Joan Sims
Encyclopedia
Joan Sims was an English
actress best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films
, and latterly for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By
.
in Laindon
, Essex
. Sims' early interest in being an actress came from living at the railway station. She would often put on performances for waiting passengers. She decided that she was certainly interested in pursuing show business, and soon became a familiar face in a growing number of amateur productions locally, during her teens.
In 1946, Sims first applied to RADA
, but her audition was unsuccessful. Her first audition included a rendition of Winnie the Pooh. She did succeed in being admitted to PARADA, the academy's preparatory school, and finally, on her fourth attempt, she graduated and was trained at RADA. She graduated from RADA in 1950 at the age of 19.
Sims appeared in a number of Brian Rix's Aldwych Theatre
farce
s, but revue was Sims' greatest medium, especially in the works of Peter Myers. In 1958 she got a part in Peter Coke
's play Breath of Spring, which opened at the Cambridge Theatre
in March, transferring to the Duke of York's Theatre
in August 1958, and running until April 1959.
Sims preferred film to stage work. "It was, of course, lovely to be in a successful play, to have the excitement of performing a hit to packed houses (and, not least, the assurance of a regular income for the foreseeable future). But, on the other hand, I found it extremely difficult to keep a performance fresh, and I'd soon get bored."
with Norman Wisdom
. In 1954 she made a cameo appearance in Doctor in the House
, opposite Dirk Bogarde
as the sexually repressed Nurse Rigor Mortis. Sims became a regular in the Doctors series, which was produced by Betty E. Box, and was hence spotted by Box's husband Peter Rogers
.
In 1958, Sims received a script from Peter Rogers: it was for Carry On Nurse
. The film Carry On Sergeant
had been a huge success at the box office and in the autumn of that year and Rogers and director Gerald Thomas
began planning a follow-up.
She first starred in Carry On Nurse
, then Carry On Teacher
, followed by Carry On Constable
and Carry On Regardless
, and this sealed her future as a regular Carry On performer. Following a bout of ill health, Dilys Laye
had to be brought in to take her place in Carry On Cruising
at very short notice; however, Sims rejoined the team with Carry On Cleo
. Her role in this was to set the tone for the rest of the Carry On films. "...[F]or once the costumes were made for me, rather than my having to resort to some old dress that had been used before and had to have a new panel sewn in the back to accommodate my girth - which by now was unvaryingly plump."
Sims' characters evolved from objects of desire in the early films to frumpy, nagging wives in the later ones, epitomised by the Emily Bung role in Carry on Screaming
. Following the success of Carry On Cleo she stayed with the films all the way though to the final one in the original series, Carry On Emmannuelle
, appearing in twenty-four Carry On films in all; she did not return for the one-off revival film, Carry On Columbus
. She also appeared alongside Kenneth Williams in the radio show Stop Messing About
in 1969-70.
After the Carry On series ended in 1978, Sims continued to work on television. She appeared opposite Katharine Hepburn
and Laurence Olivier
in the award-winning 1975 television film Love Among the Ruins
and had a recurring role as Gran in the BBC comedy series Till Death Us Do Part.
From 1979 until 1981 she played the recurring character Mrs Bloomsbury-Barton in Worzel Gummidge
for Southern Television
. During 1986 and 1987, Sims starred as Annie Begley alongside Angela Thorne
in the Yorkshire Television
sitcom Farrington of the F.O.
. Also in 1986, Sims appeared in the long-running BBC
science fiction
series Doctor Who
in the four episodes of The Trial of a Time Lord
: The Mysterious Planet
as Katryca. She also played Miss Murgatroyd in the Miss Marple
adaptation, A Murder is Announced, Betsy Prig in a star-studded adaptation of Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit
and Lady Fox-Custard in Simon and the Witch
.
In 1989, she appeared as a medium in the video for Morrisey's "Ouija Board, Ouija Board
".
She played Mrs Wembley in the BBC comedy series On the Up
, which starred Dennis Waterman
and ran from 1990 to 1992. From 1994, she played Madge Hardcastle, stepmother of Geoffrey Palmer
's character Lionel in As Time Goes By
. Sims also appeared in episodes of the hit television comedy series Only Fools and Horses
and The Goodies
, in One Foot in the Grave
special One Foot in the Algarve, and made a guest appearance in a sketch show with Victoria Wood
.
In her later years, Sims fought a long battle against depression. This was worsened by the deaths of her agent Peter Eade, her best friend Hattie Jacques
, and her mother, all within a two year period, which resulted in her falling into alcoholism
. Sims suffered from Bell's palsy
in 1999 and fractured her hip in 2000 but recovered well. However, her alcoholism was beginning to dominate life in her rented Kensington
flat, and she described herself as "the queen of puddings
." After assessment by a doctor, she was offered a place in a rehabilitation centre, but she decided to take control of her life. Offered the opportunity to write her autobiography
, she took a role in the BBC television film The Last of the Blonde Bombshells
, alongside Dame Judi Dench
and Olympia Dukakis
.
and other download services, bringing the almost forgotten recordings to a new audience. Sims also features on an original cast recording of The Lord Chamberlain Regrets in 1961.
, never married. Williams, who was homosexual, did however propose a marriage of convenience
to her, which she abruptly declined. From 1958, she lived for three years with fellow actor Tony Baird but, every time her parents visited, she asked Baird to remove all of his belongings from their London flat. After she told her mother on a visit that she was living with Baird, her father wrote her a stern letter to which Sims replied saying they had to come to terms with Tony being an extremely important part of her life. A devoted daughter, Sims found the subsequent six months, in which she had no contact with her parents, a difficult time. The relationship had never been perfect anyway, Sims was in her late twenties and Baird in his early forties. Sims writes "Had househusbands been in vogue in those days we'd have made an excellent couple, since Tony was not very successful as an actor and I soon became the main breadwinner. If we had been able to accept that I would go out and earn the money and he would concentrate on running the home, things might have turned out better.... For three years I was besotted with this loveable reprobate, but then the icing on the cake began to chip off and the love started to wear thin. I was virtually keeping him and the friction of the situation was getting harder to bear." Of the break-up, which was finally triggered by Sims returning from a tour to find Baird had not done any washing or housework, she wrote "I could tell that he was genuinely heartbroken, and so was I, but I had to do it for my own survival."
