Sid James, Comedian • Biography & Facts Sid James Comedian Sid James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a South African-born English actor and comedian.Appearing in British films from 1947, he was cast in numerous small and supporting roles into the 1960s. His profile was raised as Tony Hancock 's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour, which ran on television from 1956 until 1960, and then he became known as a regular performer in the Carry On films. Meanwhile, his starring roles in television sitcoms continued for the rest of his life.Remembered for a lascivious persona, the Snopes website describing him as "the grand old man of dirty laughter", he became known for his amiability in his later television work. Bruce Forsyth described him as "a natural at being natural." Personal facts Sid James (Actor) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News Sid James Male Born May 8, 1913 Sid James was an English-based South African actor and comedian.

He made his name as Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour and also starred in the popular Carry On films. He was known for his trademark "dirty laugh" and lascivious persona. Bruce Forsyth described him as "a natural at being natural."… Read More related links Ed2011 Comedy Review: Everything But An Astronaut (Carrot Napper Productions) Three Weeks News Google News - Aug 20, 2011 'It features dozens of toe-curling innuendos that would make <mark>Sid James</mark> and Kenneth Williams groan with embarrassment, lowest-common-denominator pop-culture references more tired than a marathon-running narcoleptic,and grossly offensive swearwords that' Carry On Up North! A Raucous Mix Of Social Realism And Slap And Tickle Sets ... Daily Mail Google News - Aug 19, 2011 'Even though Bianca has nothing racier than a fish pie to put before Dan, it&#39;s difficult to shift images of <mark>Sid James</mark> and Barbara Windsor from your head.

&#39;There are definitely some Carry On-style moments in Mount Pleasant â but a lot more besides,&#39; says' Cowboys And Their Bizarre Enemies Telegraph.Co.Uk Google News - Aug 18, 2011 'The extra-terrestrial enemies in Cowboys And Aliens are following in the path of western baddies Dracula and <mark>Sid James</mark>. A battle scene from Cowboys And Aliens Photo: AP A battle scene from Cowboys And Aliens Photo: AP Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde and' That's Very Nearly An Armful: Red House Museum Pays Tribute To Tony Hancock Culture24 Google News - Aug 17, 2011 '<mark>Sid James</mark>, Kenneth Williams, John LeMesurier, Hattie Jacques, Richard Wattis and Bill Kerr all appeared with him on radio and TV. It is this popular legacy that Red House Museum is celebrating with this pictorial exhibition that mixes film clips and' Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Sid James.

CHILDHOOD 1913 Birth James was born Solomon Joel Cohen, on 8 May 1913, to Jewish parents, in South Africa, later changing his name to Sidney Joel Cohen, and then Sidney James. … Read More His family lived on Hancock Street in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. Upon moving to Britain later in life, he claimed various previous occupations, including diamond cutter, dance tutor and boxer; in reality, he had trained and worked as a hairdresser. Read Less TWENTIES 1936 23 Years Old It was at a hairdressing salon in Kroonstad, Orange Free State, that he met his first wife. He married Berthe Sadie Delmont, known as Toots, on 12 August 1936 and they had a daughter, Elizabeth, born in 1937. … Read More His father-in-law, Joseph Delmont, a Johannesburg businessman, bought a hairdressing salon for James, but within a year he announced that he wanted to become an actor and joined the Johannesburg Repertory Players.

Through this group he gained work with the South African Broadcasting Corporation.<br /><br /> During the Second World War he served as a lieutenant in an entertainment unit of the South African Army, and subsequently took up acting as a career. He moved to Britain immediately after the war, financed by his service gratuity. According to rumour, Sid had an affair with the daughter of an important member of Johannesburg society; his decision to move away from South Africa was partly because he was "advised" to leave due to the possible controversy. Initially he worked in repertory before being spotted for the nascent British post-war film industry.<br /><br /> James made his first credited film appearances in Night Beat and Black Memory (1947), both crime dramas. He played the alcoholic hero's barman in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Small Back Room (1949). Read Less 1940 27 Years Old James married three times. He and his first wife divorced in 1940, mainly as a result of his many relationships with other women; it was a pattern which continued throughout his life.

