Sid James
Sid James | |
|---|---|
| File:Sidjames.jpg Sid James | |
| Born | Joel Solomon Cohen |
Sid James (born Joel Solomon Cohen; 8 May 1913–26 April 1976) was a South African-born English film and television actor. James, who was often credited as Sidney James, is best remembered for his roles in the Carry On films, Bless This House and Hancock's Half Hour.
Early life
Of Jewish parents, James was born Joel Solomon Cohen, later changed his name to Sidney Joel Cohen and then Sid James [1] in a peculiar quirk of fate on Hancock Street, Hillbrow, Johannesburg, South Africa. He worked as a diamond cutter, hairdresser, dance tutor and reputedly a part-time boxer in fairgrounds, before becoming a professional actor.
During World War II, he became a Lieutenant in the South African Army in an entertainment unit, and subsequently took up acting as a career. He came to Britain in 1946 on the back of his service gratuity. Initially he worked in repertory before being spotted by the nascent British post-war film industry, making his first appearance in Night Beat (1947).
Early films
His first major comedy was The Lavender Hill Mob: with Alfie Bass he made up the bullion robbery gang headed by Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway. In the same year he also appeared in Lady Godiva Rides Again and The Galloping Major. In 1949 he played the alcoholic hero's barman in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Small Back Room, and in 1956 he had a supporting role as a journalist in the science-fiction film Quatermass 2.
In 1954 he began working with Tony Hancock in BBC radio's Hancock's Half Hour playing a character with his own name (but also the invented middle name Balmoral), who was a criminal who would usually manage to con Hancock. When this was turned into a television series his part was greatly increased to the extent that some viewers considered it to be a double act. Sid James was soon getting as many laughs as his partner. In the final series, the show was renamed simply Hancock and James was not included in the cast. The show was one of the most popular comedy series in Britain on both television and radio.
Carry On
When Hancock had James dropped from the show, he returned to films to become a leading member of the Carry On team, originally to replace Ted Ray who had appeared in Carry On Teacher in 1959. It was intended that Ray would become a recurring Carry On star, but he had been dropped after just one film due to a complex contractual embarrassment (he was contracted to ABC films who had never used him). James ultimately made 19 Carry On films, making him one of the most regular-appearing of the cast.
The characters he portrayed in the films were usually very similar to the wise-cracking, sly, lecherous cockney he was famed for playing on television, and often had the name Sid or Sidney.
Sid and Sidney
Sid James was so identified with the similar characters that he played that they were often also called 'Sid' or 'Sidney'. Apart from the Sidney Fiddler, Sid Carter, Sid Plummer, Sidney Bliss, Sidney Boggle and Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond of the Carry On films, he played Sid Abbot in Bless This House on television and its spin-off film, as well as Sids Jones, Turner, Marks, Stone, and Gibson in addition to four characters called just 'Sid'. His Sidney Balmoral James from Hancock's Half Hour also appeared in his own Citizen James series. His trademark 'dirty laugh' was employed frequently.
Health
In 1967 James was supposed to play Sergeant Nocker in Carry On Follow That Camel, but suffered a massive heart attack and was replaced by the American comic actor Phil Silvers. In Carry On Doctor James was shown mainly lying in a hospital bed, due to his real-life health scare.
He later enjoyed success at the head of casts of TV situation comedies, notably George and the Dragon, Taxi!, Two In Clover, and Bless This House. He suffered a heart attack on 26th April 1976 at the opening night of The Mating Season at the Sunderland Empire and died on the way to hospital at the age of 62.
Later it was rumoured that the ghost of Sid James haunted the dressing room he occupied on the night of his death. After one experience during a gig there, the comedian Les Dawson refused to play the venue again. He never revealed why and would not talk on the subject.
References
- ^ "The Classic Carry On Film Collection". DeAgostini. 2003.