Editing Kenneth Williams (section)

==Career==
===Early career===
Williams's professional career began in 1948 in [[repertory theatre]]. Failure to become a serious dramatic actor disappointed him, but his potential as a comic performer gave him his break when he was spotted playing the [[Dauphin of France|Dauphin]] in [[Bernard Shaw]]'s ''[[Saint Joan (play)|St Joan]]'' in the [[West End theatre|West End]], in 1954 by radio producer [[Dennis Main Wilson]].{{sfn|Stevens|2010|pp=59, 77}} Main Wilson was casting ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]'', a radio series starring [[Tony Hancock]]. Playing mostly funny voice roles, Williams stayed in the series almost to the end, five years later. His nasal, whiny, [[Camp (style)|camp]]-cockney inflections (epitomised in his "Stop messing about&nbsp;... !" catchphrase) became popular with listeners. Despite the success and recognition the show brought him, Williams considered theatre, film and television to be superior forms of entertainment. In 1955 he appeared in [[Orson Welles]]'s London stage production ''[[Moby Dick—Rehearsed]]''. The pair fell out after Williams became annoyed with Welles's habit of repeatedly changing the script.{{sfn|Stevens|2010|pp=83, 135}}

When Hancock steered his show away from what he considered gimmicks and silly voices, Williams found he had less to do. Tiring of this reduced status, he joined [[Kenneth Horne]] in ''[[Beyond Our Ken]]'' (1958–1964), and its sequel, ''[[Round the Horne]]'' (1965–1968). His roles in ''Round the Horne'' included [[Rambling Syd Rumpo]], the eccentric [[folk singer]]; Dr Chou En Ginsberg, MA (failed), Oriental criminal mastermind; J. Peasemold Gruntfuttock, telephone heavy breather and dirty old man; and Sandy of the camp couple [[Julian and Sandy]] (Julian was played by [[Hugh Paddick]]). Their double act was characterised by [[double entendre]]s and [[Polari]], the homosexual argot.

Williams also appeared in West End [[revue]]s including ''Share My Lettuce'' with [[Maggie Smith]], written by [[Bamber Gascoigne]], and ''Pieces of Eight'' with [[Fenella Fielding]]. The latter included material specially written for him by [[Peter Cook]], then a student at [[Pembroke College, Cambridge]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jcA1AAAAQBAJ&q=kenneth+williams+peter+cook+sketches&pg=PA4|title=Tragically I Was An Only Twin: The Comedy of Peter Cook – Peter Cook, William Cook – Google Books|date=31 August 2013|access-date=30 June 2014|isbn=9781446429624|last1=Cook|first1=Peter|last2=Cook|first2=William |publisher=Random House }}</ref> Cook's "[[One Leg Too Few]]" and "Interesting Facts" were part of the show and became routines in his own performances. Williams's last revue, in 1961, was ''[[One Over The Eight]]'' at the [[Duke of York's Theatre]], with [[Sheila Hancock]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishcomedy.org.uk/kwas/obit.html|title=Obituaries|publisher=Britishcomedy.org.uk|access-date=30 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923194643/http://www.britishcomedy.org.uk/kwas/obit.html|archive-date=23 September 2015|url-status=dead }}</ref>

===''Carry On'' films===
Williams worked regularly in British film during the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, mainly in the ''[[Carry On (franchise)|Carry On]]'' series (1958–1978) with its double entendre humour; and appeared in the series more than any other actor.<ref name="britmovie1">{{cite web|url=http://www.britmovie.co.uk/actors/Kenneth-Williams|title=Kenneth Williams &#124; Home of British Films|publisher=Britmovie|access-date=28 June 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809200212/http://www.britmovie.co.uk/actors/Kenneth-Williams|archive-date=9 August 2014 }}</ref> The films were commercially successful but Williams claimed the cast were poorly paid. In his diaries, Williams wrote that he earned more in a [[St Ivel]] advert than for any ''Carry On'' film, although he was still earning the average Briton's annual salary in a year for the latter. He often privately criticised and "dripped vitriol" upon the films, considering them beneath him, even though he continued to appear in them.<ref name="express">{{cite web|url=http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/207221/Review-Born-Brilliant-The-life-of-Kenneth-Williams-by-Christopher-Stevens|title=Review: Born Brilliant: The life of Kenneth Williams by Christopher Stevens|work=Daily Express|access-date=22 September 2014|date=23 October 2010}}</ref> This became the case with many of the films and shows in which he appeared. He was quick to find fault with his own work, and also that of others. Despite this, he spoke fondly of the ''Carry On''s in interviews. [[Peter Rogers]], producer of the series, recollected, "Kenneth was worth taking care of because, while he cost very little—£5,000 a film, he made a great deal of money for the franchise."<ref>''Kenneth Williams Unseen'', Wes Butters and Russell Davies, HarperCollins, 2008, p. 224</ref>

===Radio and television shows===
Williams was a regular on the [[BBC Radio]] [[Impromptu speaking|impromptu-speaking]] panel game ''[[Just a Minute]]'' from its second series in 1968 until his death. He frequently got into arguments with host [[Nicholas Parsons]] and other guests on the show. ([[Russell Davies]], editor of ''The Kenneth Williams Letters'', explains that Williams's "famous tirades on the programme occurred when his desire to entertain was fuelled by his annoyance."<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Davies|editor-first=Russell |title=The Kenneth Williams Letters|date=1994|publisher=HarperCollins|page=101}}</ref>) He was also remembered for such phrases as "I've come all the way from Great Portland Street" (i.e. one block away) and "They shouldn't have women on the show!" (directed at [[Sheila Hancock]], [[Aimi MacDonald]] and others).<ref>''Welcome to Just A Minute!'' {{ISBN|9781782112471}}</ref> He once talked for almost a minute about a supposed Austrian psychiatrist called Heinrich Swartzberg, correctly guessing that the show's creator, [[Ian Messiter]], had just made the name up.<ref>Ian Messiter, ''My Life and Other Games'', 1990, {{ISBN|1-872180-61-2}}</ref> Williams was also a regular on the [[BBC Radio]] comedy show ''[[Round the Horne]],'' playing, alongside [[Hugh Paddick]], the characters [[Julian and Sandy]] who spoke in a comedic version of [[Polari]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Julian and Sandy |date=22 March 2019 |url=https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/fabulosa/games/ }}</ref>

On television, he co-hosted his own TV variety series on [[BBC2]] with the [[Dougie Squires|Young Generation]] entitled ''Meanwhile, On BBC2'', which ran for ten episodes from 17 April 1971.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?order=asc&q=kenneth+williams+the+young+generation+meanwhile+on+bbc2#search|title=Search Results – BBC Genome|publisher=BBC|access-date=12 April 2018}}</ref> He was a frequent contributor to the 1973–74 revival of ''[[What's My Line?#United Kingdom|What's My Line?]]'', hosted the weekly entertainment show ''International Cabaret'' and was a regular reader on the children's storytelling series ''[[Jackanory]]'' on BBC1, hosting 69 episodes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/569183/|title=BFI Screenonline: Jackanory (1965–96)|publisher=Screenonline.org.uk|access-date=30 June 2014}}</ref> He also narrated and provided all of the voices for the BBC children's cartoon ''[[Willo the Wisp]]'' (1981).

In 1983, Williams was the subject of an episode of the BBC series ''[[Comic Roots]]'', in which he revisited the places in London where he grew up and went to school.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p02rtqvm/comic-roots-series-2-4-kenneth-williams | title=Comic Roots - Series 2: Kenneth Williams|publisher=BBC }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/comic_roots/episodes/2/4/ | title=Comic Roots Series 2, Episode 4 - Kenneth Williams | website=[[British Comedy Guide]] }}</ref>