THIRTIES 1943 30 Years Old In 1943, he married a dancer, Meg Sergei, nÃ©e Williams (born 1913). … Read More Five years later they had a daughter, Reina, before divorcing on 17 August 1952. Read Less 1952 39 Years Old On 21 August 1952, James married Valerie Elizabeth Patsy Assan (born 1928), an actress who used Ashton as her stage name. … Read More During the latter part of their marriage they lived in a house partly designed by James himself, called Delaford Park, situated in Iver, Buckinghamshire, a location close enough to Pinewood Studios to allow him to return home for lunch while filming. During his marriage to Valerie he had a well-publicised affair with Carry On co-star Barbara Windsor lasting more than 10 years. The affair was dramatised in the 1998 stage-play Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick and Cor, Blimey!, its 2000 television adaptation.

James's obsession with Windsor was such that it was said that her then husband Ronnie Knight had all of James's furniture rearranged at home as a subtle threat and, on another occasion, that he had put an axe in James's floor. Close friends of the time, including Vince Powell and William G. Stewart, have dismissed the suggestions. Read Less FORTIES 1953 40 Years Old … His first major comedy role was in The Lavender Hill Mob (1951): 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. Read Less In 1953 he appeared as Harry Hawkins in The Titfield Thunderbolt. … Read More In 1956 he appeared in Trapeze (1956), a circus film which was one of the most successful films of its year, and played Master Henry in "Outlaw Money" an episode of The Adventures of Robin Hood.

He also had a supporting part as a TV advertisement producer in Charlie Chaplin's A King in New York, a non-comic supporting role as a journalist in the science-fiction film Quatermass 2 and performed in Hell Drivers (all 1957), a film with Stanley Baker. The next year, James starred with Miriam Karlin in East End, West End by Wolf Mankowitz, a half-hour comedy series for the ITV company Associated Rediffusion. Set within the Jewish community of London's East End, the series of six episodes was transmitted in February and March 1958, but plans for further episodes were abandoned after a disappointing response. For a moment though, it had looked as if his commitment elsewhere might end his work with Tony Hancock, one of the most popular television comedians of the time. Read Less Sid James — The Movie Database (TMDb) Read More From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Sid James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a South African-born English-based actor and comedian. He made his name as Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour and also starred in the popular Carry On films.

He was known for his trademark "dirty laugh" and lascivious persona. Bruce Forsyth summed up his talent thus: "He was a natural at being natural." Description above from the Wikipedia article Sid James, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia. Who Is Sid James? - YouTube Who Is Sid James? Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Mar 31, 2015 Sid James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a South African-born English actor and comedian. Appearing in British films from 1947, he was cast in numerous small and supporting roles into the 1960s.

His profile was raised as Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour, which ran on television from 1956 until 1960, and then he became known as a regular performer in the Carry On films, appearing in 19 films of the series with the top billing role in 17, in the other two he was cast below Frankie Howerd. Meanwhile, his starring roles in television sitcoms continued for the rest of his life. He starred alongside Diana Coupland in the 1970s sitcom Bless This House which aired from 1971 until James died in 1976. In 1954, he had begun working with Tony Hancock in his BBC Radio series Hancock's Half Hour. Having seen him in The Lavender Hill Mob, it was the idea of Hancock's writers, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, to cast James. He played a character with his own name (but having the invented middle name Balmoral), who was a petty criminal who would usually manage to con Hancock, although the character eventually ceased to be Hancock's adversary.

With the exception of James, the other regular cast members of the radio series were dropped when the series made the transition to television. His part in the show now greatly increased, many viewers considered Hancock and James to be a double act. Feeling the format had become exhausted, Hancock decided to end his professional relationship with James at the end of the sixth television series in 1960. Although the two men remained friends, James was upset at his colleague's decision. Galton and Simpson continued to write for both men for a while, and the Sidney Balmoral James character resurfaced in the Citizen James (1960–62) series. Sid James was now consistently taking the lead role in his television work. Taxi! (1963–64) was his next series. James became a leading member of the Carry On films team, originally to replace Ted Ray who had appeared in Carry On Teacher (1959). It was intended that Ray would become a recurring presence in the Carry On series, but he had been dropped after just one film because of contractual problems.

