Remembering the talented Carol White

The actress Carol White was a rare talent. Not only did she successfully make the transfer from child actor to grown up, fully fledged star, much like her Carry On Teacher co-star Richard O'Sullivan, Carol was also that precious commodity of the era - a genuine working class heroine. Sadly Carol has been gone now for almost thirty years and it's probably true to say she's no longer remembered by many as she so definitely should be. 

Born in Hammersmith in London in 1943, Carol's life did not work out to plan. The dizzying heights she achieved in the 1960s and early 1970s were not to last and nor was her promise as an actress. I don't want to dwell on her private life as it seems prurient and unfair, instead I think we should focus on her talent and what she did achieve before circumstances took her on a different path. Carol, like Richard, Judy and Sally Geeson and Susan George, attended the famous Corona Academy in West London. Here she learned her craft as an actress while also attending to other aspects of her education. At the same time as her schooling and training, White began attending auditions and taking small parts in film and television productions. 

Three years before she played Sheila in Carry On Teacher, Carol worked for Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas in one of their earliest collaborations, the Children's Film Foundation production, Circus Friends. This family drama told the story of a circus coming to town and the children helping to make the circus a success against a background of rising costs and trouble with local farmers. The cast also included Sam Kydd, John Horsley and Mona Washbourne. Carol played Nan and so impressed Gerald Thomas she was given a sizeable role as one of the errant Maudlin Street kids in Teacher in 1959. Carol's sister Jane also appeared in Teacher playing another pupil, Irene.

Carol popped up, mainly uncredited, in many classic British films of the 1950s as a child actor. There were small roles in two Doctor comedies - In The House in 1954 and At Sea a year later. She also played a school girl in two St Trinian's films - Belles, also in 1954 and Blue Murder in 1957. Other small parts included small roles in An Alligator Named Daisy (1955); Moby Dick (1956) and The 39 Steps in 1959. An early starring role came along the following year when Carol was cast in the film Linda. Playing the title character, the film is a teen drama, focussing on the relationship of a young couple played by White and future Coronation Street actor Alan Rothwell (he'd go on to play David Barlow later the same year). The film tackles prescient teen issues like sex before marriage and gang crime and violence. Apparently Linda has been unseen for decades and the print is currently lost, which is a dreadful shame.

The 1960s saw Carol branch out into television and bigger parts in film. She appeared in a very early episode of The Avengers, playing Jackie in the 1961 episode "Brought to Book". The same year Carol appeared in an episode of Armchair Theatre, entitled "A Head Full of Crocodiles." The hour long play starred Donald Churchill. Other roles in television included a guest part as Winifred Norton in the 1964 police drama series Gideon's Way, which starred John Gregson. Carol also had a recurring part as Jessie Miller in the hospital-set continuing drama Emergency Ward 10 in 1966. However by the mid 1960s Carol's career had really started to take off, mainly thanks to her collaboration with two highly influential figures.

In 1965, Carol was cast in the first of three Wednesday Plays she would appear in over the course of a year. Up The Junction was written by Nell Dunn and directed by Ken Loach. It told the story of three young working class women in South London and featured themes such as sex, abortion and both work and family life for people the small screen was only just beginning to discover. Carol played Sylvie in the play and it was a massive step in the right direction. The television play went on to become a film three years later, although Carol was not part of the cast. Carol worked for Ken Loach again the following year in another Wednesday Play and this one is still remembered today for its gritty portrayal of life on the streets in 1960s Britain. Cathy Come Home, written by Jeremy Sandford (who was at one point married to Nell Dunn), tells the story of an ordinary young woman who, through difficult circumstances loses her home, her husband (Ray Brooks) and eventually has her child taken into care. Filmed in a documentary style, it was an unflinching portrayal of what life was really like for many faced with the uncertainties and lack of flexibility in the British welfare state at the time. Nothing quite like Cathy Come Home had ever been seen on the television before and it left a lasting impact.

