Kenneth Williams is perhaps best remembered for his roles in the
'Carry On' series of films. That is certainly where I remember him
from, although he was a very accomplished actor and has appeared in
many TV shows and stage plays. The full and extensive biography
comes from here,
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931054/bio
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 travelled 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.
There is a lot more on the site above, and also below.
There is also a full and detailed biography here
http://www.stopmessinabout.co.uk/Biog-1.htm This will give you a
huge insight into this very funny complicated man.