James ultimately made 19 Carry On films, receiving top-billing in 17, making him one of the most featured performers of the regular 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 in most cases bore the name Sid or Sidney, including Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond in Carry On... Up the Khyber (1968) and elsewhere in his credits. His trademark "dirty laugh" was often used and became, along with a world-weary "Cor, blimey!", his catchphrase. There were Carry On films in which James played characters who were not called Sid or Sidney, namely, Carry On Henry (1971, a parody of The Six Wives of Henry VIII TV series) and Carry On Dick, a parody of legendary highwayman Dick Turpin, in both of which he played the title roles, and Carry On Cleo, in which he played Mark Antony. In Carry On Cowboy, he even adopted an American accent for his part as "The Rumpo Kid".

In 1967, James was intending to play Sergeant Nocker in Follow That Camel, but was already committed to recording the TV series George and the Dragon (1966–68) for ATV, then one of the ITV contractors. James was replaced in Follow That Camel by the American comic actor Phil Silvers. On 13 May 1967, two weeks after the filming began of what eventually became an entry in the Carry On series, James suffered a severe heart attack. In the same year in Carry On Doctor. James was shown mainly lying in a hospital bed, owing to his real-life health problems. After his heart attack James gave up his heavy cigarette habit and instead smoked a pipe with an occasional cigar; he lost weight, ate only one main meal a day, and limited himself to two or three alcoholic drinks per evening. Meanwhile his success in TV situation comedy continued with the series Two in Clover (1969–70), and Bless This House (1971-76) as Sid Abbott, a successful enough series in its day to spawn its own film version in 1972.

On 26 April 1976, while on a revival tour of The Mating Season, a 1969 farce by the Irish playwright Sam Cree, James suffered a heart attack on stage at the Sunderland Empire Theatre. Actress Olga Lowe thought that James was playing a practical joke at first when he failed to reply to her dialogue. The technical manager called for the curtain to close and requested a doctor, while the audience laughed, believing the events to be part of the show. He was taken to hospital by ambulance, but died about an hour later. James, aged 62, was cremated and his ashes were scattered at Golders Green Crematorium. Some, including Comedian Les Dawson claim to have seen the ghost of James at the theatre. Requested by UK Comedy Characters Sid James - Film Kijken Online Sid James Hillbrow, Johannesburg, Union of South Africa: In Films Contact | Copyright Policy | Privacy Policy Disclaimer: This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb. We do not offer any copyright infringement material, all our data comes from TMDb and trailers from YouTube.

Film Kijken Online © 2017 Movies of Sid James - Niter TV Login Sid James From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Sid James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a South African-born English-based actor and comedian. He made his name as Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour and also starred in the popular Carry On films. He was known for his trademark "dirty laugh" and lascivious persona. Bruce Forsyth summed up his talent thus: "He was a natural at being natural." Description above from the Wikipedia article Sid James, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia. See More Sid James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a South African, British based actor and comedian, w...ho made his name in a series of British sitcoms before starring in the popular Carry On films. He was known for his trademark "dirty laugh" and lascivious persona. James was born Solomon Joel Cohen, to Jewish parents, later changing his name to Sidney Joel Cohen, and then Sid James.

His family lived on (the happily prophetic) Hancock Street in 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. It was at a hairdressing salon in Kroonstad, Orange Free State that he met his first wife. He married Berthe Sadie Delmont, known as Toots, on 12 August 1936 and her father Joseph Delmont, a wealthy Johannesburg businessman, bought a salon for James. Within a year, however, James announced that he wanted to become an actor and joined Johannesburg Repertory Players. Through this he got work with the South African Broadcasting Corporation. He and Delmont divorced in 1940 mainly as a result of James' many relationships with other women; it was a pattern that continued throughout his life. In 1943, he married a dancer, Meg Sergei, née Williams (born 1913). Five years later they had a daughter, Reina, before getting divorced on 17 August 1952.

On 21 August 1952 he wed Valerie Elizabeth Patsy Assan (born 1928), an actress who used Ashton as her stage name. During the later part of their marriage they lived in a house partly designed by James himself called Delaford Park situated in Iver, Buckinghamshire, a location close enough to Pinewood Studios to allow him to return home for lunch whilst filming. During his marriage to Valerie he had a well publicised affair with his Carry On co-star, Barbara Windsor. During the Second World War, 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. James made his first appearances in Night Beat and Black Memory (1947), both crime dramas. In 1949 he played the alcoholic hero's barman in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Small Back Room.

His first major comedy role was in The Lavender Hill Mob (1951): 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 1956 he had a non-comic supporting role as a journalist in the science-fiction film Quatermass 2. He also had a supporting part as a TV advertisement producer in Charlie Chaplin's A King in New York (1957). Meanwhile, in 1954, he began working with Tony Hancock in BBC radio's Hancock's Half Hour playing a character with his own name (but having the invented middle name Balmoral), who was a petty 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.