Buoyed by this success, Carol was now a British star. Courted by many, she chose to work once again with Ken Loach and Nell Dunn the following year in the film Poor Cow. Co-starring Terence Stamp, the film tells the story of a young woman who makes a series of bad choices in life. She's in a relationship with an abusive young man who turns to crime and ends up in prison. Left alone with a child, Carol's character Joy soon takes up with his friend, but his life follows the same path as her husband and it sets her on a spiral of bad relationships and dubious choices. Later that year Carol worked for Michael Winner in a very different kind of film. I'll Never Forget What's'isname is all about London in the swinging sixties. Starring the likes of Orson Welles, Oliver Reed, Marianne Faithfull, Edward Fox and Wendy Craig, Winner's film focusses on Reed's frustrated young advertising executive Andrew Quint.

In 1968 Carol was lured to Hollywood, first of all to play the lead in Mark Robson's film Daddy's Gone A-Hunting. Carol plays Cathy Palmer, a young British woman who moves to San Francisco to begin a new life. She soon becomes romantically involved with a young man called Kenneth Daly (Scott Hylands) however she then becomes pregnant and deciding she doesn't want to be with Kenneth, breaks off their engagement and her an abortion. The rest of the film deals with the implications of these decisions as she marries again and wants to start a family. Carol soon decided to make her home in Los Angeles and to begin with, major film parts came her way. There was the Dean Martin Western, Something Big in 1971, as well as Dulcima, which saw Carol co-star with British actor John Mills. The following year she also led the cast of Made, a drama telling the story of a young single mother and her fraught relationship with an insecure rock star, played by Roy Harper.

Sadly, difficulties in Carol's private life meant that her career faded by the mid-1970s. Carol did have a large supporting role in a British film, The Squeeze in 1977. Directed by Michael Apted and written by Minder creator Leon Griffiths, The Squeeze is a tale of a violent gang who kidnap a woman and her daughter to extort money from her rich husband. Carol stars alongside Stacy Keach, Edward Fox and David Hemmings in perhaps another film which deserves to see the light of day once again. Based in London again, Carol made one final attempt to get her career back on track, working again with the writer Nell Dunn. In 1981 she starred in Dunn's play Steaming in London's West End at the Comedy Theatre. Sadly, despite publicity from the play and a biography of White which was published at the same time, Carol struggled to stay afloat and unable to revive her acting career, returned to America for the rest of her life. 

Carol was married three times during her life and had two sons from her first marriage. She died at the young age of just 48 in September 1991, in Florida. There have been several different reports on what led to her early death but that material is for a different blog. I just think it's such a terrible shame and a very sad loss, particularly to her family and all of us, the audience, who were robbed of what might have been. Such early promise and such a shining, original talent sadly did not come to fruition in later life. Still, at least we have several memorable screen performances from Carol White's wonderful mid-1960s career peak to enjoy. 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Carrying On Across the Pond

 

I've always wondered what the Americans think of our very British Carry On films. I now several of the films were released in the United States and have since been shown on television, but do they really get that particular brand of humour? The Carry Ons have become a cult around the world and have been translated into many different languages. I guess at their heart they are really just good old fashioned pantomime slapstick. 

I know Carry On Nurse was a surprisingly huge hit over in America in 1959, playing to packed houses for over a year. So big a success in fact that both director Gerald Thomas and star Shirley Eaton even flew out to New York to help promote it even further. Years later, the Rank Organisation, which had taken over distribution of the Carry Ons from Anglo Amalgamated, attempted to spread the Carry On appeal to America once again by bringing in big name guest star Phil Silvers for Follow That Camel. That decision didn't quite pay off in the end.

Despite this, many actors involved in the Carry On story have worked successfully over on the other side of the Atlantic for many years. Let's take a look at some of them:

Probably the most successful of all has been Jim Dale. Jim has lived in New York since 1980 and has firmly established himself as a star on Broadway. Playing in Barnum to great acclaim, Jim has gone on to make countless theatrical appearances over the years and even tackled parts in Disney films. Most recently, he has been the critically acclaimed voice of the Harry Potter audio books in the United States.

The man once touted as Jim's Carry On replacement, Julian Holloway, also lives in the States, albeit on the West Coast. Julian has resided in Los Angeles since the early 1990s and has forged a highly successful career as a voice actor in many films and animations. 

