I never watch TV these days, I'd much rather find gems like this starring genuinely talented people who have something interesting and funny to say. What a talent.
The problem with tv these days is genuine talent like Kenneth Williams and the likes are gone forever…..we are left with so called celebs that THINK they are talented and funny when in reality it is all self delusion on their part.
Only now as I get older, you realise what a fascinating man Kenneth was. As someone mentioned you could watch him all day. His love of language and his word play is just genius. Much missed.
He'd go home after performances like this where he was full of fun and eccentricity and life, and sit quite alone reading poetry, listening to classical music etc, he was a walking talking contradiction. Fascinating & very talented man, wonderful x
@@alangiles4616 he actually imposed himself on Barbara Windsor and her husband when they went on their honeymoon by going with them. He was a very troubled person and in another occupation he would have been considered a dreadful liar.
There is something fascinating about how his voice and accent flow seamlessly from posh to working class and back again. He knows EXACTLY when to do it and when it will have the best effect for what he’s saying.
I’m 12 almost 13 and have loved him all my life, it’s nice to know it’s not all elderly people here. 😊 are you 32 now since this was commented 7 years ago?
Fantabulosa!!! A master raconteur, I could sit and listen to his stories all night. Kenneth may have left us all too soon but I love the fact that thanks to RU-vid and the fans who kindly uploaded these gems, we can listen to his wit and wallow in his charm anytime we want.
Words can't describe, can they I, what a wonderful relaxed interview, Russell is the only one who truly brought Kenneth out, probably because he was non judgemental, that's what I remember of him growing up in the eighties. I have just laughed that much I feel sick, Kenneth was sheer genius, there will never be another Kenneth
He had one of the most distinctive voices in the history of the English language. It was posh, gruff, camp in equal measures, simultaneously for most of the time ! My generation knows him from Willow The Wisp kids TV show.
David Boris Fernandez Who would have thought the word "No" could be *so* _EPIC_? @ 1:22 HARTY: "Have you fallen in love, ever?" WILLIAMS: "NNNNNNrrrrrrrroughhhhhhhh. No..."
Er war so wunderbar! Ich verstehe nicht viel aus dem Englischen und er könnte den größten Blödsinn von sich gegeben haben, aber nur zu SEHEN, wie er gesprochen hat: so toll! DANKE, daß es DICH gegeben hat, lieber Kenneth Williams: RIP!
I remember seeing this at the time. I've laughed all the way through it. What a fine interviewer Harty was - just a gentle nudge occasionally. And Williams, a genius.
What an utterly brilliant,engaging and funny man.Its strange but I've literally only taken an interest in him recently.Ive obviously watched the carry on films ect ect but for some unknown reason I find myself very interested in him now,absolute genius
Lets be honest! Gays everywhere owe this man and those like him. Everyone at this time had the idea but it was never spoken...... Bless him... Bless him
I could listen to him forever, he tells such wonderful anecdotes in a way that mesmerizes. In fact the 'story' becomes almost academic - he could literally take the most mundane of stories and enthrall you with it.
All the Carry on films were one of the best productions ever made. The crew and actors they put together were the most talented people of the century. I wish someone can pull all this together again.
They tried a version with new, supposedly ‘alternative’ comedians back in I think the early 90s, Carry On Columbus. It was awful, but not awful enough to be ‘so bad it’s good’. Let’s be thankful for the ones we have. Personal favourites - Up the Khyber and Carry On Chopping But Screaming is the number one of course
KW is on great form here, due to the fact that he genuinely liked Harty. If Parkinson, or some other Interviewer of the day had suddenly questioned him about his finances, he would not have taken it in such good humour.
Love kenneth Williams so old school camp,love how he switches from posh to working class mum on the Caledonian road in the 50's Joe Orton's biography has some great K.W anecdotes.
Grew up listening to him in Round the Horn and Beyond our Ken. Jules and Sandy made us howl every week. I have been entertained and intrigued by him since then. A true master of comedy and the English language.
What a great breath of fresh air,so much hidden within his performance. He reminds me very much of Frankie Howard's style, dealing with life in his own way on his term's, what a lovely man, missed greatly for his own take on life , god bless him for his contributions to comedy and his fragrant lifestyle.
You can see how much he trusts Russell here. As he said in the first part, he does not like interviewers who try to "take the piss", hinting at people like Michael Parkinson who he detested "north country nit" be called him. He trusted and felt so relaxed in Russell's presence.
