Carry On
Here's the actors from the Carry On films listed in reverse so as we count up the list we count down to my favorite actors who were in lots of the films. (It's too bad so many of them haven't a pic.)
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An actor since the age of 14, Bernard Cribbins had become a major star on the London stage by his mid-20s, but it was another ten years before he became a national star by his success in film comedies and with a string of hit records. He appeared in several of the "Carry On" series, and also achieved a great degree of success doing voiceovers for cartoons and TV commercials.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Patricia Amy Rowlands was born in Palmer's Green, north London on 19 January 1931 to Albert and Amy. She was educated at the Covent of the Sacred Heart in Whetstone. Her parents encouraged her to have elocution lessons to improve her employment prospects.
It was her elocution tutor who recognized her acting potential and encouraged her to apply to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She won a scholarship there at the age of fifteen, coming top in the whole of England.
Patricia's first professional appearance was in the chorus for the touring version of 'Annie Get Your Gun' in 1950, featuring Lionel Blair. Venues included the King's Theatre, Portsmouth in August and the Theatre Royal, Dublin in November.
Now known as Patsy, she made her West End debut in 1958 as Doris Hare's granddaughter in 'Valmouth', Sandy Wilson's musical about a spa town where the aged residents enjoy a prolonged sex life. As Thetis Tooke, the country lass pining for her absent sailor boy, she gave a subtly mischievous performance.
Her persuasive soprano (preserved on the original cast album) indicates that she could have had a flourishing career in musicals, and few who saw the show's first incarnation will forget her underplayed, hilarious performance of her riverside song solo, 'I Loved a Man'. Director Vida Hope had given her some wickedly sly business with a twitching fish, the number ending with Patsy on her back with the fish between her toes, which had most of the audience convulsed, though probably not the critic who asked in his column "has the censor quit?"
Sandy Wilson, who remembers Patsy as "unique, sweet, funny and ridiculous" in the role, recalls that when Princess Margaret attended a performance at the Saville, one newspaper next day complained that she should not have been exposed to such a disgusting number. "It caused the censor to take another look at the show and he decided that she could still sing to the fish, but it had to be dead and not move!"
Patsy went on to combine serious drama with her work at the Players' Theatre in London, where traditional music hall shows had nurtured the careers of so many comic actors. It was at the Players' Theatre that she first worked with Hattie Jacques and also met composer Malcolm Sircom. Patsy married Malcolm in 1962.
As part of the theatre's New Wave of the early Sixties, Patsy appeared as Sylvia Groomkirby (her favorite role) in N.F. Simpson's surreal comedy, One Way Pendulum (1961), and as Avril Hadfield in David Turner's 'Semi- Detached' (1962), directed by Tony Richardson and starring Sir Laurence Olivier. Richardson, a particular champion of Patsy's versatile talents, gave her one of her first important screen roles, as a nubile young miss in his masterly, Oscar-winning version of Tom Jones (1963), scripted by Harold Pinter.
She had made her screen debut in On the Fiddle (1961), alongside Sean Connery, and followed it with an effective performance as the heroine's tenacious girl-friend in John Schlesinger's biting drama A Kind of Loving (1962), starring Alan Bates. The following year, she appeared in the Norman Wisdom film A Stitch in Time (1963) whilst pregnant with her son, Alan Sircom. Patsy and Malcolm were divorced just eighteen months after their son's birth.
Although she regarded herself primarily as a stage performer, when her wacky technique could be in full flower, Patsy was also a familiar face on television. Early television appearances included Tuppence in the Gods (1960) and The Actor (1961) with later credits including Love All (1969), a deliciously witty performance in the television play An Extra Bunch of Daffodils (1969) and starring as Roy Kinnear's wife in the sitcom Inside George Webley (1968). Her television work never dried up.
Directors soon got to know that she was so individual that she had to be cast selectively, but when she was right for a part she was very right, and her range stretched more broadly than some expected. She was part of the theaters "New Wave" of talent that invigorated both stage and screen in the Sixties. Despite prestigious credits and enormous respect within the profession, it is probably true to say that her talents were under-appreciated until she became part of the "Carry On" team.