 

Someone who was not quite as fortunate was the late actress Carol White. Carol rose to prominence in the excellent 1966 television film Cathy Come Home. Before that of course she had played one of the rebellious pupils in Carry On Teacher. Carol was one of the biggest, most promising stars of British cinema in the 1960s and moved to Hollywood in 1968 appearing in several films with among others, Dean Martin. However personal problems and some high profile failed relationships made White unreliable and her career sadly came to a halt. She died in 1991 at the age of 48, in Miami, Florida.

That very English of actors Wilfrid Hyde White, who famously guest starred in 1959's Carry On Nurse, worked a great deal in the United States, appearing regularly on Broadway and even receiving two Tony nominations. Wilfrid was based in California for many years and acted regularly on American television in shows such as Columbo, Buck Rogers and Battlestar Galactica. Hyde White passed away six days before his 88th birthday in May 1991.

That wonderful comedienne Carole Shelley started her acting career with cameos in two black and white Carry Ons - Regardless in 1960 as Helen Delling and three years later, the role of a Glam Cab driver with Amanda Barrie in Carry On Cabby. Carole then moved from London to New York and her first role on Broadway was as Gwendolyn Pigeon in the original, 1965 production of The Odd Couple, starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. Carole reprised her role for the 1968 film and also appeared in a later television version. Shelley has gone on to appear in a huge number of stage roles in the United States and even played an overbearing Jewish mother in a classic episode of Frasier in 1999.

Another actor who appeared in Frasier was that lovely Irish character player Milo O'Shea. Milo played Len, one of the newly hired cab drivers in the 1963 film Carry On Cabby. From the mid 1960s onwards most of O'Shea's work was in the United States, with a landmark role opposite Eli Wallach in the Broadway play Staircase coming in 1967. In 1968 Milo starred in two classic films - Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet and Roger Vadim's Barbarella, starring Jane Fonda. Milo even popped up in an episode of The Golden Girls in the late 1980s. He continued to act until 2005, passing away in New York at the age of 86 in 2013.

The international guest star of Carry On Behind, Elke Sommer, has been based in Los Angeles for many years. Rising to prominence in the 1964 comedy A Shot in the Dark opposite Peter Sellers, Sommer has starred in many Hollywood films and stage productions. For the past two decades she has focussed on her work as an artist. Another one-time Carry On actor who has spent many years in America is Judy Geeson. Sally's sister left London for California in 1984 and has lived there ever since.  

 

Although Kenneth Williams famously said he had no desire at all to work in or indeed see America, several of his co-stars did indeed venture stateside for work during their careers. Dilys Laye grabbed a very early starring role in the 1954 Broadway production of The Boyfriend opposite Julie Andrews. In 1966, Kenneth's friend Sheila Hancock made her Broadway debut in a production of Joe Orton's Entertaining Mr Sloane. And in 1978, Frankie Howerd travelled to Hollywood to play "Mean Mr Mustard" in the big budget musical film Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which co-starred the likes of the Bee Gees, Peter Frampton, George Burns and Steve Martin.

That most English of all Englishmen, Leslie Phillips had a taste of Hollywood success when he made the George Cukor directed Cole Porter musical film Les Girls in 1957. The cast included Kay Kendall, Taina Elg, Mitzi Gaynor, Patrick Macnee and a certain Gene Kelly. Phillips' next role on returning to the UK was none other than Jack Bell (Ding Dong! You're not wrong!) in Carry On Nurse. And in 1964 Carry On favourite Liz Fraser played Sheila in the Hollywood comedy drama The Americanization of Emily, a film which starred the likes of James Garner, Julie Andrews and Joyce Grenfell. 

 

This is by no means an exhaustive list, so do please feel free to chip in with any other trans-atlantic Carry On stars!

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also on Facebook

From the Archive: Whatever Happened To ... The Saboteurs?

I really enjoyed writing this blog. Researching Carry On is never a chore for me and it was great to look back at the young cast of Carry On Teacher and see what has happened to them over the years. Not always a happy tale but hopefully interesting all the same...

I've been blogging about some of the less well known but nevertheless still significant actors involved in the Carry On films. When we think of Carry On actors we think of the likes of Kenneth Williams, Sid James or Barbara Windsor. However the films always boasted a wide range of top quality British supporting players who were instantly recognisable but often never got the recognition they deserved. 