After Baird followed a relationship with John Walters, whom Sims had known for a long time, as he had been assistant stage manager for the play High Spirits in which she appeared. They had had an 'innocent' romance at the time and embarked on a more serious relationship after Baird. However, Sims never felt it would be a long-term relationship: John had been brought up in a children's home and was a much moodier character than Tony. During what she described as the 'one broody phase of my life', they discussed marriage and children, but it came to nothing and the relationship, the last serious one of Sims's life, ended after around two years of living together.
"I never married because the right person never came along... I leave others to seek for darker explanations. For me it's extremely simple!"
"In Doctor at Sea I was cast again as the Plain Jane
character ... my rival in love was played by ... Brigitte Bardot
. Joan Sims versus Brigitte Bardot. I'll leave you to guess which of us got her man."
"Then the effects of the tablets rapidly started wearing off - as is the way with Benzedrine
- and suddenly I was feeling worse than I had ever felt in my life."
"I learned the hard way how deflating it can be to get too excited by a prospect before you know for sure that it will come off. The worst aspect of this fiasco was that I was now not only jobless but homeless."
"I was always useless at flirting, and simply did not know what needed to be done in order to snare my target... I always ended up resorting to jokes, and most men don't like funny women. They like to do the jokes."
"I've never been able to understand women who have this burning desire to have children. I've never had those feelings in any depth."
"High Spirits" concludes with Sims in reflective and rueful mood. Having been very disappointed to miss out on the part in a BBC adaptation of Vanity Fair, she is somewhat crestfallen to discover that there are only two entries on her 'Trivia' page on imdb.com. It ends:
"The last couple of years have seen more lows than highs .... my long-held view that whether you're up or you're down, there's only one way to react to whatever life throws at you. Carry on."
. Her lifelong friend and stand-in Norah Holland spoke of the doctors' amazement at her strength and courage throughout her final illness.
On 28 June 2001, ten minutes before she died, Norah Holland spoke to her gently about Kenneth Williams
, Hattie Jacques
, and their time on the Carry On films. She died with Holland holding her hand. The cause of death was recorded on her death certificate as follows: "1(a) Liver failure (b) Diverticular disease II. Chronic obstructive airways disease and diabetes mellitus." She was cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium, and her ashes scattered in the grounds there.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actress best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films
Carry On films
The Carry On films are a series of low-budget British comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. They are an energetic mix of parody, farce, slapstick and double entendres....
, and latterly for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By
As Time Goes By (TV series)
As Time Goes By is a British sitcom that aired on BBC One from 1992 to 2005. Starring Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer, it follows the relationship between two former lovers who meet unexpectedly after not having been in contact for 38 years....
.
Early life
Irene Joan Marion Sims was born in 1930, the daughter of the station master of Laindon railway stationLaindon railway station
Laindon is railway station located in Laindon in the Basildon district of Essex, England.The station was opened in 1888 by the London Tilbury and Southend Railway as part of a new direct route from Barking to Pitsea, avoiding Tilbury. It is located down the line from Fenchurch Street. The station...
in Laindon
Laindon
Laindon is a town in the west of the Basildon district of Essex, England.It is north of Laindon railway station on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway. South of the railway station and line is Langdon Hills. Laindon and Langdon Hills are part of the Basildon post town.Until its abolition in...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. Sims' early interest in being an actress came from living at the railway station. She would often put on performances for waiting passengers. She decided that she was certainly interested in pursuing show business, and soon became a familiar face in a growing number of amateur productions locally, during her teens.
In 1946, Sims first applied to RADA
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
, but her audition was unsuccessful. Her first audition included a rendition of Winnie the Pooh. She did succeed in being admitted to PARADA, the academy's preparatory school, and finally, on her fourth attempt, she graduated and was trained at RADA. She graduated from RADA in 1950 at the age of 19.
Sims appeared in a number of Brian Rix's Aldwych Theatre
Aldwych Theatre
The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200.-Origins:...
farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
s, but revue was Sims' greatest medium, especially in the works of Peter Myers. In 1958 she got a part in Peter Coke
Peter Coke
-Personal life:Peter John Coke was born in Southsea on 3 April 1913. His father was a commander in the Navy, who took his family to Kenya to run a linen plantation, however, this venture failed and he began to run a coffee plantation...
's play Breath of Spring, which opened at the Cambridge Theatre
Cambridge Theatre
The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929-30. It was designed by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie; interior partly by Serge Chermayeff, with interior bronze friezes by sculptor Anthony Gibbons...
in March, transferring to the Duke of York's Theatre
Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End Theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre, until her death in 1935. It opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, with Wedding...
in August 1958, and running until April 1959.
Sims preferred film to stage work. "It was, of course, lovely to be in a successful play, to have the excitement of performing a hit to packed houses (and, not least, the assurance of a regular income for the foreseeable future). But, on the other hand, I found it extremely difficult to keep a performance fresh, and I'd soon get bored."
Acting career
Sims made her first film appearance in Will Any Gentleman? with George Cole in 1953, closely followed by Trouble in StoreTrouble in Store
Trouble in Store is a 1953 British comedy film starring Norman Wisdom as a department store clerk in his screen debut. For his performance, Wisdom won a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer. The film broke box office records at 51 out of the 67 London cinemas in which it played...
with Norman Wisdom
Norman Wisdom
Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, OBE was an English actor, comedian and singer-songwriter best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring his hapless onscreen character Norman Pitkin...
. In 1954 she made a cameo appearance in Doctor in the House
Doctor in the House
Doctor in the House is a 1954 British comedy film, directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Ronald Wilkinson, is based on the novel by Gordon, and follows a group of students through medical school.It was the most popular box office...
, opposite Dirk Bogarde
Dirk Bogarde
Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist. Initially a matinee idol in such films as Doctor in the House and other Rank Organisation pictures, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death in Venice...
as the sexually repressed Nurse Rigor Mortis. Sims became a regular in the Doctors series, which was produced by Betty E. Box, and was hence spotted by Box's husband Peter Rogers
Peter Rogers
Peter Rogers was a British film producer.Rogers began his career as a journalist for his local paper before graduating to scriptwriting religious informational films...
.
