Editing Kenneth Williams (section)

== Legacy ==
=== Diaries and biographies ===
In April 2008 [[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4]] broadcast the two-part ''The Pain of Laughter: The Last Days of Kenneth Williams''.<ref name=painoflaughter/> The programmes were researched and written by [[Wes Butters]] and narrated by [[Rob Brydon]]. Butters purchased a collection of Williams's personal belongings from the actor's godson, Robert Chidell, to whom they had been bequeathed.<ref>"The truth behind that famous smile", ''Radio Times'' 5–11 April 2008</ref>

The first of the programmes said that, towards the end of his life and struggling with depression and ill health, Williams abandoned Christianity following discussions with the poet [[Philip Larkin]]. Williams had been brought up a [[Wesleyan]] and then a [[Methodist]], though he spent much of his life struggling with Christianity's teachings on homosexuality.<ref name=painoflaughter>{{cite web |title=The Pain of Laughter; The Last Days of Kenneth Williams |access-date=2 November 2009 |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/painoflaughter/pip/om8uw/}}</ref>

''Kenneth Williams Unseen'' by Wes Butters and Russell Davies, the first Williams biography in 15 years, was published by HarperCollins in October 2008.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780007280858/Kenneth-Williams-Unseen-private-notes-0007280858/plp |title=Kenneth Williams Unseen: The private notes, scripts and photographs|author1=Butters, Wes |author2=Davies, Russell |isbn=9780007280858 |date=8 October 2023 |publisher=HarperCollins |access-date=13 August 2023}}</ref>

An authorised biography, ''Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams'', by Christopher Stevens,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bornbrilliant.info |title=Author's information page |publisher=Bornbrilliant.info |date=1 September 2011 |access-date=11 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113071600/http://www.bornbrilliant.info/ |archive-date=13 January 2016 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> was published in October 2010. This drew for the first time on the full Williams archive of diaries and letters, which had been stored in a London bank for 15 years following publication of edited extracts.<ref name="johnmurray">{{cite web|url=http://www.johnmurray.co.uk/Book-Kenneth+Williams%3A+Born+Brilliant--179599.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719122859/http://www.johnmurray.co.uk/Book-Kenneth+Williams:+Born+Brilliant--179599.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 July 2011|title=index|publisher=johnmurray.co.uk|access-date=22 September 2014}}</ref> The biography notes that Williams used a variety of handwriting styles and colours in his journals, switching between different hands on the page.<ref>{{cite news|first=Vanessa |last=Thorpe |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/10/kenneth-williams-biography-christopher-stevens |title=Kenneth Williams: secret loves behind the life of a tormented man |newspaper=The Guardian |date= 9 October 2010|access-date=28 June 2014}}</ref>

=== Portrayals ===
[[File:williams-marchmont-street.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Williams' [[blue plaque]] at 57 Marchmont Street]]

[[David Benson]]'s 1996 [[Edinburgh Fringe]] show ''Think No Evil of Us: My Life with Kenneth Williams'' saw Benson playing Williams; after touring, the show ran in London's West End. Benson reprised his performance at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe and continues to tour.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.seabright.info/davidbenson.html#tneou |title=David Benson – JAMES SEABRIGHT |publisher=Seabright.info |access-date=11 September 2011 |archive-date=26 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090926034534/http://www.seabright.info/davidbenson.html#tneou |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Williams was played by [[Adam Godley]] in [[Terry Johnson (dramatist)|Terry Johnson]]'s play ''[[Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick]]'', which premiered at the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] in 1998. Godley reprised the role in the subsequent film adaptation, ''[[Cor, Blimey!]]''

In 2006, Williams' life was the subject of the television play ''[[Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!]]''. [[Michael Sheen]] portrayed Williams.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rampton |first=James |date=8 March 2006 |title=Michael Sheen carries off the life of Kenneth Williams |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/michael-sheen-carries-off-the-life-of-kenneth-williams-6107218.html |work=The Independent |access-date=23 February 2020 |archive-date=23 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223194317/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/michael-sheen-carries-off-the-life-of-kenneth-williams-6107218.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Recognition ===
A flat in the Osnaburgh Street block in which Williams lived from 1972 until his death was bought by Rob Brydon and [[Julia Davis]] for the writing of their comedy series ''[[Human Remains (TV series)|Human Remains]]''. The building was demolished in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kenneth Williams lived here|url=http://www.shadyoldlady.com/location.php?loc=831|date=3 March 2010|access-date=3 March 2010|work=Shady Old Lady's Guide to London}}</ref>

Williams is commemorated by a [[blue plaque]] at the address of his father's barber shop, 57 Marchmont Street, London, where he lived from 1935 to 1956. The plaque was unveiled on 11 October 2009 by [[Leslie Phillips]], [[Bill Pertwee]] and [[Nicholas Parsons]], with whom Williams performed.<ref name=bbc_plaque>{{cite news|title=Plaque for Carry On star Williams|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8301366.stm|date=11 October 2009|access-date=11 October 2009|work=BBC News}}</ref>

On 22 February 2014, on what would have been Williams' 88th birthday, an [[English Heritage]] blue plaque was unveiled at Farley Court off [[Marylebone Road]], where Williams lived between 1963 and 1970. Speaking at the ceremony, his ''Carry On'' co-star Barbara Windsor said: "Kenny was a one-off, a true original".<ref>{{cite news|title=Carry On star Kenneth Williams granted blue plaque|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-26298125|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC News London|access-date=22 February 2014|date=22 February 2014}}</ref><ref name="EngHet">{{cite web|url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/discover/blue-plaques/search/williams-kenneth-1926-1988|title=WILLIAMS, KENNETH (1926–1988)|publisher=English Heritage| access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140504211824/https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/discover/blue-plaques/search/williams-kenneth-1926-1988 |archive-date= 4 May 2014}}</ref>