James became 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 beause of contract problems (he was contracted to ABC films who had never used him). James ultimately made 19 Carry On films, receiving top-billing in 17, making him one of the most featured performers of the regular 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 in six cases bore the name Sid or Sidney. Some exceptions were Carry On Henry (a parody of Henry VIII) and Carry On Dick (a spoof of legendary highwayman Dick Turpin), in both of which he played the title roles, and Carry On Cleo, in which he played Mark Antony. Most notably, in Carry On Cowboy, he adopted an American accent for his part as The Rumpo Kid. Sid James was so identified with the similar characters that he played that they were often also called "Sid" or "Sidney".

Apart from Sidney Fiddler, Sid Carter, Sid Plummer, Sidney Bliss, Sidney Boggle and Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond in 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. In 1967, James was intending 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 the same year in Carry On Doctor James was shown mainly lying in a hospital bed, owing to his real-life health scare. Meanwhile his success in TV situation comedies continued, now heading the cast, notably in Taxi!, George and the Dragon, Two In Clover, and Bless This House. He suffered a heart attack on 26 April 1976, during the opening night of The Mating Season at the Sunderland Empire Theatre.

The technical manager (Melvyn James) called for the curtain to close and requested a doctor, whilst the audience (unaware of what was happening) laughed, believing the events to be part of the show. He was taken to hospital by ambulance, but died about an hour later. James, then 62, was cremated and his ashes scattered at Golders Green Crematorium. Later it was rumoured that Sid James' ghost haunted the dressing room he occupied on the night of his death. After one experience during an engagement there, the comedian Les Dawson refused to play the venue again. He never revealed why and would not talk on the subject. Sid James' fate is touched upon in Bryan Talbot's book Alice in Sunderland (2007). In 1995, Virgin Books published Cliff Goodwin's Sid James: A Biography. It goes into detail about James' gambling addiction and the agreement he had with his agent, Michael Sullivan, whereby his wife did not know how much he was being paid, with a portion set aside for gambling. An inveterate gambler, James was also a largely unsuccessful one and lost tens of thousands of pounds over his lifetime.

The biography also tells of James' obsession with Barbara Windsor, and how it led to his returning home one day to find that all of the furniture had been rearranged and on another that her husband of the time, Ronnie Knight, had put an axe in his floor. See more 40 years since Sid's passing on April 26, 1976. Thanks for the laughs, thanks for the memories :) Sidney James - Biography - IMDb Sidney James Biography Showing all 54 items Jump to: Overview (5) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (3) | Trade Mark (3) | Trivia (24) | Salary (18) Overview (5) 5' 8" (1.73 m) Mini Bio (1) The star of the Carry On series of films, Sid James originally came to prominence as sidekick to the ground breaking British comedy actor Tony Hancock, on both radio and then television. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa and named Solomon Joel Cohen, James arrived in England in 1946, second wife in tow, having served with the South African Army during World War 2.

By now an aspiring actor, James claimed to have boxed in his youth, perhaps to explain his craggy features, but was certainly a well respected hairdresser in his native country. Known in the trade as "one take James", he became a very talented and professional actor, constantly in demand for small parts in British post-war cinema. In 1960 James debuted in the fourth of the Carry On films, taking the lead role in Carry on Constable (1960) and went on to appear in a further 18 Carry On films as well as various stage and television spin-offs. Reputed not to have got on with Carry On co-star Kenneth Williams , the two often played adversaries on-screen, notably in the historical parodies Carry On... Up the Khyber (1968) and Carry on Pimpernel (1967). James however was respected and revered by almost everyone he worked with and contrary to popular myth, a true gentleman. An addiction to gambling played a large part in James' workaholic schedule and subsequent heart attack in 1967.