In 1958, Sims received a script from Peter Rogers: it was for Carry On Nurse
Carry On Nurse
Carry On Nurse is the second Carry On film, released in 1959. Of the regular team, it featured Joan Sims , Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor and Charles Hawtrey, with Hattie Jacques and Leslie Phillips. The film was written by Norman Hudis based on the play Ring For Catty by Patrick Cargill and Jack...
. The film Carry On Sergeant
Carry On Sergeant
Carry On Sergeant is the first Carry On film. Its first public screening was on 1 August 1958 at Screen One, London. Actors in this film who went on to be part of the regular team in the series were Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Connor and Terry Scott...
had been a huge success at the box office and in the autumn of that year and Rogers and director Gerald Thomas
Gerald Thomas
Gerald Thomas was an English film director, born in Hull.-Early life:Thomas was training in medicine when the Second World War began. He then served in the British army during the war, in Europe and the Middle East...
began planning a follow-up.
She first starred in Carry On Nurse
Carry On Nurse
Carry On Nurse is the second Carry On film, released in 1959. Of the regular team, it featured Joan Sims , Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor and Charles Hawtrey, with Hattie Jacques and Leslie Phillips. The film was written by Norman Hudis based on the play Ring For Catty by Patrick Cargill and Jack...
, then Carry On Teacher
Carry On Teacher
Carry On Teacher is the third Carry On film, released in 1959. It features Ted Ray in his only Carry On role, alongside series regulars; Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey, Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques. Leslie Phillips and Joan Sims make their second appearances in the series here, having made...
, followed by Carry On Constable
Carry On Constable
Carry On Constable is the fourth Carry On film. It was released in 1960. Of the regular team, it featured Kenneth Connor, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Hattie Jacques. Sid James makes his debut in the series here, while early regulars Leslie Phillips, Eric Barker and Shirley...
and Carry On Regardless
Carry On Regardless
Carry on Regardless was the fifth in the series of Carry On films to be made. It was released in 1961. By now a fairly regular team was established with Sid James, Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Kenneth Williams all having appeared in previous entries. Hattie Jacques - who was...
, and this sealed her future as a regular Carry On performer. Following a bout of ill health, Dilys Laye
Dilys Laye
Dilys Laye was an English actress and screenwriter, best known for comedy roles. She died of cancer aged 74.- Early life :...
had to be brought in to take her place in Carry On Cruising
Carry On Cruising
Carry On Cruising is the sixth Carry On film and was released in 1962. It was the first in the Carry On series to be filmed in colour and was based on an original story by Eric Barker. P&O - Orient Lines were thanked in the credits. Regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Kenneth Connor appear in...
at very short notice; however, Sims rejoined the team with Carry On Cleo
Carry On Cleo
Carry On Cleo is the tenth film in the Carry On film series and was released in 1964. The website ICONS.a portrait of England cites the Carry On films as iconic of British cinema, and describes Carry On Cleo as "perhaps the best". Regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor, Charles...
. Her role in this was to set the tone for the rest of the Carry On films. "...[F]or once the costumes were made for me, rather than my having to resort to some old dress that had been used before and had to have a new panel sewn in the back to accommodate my girth - which by now was unvaryingly plump."
Sims' characters evolved from objects of desire in the early films to frumpy, nagging wives in the later ones, epitomised by the Emily Bung role in Carry on Screaming
Carry On Screaming
Carry On Screaming! is the twelfth Carry On film and was released in 1966. It was the last of the series to be distributed by Anglo-Amalgamated before the series moved to The Rank Organisation. It was originally rated in the UK as an 'A' , it is currently rated 'PG'...
. Following the success of Carry On Cleo she stayed with the films all the way though to the final one in the original series, Carry On Emmannuelle
Carry On Emmannuelle
Carry On Emmannuelle is the 30th Carry On film, and was released in 1978. This was the last Carry On film to be made until Carry On Columbus in 1992. The film was to be the final Carry On for many regulars including Kenneth Williams , Kenneth Connor , Joan Sims and Peter Butterworth...
, appearing in twenty-four Carry On films in all; she did not return for the one-off revival film, Carry On Columbus
Carry On Columbus
Carry On Columbus is the 31st and last film in the Carry On series, following 1978's Carry On Emmannuelle. The only main series regulars present are Jim Dale , Bernard Cribbins , Leslie Phillips , Jon Pertwee and June Whitfield...
. She also appeared alongside Kenneth Williams in the radio show Stop Messing About
Stop Messing About
Stop Messing About was a BBC radio series broadcast in 1969 and 1970. Forced by circumstance into being a follow-up to Round the Horne, a number of key talents from the previous show were retained and recast, with Kenneth Williams as the new show's main star.It was rewritten for the stage in...
in 1969-70.
After the Carry On series ended in 1978, Sims continued to work on television. She appeared opposite Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
and Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
in the award-winning 1975 television film Love Among the Ruins
Love Among the Ruins (film)
Love Among the Ruins is a 1975 British television film directed by George Cukor and starring Katharine Hepburn and Sir Laurence Olivier....
and had a recurring role as Gran in the BBC comedy series Till Death Us Do Part.
From 1979 until 1981 she played the recurring character Mrs Bloomsbury-Barton in Worzel Gummidge
Worzel Gummidge (TV series)
Worzel Gummidge is a children's television series, produced by Southern Television for ITV, based on the books by Barbara Euphan Todd. Starting in 1979, the programme starred Jon Pertwee in the title role and ran for four series in the UK until 1981...
for Southern Television
Southern Television
Southern Television was the first ITV broadcasting licence holder for the south and south-east of England from 30 August 1958 until the night of 31 December 1981. The company was launched as Southern Television Limited and the title Southern Television was consistently used on-air throughout its life...
. During 1986 and 1987, Sims starred as Annie Begley alongside Angela Thorne
Angela Thorne
Angela Thorne is an English actress who is best known for her roles in To the Manor Born and Anyone for Denis?-Early life:Angela Thorne was born in Karachi, British India, , in 1939...
in the Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
sitcom Farrington of the F.O.
Farrington of the F.O.
Farrington of the F.O. was a British television comedy series by Dick Sharples about the staff of the British Consulate in "one of the armpits of Latin America". It was produced by Yorkshire Television and broadcast from 1986 to 1987...
