What a week it's been. I have some lovely new blogs to post over the weekend that I hope you'll enjoy.
On Tuesday I travelled up to Borehamwood in Hertfordshire to visit the fabulous Elstree Studios and meet Morris Bright, Chairman of the Studios, writer, broadcaster and above all else a massive fan of the Carry Ons and British comedy. Morris was very generous with his time and we had a great chat both about his work at Elstree and his lifelong love of the Carry On films and the great actors who made them.
Keep a look out for my interview with Morris which I'll be blogging in two parts over the Bank Holiday weekend and as you would expect we cover lots of ground. So if you're a fan of Joan Sims, Kenneth Williams, Patsy Rowlands and Jim Dale, don't miss it!
And this coming Sunday I will be heading down to the Leicester Square Theatre Lounge for a very special event. British acting legend Liz Fraser will be in conversation with Carry On writer and fan Robert Ross. Liz has starred in countless classic films and television series over the years and is always excellent value. I can't wait! I'll be blogging about my trip to see Liz later next week!
So Carry On following Carry On Blogging - you know it makes sense!
Here's another chance to read my blog about the life and career of the late Imogen Hassall, on the anniversary of her birth.
So
many of the actors who appeared in the Carry On films are well known to
us. Their lives have been well documented both on screen and off. While
we always love hearing about them, sometimes it can feel a bit
repetitive or that we are collectively raking over old coals.
I
want to start an occasional series of blog posts looking at some of the
lesser known actors who appeared in Carry On films. Sometimes we will
know a fair amount about them but for whatever reason they have not
garnered much publicity. Others will be a complete mystery.
So
far I've written about Carry On supporting actors Gail Grainger,
Marianne Stone, Esma Cannon and Carol Hawkins. Very different supporting
actresses, each providing something special in the films they popped up
in. Today I want to write about Imogen Hassall. It's rather a tragic
story but one definitely worth sharing.
Carry
On fans will instantly remember Imogen for her role as Jenny Grubb, a
character transformed from dowdy and prim to the object of Terry Scott's
desire in Carry On Loving. Imogen Hassall was terrific in the film,
putting in an assured performance opposite Scott and alongside other
younger performers (namely Jacki Piper, Julian Holloway and Richard
O'Callaghan) who were drafted in to help update the series as they
entered the 1970s. I love the scene where Terry Scott first meets Jenny,
her mother (the fabulous Joan Hickson) and the rest of the family. It
is pure farce and Imogen displays fine comic timing.
Sadly
this was Imogen's only role in the Carry Ons which I still can't
understand. I thought she was a natural so I just don't get why she
didn't come back for more. Perhaps she asked for more money or just
wanted to get away from the role of glamour girl? Who knows. Whatever
the reason, it's a great shame.
Away
from the Carry Ons, Imogen Hassall appeared in some classic television
and film of the era. She cropped up in The Avengers, The Champions, The
Persuaders, Softly Softly and Jason King. On the big screen she started
off with two small roles in Norman Wisdom films The Early Bird and Press
For Time. She progressed to larger parts in When Dinosaurs Ruled the
Earth, Incense for the Damned, Take a Girl Like You and a rather strange
film called White Cargo. Imogen starred opposite a young David Jason in
the latter film. Jason recounts his memories of working with her on
this quite dreadful film in his recent memoirs.
Having
trained at the Royal Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in the early
1960s, Imogen went on to spend a season working with the Royal
Shakespeare Company. From what I have read, this is the kind of work she
really wanted to concentrate on, however sadly it just wasn't to be. As
she became increasingly well known for her glamorous image, Imogen was
quickly pigeon-holed by the media and casting directors as only capable
of playing certain roles. One can only imagine how frustrating this must
have been for someone who was clearly talented.
Imogen
Hassall was given the nickname "The Countess of Cleavage" by the press,
mainly due to the series of scantily clad glamorous roles she played in
her early career. Finding it difficult to escape this image, offers of
serious work seemed to dry up for the actress who later in her career
was mostly known for her appearances at glitzy film premieres. Imogen,
who was married twice, sadly took her own life in November 1980 at the
young age of just 38. What a terrible waste. Who knows what Imogen
Hassall could have gone on to achieve both personally and
professionally?