So far I've written about Marianne Stone, Esma Cannon, Carol Hawkins, June Jago and Peter Gilmore. Today I'm following the same theme but approaching it in a slightly different way. Perhaps rather ambitiously I'm going to look at what happened to the young actors who made up the "saboteurs" in that classic early Carry On, Carry On Teacher.

The first film Rogers and Thomas made together was a Children's Film Foundation picture called Circus Friends, in 1956. The film makers quickly demonstrated their ability to coax great performances from young actors and this was evident again three years later when Teacher was released. Carry On Teacher was much more like an Ealing comedy or a St Trinian's film than a Carry On but I love it. It features a top notch cast of regular Carry On stars and a terrific guest star in Ted Ray. So what happened to the child actors who starred in this film?

Let's start with the chief saboteur - Richard O'Sullivan, who played Robin Stevens. Richard had the biggest child role in the film and it was the beginning of big things for the young actor. Richard would go on to become one of the ultimate 70s heartthrobs, starring in hit sitcoms Man About The House and Robin's Nest. Earlier in his career he appeared in two Cliff Richard films, The Young Ones and Wonderful Life and also had a role in the opulent epic Cleopatra opposite Elizabeth Taylor, in 1963. Richard more or less retired from public life in 1996 and although he contributed to a DVD commentary for Teacher in 2006, has sadly suffered from ill health in recent years.

Carol White had a supporting role as Sheila Dale in Carry On Teacher. Having previously appeared in Circus Friends for Rogers and Thomas, Carol would become famous for her starring role in the classic Wednesday Play, Cathy Come Home in 1966. The documentary style drama, written by Ken Loach and co-starring Ray Brooks, tackled the issue of homelessness and led to the creation of the charity Shelter. Despite being seen as one of the most promising actors of her generation, White spent her later years in Hollywood battling addiction problems. She died in Florida at the young age of 48 in 1991. As a footnote, Carol's real life sister Jane also had a small role in the film, playing Irene. 

The actor Larry Dann had a minor role as a school boy in the film. He would later return to the Carry Ons for three supporting roles in Behind, England and with his most substantial role in Emmannuelle. Larry went on to play Sergeant Peters in The Bill from 1984 for eight years and still acts in theatre productions today. Paul Cole, who played Atkins, was a prolific child actor, appearing in the likes of Please Turn Over, The Mouse On The Moon and Billy Bunter. He took part, along with Larry Dann and Richard O'Sullivan, in the DVD commentary for Teacher.

Roy Hines played Harry Bird in Teacher. Sadly Roy died at the age of 40 in 1982 having suffered from lung cancer. Roy was the brother of Emmerdale actor Frazer Hines. George Howell appeared as Billy Haig. Howell found success acting in Scottish television productions including Garnock Way, High Road and Strathblair. Diana Beevers played Penelope Lee. Diana continued to act, appearing in the likes of Father Dear Father, Within These Walls and Rumpole of the Bailey. Her last acting credit came in 1990. Finally, Jacqueline Lewis played Pat Gordon. Very little is known about the rest of Jacqueline's career with only three other uncredited performances to her name.

While the majority of these former child actors are still around, it's a shame there's so little information to be found on what they did next. I'd love to find out what paths their lives have taken since their Carry On experience. 

What you may not have realised is that several other well known actors appeared in Teacher in non-speaking extra roles as school children. First up is future Star Wars actor Jeremy Bulloch. Jeremy went on to appear as Boba Fett but has had a long and varied career ranging from the film Summer Holiday to television in the likes of Agony, Doctor Who and The Professionals. He's still acting today. Future Carry On actor Diane Langton also appeared as an extra. Diane would later appear in several episodes of Carry On Laughing in 1975 and Carry On England the following year. A star of many musical theatre productions, Diane continues to act today, currently a regular in Channel Four soap opera, Hollyoaks. 

Also appearing in Teacher are two future Please Sir! actors, Peter Cleall and David Barry. Peter is still around today but gave up acting to run a theatrical agency. Barry meanwhile is now a successful author. Finally, did you know that the very successful actress Francesca Annis made an early screen appearance in Carry On Teacher? Apparently so! I've never spotted her in the film but according to reliable sources she is in some of the crowd scenes. As she began her training at the Corona Academy it is likely she was involved as that's where the production team found most of their young actors for Teacher. 

