Kenneth Williams, the English comic actor most famous for his roles in the Carry On films and the radio comedies he made with Tony Hancock, died at his North London flat on 15 April, 1988.

In his professional life Mr Williams appeared as camp and eccentric with often exaggerated mannerisms. However, beneath this mask, he was shy and reserved, often struggling with many aspects of his own nature, especially his sexuality.

Kenneth Charles Williams was born in King's Cross, London, on 22 February, 1926. As a child he attended Lyulph Stanley School. After leaving school Mr Williams became an apprentice draughtsman but soon joined the Army at the age of 18. He served with the Royal Engineers in India where he first made his stage debut along with fellow servicemen in the Combined Services Entertainment.

After he left the army he took roles in repertory theatre. However, he soon began to find that he was not often suited to serious acting roles. At first this proved to be a disappointment but his talent for comic acting soon offered Mr Williams another option to further his career.

In 1954 he was spotted by the radio producer Dennis Main Wilson who offered him a part in Hancock's Half Hour. Mr Williams ended up appearing on the show for five years as he perfected his nasal, whiny and camp style of delivery. However, Mr Hancock decided that he wanted the show to head in a more serious direction which meant that Mr Williams became increasingly marginalised.

Needing to kick start his career Mr Williams joined Kenneth Horne in the show Beyond Our Ken, which ran from 1958 to 1964. He also appeared in several West End revue shows, including ones written by Bamber Gascoigne and Peter Cook . In 1971 Mr Williams appeared with Ingrid Bergman in a stage production of George Bernard Shaw 's Captain Brassbound's Conversion.

Despite his success on the stage Mr Williams became best known for his work in film and television, most notably the Carry On series of films. These films were perfect for Mr Williams' style of acting with its typical British humour, full of double entendres and bawdy suggestion.

As well as being a talented actor, Mr Williams was also a consummate ad-libber. This led him to appear on a variety of panel shows including Just a Minute and What's My Line? in the 1970s. He also presented the children's story reading programme Jackanory as well as being a well received guest on popular British talk shows such as Parkinson and Wogan, which he also hosted from time to time.

However, even though Mr Williams professional career was enough to keep many commentators interested, it was his personal life that created much of the intrigue surrounding the actor. Mr Williams always insisted that he was celibate. His diaries would seem to support this assertion with the suggestion clear that this choice was made due to the actor's homosexuality, which he always found hard to deal with and accept. Although Mr Williams alluded to relationships he was involved in, how serious they were remains hard to decipher. This may also be due to Mr Williams' careful nature, especially considering that homosexuality was illegal until 1968.

He died at the age of 62 and the official cause was given as an overdose, but because of the open verdict it was impossible to say whether his death was suicide or accidental. After his death his diaries were published posthumously.