Ken's comic delivery is first rate, so glad this film survived. Didn't watch it when it was first broadcast, but I have been beaming like the Cheshire cat. Truly outstanding. Sad loss when he passed.
Horrified to realise, on 31st December 2023, that this video is 40 years old. I feel so privileged to have lived to watch brilliant people such as Kenneth in their prime and with very short eyebrows.
23:28 - The most important friendship Kenneth had was with Gordon Jackson. He is mentioned so many times in his diaries. Gordon & his wife Rona were loyal friends to Kenneth for decades. He used to always spend New Year's Eve with Gordon, Rona & their children. They adored each other. A bit like brothers. Kenneth never had a brother, I think Gordon became an older brother to Kenny, as he was 3 years older than Kenny.
Helping run a family pub in rural Durham aged 21. Gay too but, having watched a documentary from New York about a strange new disease called AIDS, I put my personal life on hold. Great year for music though: Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, Bonnie Tyler, Men at Work, Eurythmics, Police….and on and on.
Helping run a family pub in rural Durham aged 21. Gay too but, having watched a documentary from New York about a strange new disease called AIDS, I put my personal life on hold. Great year for music though: Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, Bonnie Tyler, Men at Work, Eurythmics, Police….and on and on.
Helping run a family pub in rural Durham aged 21. Gay too but, having watched a documentary from New York about a strange new disease called AIDS, I put my personal life on hold. Great year for music though: Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, Bonnie Tyler, Men at Work, Eurythmics, Police….and on and on.
Does anyone know who the audience member "Matthew " in the rainbow jumper is? There will never be another talented man like Ken. Privileged to live in his time.
The thing with watching these LWT versions of older /earlier "An Audience with..." is the celebs in the audience - trying to remember who they are/were, and if they're alive, deceased, and or disgraced 😂
Watching the audience laugh means we get to see their teeth, and it seems by 1983 there must have been a severe lack of toothpaste in Britain, as most of their teeth has every colour except white.
@johnking5174 Isn't it strange how our views of the world around us change over time? Human teeth have a natural range in colour from the almost white/Biege tones right through to almost brown or grey. Actual WHITE teeth are very rare indeed when they occur naturally. Pure luck of the genetic lottery. But thanks to media saturation, advances in dentistry, dental implants, advanced teeth whitening using ultrviolet light and modern gentle whitening chemicals, overnight whiteners the list goes on..... What we percieve as a healthy "normal" looking smile NOW, would have stood out like a bright row of freaky looking headlights to most folks in 1983.
A true comedic genius and consummate entertainer. We were blessed to have benefited from his immense talents. Sadly, it seems, he was deeply unhappy in himself. May that have dissolved once he passed into Spirit.
The celebrities in those days earned there fame! Not like these jordie shore and made in Chelsea or towie crap ! Love Island! Lol seriously! Kenneth Williams is a legend
The most brilliant impressionist and entertainer that this land has produced , the depth of his talent is mostly not recognised , this video shows just a fraction of his ability , we will probably not see his like again.
Wonderful, Wonderful Man - I only hope that you truly realise how much you were Loved Kenneth. Without doubt the greatest orator and raconteur that I have ever seen in my 63 years on this planet. If there is such a thing as Heaven I would really like to meet and chat with you.❤ R.I.P Kenny
"I wonder if anyone will ever know about the emptiness of my life. I wonder if anyone will ever stand in a room that I have lived in, and touch the things that were once a part of my life, and wonder about me, and ask themselves what manner of man I was. How to ever tell them? How to ever explain? How to say that I never found Love - how to say that it was all my own fault - that when presented with it, I was afraid & so I spurned it, or laughed at it, or was cruel, and killed it: and knew that in the process I was killing myself." From KW's diaries
I wonder if he had been born a bit later, might he have felt more at ease ? 'Gay ' was taboo, back then...folk are easier with it now😊. He amused us so much with his anecdotes, from an extraordinary life. It's so nice to be able to see him here on UA-cam. Many thanks 😊 🇬🇧😊🦉💙⭐🇬🇧
I think the answer is yes. Remember it was only in 1967 that consensual same sex acts between two men were made legal in England. Also it was in the 1980s when gay men started to feel more liberated, especially with the alternative comedy scene arriving. So instead of being born in 1926, if he had have been born in 1956, possibly his personal life might have been easier, as he would have been in his 30s in the 80s. But on the downside, we would have never had him in the Carry On movies.