So there you go, quite a mammoth blog post but I hope you enjoyed it!

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan

Whatever Happened To ... The Saboteurs?

I really enjoyed writing this blog. Researching Carry On is never a chore for me and it was great to look back at the young cast of Carry On Teacher and see what has happened to them over the years. Not always a happy tale but hopefully interesting all the same...

I've been blogging about some of the less well known but nevertheless still significant actors involved in the Carry On films. When we think of Carry On actors we think of the likes of Kenneth Williams, Sid James or Barbara Windsor. However the films always boasted a wide range of top quality British supporting players who were instantly recognisable but often never got the recognition they deserved. 

So far I've written about Marianne Stone, Esma Cannon, Carol Hawkins, June Jago and Peter Gilmore. Today I'm following the same theme but approaching it in a slightly different way. Perhaps rather ambitiously I'm going to look at what happened to the young actors who made up the "saboteurs" in that classic early Carry On, Carry On Teacher.

The first film Rogers and Thomas made together was a Children's Film Foundation picture called Circus Friends, in 1956. The film makers quickly demonstrated their ability to coax great performances from young actors and this was evident again three years later when Teacher was released. Carry On Teacher was much more like an Ealing comedy or a St Trinian's film than a Carry On but I love it. It features a top notch cast of regular Carry On stars and a terrific guest star in Ted Ray. So what happened to the child actors who starred in this film?

Let's start with the chief saboteur - Richard O'Sullivan, who played Robin Stevens. Richard had the biggest child role in the film and it was the beginning of big things for the young actor. Richard would go on to become one of the ultimate 70s heartthrobs, starring in hit sitcoms Man About The House and Robin's Nest. Earlier in his career he appeared in two Cliff Richard films, The Young Ones and Wonderful Life and also had a role in the opulent epic Cleopatra opposite Elizabeth Taylor, in 1963. Richard more or less retired from public life in 1996 and although he contributed to a DVD commentary for Teacher in 2006, has sadly suffered from ill health in recent years.

Carol White had a supporting role as Sheila Dale in Carry On Teacher. Having previously appeared in Circus Friends for Rogers and Thomas, Carol would become famous for her starring role in the classic Wednesday Play, Cathy Come Home in 1966. The documentary style drama, written by Ken Loach and co-starring Ray Brooks, tackled the issue of homelessness and led to the creation of the charity Shelter. Despite being seen as one of the most promising actors of her generation, White spent her later years in Hollywood battling addiction problems. She died in Florida at the young age of 48 in 1991. As a footnote, Carol's real life sister Jane also had a small role in the film, playing Irene. 

The actor Larry Dann had a minor role as a school boy in the film. He would later return to the Carry Ons for three supporting roles in Behind, England and with his most substantial role in Emmannuelle. Larry went on to play Sergeant Peters in The Bill from 1984 for eight years and still acts in theatre productions today. Paul Cole, who played Atkins, was a prolific child actor, appearing in the likes of Please Turn Over, The Mouse On The Moon and Billy Bunter. He took part, along with Larry Dann and Richard O'Sullivan, in the DVD commentary for Teacher.

Roy Hines played Harry Bird in Teacher. Sadly Roy died at the age of 40 in 1982 having suffered from lung cancer. Roy was the brother of Emmerdale actor Frazer Hines. George Howell appeared as Billy Haig. Howell found success acting in Scottish television productions including Garnock Way, High Road and Strathblair. Diana Beevers played Penelope Lee. Diana continued to act, appearing in the likes of Father Dear Father, Within These Walls and Rumpole of the Bailey. Her last acting credit came in 1990. Finally, Jacqueline Lewis played Pat Gordon. Very little is known about the rest of Jacqueline's career with only three other uncredited performances to her name.

While the majority of these former child actors are still around, it's a shame there's so little information to be found on what they did next. I'd love to find out what paths their lives have taken since their Carry On experience. 

