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Charles Hawtrey 1914-1988 : The Man Who Was Private Widdle
Charles Hawtrey, the skinny one with the granny glasses, was everybody's favourite in the "Carry On" films. Incorporating interviews with the major players, this biography examines Hawtrey's origins as a child star and as a performer in revue and the Will Hay films. it looks at his career on radio and television, and then at the sad, slow decline of a belligerent, alcoholic recluse on the Kent coast.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
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First published October 7, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 20, 2014
Sometimes we fish in murky waters. Here's a tiny fragment of a book about the weird and not wonderful Charles Hawtry, a hideous caricature of an actor remembered only for being one of the abased grotesques in the grim, revolting, bargain-basement, so bad it's just bad, not good-bad Carry On series, famous world-wide. To call the Carry Ons puerile would give a bad name to puers. I sometimes imagine a bunch of intellectuals in, say, Bombay, watching Carry On Up the Khyber and saying to each other - gor blimey o'reilly - these were our colonial masters!
In the painful Carry On crew Charles Hawtrey was the perpetual schoolboy with the big glasses who would dress up as a woman quicker than you could say "in this scene you have to dress up as a woman". He was the very definition of what most men thought homosexuals were, even camper than Kenneth Williams, and that's saying a lot. Here’s Roger Lewis’s wonderful description of Kenneth Williams :
an appalling actor, affected, caustic, shrieking like a peacock and with no sense of dramatic rhythm. Sinuous, snaky, serpentine, his voice and body coil and writhe across the screen, his forked tongue flickering, his nostrils looming and threatening to engulf you like railway tunnels
Yes, don’t get on the wrong side of Roger Lewis. But he likes Hawtry. Here he is liking him :
he’s a manifestation. Everything about him – his bony witch’s fingers, his round spectacles, his skin which was like tracing paper, his coal-black lock of hair – was picturesque; it’s the stylization of a silent movie. He’s like a drawing by Beardsley or Cocteau, a sketch in pen and ink, a few contours and curlicues, held together by nervous tension…. in his work there is enjoyment, a winningness; in his life furtiveness, pride, cynicism, boredom and hatred, a strain of discord forever creaking and snapping beneath the surface
Why write a book, even such an afterthought of a book as this one, which is more of a long pamphlet, about such a benighted creature? But that’s the beauty of it – we’re human, and are therefore part Laurence Olivier and part Charles Hawtry, part Meryl Streep and part Paris Hilton, we dream among the stars and we smirk behind our hands. I think Shakespeare says something similar somewhere. And we can write about what we like. And sometimes we like very odd things.
Charles Hawtry’s life is not pleasant to contemplate – he wanted big ruff tuff masculine boyfriends but never got any unless money changed hands. He propositioned every taxi driver who took him home when he’d been slung out of a pub for propositioning every other man. He had no friends, he had a Psycho-style relationship with his mummy (talking to her aloud after she died). It seems he was never happier than when he was wearing female clothing. This is just the kind of screwed-up individual they had in mind when they tried (and still in some places try) to de-program gay people. You want your kid to be like Charles Hawtry? Huh? Well, no – I really don’t.
The cross-dressing gender-bending aspect of gay culture has always given me the willies (oo-ah ducky). Firstly because it permeates British culture, particularly comedy, and is enshrined in the dame in the panto we all troop off to see every Christmas (note – girls dressed as boys is a whole other thing, I never mind that!). There's hardly a British comic who hasn't been a cock in a frock at some point in their career. And second because it gives me the pernicious idea that gay men are actually all just simply transgendered, they’re females born into the wrong body, that’s why they want to wear mascara and camp about. (And same goes for the masculine lesbians too). But I actually don’t believe that, I think that’s completely wrong-headed way to think about the whole thing. As I say, these are murky waters in which to fish.
One thing I learned in this book was that male homosexuals often had female travelling companions which they described as a “beard”. As in “Are you taking a beard?” This was (then) gay slang. Beard = false beard, as in acting a part. The female was acting the part of the gay man’s wife.
I admit to being embarrassed that this review is as long as some reviews of The Brothers Karamazov.