He was soon back in action however, playing a hospital patient in Carry on Doctor (1967), able to spend most of the film in bed. He suffered a second and fatal heart attack on stage in Sunderland, England on April 26 1976, leaving behind 3 children and his third wife Valerie who had stuck by him despite his affair with Carry On co-star Barbara Windsor , saying, "He always came home to me". - IMDb Mini Biography By: lyndseychris Spouse (3) ( 12 August 1936 - 1940) (divorced) (1 child) Trade Mark (3) The dirtiest laugh in film Playing lecherous comedy characters The adulterous characters he portrayed were inspired by events in his life. Trivia (24) Arrived in Britain on Dec 25th 1946, spending his army demob money on one-way tickets. Once described as "The man with a face like an unmade bed!". Voted (some time ago) to have the world's dirtiest laugh. Career prior to acting was as a top ladies' hairdresser in South Africa.

Sid and Meg had a daughter Reine (named after Sid's mother) Frequently remembered as a former boxer, but he never actually was! People got that impression that he had been a boxer from his craggy features and bulbous nose. He is the father of Stephen James, a musician and sound technician who appeared on Fortran 5's debut album "Blues", in October 1991. The song "Bike" heavily sampled Sid's voice and distinctive laugh. Also, Sidney James' portrait appears on the album cover. Collapsed and died on-stage of a heart attack while appearing in "The Mating Game" at the Empire Theatre, Sunderland. Was the regular sidekick-cum-bête noir of Tony Hancock throughout the six series of the radio series "Hancock's Half Hour". Likewise, became Hancock's regular pal in the TV series Hancock's Half Hour (1956), until the final series when Hancock decided it was getting too much like a double act. Sid was nicknamed "One take James" because he nearly always did it right first time. He was also earning the highest daily rate of any British character actor.

In late 1960s, he attended a showbusiness houseparty near the Thames and, according to a TV news bulletin, was the hero of the hour because fire broke out and Sid kept dashing back indoors to help others to safety. Apparently, the emergency services had to eventually restrain him from re-entering the fire. Was infamous for using branded products in the Carry On films and advertising them. In one particular film he opened a cupboard to reveal a cupboard full of Johnny Walker Red Label Scotch Whisky. Had an affair with "Carry On..." series star Barbara Windsor from 1973 until his death in 1976. Their life together is chronicled in the movie Cor, Blimey! (2000). Ms. Windsor is an advisor to the cast. His daughter, Sue James , is a children's TV Producer. Suffered a serious heart attack in 1967, and was therefore replaced by Phil Silvers as the star of Carry on in the Legion (1967). His son, Steve James is a music producer. His best friends were his Carry On co-stars Patsy Rowlands and Peter Butterworth .

Was friends with Laurence Harvey until they worked on The Silent Enemy (1958) together. According to the book "A Biography Of Sid James", James was offered the role of Chief Petty Officer Thorpe on the recommendation of Harvey, but their friendship ended during the filming. He found Harvey to be "pompous and full of his own importance". His grandson James Wichall is a Sound Engineer. He received top-billing in 17 of the 19 "Carry On" films in which he appeared. Frankie Howerd had that honour in Carry on Doctor (1967) and Carry on Up the Jungle (1970). He has two roles in common with Richard Burton : (1) Burton played Mark Antony in Cleopatra (1963) while James played him in Carry on Cleo (1964) and (2) Burton played King Henry VIII of England in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) while James played him in Carry on Henry VIII (1971). In both cases, James wore the costume which had originally been worn by Burton.

He died only one day after Carol Reed , who directed him in both A Kid for Two Farthings (1955) and Trapeze (1956). Although he was 61 years when he played Dick Turpin in Carry on Dick (1974), Turpin was only 33 when he was hanged on April 7, 1739. Was unable to appear in Carry on Behind (1975), as he was touring Australia for a theatrical production of The Mating Season. Was supposed to play Sergeant Ernie Knocker in Carry on in the Legion (1967), but was busy with George and the Dragon (1966). Less than two weeks into the shooting schedule, he suffered a heart attack. The role went to Phil Silvers . Was supposed to play Detective Sergeant Sidney Bung in Carry on Screaming! (1966), but dropped out when he suffered a heart attack. The role went to Harry H. Corbett .

