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Post by Verbivore on Jan 24, 2014 23:00:28 GMT
“… avoid it like the plague. I went last night and it was terrible. It was so boring I let my hand wander into the crotch of my companion and the only reaction was the line ‘any diversion is welcome’.”
Kenneth Williams commenting about the film Don’t Look Now (a Daphne du Maurier story translated to film by Nicholas Roeg), in a letter dated 5/11/1973 to one Andrew Hathaway.
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Post by Verbivore on Jan 24, 2014 23:01:30 GMT
“There is something absurd about someone of my stature having to reply to your radio critic’s cheap contumely about my work in Just a Minute, but pip squeak circus ponies masquerading as thoroughbreds seem to be part of the contemporary scene, and it is proper that someone should distinguish between the the braying and neighing.”
KW in a letter dated 27/09/1975 to the editor of The Times (not published at the time).
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Post by Verbivore on Jan 24, 2014 23:03:10 GMT
“I think all the labels are wrong. Motorist and Pedestrian sounds feasible, but what does the motorist become when he gets out of the car? And what does the pedestrian become when he becomes the driver of the vehicle? The true answer to this shows that both the labels are wrong and that the two categories do not, in fact, exist; only one thing is constant, and that is the human heart; lose sight of that and you have lost sight of everything.”
KW in response to a letter from a Mr Chambers, who wrote to KW enquiring if he were homosexual.
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Post by Twoddle on Jan 24, 2014 23:33:45 GMT
Those are quite highbrow and profound, Vv. Personally, I prefer, "Oooh, Matron!".
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Post by Verbivore on Jan 25, 2014 13:09:50 GMT
Those are quite highbrow and profound, Vv. Personally, I prefer, "Oooh, Matron!". As only the late, great KW could do. He was the ultimate OTT Kamp; to me, no-one bettered -- if they even equalled -- that KW style. His more serious monologues are also entertaining while being thought-provoking. Of those, and assorted humorous shorts / sketches, I have a KW video library of some 21 pieces. Happy to share with other enthusiasts ( are there any? LOL), and happy to receive notice / links to other KW material. Numerous of my fellow, er, sexual deviates and socio-political activist colleagues, plagued with a disproportionate reverence for the dictates of political correctness regardless of common sense, argue against "enjoying" or "validating" the stereotype presented, to great excess, by KW (and his like) -- high Kamp, with a Kapital K. I don't enjoy such humour -- if that be what it is -- unless it is well done; lame imitations don't cut it. Williams had a rather good grasp on English and on impromptu bons mots. He could sum up a situation, or put someone in their place, with few words and great flair. Not too much pudder in his monologues, a wee dose of acerbity, straight (?!) to the point. And who else can / could pull those faces! Pity the poor bugger ended up as he did, but the humourists / comedians I've known closely (including some Oz Big Names) have almost always been "manic-depressive" -- as it used to be; these days "bipolar". A high proportion succumb to "death by depression" (ie "voluntary exit" via overdose, noose, or CO gassing, etc). Kenneth Williams was one of a kind in many ways, and belongs in the top echelon of Britain's dramatis personae. He was also a tragic character, perhaps wracked with uncertainties of his personal self-worth, as was too often the case for his generation of, er, Gentlemen of the Persuasion -- whose activities, even their most private ones, and their public existence were legally proscribed. Oppression / repression / suppression can lead some to a despair -- and a madness -- often unbearable for some. Not that KW is unique in his style -- of life, of work, of exit -- as such issues do seem to plague the entertainment professions, stage and screen. Oh well, got carried away there. I'd better attend to the b(L)eeping kitchen timer telling me my ice-cream is churned and frozen. Toodle-oo at midnight! |
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Post by Sue M-V on Jan 26, 2014 20:22:28 GMT
I also have a soft spot for Kenneth Williams. (I also have his autograph!)
Sue
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Post by Verbivore on Jan 26, 2014 20:37:51 GMT
I also have a soft spot for Kenneth Williams. ( I also have his autograph!) Sue Ooh! I have a Churchill and a (TE) Lawrence autograph (in book flyleaves) but, alas, no KW. |
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