On the DVD commentary for Carry On Loving, both Jacki Piper and Richard O'Callaghan spoke fondly of Imogen, sharing many happy memories
of working with her on the film. It was nice to hear them talk of her
but sadly such a shame she was not still with us to share her own
memories.
I recently caught up with the wonderful Craig Deeley to talk about stand up comedy, his involvement in some Carry On-related projects and to ask why he's such a big fan of the Carry On team...
First of all, I'd love to hear
how you got into comedy in the first place?
I'd always been into comedy and
written stuff, such as sketches, as I grew up. At university I had a
show on the university radio station which I used to write silly
things for, like a stupid handy-hints segment, an 'our tune' spoof,
and listeners' problems. I'd never thought of performing stand-up,
mainly because I didn't know how to get into it. Then about 10 years
ago I saw an advert for a stand-up comedy course at the Midlands Arts
Centre in Birmingham. I joined the course, because I was fascinated
by what they would teach us. Every week we'd perform a few minutes
for the rest of the group, and at the end of the course we did a
public performance, which went really well, and so I pursued it.
You are principally a stand up
comedian - that always strikes me as an incredibly frightening thing
to do! Can you describe what it's like to do?
When it goes well, it's
exhilarating, exciting and extremely rewarding. It can be
nerve-wracking when you arrive at a venue and have no idea how it's
going to go. On the rare occasion that it doesn't go your way on
stage, time can seem to stand still; but luckily that doesn't happen
often.
How would you describe your style
of comedy?
I'd say it's a mix of one-liner
jokes and anecdotal observations. Basically me talking about myself!
I see from your Twitter page and
our interactions on there that you're fond of a good Carry On! Why do
you think these films have endured so long?
There's something so special about
(the vast majority of) the Carry Ons. They capture a moment in time
that we will never have again. There's also the performance of that
wonderful troupe of character actors. Each one of them wonderfully
weird on and off-screen.
You played Kenneth Williams on
stage in a production of Cleo, Camping, Emmannuelle and Dick. Can you
tell me a bit more about that experience?
I was a member of the Crescent
Theatre in Birmingham, and when it was announced they were doing the
play, I made it my mission to be in it. I'd seen the TV version (Cor
Blimey!) and just thought it was a dream role. I'd always been able
to do a decent impression of Kenny, and I knew that the director was
a massive (obsessive) fan and would go over and above a normal
director's remit to make it a true Carry On fan's dream. A very good
friend of mine was cast as Barbara Windsor, and the role of Sid was
played by a man who had only ever seen one film but looked and
suonded a lot like Sid, which is a very tough impression to get
right. Although I'm nowhere near as slim as Kenneth, I think I pulled
it off with my mannerisms, gestures and a trick of the trade to make
my nostrils massive. And we got to spend 2 weeks acting in a cutaway
caravan which we came to love and were so distressed when it was
destroyed at the end of the run.
A lot of people have been quite
critical of that play for the way it depicts some of our comedy
heroes. What's your view on this?
It's clear that some artistic
licence has been taken with the timeline and certain characters, and
although there are elements of truth in it (eg barbara's affair with
Sid), it is made clear that it isn't a 100% factual re-telling. If
you take it in this way, it's a really enjoyable play.
You also took part in a revival
of the classic BBC Radio comedy series, Round The Horne. It's
probably my favourite radio series ever - what was it like to be a
part of that production? And out of all the characters in
Round The Horne, which is your favourite and why?
I think it has to be Julian and
Sandy. They got away with so much in the script, and they are played
so beautifully by Hugh Paddick and Kenny. The timing, the delivery,
everything is just perfect. I was very lucky to bring Kenny back for
a performance of Round the Horne which we put on a few years back;
just a handful of us standing in front of microphones, but the shows
sold out which is testament to just how popular they still are.
Can you tell me what you are
working on at the moment and about any future projects?
As well as stand-up gigs, I'm also
a member of Foghorn Unscripted: a longform comedy improv group. We're
currently working on new show formats to add to our current
repertoire, which includes a made-up murder mystery and a made-up
Charles Dickens show. I also want to start work on a project I would
like to take to Edinburgh next year. I don't want to say exactly what
it is, but there's a Carry On connection.