. Also in 1986, Sims appeared in the long-running BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
in the four episodes of The Trial of a Time Lord
The Trial of a Time Lord
The Trial of a Time Lord is a fourteen-part British science fiction serial of the long running BBC series Doctor Who. The serial, produced as the twenty-third season of the Doctor Who television series, aired in weekly episodes from 6 September to 6 December 1986...
: The Mysterious Planet
The Mysterious Planet
-Preproduction:In February 1985, the BBC announced that the planned twenty-third season of Doctor Who had been cancelled. After vocal protests by the press and Doctor Who fans , the BBC announced that the programme was merely on "hiatus", and would return in September 1986...
as Katryca. She also played Miss Murgatroyd in the Miss Marple
Miss Marple
Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. She is one of the most famous...
adaptation, A Murder is Announced, Betsy Prig in a star-studded adaptation of Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit
Martin Chuzzlewit (TV series)
Martin Chuzzlewit was a 1994 TV mini series produced by the BBC. It is based on the novel by Charles Dickens, with a screenplay by David Lodge. The music was composed by Geoffrey Burgon...
and Lady Fox-Custard in Simon and the Witch
Simon and the Witch
Simon and the Witch is the name of a children's book by Margaret Stuart Barry, published by Collins, illustrated by Linda Birch. It is also generally used as the name of the series which follows on. Simon is a very sensible young schoolboy who has a friend who is a real witch...
.
In 1989, she appeared as a medium in the video for Morrisey's "Ouija Board, Ouija Board
Ouija Board, Ouija Board
"Ouija Board, Ouija Board" was a single released by Morrissey in November 1989, catalogue number HMV POP 1622. The single was poorly received by the music press and the public: its highest chart position was No. 18, making it the first Morrissey single not to reach the British top 10. It appeared...
".
She played Mrs Wembley in the BBC comedy series On the Up
On the Up
On the Up was a British situation comedy written by Bob Larbey. It ran for three series, from 1990 to 1992.-Plot summary:Tony Carpenter is a self-made millionaire who turned his South London minicab firm into a successful chauffeur-driven car service...
, which starred Dennis Waterman
Dennis Waterman
Dennis Waterman is a British actor and singer, best known for his tough-guy roles in television series including The Sweeney, Minder and New Tricks.-Early life:...
and ran from 1990 to 1992. From 1994, she played Madge Hardcastle, stepmother of Geoffrey Palmer
Geoffrey Palmer (actor)
Geoffrey Dyson Palmer, OBE is an English actor, best known for his roles in sitcoms such as Butterflies and As Time Goes By.-Career:...
's character Lionel in As Time Goes By
As Time Goes By (TV series)
As Time Goes By is a British sitcom that aired on BBC One from 1992 to 2005. Starring Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer, it follows the relationship between two former lovers who meet unexpectedly after not having been in contact for 38 years....
. Sims also appeared in episodes of the hit television comedy series Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
and The Goodies
The Goodies
The Goodies are a trio of British comedians who created, wrote, and starred in a surreal British television comedy series called The Goodies during the 1970s and early 1980s combining sketches and situation comedy.-Honours:All three Goodies now have OBEs...
, in One Foot in the Grave
One Foot in the Grave
One Foot in the Grave is a BBC television sitcom series written by David Renwick. The show ran for six series, including seven Christmas specials, two Comic Relief specials, over an eleven year period, from early 1990 to late 2000...
special One Foot in the Algarve, and made a guest appearance in a sketch show with Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood CBE is a British comedienne, actress, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and director. Wood has written and starred in sketches, plays, films and sitcoms, and her live stand-up comedy act is interspersed with her own compositions, which she accompanies on piano...
.
In her later years, Sims fought a long battle against depression. This was worsened by the deaths of her agent Peter Eade, her best friend Hattie Jacques
Hattie Jacques
Josephine Edwina Jaques was an English comedy actress, known as Hattie Jacques.Starting her career in the 1940s, Jacques first gained attention through her radio appearances with Tommy Handley on ITMA and later with Tony Hancock on Hancock's Half Hour...
, and her mother, all within a two year period, which resulted in her falling into alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. Sims suffered from Bell's palsy
Bell's palsy
Bell's palsy is a form of facial paralysis resulting from a dysfunction of the cranial nerve VII that results in the inability to control facial muscles on the affected side. Several conditions can cause facial paralysis, e.g., brain tumor, stroke, and Lyme disease. However, if no specific cause...
in 1999 and fractured her hip in 2000 but recovered well. However, her alcoholism was beginning to dominate life in her rented Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
flat, and she described herself as "the queen of puddings
Queen of Puddings
Queen of Puddings is a traditional British dessert, consisting of a baked, breadcrumb-thickened mixture, spread with jam and topped with meringue....
." After assessment by a doctor, she was offered a place in a rehabilitation centre, but she decided to take control of her life. Offered the opportunity to write her autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, she took a role in the BBC television film The Last of the Blonde Bombshells
The Last of the Blonde Bombshells
The Last of the Blonde Bombshells is a 2000 British-American television film directed by Gillies MacKinnon. The script by Alan Plater focuses on the efforts of a recently widowed woman to reunite the members of the World War II-era swing band with which she played saxophone.It features Carry On...
, alongside Dame Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
and Olympia Dukakis
Olympia Dukakis
Olympia Dukakis is an American actress. In 1987, she won an Academy Award, BAFTA, and a Golden Globe for her performance in Moonstruck...
.
Music career
During 1963 Sims made several recordings. Hurry Up Gran was issued as a single with the B-side, "Oh Not Again Ken", and another single, "Spring Song", was also issued with the B-side titled "Men". None of the singles made an impact on the charts and are quite rare today, although some copies can still be found. As of 2009 both Spring Song & Men are available for the first time through iTunesITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and other download services, bringing the almost forgotten recordings to a new audience. Sims also features on an original cast recording of The Lord Chamberlain Regrets in 1961.