The immortal,one and only Kenneth Williams. I enjoyed decades of sublime wit,laughter and entertainment in years bygone. I wish I meet him in the afterlife!
Just pure refined entertaining talent. Forty years on and all the real actors and entertainers will soon be gone. At least we’ll have Ant and Dec though eh?
@@MrAJR76 You can actually see Kenny has a script on his side table. Pieces of information which help him through the show if needed. However Lenny was a pro at these type of shows, he had a memory which was like a library.
Ken's comic delivery is first rate, so glad this film survived. Didn't watch it when it was first broadcast, but I have been beaming like the Cheshire cat. Truly outstanding. Sad loss when he passed.
Horrified to realise, on 31st December 2023, that this video is 40 years old. I feel so privileged to have lived to watch brilliant people such as Kenneth in their prime and with very short eyebrows.
Video's 9 months old
The man was amazing god bless him ❤
Me too every day I am grateful I got to see these wonderful performers completely different to the rubbish today.
I didn’t appreciate how great these people were at the time. Looking back from 2024, it saddens me.
Tempus bloody fugit! @czeshirecat
23:28 - The most important friendship Kenneth had was with Gordon Jackson. He is mentioned so many times in his diaries. Gordon & his wife Rona were loyal friends to Kenneth for decades. He used to always spend New Year's Eve with Gordon, Rona & their children. They adored each other. A bit like brothers. Kenneth never had a brother, I think Gordon became an older brother to Kenny, as he was 3 years older than Kenny.
remarkable to read his diary and compare it to this extravagant performance
December 1983, where were you? I was in London, 18, gay boy from Dorset end of first term at Drama Centre ... life was beginning 😊
@@markalessandro3673 Who shot JR? Bronski Beat, Culture Club...? Was Joan Collins in Dynasty yet?
Helping run a family pub in rural Durham aged 21. Gay too but, having watched a documentary from New York about a strange new disease called AIDS, I put my personal life on hold. Great year for music though: Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, Bonnie Tyler, Men at Work, Eurythmics, Police….and on and on.
Helping run a family pub in rural Durham aged 21. Gay too but, having watched a documentary from New York about a strange new disease called AIDS, I put my personal life on hold. Great year for music though: Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, Bonnie Tyler, Men at Work, Eurythmics, Police….and on and on.
Helping run a family pub in rural Durham aged 21. Gay too but, having watched a documentary from New York about a strange new disease called AIDS, I put my personal life on hold. Great year for music though: Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, Bonnie Tyler, Men at Work, Eurythmics, Police….and on and on.
lordy you dont look old enough
Does anyone know who the audience member "Matthew " in the rainbow jumper is?
There will never be another talented man like Ken. Privileged to live in his time.
Thankyou for replying. That audience was amazing too!
That is Matthew Kelly, first became well known in the 80s on a show called game for a laugh.
The thing with watching these LWT versions of older /earlier "An Audience with..." is the celebs in the audience - trying to remember who they are/were, and if they're alive, deceased, and or disgraced 😂
Old man😮😅😢😊. ❤
JOSEPHINE JANE CLAY 🐈🤲miracle
🤲
🎉how many angels did I write print I can't remember 😂
Watching the audience laugh means we get to see their teeth, and it seems by 1983 there must have been a severe lack of toothpaste in Britain, as most of their teeth has every colour except white.
What? ??????
@johnking5174 Isn't it strange how our views of the world around us change over time? Human teeth have a natural range in colour from the almost white/Biege tones right through to almost brown or grey.
Actual WHITE teeth are very rare indeed when they occur naturally. Pure luck of the genetic lottery.
But thanks to media saturation, advances in dentistry, dental implants, advanced teeth whitening using ultrviolet light and modern gentle whitening chemicals, overnight whiteners the list goes on.....
What we percieve as a healthy "normal" looking smile NOW, would have stood out like a bright row of freaky looking headlights to most folks in 1983.
Very very . .know what I mean?
In tents?
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
A true comedic genius and consummate entertainer. We were blessed to have benefited from his immense talents. Sadly, it seems, he was deeply unhappy in himself. May that have dissolved once he passed into Spirit.