Between 1969 and 1975 Patsy appeared in nine of the "Carry On" films, usually as the dowdy, put-upon wife - wives do not come much more put-upon than her queen who gets her head chopped off in Carry on Henry VIII (1971) to make way for the King's (Sidney James) latest wife. Or she would be the timid housekeeper or employee quietly lusting after a gloriously insensitive Kenneth Williams, just waiting for the right moment to throw off her drab cocoon and emerge in her true plumage, for example in Carry on Loving (1970). Patsy later confided that she found Kenneth Williams intimidating and it took quite some time for him to accepted her as one of the gang.
She tested the merchandise at Boggs Sanitary Ware in Carry on at Your Convenience (1971), complaining: "I've given my whole life to Boggs," and she was the worm that finally turns in Carry on Girls (1973), as the wife of the boring, self-important mayor (Kenneth Connor). She sabotages his beauty contest by burning her bra and joining Women's Lib. She was proud of the series, stating: "They had good, honest humor, sometimes naughty but never too rude - entertainment for all the family." Her last film in the series was Carry on Behind (1975).
The role of Betty, Sidney James's feckless neighbor in the sitcom Bless This House (1971), consolidated her success as a major comic screen actress. The series ran for six years and Patsy played the long-suffering neighbor with immense gusto. She and her co-stars, Sidney James and Diana Coupland, brought rude energy to the series. Despite the critics thinking it trite, the show won awards, the public loved it and it spawned a film version in 1972. Bless This House (1971) was followed by another hit sitcom The Squirrels (1974), set in the offices of a television rental company.
Serious films included Tony Richardson's Joseph Andrews (1977) and Roman Polanski's Tess (1979), and on stage she was directed by Lindsay Anderson in 'The Seagull' (1975) and as the archetypal housewife in 'Shut Your Eyes And Think Of England' (1977) alongside Donald Sinden. Other plays included Ronald Eyre's acclaimed production of J.B. Priestley's When We Are Married (1987) alongside Timothy West, Prunella Scales and Patricia Routledge. Anderson also directed her in 'The March On Russia' (1989) at the National Theatre, where she appeared in 'The Pied Piper' (1987) as a very idiosyncratic Lady Mayoress, and in 'The Wind In The Willows' (1990).
Her musicals included the West End premiere of Stephen Sondheim's 'Into The Woods', at the Phoenix Theatre (1990), 'Me And My Girl' (1993), Sam Mendes' long-running revival of 'Oliver!' (1994) at the London Palladium and a delightful performance as Mrs. Pearce in Cameron Mackintosh's revival of 'My Fair Lady' (2001) at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. She took Eliza Doolittle off to the bath and danced through 'I Think She's Got It' for a year and then was asked to return to the role when the show was recast for its third year.
By the eighties, she was well-established in television sitcom. She starred in Nigel Kneale's cult sci-fi comedy Kinvig (1981) and teamed up with Thora Hird in Hallelujah! (1983). They played an aunt and niece in the Salvation Army. Patsy also appeared alongside Thora in two episodes of the sitcom In Loving Memory (1969). In the nineties, she appeared as Mrs. Clapham in Get Well Soon (1997), set in a National Health Service hospital during the post-war period.
In sitcoms, Patsy was an ideal sparring partner, never hogging the limelight and generous to colleagues. Such stars as Les Dawson, Dick Emery and, in particular, Billy Connolly in Supergran and the Course of True Love (1985). All asked for her to play with them in important sketches. Les Dawson telephoned Patsy when she was in hospital after breaking her ankle on stage, in May 1993, asking her to be in a new show playing his wife. Tragically, he died of a heart attack just a couple of weeks later.
In addition to sitcoms, Patsy appeared children's shows, such as Rainbow (1972), and numerous television dramas. Her plump, rustic features were put to effective use in classic serials such as Vanity Fair (1998) and The Cazalets (2001), which narrated the problems of a wealthy family just before the Second World War. She played Miss Millament with relish.
Patsy completed three audio commentaries for the launch of the Carlton-distributed later "Carry On" DVDs in 2003, appearing alongside Jacki Piper, Valerie Leon, June Whitfield, Jack Douglas and Larry Dann. From the second half of the nineties onward, she had also appeared in numerous television documentaries about her late "Carry On" co-stars Kenneth Williams, Hattie Jacques and Sidney James as well as Norman Wisdom.