If you could work with any famous
comedian (living or dead) who would it be and why?
Victoria Wood, because she was my
first comedy influence. Morecambe and Wise. French & Saunders.
Who's your favourite Carry On
performer?
I love them all but I would have to
say Joan Sims. Her range was incredible.
Finally, I have to ask, what's
your all-time favourite Carry On?
It's a toss-up between Camping and
Abroad. All the gang together. Love it.
A big thank you to Craig for agreeing to an interview - it was fantabulosa!
You can follow Craig on Twitter here
Excellent
news! Following on from her wonderful birthday tribute day on Talking
Pictures TV last Sunday, the fantastic Liz Fraser will be in
conversation with comedy historian Robert Ross on Sunday 28th August at
the Leicester Square Theatre Lounge.
Liz
is a British acting legend with a career spanning seven decades and the
very best of theatre, film and telly. She has worked with them all,
from Sid James and Kenneth Williams to Tony Hancock, Jimmy Edwards,
Margaret Rutherford and Alastair Sim. We celebrate Liz regularly on this
blog as a cherished part of early Carry On successes. She added real
screen presence to three early Carry Ons - Regardless, Cruising and
Cabby before returning for a role in Carry On Behind in 1975.
Some
of my own favourites of Liz's performances over the years have included
stand out roles in the Miss Marple drama Nemesis, hilariously flirting
with Martin Shaw's Ray Doyle in The Professionals and my favourite of
all her films - opposite Sid James and Ian Carmichael in the classic and
underestimated comedy Double Bunk.
A
lifelong friend to the late, great Joan Sims, Liz is always good value,
speaks her mind and doesn't suffer fools! I can't wait to hear what
she's got to say about her life, her illustrious career and her
wonderful co-stars and friends.
Liz Fraser in Conversation with Robert Ross
will take place on Sunday 28th August at the Leicester Square Theatre
Lounge in London. It kicks off at 4pm and runs for 90 minutes. I
understand Liz will be signing autographs after the show. You can buy
tickets here
You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also Facebook
In the latest guest blog for Carry On Blogging, the fantastic Suzie from "Suzie Speaks" tells us all about her memorable Carry On sightseeing weekend in London with her mum! Enjoy!
I predicted that I would be
shattered, but nothing prepared me for just how much my feet would
hurt on the train heading back home.
Those of you who regularly follow
the blog will know that I’ve spent the past three days in London,
touring all the Carry On sites of interest outside Pinewood Studios.
As an early birthday present for my mum, who is quite possibly the
world’s biggest Carry On fan, I mapped out loads of the blue
plaques, grave sites and filming locations in and around the London
area.
As an extra gift, I had managed to
purchase a print from the extremely talented British Comedy and
portrait artist Steve
Lilly (@Stevelilart),
who just happened to live about ten minutes away from me, which I
gave Mum when we arrived in London. She loved it!
It was exhausting, but we pretty
much managed to cover everything I had planned.
On the
first day we visited Maidenhead Town Hall, which was used in several
of the films, and walked just around the corner to the high street,
where a few of the scenes from Carry On Camping was filmed.
We then travelled out to Windsor,
where the frontage on Park Street was used in Carry On Loving and
Carry on Regardless, and part of the train station was used (although
it looks very different now). I wanted to check out a few more places
around Windsor, but my phone signal was glitchy and I hadn’t had
the foresight to print off maps, so we took the opportunity to spend
a bit of time outside Windsor Castle, eating an ice-cream on a bench
in the sun while being surrounded by hoards of tourists from all over
the world, many of whom were causing traffic chaos by stopping in the
middle of the main road so they could have their pictures taken with
their massive cameras.
The following day was the big one.
