SID JAMESdied on 26 April, 1976, aged 62 after suffering a heart attack while on stage.
With his bulbous nose and gruff manner, he became a cult figure with his much-loved appearances in 19 Carry On movies during the 1960s and early 1970s.
Roles in theTV comedyBless This House and in the radio and TV versions of Hancock’s Half Hour cemented his position as a household name.
Joel Solomon Cohen was born on 8 May, 1913, in South Africa, ironically on Hancock Street in Johannesburg.
Before he became an actor, he had an array of jobs including as a diamond cutter and a hairdresser. He met wife Berthe, also known as Toots, in a salon and they married in 1936. They divorced in 1940. Later marriages included Meg Sergei in 1943 and Valerie Assan in 1952.
By now he was intent on seeking fame as an actor and arrived in Britain after the Second World War, where he had been a lieutenant in an entertainment unit.
His first big comedy role was in The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) but in 1954 he started working withTony Hancockon his radio show Hancock’s Half Hour. James played a criminal who would invariably con Hancock and when the show moved to television, the pair were very much seen as a double act.
After Hancock dropped Mr James, he returned to movies and joined the Carry On team. The characters he played were usually the lecherous Cockneys that had epitomised his earlier TV roles and he often had the name Sid or Sidney. Characters included Sidney Fiddler, Sid Carter, Sid Plummer and Sidney Bliss. He also played Sid Abbot in Bless This House.
He suffered a heart attack in 1967 as he was poised to appear in Carry On Follow That Camel and was replaced byPhil Silvers. But he recovered to star in a string of sitcoms and more movies.
He was on stage on the opening night of The Mating Season at the Sunderland Empire when he collapsed. The audience roared with laughter at first, thinking it was part of the act, but he had suffered another heart attack and died on the way to hospital.
Sid James’ guttural laugh will forever remain embedded in the conscience of British comedy.
His trademark cackle has been aped since he first burst on to our screens in the 1960s.
But whether playing a loveable rogue or lecherous ladykiller, Mr James was also the consummate professional and was even nicknamed “One Take James” because he usually always got it right first time.
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30654 visitors.Published: 26/04/1976
A great gift That brought fun, laughter & happiness in to homes for 50+ yrs
Added by Andrea j Owens
Great childhood memories of growing up in the 70s with SId & gang , bringing great laughter to any family home on a Saturday night ,,
I can still watch each film now I’m in my 50s & laugh as hard as I did as a kid, great humour & now older & wiser get what the Witt , of them all ment, which makes them even more special , don’t make gem like hey did, & never will, a great gift left behind that we still cherish 50 yrs on,
You loved to make all laugh & even as you left this world , on a stage in front of a audience you madd sure it was sone surrounded by laughter !!
I am without doubt that in the vip golden gate club , you are still keeping all in laughter , fun & happiness 💝🙏🏻💝
Thank you for priceless memories 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