In the painful Carry On crew Charles Hawtrey was the perpetual schoolboy with the big glasses who would dress up as a woman quicker than you could say "in this scene you have to dress up as a woman". He was the very definition of what most men thought homosexuals were, even camper than Kenneth Williams, and that's saying a lot. Here’s Roger Lewis’s wonderful description of Kenneth Williams :
an appalling actor, affected, caustic, shrieking like a peacock and with no sense of dramatic rhythm. Sinuous, snaky, serpentine, his voice and body coil and writhe across the screen, his forked tongue flickering, his nostrils looming and threatening to engulf you like railway tunnels
Yes, don’t get on the wrong side of Roger Lewis. But he likes Hawtry. Here he is liking him :
he’s a manifestation. Everything about him – his bony witch’s fingers, his round spectacles, his skin which was like tracing paper, his coal-black lock of hair – was picturesque; it’s the stylization of a silent movie. He’s like a drawing by Beardsley or Cocteau, a sketch in pen and ink, a few contours and curlicues, held together by nervous tension…. in his work there is enjoyment, a winningness; in his life furtiveness, pride, cynicism, boredom and hatred, a strain of discord forever creaking and snapping beneath the surface
Why write a book, even such an afterthought of a book as this one, which is more of a long pamphlet, about such a benighted creature? But that’s the beauty of it – we’re human, and are therefore part Laurence Olivier and part Charles Hawtry, part Meryl Streep and part Paris Hilton, we dream among the stars and we smirk behind our hands. I think Shakespeare says something similar somewhere. And we can write about what we like. And sometimes we like very odd things.
Charles Hawtry’s life is not pleasant to contemplate – he wanted big ruff tuff masculine boyfriends but never got any unless money changed hands. He propositioned every taxi driver who took him home when he’d been slung out of a pub for propositioning every other man. He had no friends, he had a Psycho-style relationship with his mummy (talking to her aloud after she died). It seems he was never happier than when he was wearing female clothing. This is just the kind of screwed-up individual they had in mind when they tried (and still in some places try) to de-program gay people. You want your kid to be like Charles Hawtry? Huh? Well, no – I really don’t.
The cross-dressing gender-bending aspect of gay culture has always given me the willies (oo-ah ducky). Firstly because it permeates British culture, particularly comedy, and is enshrined in the dame in the panto we all troop off to see every Christmas (note – girls dressed as boys is a whole other thing, I never mind that!). There's hardly a British comic who hasn't been a cock in a frock at some point in their career. And second because it gives me the pernicious idea that gay men are actually all just simply transgendered, they’re females born into the wrong body, that’s why they want to wear mascara and camp about. (And same goes for the masculine lesbians too). But I actually don’t believe that, I think that’s completely wrong-headed way to think about the whole thing. As I say, these are murky waters in which to fish.
One thing I learned in this book was that male homosexuals often had female travelling companions which they described as a “beard”. As in “Are you taking a beard?” This was (then) gay slang. Beard = false beard, as in acting a part. The female was acting the part of the gay man’s wife.
I admit to being embarrassed that this review is as long as some reviews of The Brothers Karamazov.
May 2, 2014
This is a very short, affectionate and touching appreciation of Charles Hawtrey who, whilst best known for his roles in the British Carry On films of the 1960s and 1970s, made his first stage appearance in 1925 at the age of 11 and continued to have a career of sorts through to the 1980s. In 1972, after he was dropped by the Carry On producers, he slipped into the relative obscurity of pantomime and provincial summer seasons, whilst his alcoholism had steadily increased from the mid 1960s until his death in 1988.
As Roger Lewis acknowledges, as much as we love the Carry Ons (and I do) our affection isn't based on their artistic merits. Part of the pleasure of this 98 page monograph is reading Roger Lewis's obvious love for Hawtrey's abilities and comedic skills ("the positive joy of Hawtrey's performances imply the possibility of happiness"), coupled with his forthright opinions on some of the other Carry On regulars. His fiercest criticism is reserved for the two Kenneths: Kenneth Connor ("what a pain in the arse") and Kenneth Williams ("an appalling actor, affected, caustic, shrieking like a peacock and with no sense of dramatic rhythm").
Ultimately though, this is the tragic tale of a very lonely man: "Poor old Charles Hawtrey, he had a craving for the things that wouldn't come - superstardom, wealth, the love of naked sailors - and so developed a drinking habit, to put it mildly".
This may well be the perfect little book to sum up one of the sadder stories of British showbusiness, albeit one about a natural comedian who, like a select few (e.g. Eric Morecambe and Tommy Cooper), was funny even whilst doing very little.
4/5
As Roger Lewis acknowledges, as much as we love the Carry Ons (and I do) our affection isn't based on their artistic merits. Part of the pleasure of this 98 page monograph is reading Roger Lewis's obvious love for Hawtrey's abilities and comedic skills ("the positive joy of Hawtrey's performances imply the possibility of happiness"), coupled with his forthright opinions on some of the other Carry On regulars. His fiercest criticism is reserved for the two Kenneths: Kenneth Connor ("what a pain in the arse") and Kenneth Williams ("an appalling actor, affected, caustic, shrieking like a peacock and with no sense of dramatic rhythm").
Ultimately though, this is the tragic tale of a very lonely man: "Poor old Charles Hawtrey, he had a craving for the things that wouldn't come - superstardom, wealth, the love of naked sailors - and so developed a drinking habit, to put it mildly".