Breast cancer was diagnosed while she was appearing as Mrs. Pearce in 'My Fair Lady' at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. But she carried on without telling any of her fellow actors. It was typical of the droll and hard-working actor that she still tried to convince her friends that she was about to "go back to the gym" and would soon be ready for work. She did it to spare their feelings.
While ill, she had continued to work until she abandoned plans to become a teacher of acting and publicly retired soon after 'My Fair Lady' closed on 30 August 2003. The following year, she moved to Martlets Hospice, Hove, East Sussex - just over a mile from her flat - where she spent her final days.
Her son, Alan Sircom, announced: "I think you should all know that my mother, Patsy Rowlands, passed away at 6:20 am, Saturday 22 January 2005. She was never very good with mornings. She died peacefully in her sleep." She died at Martlets Hospice at the age of 74 and three days (although newspapers mistakenly reported her age as 71).
Agent Simon Beresford said: "She was just an absolutely favorite client. She never complained about anything, particularly when she was ill, she was an old trouper. She was of the old school - she had skills from musical theatre and high drama, that is why she worked with the great and the good of directors. She didn't mind always being recognized for the "Carry On" films because she thoroughly enjoyed making them. She was a really lovely person and she will be much missed."
'My Fair Lady' director, Eleanor Fazan, remembered her with affection: "Patsy was always very unselfish and a delight to work with: full of energy and keen to try anything new. She was a joy."
One obituary summarized Patsy as "a character actress of much style and blessed with superb timing and charismatic charm. She was a refined comedienne who could switch from the bawdy to the subtle. Rowlands did put-upon characters wonderfully, but never overdid the comedy: it was always kept within the bounds of the role. She was expert at delivering a tag line."
Another obituary revealed she was an admirer of Claude Monet and an accomplished watercolor and pastel artist. She once had her work appear the Royal Academy summer show.
Following her private, family funeral, a public memorial service was held at midday on Friday 29 April 2005 at St Paul's Church, Covent Garden, known more commonly as The Actors' Church. Attendees to the public service included Anna Wing, Carol Cleveland and Simon Beresford. Donations were collected for the Martlets Hospice charity, who cared for Patsy in her last days, with £350 raised.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Legendary EastEnders actress and Carry On star Barbara Windsor was born Barbara Ann Deeks in Stepney, London, the daughter of Rose (Ellis), a dressmaker, and John Deeks, a costermonger. She was a bright pupil at school and her parents wanted her to go to university, but after her first taste of show business, when her grandmother took her backstage at a theatre, she decided acting was what she wanted to do.
Her mother spent all her savings on a place at the Aida Foster Acting School, where Barbara made her stage debut in Aida's 1950s pantomime at the Golders Green Hippodrome. Aida's tutors tried to iron out her Cockney accent but luckily they didn't succeed. In 1952, she was cast as one of the orphans in the musical "Love from Judy", which opened at London's Saville Theatre. With the show's star, she made her television debut in "Variety Parade". Two years later in 1954, she made her film debut as a school girl extra in "The Belles of St. Trinians", and by 1957, she was performing at London's Winston's Club with Amanda Barrie. The producer Joan Littlewood, who was committed to working class theatre, spotted her at an audition and in 1960 gave her the role which changed her life - Rose in "Fings Ain't What They Used to Be" at London's Garrick Theatre where it ran for two and a half years, during which she appeared in the sitcom The Rag Trade (1961).
As a result of the success of "Fings", Littlewood cast her in the film Sparrows Can't Sing (1963), which was seen by producer Peter Rogers who offered her roles in "Carry On" films, the first of which was Carry on Spying (1964). In 1964, She appeared in Joan's stage version of 'Oh! What a Lovely War' on Broadway and toured America with it. On her return, she was cast in the West End production of Lionel Bart's ill fated musical "Twang", which closed after a short run allowing her to take a role in "Come Spy with Me" with Danny La Rue at London's Whitehall Theatre. During the run, she had a complete change in playing one of the Ripper's victims in the film A Study in Terror (1965), then it was back to lighthearted roles in such films as Carry on Doctor (1967) and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), and in 1968, a British tour with Frankie Howerd in "The Wind in the Sasafras Tree". In late 1969, Ned Sherrin cast her as the music hall legend Marie Lloyd in "Sing a Rude Song" which opened at the Greenwich Theatre before transferring to the West End's Garrick Theatre.