Personal life
Sims, like her fellow Carry On star Kenneth WilliamsKenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
, never married. Williams, who was homosexual, did however propose a marriage of convenience
Marriage of convenience
A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than the reasons of relationship, family, or love. Instead, such a marriage is orchestrated for personal gain or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as political marriage. The phrase is a calque of - a marriage of...
to her, which she abruptly declined. From 1958, she lived for three years with fellow actor Tony Baird but, every time her parents visited, she asked Baird to remove all of his belongings from their London flat. After she told her mother on a visit that she was living with Baird, her father wrote her a stern letter to which Sims replied saying they had to come to terms with Tony being an extremely important part of her life. A devoted daughter, Sims found the subsequent six months, in which she had no contact with her parents, a difficult time. The relationship had never been perfect anyway, Sims was in her late twenties and Baird in his early forties. Sims writes "Had househusbands been in vogue in those days we'd have made an excellent couple, since Tony was not very successful as an actor and I soon became the main breadwinner. If we had been able to accept that I would go out and earn the money and he would concentrate on running the home, things might have turned out better.... For three years I was besotted with this loveable reprobate, but then the icing on the cake began to chip off and the love started to wear thin. I was virtually keeping him and the friction of the situation was getting harder to bear." Of the break-up, which was finally triggered by Sims returning from a tour to find Baird had not done any washing or housework, she wrote "I could tell that he was genuinely heartbroken, and so was I, but I had to do it for my own survival."
After Baird followed a relationship with John Walters, whom Sims had known for a long time, as he had been assistant stage manager for the play High Spirits in which she appeared. They had had an 'innocent' romance at the time and embarked on a more serious relationship after Baird. However, Sims never felt it would be a long-term relationship: John had been brought up in a children's home and was a much moodier character than Tony. During what she described as the 'one broody phase of my life', they discussed marriage and children, but it came to nothing and the relationship, the last serious one of Sims's life, ended after around two years of living together.
"I never married because the right person never came along... I leave others to seek for darker explanations. For me it's extremely simple!"
High Spirits
The tone of Sims's autobiography "High Spirits" is revealing (though not sensationalist), frank and sometimes mordant:"In Doctor at Sea I was cast again as the Plain Jane
Plain Jane
A Plain Jane is a woman who has an average appearance. It can also mean an object that is unadorned or unembellished.Plain Jane may also refer to:*Plain Jane , a U.S...
character ... my rival in love was played by ... Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot is a French former fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist. She was one of the best-known sex-symbols of the 1960s.In her early life, Bardot was an aspiring ballet dancer...
. Joan Sims versus Brigitte Bardot. I'll leave you to guess which of us got her man."
"Then the effects of the tablets rapidly started wearing off - as is the way with Benzedrine
Benzedrine
Benzedrine is the trade name of the racemic mixture of amphetamine . It was marketed under this brandname in the USA by Smith, Kline & French in the form of inhalers, starting in 1928...
- and suddenly I was feeling worse than I had ever felt in my life."
"I learned the hard way how deflating it can be to get too excited by a prospect before you know for sure that it will come off. The worst aspect of this fiasco was that I was now not only jobless but homeless."
"I was always useless at flirting, and simply did not know what needed to be done in order to snare my target... I always ended up resorting to jokes, and most men don't like funny women. They like to do the jokes."
"I've never been able to understand women who have this burning desire to have children. I've never had those feelings in any depth."
"High Spirits" concludes with Sims in reflective and rueful mood. Having been very disappointed to miss out on the part in a BBC adaptation of Vanity Fair, she is somewhat crestfallen to discover that there are only two entries on her 'Trivia' page on imdb.com. It ends:
"The last couple of years have seen more lows than highs .... my long-held view that whether you're up or you're down, there's only one way to react to whatever life throws at you. Carry on."
Death
Sims entered hospital again in November 2000, and complications of a routine operation caused her to slip into a comaComa
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
. Her lifelong friend and stand-in Norah Holland spoke of the doctors' amazement at her strength and courage throughout her final illness.
On 28 June 2001, ten minutes before she died, Norah Holland spoke to her gently about Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
, Hattie Jacques
Hattie Jacques
Josephine Edwina Jaques was an English comedy actress, known as Hattie Jacques.Starting her career in the 1940s, Jacques first gained attention through her radio appearances with Tommy Handley on ITMA and later with Tony Hancock on Hancock's Half Hour...
, and their time on the Carry On films. She died with Holland holding her hand. The cause of death was recorded on her death certificate as follows: "1(a) Liver failure (b) Diverticular disease II. Chronic obstructive airways disease and diabetes mellitus." She was cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium, and her ashes scattered in the grounds there.
Filmography
- The Square RingThe Square RingThe Square Ring is a 1953 British film directed by Basil Dearden and made at Ealing Studios. It stars Jack Warner, Robert Beatty and Bill Owen...
(1953) - Will Any Gentleman...?Will Any Gentleman...?Will Any Gentleman...? is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Michael Anderson and starring George Cole, Veronica Hurst, Jon Pertwee and William Hartnell. A young man is hypnotised into leading a more fulfilling life. It was based on a play by Vernon Sylvaine.-Cast:* George Cole as Henry...
(1953) - Trouble in StoreTrouble in StoreTrouble in Store is a 1953 British comedy film starring Norman Wisdom as a department store clerk in his screen debut. For his performance, Wisdom won a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer. The film broke box office records at 51 out of the 67 London cinemas in which it played...
(1953) - Meet Mr. LuciferMeet Mr. LuciferMeet Mr. Lucifer is a black and white British comedy satire film released in 1953 starring Stanley Holloway. Filmed at Ealing Studios, London, The film is based on the play Beggar My Neighbour by Arnold Ridley -Plot:When Mr Pedelty leaves his firm, he is given a...
(1953) - Doctor in the HouseDoctor in the HouseDoctor in the House is a 1954 British comedy film, directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Ronald Wilkinson, is based on the novel by Gordon, and follows a group of students through medical school.It was the most popular box office...
(1954) - What Every Woman WantsWhat Every Woman Wants (1954 film)What Every Woman Wants is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring William Sylvester, Elsie Albiin and Brenda De Banzie. It was based on a play Relations Are Best Apart by Edwin Lewis...
(1954) - The Young LoversThe Young LoversThe Young Lovers is a 1954 British Cold War romance drama, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Odile Versois and David Knight. The film was produced by Anthony Havelock-Allan, with cinematography from Jack Asher and screenplay by George Tabori and Robin Estridge...