What you may not have realised is that several other well known actors appeared in Teacher in non-speaking extra roles as school children. First up is future Star Wars actor Jeremy Bulloch. Jeremy went on to appear as Boba Fett but has had a long and varied career ranging from the film Summer Holiday to television in the likes of Agony, Doctor Who and The Professionals. He's still acting today. Future Carry On actor Diane Langton also appeared as an extra. Diane would later appear in several episodes of Carry On Laughing in 1975 and Carry On England the following year. A star of many musical theatre productions, Diane continues to act today, currently a regular in Channel Four soap opera, Hollyoaks. 

Also appearing in Teacher are two future Please Sir! actors, Peter Cleall and David Barry. Peter is still around today but gave up acting to run a theatrical agency. Barry meanwhile is now a successful author. Finally, did you know that the very successful actress Francesca Annis made an early screen appearance in Carry On Teacher? Apparently so! I've never spotted her in the film but according to reliable sources she is in some of the crowd scenes. As she began her training at the Corona Academy it is likely she was involved as that's where the production team found most of their young actors for Teacher. 

So there you go, quite a mammoth blog post but I hope you enjoyed it!

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also Facebook

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Keeping it in the Carry On Family

Following on from Jim Dale's month long residency at the Vaudeville Theatre will be another actor with Carry On connections.

Richard O'Callaghan, who brought Bertram Muffet to life in Carry On Loving and played Kenneth Williams' son Lewis in At Your Convenience, will be starring alongside David Suchet and Michele Dotrice in a production of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. Richard is now one of a only a handful of Carry On actors still working regularly on the stage so it's great to see him back in the West End. 

Richard also shares quite a rare position in Carry On history as his mother, the late actress Patricia Hayes also appeared in a Carry On. Remember her cameo as Mrs Beazley in Carry On Again Doctor? This made me wonder how many other occasions of family members appearing in Carry Ons there were. It took me a while but I've come up with a few.

Probably the most famous is that of Carry On regular Kenneth Connor and his son Jeremy. Jeremy first appeared along side his dad in Carry On Nurse way back in 1958. After a long gap, the grown up Jeremy then returned to Pinewood to film cameo roles in three later Carry Ons, playing a footpad in Dick, a man with an ice cream in Behind and finally a gunner in Carry On England in 1976.

Two sets of sisters also appeared in Carry On films. The most well known pair are probably Sally and Judy Geeson. Sally of course appeared in the classic Carry On Abroad in 1972 and returned a year later for a brief cameo in Girls. She also appeared in the Ideal Home crowd sequence in Carry On Regardless back in 1961. Judy Geeson had a starring role in the less well received Carry On England. 

Carol White played one of the saboteur school children in Carry On Teacher in 1959, a good few years before she rose to fame thanks to Cathy Come Home. Her sister Jane White also appeared as a pupil in Teacher, featuring in a memorable classroom scene as Irene, opposite Kenneth Williams. 

Man of the moment Jim Dale returned to the Carry On films for the series swan song in 1992. Appearing in the small role of an Inquisitor in Columbus was Jim's son Toby. There was another father and son double act on Columbus, albeit behind the camera. Legendary cinematographer Alan Hume had his son Martin working with him on that picture as a camera operator.

Finally, another couple who were of great importance to the success of the Carry Ons, behind the scenes. Husband and wife team Geoff and Nora Rodway were the chief make up artists on over twenty Carry On films during their careers at Pinewood and many of the actors involved have spoken very fondly of this talented and dedicated couple.

Those were all the family connections I could think of - perhaps you can think of others I might have missed?

The Importance of Being Earnest begins its run at the Vaudeville Theatre in London on 24 June. More information can be found here.

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also Facebook

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Whatever Happened To ... The Saboteurs?

I've been blogging about some of the less well known but nevertheless still significant actors involved in the Carry On films. When we think of Carry On actors we think of the likes of Kenneth Williams, Sid James or Barbara Windsor. However the films always boasted a wide range of top quality British supporting players who were instantly recognisable but often never got the recognition they deserved. 

So far I've written about Marianne Stone, Esma Cannon, Carol Hawkins, June Jago and Peter Gilmore. Today I'm following the same theme but approaching it in a slightly different way. Perhaps rather ambitiously I'm going to look at what happened to the young actors who made up the "saboteurs" in that classic early Carry On, Carry On Teacher.