Windsor did become well known in the London theatrical scene, but it was the "Carry On" comedies that made her a star. Although she appeared in only nine films in the long-running series (she left because she thought they were getting too risqué), she made such an impression as the basically good-hearted but dizzy sexpot that many of the series' fans believe she was in many more than she actually was. She almost didn't get the role originally, as she and series regular Kenneth Williams took an instant dislike to each other, but that was soon overcome and they became lifelong friends.
After she left the series, she continued her stage and film work, and became a regular in a long-running British soap opera, EastEnders (1985) as the matriarch of The Queen Victoria - Peggy Mitchell, which she played in over 1,500 episodes. She wrote two autobiographies, "Barbara - the Laughter and Tears of a Cockney Sparrow" and "All of Me - My Extraordinary Life". She was awarded Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2000 Queen's New Years Honours for her services to entertainment. She was awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2016 Queen's New Years Honours for her services to entertainment and to charity.
Dame Barbara Windsor died of Alzheimer's disease on December 10, 2020, in London. She is survived by husband Scott Mitchell.- Peter Butterworth's promising career in the British Navy Fleet Air Arm ended when the plane which he was flying was shot down by the Germans in WW II and he was placed in a POW camp. There he became close friends with Talbot Rothwell (later a writer on the "Carry On" series, on which Butterworth often worked) and the two began writing and performing sketches for camp shows to entertain the prisoners (and to cover up the noise of other prisoners digging escape tunnels). Never having performed in public he was petrified but gamely sang a duet with Talbot. This sparked his enthusiasm to enter show business after the war and Talbot helped and encouraged him and he soon became a familiar character actor in both films and television. He specialized in playing gentle, well-meaning but somewhat eccentric characters (which, by most accounts, is what he was in real life). He was married to impressionist Janet Brown, who he met while doing a Summer show at Scarborough and their son, Tyler Butterworth, also became an actor. Butterworth died suddenly in 1979, as he was waiting in the wings to go onstage in a pantomime show.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
The star of the Carry On series of films, Sid James originally came to prominence as sidekick to the ground breaking British comedy actor Tony Hancock, on both radio and then television. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa and named Solomon Joel Cohen, James arrived in England in 1946, second wife in tow, having served with the South African Army during World War 2. By now an aspiring actor, James claimed to have boxed in his youth, perhaps to explain his craggy features, but was certainly a well respected hairdresser in his native country. Known in the trade as "one take James", he became a very talented and professional actor, constantly in demand for small parts in British post-war cinema. In 1960 James debuted in the fourth of the Carry On films, taking the lead role in Carry on Constable (1960) and went on to appear in a further 18 Carry On films as well as various stage and television spin-offs. Reputed not to have got on with Carry On co-star Kenneth Williams, the two often played adversaries on-screen, notably in the historical parodies Carry on Up the Khyber (1968) and Carry on Don't Lose Your Head (1967). James however was respected and revered by almost everyone he worked with and contrary to popular myth, a true gentleman. An addiction to gambling played a large part in James' workaholic schedule and subsequent heart attack in 1967. He was soon back in action however, playing a hospital patient in Carry on Doctor (1967), able to spend most of the film in bed. He suffered a second and fatal heart attack on stage in Sunderland, England on April 26 1976, leaving behind 3 children and his third wife Valerie who had stuck by him despite his affair with Carry On co-star Barbara Windsor, saying, "He always came home to me".- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Best known for playing Matron--as in "Ooh, Matron!"--in four films: Carry on Nurse (1959), Carry on Doctor (1967), Carry on Again Doctor (1969) and, of course Carry on Matron (1972). Key roles included: Grace Short in Carry on Teacher (1959), Sophie Bliss in Carry on Loving (1970) and Peggy Hawkins in Carry on Cabby (1963). She was married to John Le Mesurier (Sergeant Wilson in Dad's Army (1968)), but left him for another man. They divorced but remained friends. An unexpectedly attractive woman in her time, she played parts which depended upon and mocked her weight. Only in Carry on Cabby (1963) was she allowed to escape her dragon persona and play the romantic lead opposite Sidney James. She died prematurely at the age of 58 from a heart attack.- Actor