@@frazzleface753 He certainly did. They were great friends. Indeed I am surprised at who his closest friends were. Gordon Jackson, the actor from The Sweeney and Upstairs Downstairs was his best friend, Gordon and his wife used to invite him to spend Christmas Day and New Year's Eve with them, and he adored it. Hattie Jacques was another, and so was Stanley Baxter the Scottish impressionist. Russell was another, who would speak to Kenneth on the phone a lot when he was depressed.
yes. i got that too. the trust ....I watched that interview of him on Parkinson long ago. Parkinson challenged him to what they were talking about ...jobs etc. the next week parkinson had that famous union leader jimmy reid. that show was exceptionally good. love the back and forth of their conversation. !
Gotta love Kenneth Williams...see him at the end just drinking in the audience applause that meant so much to him...a true performer and just toally unique. I love the fact that he's nominally lumped in with camp comedy, which is certainly part of his repartoire, but he just transcends that to be so much more! Really funny and interesting man.
@@jakeblowers4485 , he was such an artist at the craft of speech. he knew he had a gift and relished in rolling his R's and the like. a theatrical delight, indeed!!!!
Does anyone else notice how he brushed past details that would have made a great anecdote by themselves in order to get to his point? I've seen him do it numerous times and i think it's brilliant. Kenneth Williams was wasted in this world. Carry on Kenny.
Watch, learn and listen today's so called comedians this is comic genius. Fantabulosa the greatest interview ever aired two gentlemen at the top of their game. R.I.P Kenny and Russel.
The greatest showman, comedian and raconteur that ever lived. The only other comedian comparable was Robin Williams. Both genius and with an intellectual witticism that will never be surpassed. You will never be forgotten and I hope that you know that you will always be loved.❤ R.I.P Kenneth Williams
Loopy and peerless delightful. Loved hours and hours of him in Just a Minute. Love how he was allowed to fly free in this more of a monologue than interview.
I feel certain that the American ear has a frightfully difficult time translating this. Not only the breakneck speed of his delivery, but his dialect, the plummyness and also the subject matter are unique.
He's been gone 35 years, but it's still hard to believe Kenneth Williams dead. One half expects to turn on the radio to find him incandescent at Nicholas Parsons for some imagined slight.
Kenneth never owned a television set. He always bought one for his mother Louie, upgrading it over the years e.g. getting her a new colour set in the early 1970s. He would let her have the television, and he would pop round each night, or some nights to watch a few shows with her. Otherwise he hated much of what was pumped out on the then three (later four) UK stations. He much preferred reading, writing, listening to records or to the radio.
I'm not sure that's quite correct. I've seen an interview where he says the reason he didn't have a television is that he wouldn't get anything done as he would watch it too much.
@@MatgoStyles It was Sheila Hancock and Maggie Smith who both said in interviews about Kenneth, that Kenneth never owned a set because of what he felt was the rubbish pumped out. If you read his diary, you can see his contempt for television back then. He felt especially the BBC was a special good old boys club, where they all protected each other, which he hated.
@@YorkshireNutte Chris Barrie was one of the impressionists, amongst many, that worked on Spitting Image...and at the same time Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, that went on to create Red Dwarf were both writers on Spitting Image, again, amongst many. Barrie did it for quite a few years.
Kenneth Williams had cockney, working-class parents and his early career was as a draughtsman drawing maps. He was a self-made man but not in the money sense - he made his own distinctive voice and public persona so well that nobody else could match him during his lifetime and since his rather early death from an overdose of sleeping pills. A one-off who didn't mind laughing at himself. What a dish!
Wasn`t that so refreshing to see!! im not gonna say TV today is rubbish, because its not, but, back in the 70`s and 80`s we were spoilt for talent..thanks for showing this, and btw i was 11 when this was aired for the 1st time
+The Governor Excellent point Governor. I'd like to know what he would have added if given the chance.He is absolutely razor sharp! Unlike some interviewees who one can tell are concentrating on what they are about to say, it is clear he is paying very clear attention to the interviewer's words. When Russell Harty mentioned " does she bottom through," Ken was RIGHT on to it.
All my life I have taken real delight in Kenneth Williams. I could listen to him speak for hours and often do. I was saddened by his death and often wonder whether it was accidental or deliberate? I would guess the latter but it's so sad to think he was driven to overdose on Barbiturates despite being so loved. I'm just grateful that we can still enjoy him here.
A truly funny man, shame we wont see people of his generation again, because what we have now apart from a few exceptions are just not funny or interesting..Go and get the box set of the carry on films, they`re wonderful
one of the best actors and comedian of the 60,s and 70,s ..... most of the time you couldnt understand what he was talking about but you laughed anyway... in that aspect he was much like tommy cooper... he not only sounded funny but he looked funny and theres not many around these days that can do that ( except for lee evans )
