New revelations about Kenneth Williams to be published
A new biography of comedy star Kenneth Williams to be released in October will make a number of new claims regarding the actor and his family.
Written by journalist Christopher Stevens, the new book - Born Brilliant: The Life Of Kenneth Williams - is the first authorised biography of the star, and the first to be allowed full access to the actor's estate, including five million words of diaries and many hundreds of letters. With such unprecedented access to authoritative material on Williams, the book is set to make a number of new claims.
Famously, the actor died in April 1988 from an overdose of barbiturates; many friends and colleagues concluded his death to be suicide, with Williams unable to face the 'invasive' stomach operation he was due to undergo for an ulcer just a short while later. However, Stevens' access to the full diaries and pathology reports have led the author to proclaim the death accidental: a small number of painkillers, Stevens claims, reacted with the anti-inflammatory drug that Williams was taking for his ulcer. This resulted in a fatal apparent combination of sedatives and amphetamines, but the detailed diary entries stretching back many decades show no evidence of him ever having taken "uppers".
The book also sheds new light on the death of Charlie, Kenneth's father, and their relationship, which is commonly thought of as being frosty at the best of times. It claims that Williams loved and admired his father, who instilled in him a Christian piety and deep work ethic; he longed to be the son Charlie Williams wanted, and, apparently, for many years hoped and intended to marry and produce a family.
Born Brilliant states, on the subject of Charlie Williams' death, that it was not - as has been long believed - an accident, but a debt- and drug-ridden suicide to allow Kenneth's mother to claim his life insurance. The diaries reportedly suggest that Charlie had become addicted to a common cough medicine, Gee's Linctus, which contained 4% powdered opium. Out of work, indebted and suffering from the mental effects of his addiction, Charlie is now said to have purposely filled an empty Gee's bottle with the cleaning fluid Thawpit, before drinking it. Although unable to categorically prove this chain of events, Kenneth suspected this to be the case from Charlie's death in 1962 until his own, and sought to shield his mother from this 'truth'.
Other fascinating revelations made in the book concern Williams' private life. It reports on the actor's long-lasting relationship with Tom Waine, who was an Oxford University student in the 1960s when they first met. Although their relationship does not appear to have been sexual - Waine's partner was a postman, Clive Dennis - Williams is said to have been deeply in love with Tom. The three formed somewhat of a love triangle, spending great amounts of time together, holidaying in Tangier, and becoming close to each other's families. Both Tom and Clive were interviewed extensively for Born Brilliant, and shared their own diaries, letters, and photographs.
The book also boasts the first in-depth interview with Scottish comic Stanley Baxter about his lifelong friendship with Kenneth Williams, plus many never-before-seen photos from Williams' personal collection.
Born Brilliant: The Life Of Kenneth Williams is the first authorised biography of the star and will be published on 14th October 2010 by John Murray, RRP £25.00.