- Soundtrack
The son of a naval officer who ran what were called "concert parties", Kenneth Connor made his stage debut at age two, and by 11 was performing in both a solo act and a doubles act with his brother in various revue shows. He later decided to become a serious actor rather than just a revue performer, and attended a professional music and drama school. After a six-year stint in the army, he returned to the theater as an actor, and secured quite a few roles on the stage. For all his training, though, he found his greatest success doing voice characterizations on radio comedy shows. His success there led to his being cast in the first "Carry On" film, and he went on to become one of the regulars in the long-running series. After it ended Connor did a lot of television work, and achieved another round of success as the undertaker Alphonse in the popular TV series, 'Allo 'Allo! (1982). He died of cancer in 1993.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Joan Sims, the "First Lady of Carry On", was born Irene Joan Marion Sims on 9 May 1930. The daughter of an Essex railway station master, Joan was interested in pursuing show-business, and soon became a familiar face in a growing number of amateur productions. In 1946, Joan first applied to RADA, her audition was unsuccessful. She did succeed in being admitted to the academy's preparatory school, and finally, on her fourth attempt, trained at RADA. She graduated in 1950 at the age of nineteen.
A cameo appearance in Doctor in the House (1954) as the sexually repressed Nurse Rigor Mortis led to Joan being first spotted by Peter Rogers; Rogers' wife Betty E. Box was the producer of the Doctor series, in which Joan herself became a regular.
A few years later, in 1958, Joan received another script from Peter Rogers, it was Carry on Nurse (1959). The film had been a huge success at the box office and in the autumn of that year Rogers and Gerald Thomas began planning a follow up. She went on to appear in 24 of the films, making her the longest serving female member of the team.
She first starred in the following three Carry On films: Carry on Teacher (1959), Carry on Constable (1960) and Carry on Regardless (1961), before taking a break from the next four films to concentrate on stage work. She rejoined the team with Carry on Cleo (1964) and remained all the way through to Carry on Emmannuelle (1978) in 1978.
Ironically, she was never proclaimed Queen of Carry On. This title went to saucy Barbara Windsor, even though she had only appeared in nine Carry On films.
One could argue that her final performances in the Carry On films were rather sentimental, as though she knew that the series was coming to an end and two scenes come to mind. The scene in which she plays cards with Peter Butterworth in Carry on Behind (1975) in his caravan late at night, and also in the launderette where she dances with an early Carry Oner Victor Maddern in Carry on Emmannuelle (1978). Both of these are memorable sentimental film scene stealers.
With the end of the Carry On series in 1978, Joan went on to become a familiar face on TV screens, with ongoing roles in a number of highly successful sitcoms On the Up (1990) and As Time Goes By (1992) and the BBC's prestigious classic drama adaptations such as Martin Chuzzlewit (1994).
Joan's autobiography, High Spirits, was released in 2000. She complains in the last few pages of her book at the lack of information on her on the IMDB trivia page, something that was only significantly expanded after her death.
In her later years she became a cult figure and something of a British National Institution as the only surviving major Carry On star from early days. However, years of heavy drinking took their toll and she suffered in her later years with ill health. She was admitted to Hospital in Chelsea in London in mid 2001 and slipped into a coma. She died on 28 June 2001, with her lifelong friend and Carry On Norah Holland holding her hand.
Following her death, surviving Carry On stars celebrated her achievement in the Carry On films. Barbara Windsor, said at the time of her death, "To me she was the last of the great Carry Ons, she was there at the beginning. Her talent was wonderful, she could do any accent, dialect, she could dance, sing, play dowdy and glam. We laughed all the time and giggled a lot. I will sorely miss her." That quote is so true, throughout her whole Carry On career she alone stands apart as the most versatile actress in the whole series. She was never typecast in the films like the other actors and actresses.