(1954) - The Belles of St Trinian'sThe Belles of St Trinian'sThe Belles of St Trinian's is a comedy film set in the fictional St Trinian's School, released in 1954. It and its sequels were inspired by British cartoonist Ronald Searle. Directed by Frank Launder and written by him and Sidney Gilliat, it was the first of a series of five...
(1954) - To Dorothy a SonTo Dorothy a SonTo Dorothy a Son is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Muriel Box and starring Shelley Winters, John Gregson and Peggy Cummins. It is also known as Cash on Delivery. It is based on a play by Roger MacDougall...
(1954) - The Sea Shall Not Have ThemThe Sea Shall Not Have ThemThe Sea Shall Not Have Them is a 1954 British war film starring Michael Redgrave, Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Steel. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and is based on the 1953 novel by John Harris, set during the Second World War. Musical soundtrack by composer Malcolm Arnold.A British aircraft is...
(1954) - The Adventures of Robin HoodThe Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)The Adventures of Robin Hood is a popular British television series comprising 143 half-hour, black and white episodes. It starred Richard Greene as the outlaw Robin Hood and Alan Wheatley as his nemesis, the Sheriff of Nottingham. The show aired weekly between 1955 and 1959 on ITV in London in the...
(TV series) (1955) 1 episode 'The Sheriff's Boots - As Long as They're HappyAs Long as They're HappyAs Long as They're Happy is a 1955 British musical comedy film directed by J. Lee Thompson.-Cast:* Jack Buchanan as John Bentley* Janette Scott as Gwen Bentley* Jeannie Carson as Pat Bentley* Brenda De Banzie as Stella Bentley...
(1955) - Doctor at SeaDoctor at Sea (film)Doctor at Sea is a 1955 British comedy film, directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Jack Davies was the sequel to their film from the previous year Doctor in the House, and also starring Dirk Bogarde, playing the character of the...
(1955) - The Buccaneers (TV Series) (1956) 2 episodes 'Dan Tempest and The Amazons' and 'Cutlass Wedding'
- Stars in Your EyesStars in Your EyesStars in Your Eyes is a 1956 British musical film directed by Maurice Elvey.-Plot:As the world of vaudeville gradually loses its attraction, more and more entertainers are losing their jobs. In hopes of fixing their financial problems, a group of entertainers band together and buy a run-down...
(1956) - LostLost (1956 film)Lost is a 1956 British thriller film directed by Guy Green. It is set in 1950s London, and revolves around the apparent kidnapping of a young American couple's baby.-Plot:...
(1956) - The Silken AffairThe Silken AffairThe Silken Affair is a 1956 British romantic comedy film directed by Roy Kellino and starring David Niven, Geneviève Page, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Joan Sims, Irene Handl and Ronald Squire.-Cast:* David Niven as Roger Tweakham...
(1956) - Keep It CleanKeep It Clean (film)Keep It Clean is a 1956 British comedy film directed by David Paltenghi and starring Ronald Shiner as Bert Lane and Joan Sims as Violet Tarbottom.-Cast:* Ronald Shiner as Bert Lane* James Hayter as Mr. Bouncenboy* Diane Hart as Kitty...
(1956) - Dry RotDry Rot (film)Dry Rot is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix, Peggy Mount and Sid James.The story is an adaptation of a 1954 farce by John Roy Chapman who also wrote the screenplay, in which the sketchy story plays second fiddle to the quick-paced action and...
(1956) - Carry on AdmiralCarry on AdmiralCarry on Admiral is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Val Guest and featuring David Tomlinson, Ronald Shiner and Joan Sims. It was not part of the Carry On series, which it predates, though it is similar in tone and style to the earliest films in the series...
(1957) - Just My LuckJust My Luck (1957 film)Just My Luck is a 1957 British sports comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Norman Wisdom as a worker in a jewellery shop.- Plot :...
(1957) - The Naked TruthThe Naked Truth (1957 film)The Naked Truth is a 1957 British film comedy starring Peter Sellers, Terry-Thomas and Dennis Price. Peggy Mount, Shirley Eaton and Joan Sims also appear...
(1957) - No Time for TearsNo Time for Tears (film)No Time for Tears is a 1957 British drama film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Anna Neagle, George Baker and Sylvia Syms. The staff at a children's hospital struggle with their workload.-Cast:* Anna Neagle ... Matron Eleanor Hammond...
(1957) - DavyDavy (film)Davy is a 1958 British comedy-drama film directed by Michael Relph and starring Harry Secombe, Alexander Knox and Ron Randell. It was the last comedy to be made by Ealing Studios.-Plot:...
(1958) - Passport to ShamePassport to ShamePassport to Shame aka Room 43, is a 1958 British drama film directed by Alvin Rakoff, written by Patrick Alexander and starring Diana Dors and Herbert Lom.-Cast:* Diana Dors as Vicki* Herbert Lom as Nick Biaggi...
(1958) - Please Turn OverPlease Turn OverPlease Turn Over is a 1959 British comedy film written by Norman Hudis and directed by Gerald Thomas. It featured Ted Ray, Julia Lockwood, Jean Kent, Joan Sims, Leslie Phillips, Charles Hawtrey, Lionel Jeffries and Victor Maddern. An English village is thrown into chaos when the daughter of one of...
(1959) - Carry On NurseCarry On NurseCarry On Nurse is the second Carry On film, released in 1959. Of the regular team, it featured Joan Sims , Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor and Charles Hawtrey, with Hattie Jacques and Leslie Phillips. The film was written by Norman Hudis based on the play Ring For Catty by Patrick Cargill and Jack...
(1959) - The Captain's TableThe Captain's TableThe Captain's Table is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Jack Lee from a novel by Richard Gordon. It starred John Gregson, Donald Sinden, Peggy Cummins, Maurice Denham, Joan Sims, John Le Mesurier and June Jago...
(1959) - Life in Emergency Ward 10Life in Emergency Ward 10Life in Emergency Ward 10 is a 1959 film directed by Robert Day. It stars Michael Craig and Wilfrid Hyde-White. It was based on the television series Emergency – Ward 10.-Cast:*Michael Craig as Dr. Stephen Russell...
(1959) - Upstairs and DownstairsUpstairs and DownstairsUpstairs and Downstairs is a 1959 British comedy drama film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Michael Craig, Anne Heywood, Mylène Demongeot, Claudia Cardinale, James Robertson Justice, Joan Sims, Joan Hickson and Sid James...