Salary (18) Sidney James - IMDb IMDb 17 January 2017 4:34 PM, UTC NEWS Actor | Soundtrack The star of the Carry On series of films, Sid James originally came to prominence as sidekick to the ground breaking British comedy actor Tony Hancock, on both radio and then television. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa and named Solomon Joel Cohen, James arrived in England in 1946, second wife in tow, having served with the South African Army ... See full bio » Born: MORE INFO Personal Information Sid James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a South African, British based actor and comedian, who made his name in a series of Britis...h sitcoms before starring in the popular Carry On films. He was known for his trademark "dirty laugh" and lascivious persona. James was born Solomon Joel Cohen, to Jewish parents, later changing his name to Sidney Joel Cohen, and then Sid James. His family lived on (the happily prophetic) Hancock Street in 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. It was at a hairdressing salon in Kroonstad, Orange Free State that he met his first wife. He married Berthe Sadie Delmont, known as Toots, on 12 August 1936 and her father Joseph Delmont, a wealthy Johannesburg businessman, bought a salon for James. Within a year, however, James announced that he wanted to become an actor and joined Johannesburg Repertory Players. Through this he got work with the South African Broadcasting Corporation. He and Delmont divorced in 1940 mainly as a result of James' many relationships with other women; it was a pattern that continued throughout his life. In 1943, he married a dancer, Meg Sergei, née Williams (born 1913). Five years later they had a daughter, Reina, before getting divorced on 17 August 1952. On 21 August 1952 he wed Valerie Elizabeth Patsy Assan (born 1928), an actress who used Ashton as her stage name.

During the later part of their marriage they lived in a house partly designed by James himself called Delaford Park situated in Iver, Buckinghamshire, a location close enough to Pinewood Studios to allow him to return home for lunch whilst filming. During his marriage to Valerie he had a well publicised affair with his Carry On co-star, Barbara Windsor. During the Second World War, 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. James made his first appearances in Night Beat and Black Memory (1947), both crime dramas. In 1949 he played the alcoholic hero's barman in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Small Back Room. His first major comedy role was in The Lavender Hill Mob (1951): 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 1956 he had a non-comic supporting role as a journalist in the science-fiction film Quatermass 2. He also had a supporting part as a TV advertisement producer in Charlie Chaplin's A King in New York (1957). Meanwhile, in 1954, he began working with Tony Hancock in BBC radio's Hancock's Half Hour playing a character with his own name (but having the invented middle name Balmoral), who was a petty 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. James became 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 beause of contract problems (he was contracted to ABC films who had never used him). James ultimately made 19 Carry On films, receiving top-billing in 17, making him one of the most featured performers of the regular 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 in six cases bore the name Sid or Sidney. Some exceptions were Carry On Henry (a parody of Henry VIII) and Carry On Dick (a spoof of legendary highwayman Dick Turpin), in both of which he played the title roles, and Carry On Cleo, in which he played Mark Antony. Most notably, in Carry On Cowboy, he adopted an American accent for his part as The Rumpo Kid. Sid James was so identified with the similar characters that he played that they were often also called "Sid" or "Sidney".

Apart from Sidney Fiddler, Sid Carter, Sid Plummer, Sidney Bliss, Sidney Boggle and Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond in 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. In 1967, James was intending 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 the same year in Carry On Doctor James was shown mainly lying in a hospital bed, owing to his real-life health scare. Meanwhile his success in TV situation comedies continued, now heading the cast, notably in Taxi!, George and the Dragon, Two In Clover, and Bless This House. He suffered a heart attack on 26 April 1976, during the opening night of The Mating Season at the Sunderland Empire Theatre.

The technical manager (Melvyn James) called for the curtain to close and requested a doctor, whilst the audience (unaware of what was happening) laughed, believing the events to be part of the show. He was taken to hospital by ambulance, but died about an hour later. James, then 62, was cremated and his ashes scattered at Golders Green Crematorium. Later it was rumoured that Sid James' ghost haunted the dressing room he occupied on the night of his death. After one experience during an engagement there, the comedian Les Dawson refused to play the venue again. He never revealed why and would not talk on the subject. Sid James' fate is touched upon in Bryan Talbot's book Alice in Sunderland (2007). In 1995, Virgin Books published Cliff Goodwin's Sid James: A Biography. It goes into detail about James' gambling addiction and the agreement he had with his agent, Michael Sullivan, whereby his wife did not know how much he was being paid, with a portion set aside for gambling. An inveterate gambler, James was also a largely unsuccessful one and lost tens of thousands of pounds over his lifetime.

The biography also tells of James' obsession with Barbara Windsor, and how it led to his returning home one day to find that all of the furniture had been rearranged and on another that her husband of the time, Ronnie Knight, had put an axe in his floor. See More categories

Question: Which late actor and comedian was born Solomon Joel Cohen in May 1913?
Answer: Sid James