comedy this country as ever produced.
love you kenny...now you deserve all the peace you were searching for...you live on down here and give us such pleasure..your infectious laugh was superb...RIP KENNY.
666Budz666 3 years ago 5
What a loss. What an exceptional man. Would so have loved to know him.
chichitoo100 3 years ago 23
Kenneth gave so many people great joy during his life - me included. I hope that many more, yet to be born will enjoy his wonderful laugh. Thank you Mr. Williams and God Bless.
redrightbear 3 years ago 8
Comics seem to live horrid private lives wonder why maybe the comedy masks the pain and torment within. This was interesting thanks for the post.
limeyosu 3 years ago 2
Poor Kenny Williams,I never feel to be moved when I hear his diaries,God bless Kenneth!
dramaticguy 3 years ago 4
2)
He was able to turn aside film projects.
He was close to 65 -throughout the diary he was mindful of staying solvent till then
I think it was the pain what done him in. He never could handle physical pain stoically. He had suicidalist tendencies (mentioned from when he was a young man)< and he had his poison stash. It just needed a tipping point - the tum and the back. A split-second decision...
mrsimonosborne 3 years ago
He was 62, closer to 60 than 65.
Anyway, it wasn't the dwindling work it was the dwindling of quality work that affected him negatively.
farleigh17 3 years ago
1) Not sure I agree about the dwindling work being a big cause. I've just re-read the diaries and I get the sense that he was doing ok financially - the advert revenue he was getting was far higher than the film work he'd done previously.
mrsimonosborne 3 years ago
its sad to say that id never even heard of him till last night when i watched kenneth williams-fabulosa on bbc2 and i actually was really interested. i watched the carry on matron on after and found it utterly hilarious! an amazing comic. needless to say i am young. but i wish i had heard of him before now. legend.
brandonboydluver 3 years ago 7
Does anyone know anything about his siser?
Fronika 3 years ago
His sister was called Pat,they did National Service together. I believe in later years they drifted apart slightly although Ken was extremely fond of her.
mistofoles 3 years ago
LEGEND!!
12inchChegwin 3 years ago 3
ok..hehe i got caught out belletook, same applies to me sweetie, could have sworn she went first! never mind, good to be corrected now and then, everything else ive posted? i remain defiant!!!..and i am unanimous!!!
glueonhair 3 years ago
I'm sad to say that I wasn't around when Ken was, but he was an amazing, extraordinary man, with an amazing extraordinary mind to match.
It's heartbreaking that the end for him was so bleak.
Never to be forgotten.
See you soon, Duckie. x
rehtrokid 3 years ago 2
A true icon in the world of acting.
I'm even grateful that his and my own life, overlapt.
RIP.
ChrizRockster 3 years ago
A truly wonderfull comic.
alecx111 3 years ago
I'm on the last pages of his diary its a sad read
Lynn From Scotland
feral07 3 years ago 2
Saint Marylebone Cemetery and Crematorium, Finchley, London, England
grabar20 3 years ago
What a grand personage. I'm so sorry the latter part of his life was so unhappy. We should take better care of our wonderful eccentrics.
newmoon51 3 years ago
if you are referring to the "myth" that kenneth did not like having people use his bathroom, as petty as it might seem, it is true nevertheless, read your history, and the biog. dear boy! Ken was a loner, happy with his own company most of the time, and of course lou until she passed! engage brain before opening the gob dear!
glueonhair 3 years ago
Sorry to be picky, but Lou passed after kenneth.
belletook 3 years ago 2
Well actually, Lou outlived him, after his death she moved in Ken's sister,Pat.
mistofoles 3 years ago
does anyone know where Kenneth is buried?
cheers!
russelltrigger 3 years ago
He was creamated and his ashes were scattered in the memorial gardens of St. Marylenbone Crematorium.
fuckthatpussy11 3 years ago
ok cheers!!
because just an ace comic just wondered what happened to the genius when he died!!
cheers
russelltrigger 3 years ago
ooh! matron, got a touch of the alzies dear! I WAS going to say that Ken was born 22nd feb 1926, and me? feb 23rd 1949, pisceans together duckie! Ken , my hero!
glueonhair 3 years ago
Funkyfox, If you visited me, unlike Kenneth i would have let you use my bathroom, he did NOT relish the thought of someone elses bum on his toilet seat! Therefore he didnt get many visitors, tragedy! Bless Him!
glueonhair 3 years ago
By the way his real friends have even said that that myth is incorrect.
fuckthatpussy11 3 years ago
some people in the business should NOT be able to sleep at night!I do realise also that sometimes Ken was his own worst enemy, with his behaviour, sometimes going right over the top...well he was an artiste so sue him! A comedian of genius, A man with a big heart, for his friends and his public. It's not tawdry or perverted as i am convinced that had Ken had the opportunity to discuss things with at least one other that he trusted, events would not have gone the way they did! RIP Ken
glueonhair 3 years ago 3
Just wonderfull i am sure he would love that
(RIP)
funkeyfox2000 3 years ago
seriously, if i was that way inclined he would be real easy to fall in love with! It's not a tawdry thing, it's not a perversion, it's that having studied his life, his travails, his achievements, and not least his big heart, his compassion, despite what he sometimes appeared to be, he would be a loyal and lifetime friend and partner. I find that 99% of his views and opinions coincide with mine. A comedian of genius, he was, nevertheless used and abused by the entertainment industry!! pt1
glueonhair 3 years ago
kenneth forgotten:ceeerrtainly not!
xefalcon351 3 years ago 2
feel very sad for him, that he was talking about killing himself on that chatshow, a big loss, he will be missed.
crackersmat 3 years ago
suicide is never the answer
robertsbiserve 3 years ago
20 years already?!
