“I’ve played a hell of a lot of different roles, but they’re all me – with different hats on”.
Sid James
Introduction
With a craggy face and a distinctive laugh with star billing in 17 of his 19 Carry On film appearances, Sid James was a South African actor whom we adopted as one of our own—a man who evolved from hard man to lothario to a father figure in his on-screen appearances. His appeal is being that man next door who loved a smoke, a drink and a gamble on the horses. Someone who loved life and wasn’t afraid to roll up his sleeves and knuckle down to hard work. A long-running acting career in the UK encompassed radio, film, stage and television from 1947 to 1976. He was a natural who died far too young but whose legacy remains as bright today as when he was alive, continuing to attract a legion of new fans.
Game for a Laugh
Sid’s early life was far removed from what it became. Born Solomon Joel Cohen in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1913 to Jewish parents, Sid grew up in a middle-class household on Hancock Street in Hillbrow. Later, changing his name to Sidney Joel Cohen, James claimed he spent his early career working as a diamond cutter, dance tutor and boxer. However, the truth was that Sid was actually a hairdresser, working in a hair salon in Kroonstad, Orange Free State. It is where he met his future wife, Berthe Sadie Delmont (Toots), whom he married in 1936 and had a daughter with, Elizabeth, in 1937. His father-in-law bought him a hair salon, but after just a year, Sid followed his burning ambition of becoming an actor. Working for the Johannesburg Repertory Players, Sid went on to work with the South African Broadcasting Corporation. He divorced Toots in 1940.
As a lieutenant in the Union Defence Force Entertainment Unit in the South African army during World War II, James used his service gratuity to travel to the UK after the war. He worked in repertory before being spotted as a potential for the British film industry. A bit part actor at first, Sid appeared briefly in crime thrillers like Night Beat, Black Memory and The Small Black Room, a war thriller. A trilby-wearing actor, swarthy and perfect for the sepia post-war cinema, standing in the shadows and ready to give a punch-up the bracket when needed. However, his first big break came in the 1951 Ealing comedy The Lavender Hill Mob, with Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway and Alfie Bass. A bank robbery where stolen gold bullion was melted down and made into Eiffel Tower paperweights to sell on the black market.
This film was Sid’s springboard to radio. Three years later, he landed the part of Tony Hancock’s shady sidekick on BBC’s Hancock’s Half Hour. Working alongside Hattie Jacques and Bill Kerr and hilarious contributions from Kenneth Williams, James always said this was his favourite job. Yet Hancock would later ditch Sid and Kenneth, choosing to go alone in 1960. A decision that ultimately led to failure and his suicide in Sydney, Australia, in 1968 at the age of only 44. This sacking affected Sid for many years, especially as Tony was one of his closest friends.
Blessings in Disguise
Despite this acting divorce from Hancock, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson decided to continue working with Sid. Citizen Sid was written for him and ran three series between 1960 and 1962, co-starring Liz Fraser and Bill Kerr. It would be followed by Taxi!, devised by Ted Willis, who created Dickson of Dot Green. Jack Rosenthal wrote a few of the scripts with appearances by Bill Owen and Ray Brooks. Sid played a cab firm owner named Sid Stone, very similar to the role he would play in 1963 in Carry On Cabby. It ran for 26 episodes, two series on the BBC between 1963 and 1964, but only one episode still exists as the BBC wiped it to preserve archive storage space.
What a Carry On!
Appearing in 19 of the 31 Carry On films, from Carry On Constable in 1960 to Carry On Dick in 1974, four episodes of Carry On Laughing and three Christmas specials. Sid James was a significant component of the Carry On franchise. He essentially played himself in a different part. He didn’t do it for the money, as there was little of it, but for the pleasure of spending time with his adopted family. They were quick to make and could be in the can in six weeks—a twice-a-year delight. Despite a massive heart attack, Sid ploughed on and only turned down Carry On Follow That Camel when filming clashed with George and the Dragon—a great comedy with Peggy Mount. However, the franchise’s quality would slide in the 1970s, but thankfully, Sid wasn’t involved in a bad one.
By now on, his third wife, Valerie, was the love of his life. James became obsessed with Barbara Windsor, and the two had a brief affair. A relationship that was more of a father-figure bond that got confused. At the time, Barbara was engaged to Ronnie Knight. A gangster who you didn’t want to cross, and when Ronnie found out about the dalliance, he sent his heavies around to Sid’s house to rearrange the furniture as a warning shot. The affair ended shortly afterwards.
The King of Comedy
Although Sid never considered himself a comedian, the viewers treated him as one. Second, only to his appearances with Hancock and his Carry On films was his role as Sid Abbott in Bless This House. I was too young to remember this the first time it was shown, but I had the pleasure of coming across it in the 1990s. Whenever it is on, I have to watch it, no matter how many times I have seen it. Sid, Jean and their children Sally and Mike live in the leafy suburban Putney but were filmed in Howard Road, New Malden. A dysfunctional family with neighbours and best friends, Trevor and Betty. Running from 1971-1976, the comedy was originally in black and white. He was a raging stationery salesman who never got his way and more than often ended with Trevor down the pub getting plastered on whisky. The series was also made into a 1972 film with Robin Askwith replacing Robin Stewart as Mike. The reason is that Robin Stewart was already booked for a summer season at Bournemouth Pier. Terry Scott, June Whitfield and Peter Butterworth also joined the cast.
The Final Curtain
Appearing in the stage farce, The Mating Game in 1976, Sid was already committed to touring the play around the country with a gruelling schedule. Four days after Bless This House had ended, Sid had travelled to Sunderland to appear in the play at the Sunderland Empire. The date was 26 April 1976. Sid had already given up fatty foods and cigarettes, lost weight and cut down on the booze after his first heart attack in 1967, but he didn’t cut on the work schedule. He couldn’t because he was a workaholic.
Sitting on a sofa on stage for the first night, Sid uttered his first lines, but when Olga Lowe came to sit next to him and said her following line, James didn’t reply. The curtain dropped like it would do for Tommy Cooper in 1984 at Her Majesty’s Theatre. Medical assistance was requested, and Sid was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. He had suffered a second massive heart attack, dying at the age of 62. He was a great man who always had a twinkle in his eye and an infectious dirty laugh to match—a national treasure that we adopted from South Africa and a firm favourite to this day.