Others also paid tribute, even ex-Government Cabinet Ministers. Her agent Richard Hatton said, "It's wonderful to be able to say that she really did have all the qualities that her many fans would have wished. A great sense of humour, a sympathetic and endearing personality, terrific talent and consideration for others.
"Over and above this, she discovered a new side of herself when she wrote her autobiography last year, which was untypical for the genre - honest, frank and intelligent. Everyone who knew her is going to remember her forever."- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
The acting bug bit Kenneth Williams when, as a student, his English teacher suggested he try out for a school play. He found that he enjoyed it tremendously, but when he raised the possibility at home of becoming an actor, his father forbade it. Williams was eventually sent to art school in London in 1941. In 1944 he was drafted into the army, and although posted to the Royal Engineers, he managed to land a job in the Combined Services Entertainment unit, where he got a chance to act in shows that were put on to entertain the troops, and even designed the posters that advertised the shows.
After his discharge from the army he began to work as a professional actor, and traveled the country in repertory companies. It was in a production of "Saint Joan", where he played the Dauphin, that a radio producer saw him and hired him to do voice characterizations on a popular radio comedy show, "Hancock's Half Hour". His penchant for wild, off-the-wall characters led to his being hired by the producers of the "Carry On" comedy series, where he performed in 26 entries in the long-running series. When the series ended, Williams returned to radio work, and also made the rounds of the TV talk shows in addition to writing several books, including his autobiography. Later in his life Williams developed a serious ulcer, and was given medication to combat the pain. On April 15th 1988, he was found dead in his bed; it was determined that in addition to his regular pain pills, he had apparently taken some sleeping pills the night before, and the combination of those and his regular medication proved fatal.- Actor
- Writer
- Composer
Jim Dale began his career as a stand-up comic. He sharpened his comedy skills during a stint in the army, where he organized and performed in camp shows. After his discharge he pursued a comedy career, and landed a job as the warm-up comic on a musical variety show. He did so well that the producers gave him a spot on the show as a singer, and he quickly became a recording star. He was signed for a small part in one of the "Carry On" films, Carry on Cabby (1963), but the audience reaction to him was so great the he was soon made a regular member of the cast. Unlike many comics, Dale insisted on performing his own stunts, and in fact injured his arm performing a stunt in Carry on Again Doctor (1969), his last film of the series until 1992.
After his departure from the series he returned to the stage, notably in Sir Laurence Olivier's National Theater. In the 1970s Dale moved to the US for film and stage work, achieving success in the Broadway show "Barnum" and in a string of film comedies for Disney.
He returned to Britain in 1992 for an appearance in the final "Carry On" film, Carry on Columbus (1992).- Actor
- Director
- Cinematographer
Coming from a theatrical family (although not related to the famous Edwardian actor Sir Charles Hawtrey, he did "borrow" his last name), Charles Hawtrey made his stage debut at age 11 after having spent several years in a prestigious acting school. A string of stage roles followed, and by 1929 his success led him to move into radio. His success in that medium led to his entry into films, often working alongside noted comedian Will Hay. He continued his stage, radio and film work, although he scored more success on stage.
In 1958 he began work in the series for which he would achieve his greatest fame, the "Carry On" comedies. His stringy build, birdlike features, what has been described as his "outrageously posh" voice and his somewhat fey character's eccentricities made him one of the most popular of the "Carry On" gang. However, that very popularity indirectly led to his exit from the series. He believed that his character's prominence, and the fact that he had more experience in the business than most of his co-stars, entitled him to receive a higher billing in the series than he was getting. The producers didn't see it that way, and after Carry on Abroad (1972), he departed the series. Hawtrey was, by most accounts, almost as eccentric in real life as his character in the "Carry On" series was; one of his characteristics was to speak in an unintelligible language of his own making, which was only understood by a few of his closest friends. After he left the series he semi-retired from the business, making an occasional appearance in a movie or TV show. He had suffered from arthritis for a long time, and by 1988 his doctors told him that the condition had become so serious that his legs would have to be amputated in order to save his life. He refused, and died almost a month later. He was 73.