(1959) - Carry On TeacherCarry On TeacherCarry On Teacher is the third Carry On film, released in 1959. It features Ted Ray in his only Carry On role, alongside series regulars; Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey, Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques. Leslie Phillips and Joan Sims make their second appearances in the series here, having made...
(1959) - Watch Your SternWatch Your SternWatch Your Stern is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas and starring Kenneth Connor, Eric Barker and Leslie Phillips.Watch Your Stern shares its cast and production team with the Carry On films, but the film is not an official member of the Carry On series.-Synopsis:When the crew...
(1960) - Carry On ConstableCarry On ConstableCarry On Constable is the fourth Carry On film. It was released in 1960. Of the regular team, it featured Kenneth Connor, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Hattie Jacques. Sid James makes his debut in the series here, while early regulars Leslie Phillips, Eric Barker and Shirley...
(1960) - Doctor in LoveDoctor in LoveDoctor in Love is a 1960 British comedy film — part of the Doctor in the House series, starring James Robertson Justice as Sir Lancelot Spratt and Michael Craig as Dr Richard Hare...
(1960) - His and HersHis and Hers (film)His and Hers is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Terry-Thomas, Janette Scott and Wilfrid Hyde-White. An eccentric author tries to impose his lifestyle on his reluctant wife.-Cast:* Terry-Thomas - Reggie Blake...
(1961) - Carry On RegardlessCarry On RegardlessCarry on Regardless was the fifth in the series of Carry On films to be made. It was released in 1961. By now a fairly regular team was established with Sid James, Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Kenneth Williams all having appeared in previous entries. Hattie Jacques - who was...
(1961) - Mr. TopazeMr. TopazeMr. Topaze was Peter Sellers' directorial debut in 1961. Starring Sellers, Nadia Gray, and Leo McKern as well as Herbert Lom who quarreled with Seller's Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies...
(1961) - No My Darling DaughterNo My Darling DaughterNo My Darling Daughter is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and featuring Michael Redgrave, Michael Craig, Roger Livesey, James Westmoreland, and Juliet Mills...
(1961) - The Iron Maiden (1962)
- A Pair of BriefsA Pair of BriefsA Pair of Briefs is a 1962 British legal comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Michael Craig, Mary Peach, Brenda De Banzie and James Robertson Justice...
(1962) - Twice Round the DaffodilsTwice Round the DaffodilsTwice Round the Daffodils is a 1962 British comedy drama film directed by Gerald Thomas and starring Juliet Mills, Donald Sinden, Donald Houston, Kenneth Williams, Ronald Lewis, Andrew Ray, Joan Sims and Jill Ireland. A new group of patients arrive at a hospital to be treated for tuberculosis where...
(1962) - Nurse on WheelsNurse on WheelsNurse on Wheels is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas, and starring Juliet Mills, Ronald Lewis, and Joan Sims.Nurse on Wheels shares its cast and production team with the Carry On films, but the film is not an official member of the Carry On series.-Cast:* Juliet Mills as Joanna...
(1963)
- Strictly for the BirdsStrictly for the BirdsStrictly for the Birds is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Tony Tanner, Joan Sims and Graham Stark. Terry Blessing seems to be having a lucky day, winning at gambling, until suddenly an ex-girlfriend terms up with what she claims is his son.-Cast:* Tony Tanner ... ...
(1963) - Carry On CleoCarry On CleoCarry On Cleo is the tenth film in the Carry On film series and was released in 1964. The website ICONS.a portrait of England cites the Carry On films as iconic of British cinema, and describes Carry On Cleo as "perhaps the best". Regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor, Charles...
(1964) - San Ferry AnnSan Ferry AnnSan Ferry Ann is a 1966 British sound effect comedy. Wordlessly, with soundtrack and sound effects, it tells the story of a holiday crossing from Dover to Calais.-Synopsis:...
(1965) - The Big JobThe Big Job (film)The Big Job is a British comedy film that was first released in 1965. It stars Sid James, Dick Emery, Joan Sims, Sylvia Syms, Jim Dale and Lance Percival....
(1965) - Doctor in CloverDoctor in CloverDoctor in Clover is a British comedy film released in 1966, starring Leslie Phillips. The film is based on the novel by Richard Gordon.The film was shot in Carnaby Street, Wormwood Scrubs and Pinewood Studios.-Synopsis:...
(1966) - Carry On CowboyCarry On CowboyCarry On Cowboy is the eleventh in the Carry On series of films. It was released in 1965 and was the first film to feature series regulars Peter Butterworth and Bernard Bresslaw...
(1966) - Carry On Screaming! (1966)
- Don't Lose Your HeadDon't Lose Your HeadDon't Lose Your Head is the thirteenth Carry On film . It features regular team members Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Jim Dale, Charles Hawtrey and Joan Sims. French actress Dany Robin makes her only Carry On appearance in Don't Lose Your Head. It was released in 1966...
(1966) - Follow That CamelFollow That CamelFollow That Camel is the fourteenth Carry On film and was released in 1967. Like its predecessor Don't Lose Your Head, it does not have the words "Carry On" in its original title...
(1967) - Carry On DoctorCarry On DoctorCarry On Doctor is the fifteenth film in the Carry On series. It is the second in the series to have a medical theme. Frankie Howerd makes the first of his two appearances in the film series. He stars alongside regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Bernard Bresslaw...
(1967) - Carry On... Up the Khyber (1968)
- Carry On CampingCarry On CampingCarry On Camping is a 1969 comedy film and the seventeenth Carry On film. It features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Terry Scott, Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter Butterworth.-Plot:...
(1969) - Carry On Again DoctorCarry On Again DoctorCarry On Again Doctor is the eighteenth Carry On film. It was released in 1969 and was the third to feature a medical theme. The film features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Barbara Windsor and Hattie Jacques...
(1969) - Carry On Up the JungleCarry On Up the JungleCarry On Up the Jungle is the nineteenth Carry On film, released in 1970. The film marked Frankie Howerd's second and final appearance in the series. He stars alongside regular players Sid James, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Terry Scott and Bernard Bresslaw. Kenneth Williams is unusually absent...
