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First in an evening of Carry On programmes celebrating the popular comedy film series. The gang's first TV special, originally broadcast in 1969, which consists of a series of sketches based on classic festive story A Christmas Carol - with supporting characters including Frankenstein's monster and Dracula. Sid James heads the cast as Scrooge, with Barbara Windsor, Frankie Howerd, Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques, Bernard Bresslaw, Terry Scott and Peter Butterworth
Comedy
Movie/Drama
Cast & Crew
Sid James
(Actor)
Barbara Windsor
(Actor)
Frankie Howerd
(Actor)
Charles Hawtrey
(Actor)
Hattie Jacques
(Actor)
Bernard Bresslaw
(Actor)
Terry Scott
(Actor)
Peter Butterworth
(Actor)
Ronnie Baxter
(Director)
Talbot Rothwell
(Writer)
More Information
Did You Know..
Sid James
(Actor)
Born:
May 08, 1913
in
Johannesburg, South Africa
Best Known For:
Being a member of the Carry On team.
Early-life:
Born Solomon Joel Cohen in Johannesburg, South Africa, on May 8, 1913. He trained and worked as a hairdresser before serving with the South African Army during the Second World War. Determined to be an actor, he left for England in 1946 and worked in repertory theatre before he started making his mark on the British film industry.
Career:
James became known in the film trade as `one-take James" and was constantly in demand for small parts. His first major role was alongside Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway in The Lavender Hill Mob (1951). His first big break came in 1954, when he became Tony Hancock's sidekick in the hugely popular BBC radio comedy Hancock's Half Hour. His next break came when he appeared on the big screen in Carry On Teacher (1959). He went on to make 19 Carry On films and various stage and TV spin-offs. On the small screen, he enjoyed success in the sitcoms Hancock's Half Hour, Citizen James, George and the Dragon and Bless This House. He was touring in a stage version of The Mating Season when he suffered a fatal heart attack on April 26, 1976. He was 62.
Quote:
"All I can do is play myself."
Trivia:
James's well-publicised affair with Carry On co-star Barbara Windsor was dramatised in the 1998 stage play Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick, and the 2000 TV adaptation Cor, Blimey! His trademark in the Carry On films was his dirty laugh.
Barbara Windsor
(Actor)
Born:
August 06, 1937
in
London
Best Known For:
That naughty giggle.
Early-life:
Born Barbara-Ann Deeks in London on August 6, 1937, the only child of a dressmaker and a bus driver. Her mum worked extra hours to pay for elocution lessons. As a child, Babs loved singing and dancing and it was during a visit to the theatre with her grandfather that she decided on a showbusiness career, eventually adopting the stage name Barbara Windsor. She won her first stage role at the age of 12 in a London pantomime. In 1952 she got a job in the chorus of Love from Lucy and stayed in the show for two years. A number of minor film roles followed, but she remained largely a stage actress.
Career:
Two major film roles in 1962 - Death Trap and Sparrows Can't Sing - resulted in greater recognition, but it wasn't until stage show Fings Ain't What They Used to Be that Windsor found true fame. Her career really took off after her appearance in the comedy film Carry On Spying. Stereotyped as a glamorous dolly bird, she was seen as the ultimate Carry On girl and appeared in nine of the classic movies. In recent years, she has appeared in the long-running soap EastEnders, playing Peggy Mitchell and becoming a genuine soap icon. She left Walford in 2010, and since then has done panto and regularly stood in for Elaine Paige when she's been unavailable to host her Radio 2 show.
Quote:
"In my late 40s I found it difficult at casting interviews because people would still think I was as young as I appeared in the Carry Ons."
Trivia:
Windsor voiced the Dormouse in Tim Burton's film version of Alice in Wonderland.
Frankie Howerd
(Actor)
Charles Hawtrey
(Actor)
Born:
November 30, 1914
in
Hounslow
Best Known For:
The Carry On films.
Early-life:
Born George Frederick Joffre Hartree in Hounslow on November 30, 1914. He made his stage debut at the age of 11 playing a street Arab in The Windmill Man. He went on to study acting at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. He took his stage name from Edwardian actor Sir Charles Hawtrey and for a time suggested they were related.
Career:
Hawtrey went on to appear in a number of stage roles and this led to parts on radio, notably during Children's Hour in the 1940s in the Norman and Henry Bones, and Just William. After making his TV debut in The Army Game in the late 1950s, he starred in his first Carry On film, Carry on Sergeant (1958). He became synonymous with the comedies and went on to appear in 23 of the films. Despite not making another film after Carry on Abroad (1972), Hawtrey continued to work regularly on radio, TV and the stage. His last TV appearance was in an episode of children's series Supergran in 1987. He died on October 27, 1988, at the age of 73.
Quote:
Catchphrase: "Oh hello!"
Trivia:
Hawtrey devoted a lot of his life to drinking and smoking.
Hattie Jacques
(Actor)
Bernard Bresslaw
(Actor)
Born:
February 25, 1934
in
London
Best Known For:
Being a member of the Carry On team.
Early-life:
Born in London on February 25, 1934, Bernard became interested in acting after going to the Hackney Empire. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada). After appearing in Education Archie on radio and The Army Game on TV, a number of roles on the small screen followed until his big break came when he starred in Carry on Cowboy in 1965.
Career:
Bresslaw went on to star in 14 Carry On films, including Carry On.. Up the Khyber, Carry on Camping, Carry on Abroad, and Carry On Screaming! Other films included Jabberwocky (1977), Krull (1983) and Leon the Pig Farmer (1992). On the stage, he appeared in a number of pantomimes and also performed with the Young Vic Theatre Company, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. He died of a heart attack at the age of 59 on June 11, 1993, the day after fellow comedy actor Les Dawson.
Quote:
Catchphrase: "I only arsked".
Trivia:
Away from acting, Bresslaw wrote poetry.
Terry Scott
(Actor)
Born:
May 04, 1927
in
Watford
Best Known For:
Terry and June and being the voice of Penfold in Danger Mouse.
Early-life:
Owen John Scott was born in Watford on May 4, 1927. His father was a postman who retired to run a corner shop. After serving in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, Terry became interested in acting and began working with repertory companies in various seaside resorts.
Career:
In 1955, Scott starred in a popular sitcom with Bill Maynard called Great Scott It's Maynard, before moving into feature films, making his debut in Blue Murder At St Trinian's (1957). He followed this up with roles in a number of films, including Carry On Sergeant (1958), before returning to TV in 1962 alongside Hugh Lloyd in the sitcom Hugh and I. This programme ran for seven series. Scott teamed up with June Whitfield in 1969 for the sketch show Scott On… and five years later, they appeared together in domestic sitcom Happy Ever After. After five series, the same characters appeared in Terry and June, and this new sitcom ran for 65 episodes between 1979 and 1987. Scott appeared in a further six Carry On films, was the voice of Penfold the hamster in animated series Danger Mouse, and was a popular pantomime dame. He died on July 26, 1994 at the age of 67.
Quote:
On the health issues that dogged him in later life: "I know it would be better to give up the booze, fags and birds, but life would be so boring wouldn't it."
Trivia:
He had a hit in 1962 with novelty record My Brother.
Peter Butterworth
(Actor)
Ronnie Baxter
(Director)
Talbot Rothwell
(Writer)
