JACK DOUGLASJack Douglas, who died on 18 December, 2008, aged 81, was a British comedy actor whose bumbling, twitching persona was a late addition to the cast of the Carry On films.He appeared in the last eight films in the series as a bumbling Northener, creating a vicious circle of unease with his nervous convulsions and slapstick clumsiness.He also appeared in sketches for The Goodies and Benny Hill. Before becoming an on-screen performer he had spent many years working in the theatre.He was born Jack Roberton in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 26 April, 1927. During the 1950s and '60s he acted on the stage, performing with various companies around the UK and appearing in West End variety shows with the likes of Russ Conway, Jack Haig and Des O'Connor.He made his Carry On debut in 1972 with a brief cameo in the former stage persona he called Alf Ippititimus, this time playing an expectant father whose awkward disposition is only increased when he has to report an unusual birth to the Guinness Book of Records.He had various roles in that year's Carry on Christmas TV special and then played an accident-prone pub regular in Carry on Abroad (1972). Over the course of his Carry On career his screen time increased and by the time of Carry on Emmannuelle (1978) he was part of the primary cast.He also appeared in the flop revival film Carry on Columbus (1992). Like most of the members of the cast, he had a catchphrase, the vague expression of alarm "Phwaay!", another popular trait of his bespectacled clutz.After Carry On he had roles in the dark drama Bloody Kids (1979) and the village comedy The Shillingbury Blowers (1980), which inspired an ITV sitcom which he also starred in, and he continued to work in the theatre and pantomime.In 2002 he published an autobiography, A Twitch in Time. He died on the Isle of Wight where he lived with his partner Vivien.His agent Phil Dale was among the first to pay tribute to him, saying he was "one of those lovely people who came from the world of comedy and understood comedy timing in the sense of the old British tradition of farce".The broadcaster Richard Hope-Hawkins said: "Jack was a lovely friend and a very clever comedian. It's lovely everyone recognises Jack for his Carry On films but he was also a true professional and entertainer."
Keep me informed of updates