(1970) - Doctor in TroubleDoctor in TroubleDoctor in Trouble is a 1970 British comedy film, the last of the long-running Doctor in the House series of British comedy films. It was directed by Ralph Thomas it stars Leslie Phillips as a doctor who gets accidentally trapped on an outgoing cruise ship while it begins a round the world trip...
(1970) - Carry On LovingCarry On LovingCarry On Loving is the twentieth Carry On film, and was released in 1970. It features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Terry Scott and Bernard Bresslaw alongside newcomers Richard O'Callaghan and Jacki Piper . Carry On Loving featured...
(1970) - Carry On HenryCarry On HenryCarry On Henry is the 21st of the Carry On series and was released in 1971. It tells a fictionalised story involving Sid James as Henry VIII, who chases after Barbara Windsor's character Bettina. James and Windsor feature alongside other regulars Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Terry...
(1971) - The Magnificent Seven Deadly SinsThe Magnificent Seven Deadly SinsThe Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins is a 1971 British comedy film directed and produced by Graham Stark. Its title is a conflation of The Magnificent Seven and the seven deadly sins. It comprises a sequence of seven sketches, each representing a sin and written by an array of British comedy-writing...
(1971) - Carry On at Your ConvenienceCarry On at Your ConvenienceCarry On at Your Convenience, released in 1971, is the 22nd film of the Carry On series and was the first box office failure of the series. The failure has been attributed to the film's attempt at exploring the political themes of the trade union movement, crucially portraying the union activists...
(1971) - Carry On MatronCarry On MatronCarry On Matron is the twenty-third Carry On film. It was released in 1972. It features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Bernard Bresslaw, Barbara Windsor and Kenneth Connor. This was the last Carry on... film for Terry Scott after appearing...
(1972) - The Alf Garnett SagaThe Alf Garnett SagaThe Alf Garnett Saga is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Warren Mitchell, Dandy Nichols, Paul Angelis and Adrienne Posta. The film was a film version of the TV series Till Death Us Do Part.-Cast:...
(1972) - Carry On AbroadCarry On AbroadCarry On Abroad is the twenty-fourth Carry On film, released in 1972. The film features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw, Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Connor, Peter Butterworth and Hattie Jacques. It was the 23rd and final appearance for Charles Hawtrey. June...
(1972) - Don't Just Lie There, Say Something!Don't Just Lie There, Say Something!Don't Just Lie There, Say Something! is a 1973 British film based on the popular "Whitehall Farce" written by Michael Pertwee, who also wrote the screenplay.-Plot summary:...
(1973) - Not Now Darling (1973)
- Carry On GirlsCarry On GirlsCarry On Girls is the 25th Carry On film, released in Britain in 1973. The film is notable for being the first not to feature either Kenneth Williams or Charles Hawtrey. Williams was appearing in a West End play, My Fat Friend. Hawtrey had been dropped from the series the year before...
(1973) - Carry On DickCarry On DickCarry On Dick was the 26th Carry On film. It was released in 1974 and marked the end of an era for the series. It featured the last appearances of Sid James and Hattie Jacques although both would make a further appearance in the Carry On Laughing TV series...
(1974) - A Journey to LondonA Journey to LondonA Journey to London is a 1975 British comedy television film directed by Gareth Davies and starring Bill Maynard, Joan Sims and John Curless. It is based on the restoration comedy play by John Vanbrugh. Sir Francis Headpiece takes his family to London....
(1975, TV film) - Love Among the RuinsLove Among the Ruins (film)Love Among the Ruins is a 1975 British television film directed by George Cukor and starring Katharine Hepburn and Sir Laurence Olivier....
(1975, TV film) - One of Our Dinosaurs Is MissingOne of Our Dinosaurs is MissingOne of Our Dinosaurs is Missing is a 1975 British comedy film, which is set in the early 1920s, about the theft of a dinosaur skeleton from the Natural History Museum. The film was produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company. The title is a parody of the...
(1975) - Carry On BehindCarry On BehindCarry On Behind is the twenty-seventh Carry On film and was released in 1975. The film was the first not to feature Sid James since Follow That Camel seven years previously. It was also the first not to be scripted by Talbot Rothwell since Carry On Cruising 13 years previously. James was busy...
(1975) - Carry On EnglandCarry On EnglandCarry On England is the 28th Carry On film. It was released in 1976 and featured Carry On regulars Kenneth Connor, Jack Douglas, Joan Sims and Peter Butterworth. It was second and final Carry On film for Windsor Davies, Diane Langton, and Peter Jones, while Patrick Mower, Judy Geeson and Melvyn...
(1976) - Carry On EmmannuelleCarry On EmmannuelleCarry On Emmannuelle is the 30th Carry On film, and was released in 1978. This was the last Carry On film to be made until Carry On Columbus in 1992. The film was to be the final Carry On for many regulars including Kenneth Williams , Kenneth Connor , Joan Sims and Peter Butterworth...
(1978) - Hay FeverHay FeverHay Fever is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Laura Hope Crews played the role in New York...
(1984, TV film) - A Murder Is Announced (1985, TV film)
- Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
- The Trial of a Time LordThe Trial of a Time LordThe Trial of a Time Lord is a fourteen-part British science fiction serial of the long running BBC series Doctor Who. The serial, produced as the twenty-third season of the Doctor Who television series, aired in weekly episodes from 6 September to 6 December 1986...
(Parts one to four) (1986) - The FoolThe Fool (film)The Fool is a British film, produced and directed by Christine Edzard in 1990 from a script by Edzard and Olivier Stockman.The plot examines the double life of a humble clerk posing as a businessman and moving in upper social circles...
(1990) - The Princess and the Cobbler (1993)
- The Canterville GhostThe Canterville Ghost"The Canterville Ghost" is a popular short story by Oscar Wilde, widely adapted for the screen and stage. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing in the magazine The Court and Society Review in February 1887. It was later included in a collection of short stories entitled...
(1996, TV film) - The Last of the Blonde BombshellsThe Last of the Blonde BombshellsThe Last of the Blonde Bombshells is a 2000 British-American television film directed by Gillies MacKinnon. The script by Alan Plater focuses on the efforts of a recently widowed woman to reunite the members of the World War II-era swing band with which she played saxophone.It features Carry On...
(2000, TV film)