We started at Golders Green Crematorium, where we had been very
kindly offered a tour by Eric, a member of staff who has worked there
for a number of years. And what a tour it was – Eric showed
us where the grave sites and memorials were of many British comedy
legends, but then took the time to point out plaques of interest
(Keith Moon, Marc Bolan, Ronnie Scott, Larry Adler and Hughie Green
to name just a few), and even took us into all of the different (and
truly breathtaking) mausoleums and chapels and into the crematorium
itself. As well as seeing the final resting places of Sid James,
Bernard Bresslaw, Yootha Joyce and Peter Sellers, he also showed us
the urns of Bram Stoker, Anna Pavlova, Sigmund Freud and Tyrell
William Cavendish, who died on the Titanic. His knowledge (and
indeed, passion) for the place was incredible, and he was so nice
that we could have quite easily stayed there and talked to him for
most of the day – a two-and-a-half hour tour only really broke the
surface of what is there.
Then, the touring was up to me –
I had worked out the route, tube stations and areas of each point,
and we went from one to another… There were a few hiccups along the
way – I had got the location of Hattie Jacques memorial site wrong
(I went to St. Paul’s Cathedral instead of St. Paul’s Church in
Covent Garden), and then when we found the right place we discovered
that it was closed, Frankie Howerd’s house was located on the
second of two roads that were both named Edwards Square, Hattie
Jacques’s house at Earls Court is no longer a museum and has been
converted into flats and we accidentally discovered that Sid James’s
house and blue plaque did still exist, despite the fact that the
internet told us otherwise (we decided to find the site of the house
anyway, and thank goodness we did), but other than that everything
went reasonably well.
Ten miles of walking, seventeen different
tube stations and sixty-four floors later (my mum was wearing a
fit-bit) we had managed to find:
Joan Sims flat (Esmond Court,
Thackaray Street)
Frankie Howerd’s house (Edwardes
Square)
Hattie Jacques’s house (67
Eardley Crescent)
Sid James’s house (Gunnersbury
Avenue)
Kenneth Connor’s house (South
Hill Avenue)
Finding Kenneth Connor’s house
was interesting – it’s a stunning country cottage at the end of a
VERY long, private road, and we were too frightened to get close to
it as technically we would have been trespassing. We were helped in
our directions by a lovely man who I recognised from the TV, but when
I asked him had he been on television he just smiled a yes I have
but I’m not going to talk to you about it smile and carried on
walking. His chocolate labrador was lovely too… Knowing my luck,
he’s probably incredibly famous, he’ll appear on my screen
tomorrow and I’ll slap myself that I didn’t get his autograph.
By the time we reached Kenneth
Connor’s house I had had enough (we’d been travelling around for
about eleven hours) so we went back to the hotel and I promptly fell
asleep at about 9.30, waking up at about 7.00am this morning. We had
breakfast and then travelled out to Kenneth Williams’s flat (Farley
Court, Marylebourne Road) as we had been too tired to visit
yesterday, and then had a walk to Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross and
then around the British Library to kill some time. There’s still
one or two things that we still need to do, but we’ll save that for
another time…
I think my feet need a break!
Thanks again to Suzie for allowing me to share her fab blog. You can visit Suzie's blog here
You can also find Suzie on Twitter and
Tumblr @suzie81blog, and don’t forget to check out her Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/suzie81speaks, Pinterest page http://www.pinterest.com/suzie81speaks
and Instagram page http://www.instagram.com/suzie81speaks.
This
is the latest in a brand new series for Carry On Blogging. It might
be slightly ambitious, but I'm going to attempt to do a run through the
alphabet of some of the more interesting Carry On supporting actors.
One of the reasons I set up this blog was to turn the spotlight on some
of the lesser known Carry On actors who nevertheless played an important
role in the success of the film series.
Today we continue with the next letter in the alphabet, O and O is for Brian Osborne.
Carry On films: Brian Osborne had minor supporting roles in six of the later, 1970s Carry Ons. He first appeared in the series in 1971 as an Ambulance Driver in Carry On Matron. Brian next played a rather exuberant stall holder in Abroad and "First Citizen" in Girls in 1973. Osborne also played Browning in Dick, Bob in Carry On Behind and finally Gunner Owen in Carry On England in 1976.
Also appeared in: Brian Osborne also worked for Rogers and Thomas in the film version of Bless This House in 1972, playing a removal van driver. In 1975 he also played small supporting roles in seven episodes of the ATV television series, Carry On Laughing.