This may well be the perfect little book to sum up one of the sadder stories of British showbusiness, albeit one about a natural comedian who, like a select few (e.g. Eric Morecambe and Tommy Cooper), was funny even whilst doing very little.
4/5
January 21, 2019
What can you say about this book, not much really.
No wonder the book is so short, there is not much in it...
As a film buff, I had read all the stories of Charles Hawtrey, while making the Carry On films and also his very eccentric nasty character he become in later years...
So this book did not explain anything new, or try to.
It jumps backwards and forwards, one minute talking about the 1940's with his roles in Will Hay films, then straight back to the 60's and Carry on films, then to the 70's, then back again.
Yes I understand a quick short book about him but no real life story through the years.
So sadly not much more I can say except it confirmed was a nasty character he was, nothing like the characters he played in the films.
No wonder so few people went to his funeral. He thought he was more important than he was, thought he should have top casting in the Carry On films, was really a bitter, nasty character in later years, spending time in gay clubs, living a very lonely life in Kent.
Anyone came near his home, at your risk....Unless you were a big fireman !
No wonder the book is so short, there is not much in it...
As a film buff, I had read all the stories of Charles Hawtrey, while making the Carry On films and also his very eccentric nasty character he become in later years...
So this book did not explain anything new, or try to.
It jumps backwards and forwards, one minute talking about the 1940's with his roles in Will Hay films, then straight back to the 60's and Carry on films, then to the 70's, then back again.
Yes I understand a quick short book about him but no real life story through the years.
So sadly not much more I can say except it confirmed was a nasty character he was, nothing like the characters he played in the films.
No wonder so few people went to his funeral. He thought he was more important than he was, thought he should have top casting in the Carry On films, was really a bitter, nasty character in later years, spending time in gay clubs, living a very lonely life in Kent.
Anyone came near his home, at your risk....Unless you were a big fireman !
June 19, 2008
A strange book about a strange man. Small in pages, but it got my interest when I saw the book in a Soho London porn slash discounted bookstore. Charles Hawtrey was one of the stars in the everlasting film series "Carry On." He was something of a misfit, quite eccentric, gay, and a horrible drunk. He went out of his way to alienate fans and friends - and was sort of a cheap man on top of that. Was he talented or good? I don't know. But what's interesting is the Carry On films convey a certain aspect of British pop culture that is low brow but also convey a certain identity to British fans. The films never really made it outside of the U.K., yet I feel that it maybe important work - if not artistically, then as works produced in the British post-war years and what it meant to its audience. Will read Kenneth Williams next!
October 26, 2021
Poor Charles Hawtrey. He seems to have led a largely frustrated, miserable life despite considerable talents. Lewis treats him sympathetically but also with balance and probably more seriousness than his contribution to film and theatre really merits. Unfortunately, some of the other famous characters that feature in the story are dismissed rather cruelly. This is hard to forgive given that one of the main points of the book is that there is often deep sadness and complexity lurking beneath a jovial, harmless exterior.
Read
February 25, 2013If you can't be bothered to wriet a proper biography of Charles Hawtrey, don't bother writing one at all. A few rustles in the archive and a brief spurt of writing till you got bored isn't enough, and displays the egocentricity that also fucked up Lewis' Sellers book.
Anything about CH is interesting but please, go to Wes Butters Whatshisname: The Life and Death of Charles Hawtrey instead. He isn't primarily a writer, but he does a much better job of biography than Lewis gives Hawtrey.
Anything about CH is interesting but please, go to Wes Butters Whatshisname: The Life and Death of Charles Hawtrey instead. He isn't primarily a writer, but he does a much better job of biography than Lewis gives Hawtrey.
Read
November 25, 2015This is unreadable. The author keeps getting in the way of the subject. Do not read: there is a paucity of material on Hawtrey but this adds nothing.
April 26, 2014
A strange little book about a strange little man.
November 14, 2022
A strange little biography of sorts. The second half was certainly better than the first half, which was confusing and disjointed. I also found it odd and irritating for a biographer to be quite so opinionated (especially about Kenneth Connor, who was always one of my favourite Carry On stars, and who was written off by Roger Lewis in a flash). The book did however clearly show what a sad and ultimately unpleasant character Hawtrey had been for so many years - it fully concurred with the stories I had heard about his final illness when I was a junior doctor in East Kent in the early 1990s. Am I glad I have read it? Perhaps - just hope it doesn't spoil my enjoyment of Carry On films. My advice - read All the Devils are Here, by David Seabrook, great on those Kent seaside towns and their characters.
June 12, 2015
An interesting insight into a sad life
January 2, 2021
Not the best biography of this strange character. It spends too much time on the authors opinion rather that facts he has found out about Hawtrey.
