Carry On Actors: The Complete Who’s Who of the Film Series
£9.50
Carry On Actors brings together every actor from the beloved series for the very first time in one book.
With comprehensive biographies on all of the main stars of the series, including comedy greats such as Kenneth Williams, Sid James, Joan Sims and Barbara Windsor, along with over 500 individual entries featuring little-known facts about the supporting actors who featured in the films, Carry On Actors is the ultimate guide for fans of the series. The book also reveals those celebrities whose appearances in the classic series did not make it into the final films and brings the Carry On story up to date with details of recent reunions and celebrations.
Fully revised and updated for 2015 Carry On Actors features more than 100 unique quotes from the Carry On actors and their contemporaries along with exclusive memories from the series producer, the late Peter Rogers.
Featuring a truly astonishing array of well-known names this is the essential reference for Carry On fans and British comedy enthusiasts alike.
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Additional information
| Publisher | 2015th edition (9 Dec. 2015), Fantom Publishing |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 3229 KB |
| Simultaneous device usage | Unlimited |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Not Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 538 pages |
by Catherine
At last, the whole Carry On team together in one book! Full of fascinating facts, this is perfect to dip in and out of while watching the films. Meticulous research combined with a keen eye for detail make this a must have for Carry On fans. The book has obviously been researched over a long period of time and is filled with quotes from the actors themselves. The Carry Ons are a unique series and this book does justice to the actors who helped make it such a success.
by Bejam
He like th book it was very enjoyable to read all about the stars in the carry on films he has pass on to my son
by reviewer
This book is a great reference for all Carry On fans and fans of British film and TV in general.
In addition to write-ups on the main stars of the Carry On series (including REALLY detailed information on their stage, film, TV and radio credits) it has an ‘A-Y’ section on all of the supporting stars – and even those who didn’t make it to the final cut.
I must say that I CANNOT agree with previous comments about information being copied from IMDB or other online databases. This book has evidently been VERY well researched with masses of information that could not have been found on wiki or IMDB. Just check out the bibliography and acknowledgements sections to see that the author has contacted over 200 actors/agents for their input and over 100 quotes are included, not only from Carry On actors but their peers (even Dame Judi Dench has her say as well as people like Kathleen Byron, Virginia McKenna and Jean Fergusson). It’s also great to see that Peter Rogers had an input with his memories of the main stars also featured.
In the A-Y section there is detailed information about the other actors in the series – things like professional training, stage, film, TV and radio appearances, information on personal lives, references to other books (autobiographies etc), recent Carry On reunions and even causes of death are all included. One or two dates of birth/death appeared to have been amended (death certificates have obviously been tracked down) and for the first time ALL of the actors are together in one book; even those from Columbus and Carry On Laughing. Many of the actors are no longer with us so it’s nice to see what they had to say about the iconic series.
As the book is devoted solely to the actors it is by far the most detailed book of its kind to date – far outweighing the Carry On A-Z (by Richard Webber) for information on the actors and their lives/careers, and also far more detailed than other recent film/TV books such as the On the Buses and George and Mildred references. I also love the fact that the book is bang up to date. It is quite a ‘big’ read at 425 pages so not badly priced (especially via amazon).
All in all definitely worth buying and a valuable reference.
by David Lock
It read like a book of lists, so was not a nourishing read, felt could have got most of the info from IMDB.com. However the little cameos at the beginning were more interesting. I feel this would be for hardcore fans only – and I suspect it would not tell them anything they did not already know. In fairness that is exactly what it promised – just hoped for more.
by Mr. P. R. Clarke
While the book is full of info about people with even the smallest roles in Carry ons, the book also contains a lot of silly errors that should have been ironed out in the proof reading. It states Charles Hawtrey played Mr Potter in Carry On Camping when that was the role played by Terry Scott. Also after being told that Patsy Rowlands played Miss Fosdick in Carry On Again Doctor, we are then told she played Miss Dempsy in this film, after this we are told she played Miss Dempsy in carry On Loving. There are lots of instances like this.
by MR P BUCZKO
It becomes somewhat repetitive and I am not too interested in what the actors also did during their careers. I think I would have preferred a blow by blow account of each carry on film, who was in each one, what went wrong, how popular it was, who didn’t work, who liked who etc.I got more interesting information from a biography of Kenneth Williams. But as a reference book of all the Carry on actors it is splendid.
by Sarah Hapgood
Comprehensive potted histories of anyone who has ever appeared in a Carry On film. It can feel a bit dry at times (“so-and-so was born on such-and-such a date, so-and-so went to RADA etc”, but on the whole I enjoyed it and found it very interesting. The entries vary in length according to how much of a contribution to the Carry On genre each actor did, so naturally the core players get bigger segments. What I found very endearing was that the author always takes a sympathetic approach to his subjects. So much has been written over the years about the personal demons some of these actors faced, that it can end up overshadowing them. For instance, sometimes Charlie Hawtrey often seems to get dismissed these days as an alcoholic oddball, and yet here the author gives a more rounded view of him, such as that he nursed his mother devotedly through her battle with senile dementia, and was devastated when she died. I’ve always found Hawtrey a fascinating character. It was also nice to read someone writing such lovely, positive things about Terry Scott, as he seems to have become an easy target for sneering comedians and critics these days. Like the rest of the team, he was a delight to watch. There is also a charming afterward by Barbara Windsor. There are no illustrations, it is a straightforward A-Y, and yet for a Carry On fan it’s a very interesting read.
by Stuartyboy
My family love all things Carry on,but this book was a bit of a disappointment plenty information but
no photographs,it would have made the book complete if the articles had been accompanied by photo’s
of the stars.