The irony is that Williams ended his own life due to the agony of stomach ulcers - just before scientists finally realised a bacterium could in fact live in stomach acid - and cure with antibiotics.
Very sad.
GrandPrix55 3 years ago
we all miss you kenneth
a wonderful funny actor
R.I.P
121Swaleskid 3 years ago 6
Very poignant - especially the bit about creating laughter but not being able to do it for himself. I've read the diaries and they are harrowing in the extreme - he rips into everyone, but most of all he hits at himself, esp after about 1980.
captainhowdy1967 3 years ago 2
i found this heard to wach as i am only young .when/as i was waching this i was breaking out in tears,which sows you how much i admire him. i wish i could of met him !
kennethwilliams4eva 3 years ago 2
how old are you
angie4777 3 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
i am 13 years old
kennethwilliams4eva 3 years ago 2
good on you sweetheart alot of young people your age wouldnt even know who this man was
angie4777 3 years ago 2
thanks :)
but i do no quit allot about him and someday i would LOVE TO GO TO LONDON :)
kennethwilliams4eva 3 years ago
just keep believing in yourself and work hard one day you will get there
angie4777 3 years ago
i will i will and i will NEVER stop believing
in myself,you see i would love to become an actress and work amoung the stars.
And one day just one day i will aceve my goal!!!
(and i changed my account name btw)
funkeyfox2000 3 years ago
im curious why did you change your account name its your choice of course but just wondering why
angie4777 3 years ago
oh becoz i forgot my account password and i lost my email address so i had to stat again.
☺
funkeyfox2000 3 years ago
He Had Such A Bad Opinion Of Himself
If Only He Realised How Much People Loved & Cared For Him, if only he loved himself
Such A Loss!
He was a comic genius!
and a brilliant man!
PinkyPerfect07 3 years ago 2
im only young but i really like this guy as a comedian it sounds like he was quite a tragic figure in real life it makes me sad to think he wasn't able to be comfortable in his own skin
angie4777 4 years ago 3
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Willow the wisp was his best work.
MickeyLove01 4 years ago
A tragedy of a life, never completely understood, self-deprecating, suicidal - I can empathise that it could happen to any of us. But he brought great pleasure to us all over the years!
Kuanyin123456 4 years ago 2
true man.
smileandwave1987 4 years ago
Yes - I agree. Nobody will ever know the inner pain of a great artist like Kenneth. All we can do is speculate. But as you say, he brought great pleasure to many, and he still does to this day. We all live so close to the edge.
Numboss 3 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
my roomate met him and asked him over for a drink..purely social. he cornered me in the kitchen and tried to grope me etc and got very nasty when i rebuffed him. he was a sad lonely gay guy but brilliant
4521556 4 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
He did the same to me and asked me for a blow-job, I oblidged and he gave me £100
MickeyLove01 4 years ago
A very unique actor and one that will bring us a smile. Thank you Kenneth Williams, you are among the stars.
gardenalien 4 years ago 3
Kenneth was a neighbour, yet the only exchange between us was that daily greeting!
There was a barrier I felt, that was unsurmantle!
nurioopta 4 years ago 3
I believe, with respect, that the word you intended is "insurmountable".
Thank you for sharing this insight with us.
renard801 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
sid james
americanguy67 4 years ago
nearly 20 years since his death, but seeing this again brought a lump to my throat and I just burst into tears
Sparrow959 4 years ago
It will always remain debateable as to whether Kenneth did commit suicide in April 1988, as there are several arguments for and against, but another intriguing fact was his mentally unstable Father, who he hated, also committed suicide after drinking a bottle of disinfectant in December 1962.
Kevinasp 4 years ago
botox my arse!!!!
chris10012345 4 years ago
Is this avaialble? I would love ot have the whole documentary -
nitesho 4 years ago
if you all like ken williams as i do then, if you havnt already you must read the Kenneth Williams diaries. One of the best books youll ever read...
chris10012345 4 years ago 2
A very sad ending, he must of felt very lonely and frustrated towards the end of his life...i can relate to him in some ways.
memorylane1980 4 years ago
It's a very sad ending, he must of felt very lonely, frustrated, with a lot of hurt inside of him towards the end of his life.
memorylane1980 4 years ago
Kenneth Williams was not a man who covered himself. He was out and proud and very well spoken. This is one man who would never have anyhting cosmetic. The Real Deal.
tuttleby 4 years ago