Best known for: Popping up in practically every classic British television series in the 1970s and 1980s. Brian took small roles or guest spots in the likes of The Bill, Sorry!, Casualty, Juliet Bravo, Minder, The Gentle Touch, Upstairs Downstairs, Softly Softly and Emmerdale! Quite a roll call!
Did you know: Brian once crossed paths with the legendary Elsie Tanner! He played company boss Jim Ward in Coronation Street in November 1982 and by the looks of the photo below, Elsie wasn't a fan!
What are they up to now: Brian's most recent screen credits include the film Last Orders (2001), starring Michael Caine and Bob Hoskins and an episode of the television drama Murphy's Law in 2003. Now aged 76, Brian is still around but I don't know what he's up to these days. If anyone has any extra information, do get in touch!
Stay tuned for the next entry in my A - Z of Carry On Supporting Actors!
It's always a shame when a good thing comes to an end. The Carry On films were at their best when the team was complete. Everything was firing on all cylinders - a complete team of regular actors who worked well together and a regular writer in Talbot Rothwell, churning out reliable, funny scripts in the same style year after year.
There was a golden era for the Carry Ons which lasted nearly a decade from the mid 1960s until the mid 1970s. Then things sadly began to slide. Part of that can be put down to the changing cinematic landscape. Comedy was changing, taboos were being explored in more detail and the British film industry was in a state of flux. For many years the Carry Ons bucked a trend but it couldn't be sustained. I put a lot of this decline down to the inevitable break up of the classic Carry On team.
A precious few of the Carry On regulars lasted until the last gasp of the original series in 1978. Only two actors - Kenneths Williams and Connor - were still present and correct twenty years after the very first Carry On was released in 1958. By the late 1970s, the dream team had been greatly reduced to just Williams, Connor, Sims and Butterworth. Jack Douglas was there too but I still struggle to count him as one of the main team. Some of the other actors who departed the series before the end had reasons that were self explanatory. Others less so.
Jim Dale was the first leading actor to leave the series, after Carry On Again Doctor in 1969. Jim is on record saying that he was offered the role of Jungle Boy in the next film, Carry On Up The Jungle but turned it down, unimpressed with the lack of dialogue. I am sure JIm would have been great in the part, the physicality suiting him perfectly but never mind. He went off to forge a highly successful stage career and never looked back (until Columbus that is). The team would make several very successful films without Jim Dale, but sadly they never quite managed to replace him. He was unique in the team.
Next to leave, and more significantly, was stalwart Charles Hawtrey. Having only missed one film since the inception of the series in 1958, Charles' departure due to personal reasons in late 1972 left a gaping hole. Hawtrey was quite simply a one off and a gifted film actor, despite his issues. The films that followed felt his absence keenly. He was one of those actors who could make a massive impact through only a handful of scenes.
Carry On Dick was the major watershed. By 1974 the original team was begin to show signs of wear and tear. The youthful exuberance of earlier films was missing from Dick and it was painfully obvious things were running out of steam. Dick saw the last film for Sid James, Barbara Windsor and Hattie Jacques. Sid's departure is, sadly, easily explained. I was never quite sure why Barbara and Hattie never appeared in a Carry On film again after 1974. Hattie made one final Carry On appearance in Carry On Laughing while Barbara appeared in many Carry On Laughing shows as well as That's Carry On in 1977. Neither starred in an original film though. Perhaps Barbara did not want to appear following Sid's sad death in 1976? I know that Hattie's health was an issue however she continued to appear in the Sykes series for the BBC until 1979 so she was still working.
Losing these stalwarts inevitably hurt the Carry On franchise. A mixture of new faces and returning favourites held things together for the next film, Carry On Behind, but this film also saw departures. Reliable series regular Bernard Bresslaw did not return after Behind, despite a ten year association with the films. I have no idea why Bernard walked away from the Carry Ons at this point. Likewise, although never an official regular, Patsy Rowlands was very much part of the gang. Playing Bernard's wife in Behind, Patsy also left the series at this point. Both were familiar, reliable comedy actors who provided much needed continuity for the audience so it seems such a shame they were allowed to slip away.
So some of these departures remain a mystery. If anyone can shed any light on some of the unexplained departures, do get in touch and enlighten me!