So very amusing
Peter sellers had a similar unhappy private life
A genius. Great impression of Noel Coward.
Almost unbelievably clever - bless you Mr Williams, bless
The celebrities in those days earned there fame! Not like these jordie shore and made in Chelsea or towie crap ! Love Island! Lol seriously! Kenneth Williams is a legend
You have to wonder how on earth he does it. It’s non-stop, effortless raconteur-ing. Mesmerising.
Staccato humour.
Probably the best exponent.
The most brilliant impressionist and entertainer that this land has produced , the depth of his talent is mostly not recognised , this video shows just a fraction of his ability , we will probably not see his like again.
Wonderful, Wonderful Man - I only hope that you truly realise how much you were Loved Kenneth.
Without doubt the greatest orator and raconteur that I have ever seen in my 63 years on this planet. If there is such a thing as Heaven I would really like to meet and chat with you.❤
R.I.P Kenny
Not sure he. Ever new he was loved sadly
lovely man, very underrated, so funny.
"Underrated" by who?
What level of rating do you think has wrongly been assigned to him?
What rating level should he be at?
So brilliant!
"I wonder if anyone will ever know about the emptiness of my life. I wonder if anyone will ever stand in a room that I have lived in, and touch the things that were once a part of my life, and wonder about me, and ask themselves what manner of man I was. How to ever tell them? How to ever explain? How to say that I never found Love - how to say that it was all my own fault - that when presented with it, I was afraid & so I spurned it, or laughed at it, or was cruel, and killed it: and knew that in the process I was killing myself."
From KW's diaries
His impressions of Noel Coward were peerless.
I wonder if he had
been born a bit
later, might he
have felt more at ease ?
'Gay ' was taboo,
back then...folk are
easier with it now😊.
He amused us so
much with his
anecdotes, from an
extraordinary life.
It's so nice to be
able to see him
here on UA-cam.
Many thanks 😊
🇬🇧😊🦉💙⭐🇬🇧
I think the answer is yes. Remember it was only in 1967 that consensual same sex acts between two men were made legal in England. Also it was in the 1980s when gay men started to feel more liberated, especially with the alternative comedy scene arriving. So instead of being born in 1926, if he had have been born in 1956, possibly his personal life might have been easier, as he would have been in his 30s in the 80s. But on the downside, we would have never had him in the Carry On movies.
what an immaculately elegant man Kenneth was. Love him.
Thank you for sharing!
Kenny (as he was known by his friends) was great pals with Dame Maggie Smith, who died yesterday, aged 89. I hope she's having a giggle with him.
The immortal,one and only Kenneth Williams. I enjoyed decades of sublime wit,laughter and entertainment in years bygone. I wish I meet him in the afterlife!
Just pure refined entertaining talent. Forty years on and all the real actors and entertainers will soon be gone. At least we’ll have Ant and Dec though eh?
Carefully planted question by Giles Brandreth, the ahem publisher of Acid Drops!
No surprises, as it happened on every An Audience With.
ALL the questions are pre-scripted by each audience member. That was how these "Audience With..." shows worked.
@@MrAJR76 You can actually see Kenny has a script on his side table. Pieces of information which help him through the show if needed. However Lenny was a pro at these type of shows, he had a memory which was like a library.
@@johnking5174I suspect that was probably the running order of the questions, and who was going to ask 😉
Loved seeing Joan Sims amd Bernard Bresslaw in the audience :)
Pure genius 😊
I.............. was in the audience and I..........and Kenny were good friends.......the silly Bgr......we loved you....
Miss the days of the old British raconteurs.
Who else did you have in mind?
@@roberthutchinson5482 Frank Muir, Peter Ustinov, Peter Cook, Quentin Crisp. probably a few more too. :)
When his voice goes deep for a moment. Nnn
He was a very intelligent & well read Man.
A wonderful story-teller
Gosh,most if not all them in audience dead.
Amazingly, Stanley Baxter is still going (98)
Brilliant
Whats this cats full name?
🐈
He's in Heaven.
AHH That
Ahh that.
now.
Not just a pretty face, you know. Well, now we all do. Thanks!
Friday 23rd December 1983
I have never been that keen on him I prefer The Khasi of Kalabar 😂