He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 Carry On films, and appeared in many British television programmes and radio comedies, including series with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne,[1][2] as well as being a frequent panellist on BBC Radio 4's comedy panel show Just a Minute from its second series in 1968 until his death 20 years later.

After a short spell in repertory theatre as a serious actor, he turned to comedy and achieved national fame in Hancock's Half Hour.

He sustained continued success throughout the 1960s and 1970s with his regular appearances in Carry On films, and subsequently kept himself in the public eye with chat shows and other television work.

Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February 1926 in Bingfield Street, King's Cross, London.

[3] His parents were Charles George Williams, who managed a hairdresser's in the Kings Cross area, and Louisa Alexandra (née Morgan), who worked in the salon.

When the war ended he was in Ceylon and he opted to transfer to the Combined Services Entertainment Unit, which put on revue shows.

Williams dramatically responded with a "very slow take and riposted 'Wanna get your facts right, dear, I'm Welsh'" before rising to his feet and reciting The Bard.

[12] Two years before his death, Williams guest hosted the Wogan chatshow; drawing the audience's attention to a display of red roses, Williams commented, "It's St George's Day today and the rose is the symbol of St George, the patron saint of England.

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 in Bernard Shaw's St Joan in the West End, in 1954 by radio producer Dennis Main Wilson.

Despite the success and recognition the show brought him, Williams considered theatre, film and television to be superior forms of entertainment.

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).

Williams also appeared in West End revues including Share My Lettuce with Maggie Smith, written by Bamber Gascoigne, and Pieces of Eight with Fenella Fielding.

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.

"[24] Williams was a regular on the BBC Radio impromptu-speaking panel game Just a Minute from its second series in 1968 until his death.

[26] 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.

[27] 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.

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.

Other close friends included Stanley Baxter, Gordon Jackson and his wife Rona Anderson, Sheila Hancock, and Maggie Smith and her playwright husband, Beverley Cross.

[36] Williams was also fond of fellow Carry On regulars Barbara Windsor, Bernard Bresslaw, Peter Butterworth, Kenneth Connor, Hattie Jacques and Joan Sims.

[47] 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.

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.

[50] The biography notes that Williams used a variety of handwriting styles and colours in his journals, switching between different hands on the page.

[53] 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.

[54] 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.