The first film Rogers and Thomas made together was a Children's Film Foundation picture called Circus Friends, in 1956. The film makers quickly demonstrated their ability to coax great performances from young actors and this was evident again three years later when Teacher was released. Carry On Teacher was much more like an Ealing comedy or a St Trinian's film than a Carry On but I love it. It features a top notch cast of regular Carry On stars and a terrific guest star in Ted Ray. So what happened to the child actors who starred in this film?

Let's start with the chief saboteur - Richard O'Sullivan, who played Robin Stevens. Richard had the biggest child role in the film and it was the beginning of big things for the young actor. Richard would go on to become one of the ultimate 70s heartthrobs, starring in hit sitcoms Man About The House and Robin's Nest. Earlier in his career he appeared in two Cliff Richard films, The Young Ones and Wonderful Life and also had a role in the opulent epic Cleopatra opposite Elizabeth Taylor, in 1963. Richard more or less retired from public life in 1996 and although he contributed to a DVD commentary for Teacher in 2006, has sadly suffered from ill health in recent years.

Carol White had a supporting role as Sheila Dale in Carry On Teacher. Having previously appeared in Circus Friends for Rogers and Thomas, Carol would become famous for her starring role in the classic Wednesday Play, Cathy Come Home in 1966. The documentary style drama, written by Ken Loach and co-starring Ray Brooks, tackled the issue of homelessness and led to the creation of the charity Shelter. Despite being seen as one of the most promising actors of her generation, White spent her later years in Hollywood battling addiction problems. She died in Florida at the young age of 48 in 1991. As a footnote, Carol's real life sister Jane also had a small role in the film, playing Irene. 

The actor Larry Dann had a minor role as a school boy in the film. He would later return to the Carry Ons for three supporting roles in Behind, England and with his most substantial role in Emmannuelle. Larry went on to play Sergeant Peters in The Bill from 1984 for eight years and still acts in theatre productions today. Paul Cole, who played Atkins, was a prolific child actor, appearing in the likes of Please Turn Over, The Mouse On The Moon and Billy Bunter. He took part, along with Larry Dann and Richard O'Sullivan, in the DVD commentary for Teacher.

Roy Hines played Harry Bird in Teacher. Sadly Roy died at the age of 40 in 1982 having suffered from lung cancer. Roy was the brother of Emmerdale actor Frazer Hines. George Howell appeared as Billy Haig. Howell found success acting in Scottish television productions including Garnock Way, High Road and Strathblair. Diana Beevers played Penelope Lee. Diana continued to act, appearing in the likes of Father Dear Father, Within These Walls and Rumpole of the Bailey. Her last acting credit came in 1990. Finally, Jacqueline Lewis played Pat Gordon. Very little is known about the rest of Jacqueline's career with only three other uncredited performances to her name.

While the majority of these former child actors are still around, it's a shame there's so little information to be found on what they did next. I'd love to find out what paths their lives have taken since their Carry On experience. 

What you may not have realised is that several other well known actors appeared in Teacher in non-speaking extra roles as school children. First up is future Star Wars actor Jeremy Bulloch. Jeremy went on to appear as Boba Fett but has had a long and varied career ranging from the film Summer Holiday to television in the likes of Agony, Doctor Who and The Professionals. He's still acting today. Future Carry On actor Diane Langton also appeared as an extra. Diane would later appear in several episodes of Carry On Laughing in 1975 and Carry On England the following year. A star of many musical theatre productions, Diane continues to act today, currently a regular in Channel Four soap opera, Hollyoaks. 

Also appearing in Teacher are two future Please Sir! actors, Peter Cleall and David Barry. Peter is still around today but gave up acting to run a theatrical agency. Barry meanwhile is now a successful author. Finally, did you know that the very successful actress Francesca Annis made an early screen appearance in Carry On Teacher? Apparently so! I've never spotted her in the film but according to reliable sources she is in some of the crowd scenes. As she began her training at the Corona Academy it is likely she was involved as that's where the production team found most of their young actors for Teacher. 

So there you go, quite a mammoth blog post but I hope you enjoyed it!

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also Facebook

Clicking on the adverts helps to keep this blog going