September 6, 2021
A thoroughly disappointing read.
An earlier work of Lewis' was described as "self-indulgent, pompous, repetitive and wilfully swinish," and Oh My God, he's done it again. It's written in a Dennis Miller digressive, notice-me-I'm-part-of-the-in-crowd, pseudo-intellectual style that is as off-putting as it is opaque.
Although described by Lewis himself as a monograph, and topping out at 98 pages of text (and I'm being kind here, because there are pages of photographs in the middle) plus an Appendix of Hawtrey's 1954 resume, the book focuses primarily on Hawtrey's inability to secure work, spends most of its time making snide references to Hawtrey's homosexuality, and never provides a definitive list or chronology of his films and plays (what is provided is sprinkled throughout like confetti--the Carry On films are all referred to in shorthand and there is no clear listing with dates--or in the resume).
Ultimately, this is a sad tribute to an actor who deserved better.
An earlier work of Lewis' was described as "self-indulgent, pompous, repetitive and wilfully swinish," and Oh My God, he's done it again. It's written in a Dennis Miller digressive, notice-me-I'm-part-of-the-in-crowd, pseudo-intellectual style that is as off-putting as it is opaque.
Although described by Lewis himself as a monograph, and topping out at 98 pages of text (and I'm being kind here, because there are pages of photographs in the middle) plus an Appendix of Hawtrey's 1954 resume, the book focuses primarily on Hawtrey's inability to secure work, spends most of its time making snide references to Hawtrey's homosexuality, and never provides a definitive list or chronology of his films and plays (what is provided is sprinkled throughout like confetti--the Carry On films are all referred to in shorthand and there is no clear listing with dates--or in the resume).
Ultimately, this is a sad tribute to an actor who deserved better.
April 26, 2021
As an Avid Carry on-er I always look for the unusual and quirky offerings that come to light, telling us about the background to our heroes.
I knew a fair bit about Hawtrey from the start. This book told me nothing I didn't already know, apart from the authors abortive attempts to find out any facts that were unknown already.
A very small book which did nothing to cover in any depth his life. We didn't learn anything new about his early years on the stage, but just a personal view by the author ( and a few local cab drivers) who seemed to loathe the sad man in his later years. Quite a disappointing read, which i only pursued to the end, in case there was a chance of something coming to light. There wasn't !
I knew a fair bit about Hawtrey from the start. This book told me nothing I didn't already know, apart from the authors abortive attempts to find out any facts that were unknown already.
A very small book which did nothing to cover in any depth his life. We didn't learn anything new about his early years on the stage, but just a personal view by the author ( and a few local cab drivers) who seemed to loathe the sad man in his later years. Quite a disappointing read, which i only pursued to the end, in case there was a chance of something coming to light. There wasn't !
July 23, 2019
What a sad little book this is, we have all laughed at Charles, in the Carry On Films- when he says "why hello" with pot lid on his head,, and as Private Widdle, even now that a lone can have fans giggling, but alas this was not the real Charlie.
It's a thin book, with just over a hundred pages, we don't learn much, what we do learn is that he was lonely, liked to drink and had a vicious tongue when he wanted...
It's a thin book, with just over a hundred pages, we don't learn much, what we do learn is that he was lonely, liked to drink and had a vicious tongue when he wanted...
April 27, 2023
More a mediation on Hawtrey rather than a biography. The author talks about what he likes and doesn't like in Hawtrey's film performances, tells a few stories he's collected about Hawtrey's life in roughly chronological order, and includes footnotes outlining dreams the author has had which include Hawtrey. Fun enough to read but leaves plenty of room for a proper biography to be written.
June 26, 2022
Behind the laughter the sad and lonely life of a comedy legend who brought joy and a smile to so many of his fans
June 3, 2024
I could just read Roger Lewis about anything but about the oddest of the odd bunch which made up the Carry On team is just a delight.
February 6, 2020
This will be a short review for a short book.
I found this a brilliant read. The perfect length for its subject and to say what Roger Lewis wanted to say about him as a person and as a kind of archetype. It also sowed little seeds for further reading.
Definitely worth a read.
I came to it as a result of a Backlisted Podcast on David Seabrook's 'All The Devils Are Here', which I've also just finished and which also features tales of Charles Hawtrey in Deal. But more of that anon.
I found this a brilliant read. The perfect length for its subject and to say what Roger Lewis wanted to say about him as a person and as a kind of archetype. It also sowed little seeds for further reading.
Definitely worth a read.
I came to it as a result of a Backlisted Podcast on David Seabrook's 'All The Devils Are Here', which I've also just finished and which also features tales of Charles Hawtrey in Deal. But more of that anon.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews