Editing Sid James (section)

==Career==

===From 1947 to 1968===
James made his first credited film appearances in ''[[Night Beat (1947 film)|Night Beat]]'' and ''[[Black Memory]]'' in 1947, both crime dramas. He played the alcoholic hero's barman in [[Powell and Pressburger]]'s ''[[The Small Back Room]]'' in 1949. ''The Lavender Hill Mob'' in 1951 was his first comedy film, ranked 17th out of the 100 best British films by the [[British Film Institute]]: with [[Alfie Bass]], he made up the bullion robbery gang headed by [[Alec Guinness]] and [[Stanley Holloway]]. He also appeared in ''[[Lady Godiva Rides Again]]'' and ''[[The Galloping Major (film)|The Galloping Major]]'', both films were released in 1951, and as Harry Hawkins in ''[[The Titfield Thunderbolt]]'' (1953), and also had a lead role in ''[[The Wedding of Lilli Marlene]]''. He featured in another Alec Guinness film, ''[[Father Brown (film)|Father Brown]]'' (US: ''The Detective'', 1954) and in ''[[Trapeze (film)|Trapeze]]'' (1956) as Harry the snake charmer, a circus film which was one of the most successful films of its year, and he played Master Henry in "Outlaw Money" (also 1956), an episode of ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]''.

James had a supporting part as a TV advertisement producer in [[Charlie Chaplin]]'s ''[[A King in New York]]'', a non-comic supporting role as a journalist in the science-fiction film ''[[Quatermass 2]]'', and he performed in ''[[Hell Drivers (film)|Hell Drivers]]'' (all 1957), a film with [[Stanley Baker]]. The next year, James starred with [[Miriam Karlin]] in ''[[East End, West End]]'' by [[Wolf Mankowitz]], a half-hour comedy series for the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] company [[Associated Rediffusion]]. Set within the Jewish community of London's East End, the series of six episodes was transmitted in February and March 1958, but plans for further episodes were abandoned after a disappointing response. For a while though, it had looked as if his commitment elsewhere might end his work with Tony Hancock, one of the most popular television comedians of the time.<ref>Cliff Goodwin ''Sid James: A Biography'', London: Virgin Books, 2001, p.121-22</ref>

He had begun working with Tony Hancock in 1954, in his [[BBC Radio]] series ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]''. Having seen him in ''The Lavender Hill Mob'', it was the idea of Hancock's writers, [[Galton and Simpson]], to cast James. He played a character with his own name (but having the invented middle name Balmoral) who was a petty criminal and would usually manage to con Hancock in some way, although the character eventually ceased to be Hancock's adversary. With the exception of James, the other regular cast members of the radio series were dropped when the series made the transition to television. His part in the show now greatly increased, and many viewers came to think of Hancock and James as a double act.

[[File:Hancocks-Half-Hour.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Tony Hancock]] (right) with James in ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]'']]

Feeling the format had become exhausted, Hancock decided to end his professional relationship with James at the end of the sixth television series in 1960. Although the two men remained friends, James was upset at his colleague's decision. The experience led to a shift away from the kind of roles for which he had become best known. He remained the lovable rogue but was keen to steer clear of criminal characters; in 1960 he turned down the part of Fagin in the original West End staging of ''[[Oliver!]]'' for that very reason.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ross |first=Robert |title=Sid James - The Authorised Biography |year=2009 |publisher=JR Books |isbn=978-1-906779-35-1 |page=87}}</ref> Galton and Simpson continued to write for both James and Hancock for a while, and the Sidney Balmoral James character resurfaced in the ''[[Citizen James]]'' (1960–1962) series. Sid James was now consistently taking the lead role in his television work. ''[[Taxi! (British TV series)|Taxi!]]'' (1963–64) was his next series. A comedy-drama rather than a sitcom, it was created by [[Ted Willis, Baron Willis|Ted Willis]], but although it ran to two series, the programme was not particularly successful.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

In 1964, he made his first of two appearances on ''The [[Eamonn Andrews]] Show''. The first few moments of the opening credits of one of them can be heard and seen in the television show ''[[Undermind (TV series)|Undermind]]'', Episode 6, "Intent to Destroy", broadcast on 12 June 1965. His name is heard announced, and the show is seen on a television camera seconds later.<ref>Cliff Goodwin ''Sid James: A Biography'', London: Virgin Books, 2001, p.151</ref>

In 1968, James, [[Val Doonican]] and [[Arthur Askey]] were filmed playing golf in the village of [[Cockington]] near [[Torquay]] ([[British Pathé]] archives, film reference 457.1), for their production ''Viva Torbay: Travelling to the British Seaside''.

===''Carry On'' films===
James became a leading member of the [[Carry On (franchise)|''Carry On'' films]] team, originally to replace [[Ted Ray (comedian)|Ted Ray]], who had appeared in ''[[Carry On Teacher]]'' (1959). It had been intended that Ray would become a recurring presence in the ''Carry On'' series, but he was dropped after just one film because of contractual problems.<ref>Goodwin ''Sid James'', p.125</ref> James ultimately made 19 ''Carry On'' films,<ref name="denofgeek.com" /> receiving top billing in 17, making him one of the most featured performers of the regular cast.

The characters he portrayed in the films were usually very similar to the wise-cracking, sly, lecherous Cockney he was famed for playing on television, and in most cases they bore the name Sid or Sidney, for example, Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond in ''[[Carry On Up the Khyber]]'' and Sid Boggle in ''[[Carry On Camping]]''. His distinctive laugh was often used and became, along with a world-weary "Cor, blimey!", his catchphrase.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

There were ''Carry On'' films in which James played characters who were not called Sid or Sidney: ''[[Carry On Constable]]'' (1960), in which he played Sergeant Frank Wilkins; ''[[Carry On Henry]]'' (1971), a parody of the TV series ''[[The Six Wives of Henry VIII (BBC TV series)|The Six Wives of Henry VIII]]''; ''[[Carry On Abroad]]'' (1972), in which James's character was named Vic Flange; and ''[[Carry On Dick]]'' (1974), a parody version of the legend of the [[highwayman]] [[Dick Turpin]]. In ''Henry'' and ''Dick'', James played the title roles, while in ''Carry On Cleo'' he played [[Mark Antony]]. In ''[[Carry On Cowboy]]'' (1965), he adopted an [[American accent]] for his part as "The Rumpo Kid". James had previously used American accents in the films ''[[Give Us This Day (1949 film)|Give Us This Day]]'' (1949), ''[[Orders Are Orders (1955 film)|Orders Are Orders]]'' (1954), ''[[A Yank in Ermine]]'' (1955), ''[[Wicked as They Come]]'' (1956), Chaplin's ''[[A King in New York]]'' (1957), ''[[The Man Inside (1958 film)|The Man Inside]]'' (1958), and ''[[Another Time, Another Place (1958 film)|Another Time, Another Place]]'' (1958).

===Later career===
In 1967, James was intending to play Sergeant Nocker in ''[[Follow That Camel]]'', but was already committed to recording the TV series ''[[George and the Dragon (TV series)|George and the Dragon]]'' (1966–1968) for [[Associated Television|ATV]], then one of the ITV contractors. James was replaced in ''[[Follow That Camel]]'' by the American comic actor [[Phil Silvers]]. On 13 May 1967, two weeks after the filming began of what eventually became an entry in the ''Carry On'' series, James suffered a severe [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]]. In the same year in ''[[Carry On Doctor]]'', James was shown mainly lying in a hospital bed, owing to his real-life health problems. After his heart attack, James gave up his heavy cigarette habit and instead smoked a pipe or an occasional cigar; he lost weight, ate only one main meal a day, and limited himself to two or three alcoholic drinks per evening.<ref>Goodwin, Cliff ''Sid James: A Biography'' p. 177</ref>

His success in TV situation comedy continued with the programmes ''[[Two in Clover]]'' (1969–70) and ''[[Bless This House (British TV series)|Bless This House]]'' (1971–1976); the latter led to [[Bless This House (film)|a film version]] in 1972.