Sidney James was born Solomon Joel Cohen on 8 May 1913, to Jewish parents in South Africa. He married Berthe Sadie Delmont, known as Toots, on 12 August 1936 and they had a daughter, Elizabeth, born in 1937. During the Second World War, he served as a lieutenant in an entertainment unit of the South African Army. He moved to the UK in December 1946, financed by his service gratuity. His profile was raised as Tony Hancock’s co-star in Hancock’s Half Hour, first in the radio series and later when it was adapted for television.
About Sid James in brief
Sidney James was born Solomon Joel Cohen on 8 May 1913, to Jewish parents in South Africa. He married Berthe Sadie Delmont, known as Toots, on 12 August 1936 and they had a daughter, Elizabeth, born in 1937. During the Second World War, he served as a lieutenant in an entertainment unit of the South African Army, and subsequently took up acting as a career. He moved to the UK in December 1946, financed by his service gratuity. His profile was raised as Tony Hancock’s co-star in Hancock’s Half Hour, first in the radio series and later when it was adapted for television and ran from 1954 to 1960. Afterwards, he became known as a regular performer in the Carry On films, appearing in nineteen films of the series, with the top billing role in 17. Meanwhile, his starring roles in television sitcoms continued for the rest of his life. He starred alongside Diana Coupland in the 1970s sitcom Bless This House until his death in 1976. On 26 April 1976, while touring in The Mating Season, James suffered a heart attack while performing on stage at the Sunderland Empire Theatre; he died in hospital an hour later. He was remembered for a lascivious persona in the films, with Snopes website describing him as \”the grand old man of dirty laughter\”, but also known for his amiability in his later television work.
In 1954, he had begun working with Tony Hancock in his BBC Radio Hancock’s half-hour comedy series The Lavender Hill Mob. He also appeared in Lady Godiva Rides Again and The Galloping Major, both films were released in 1951, and as Harry Hawkins in The Titfield Thunderbolt, and also had a lead role in The Wedding of Lilli Marlene. James had a supporting part as a TV advertisement producer in Charlie Chaplin’s A King in New York, a non-comic supporting role as a journalist in the science-fiction film Hell Drivers 2. He played Master Henry in an episode of The Adventures of Robin Hood. In the East End, he starred in Miriam Karlin’s West End comedy series Set within the Jewish community of London’s East End. His first major comedy role was in The Lavenders Hill Mob : with Alfie Bass, he made up the bullion robbery gang headed by Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway. In 1951, he played the alcoholic hero’s barman in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s The Small Back Room. He featured in another Alec Guinness film, Father Brown and in Trapeze as Harry the snake charmer, a circus film which was one of the most successful films of its year, and he played master Henry in Outlaw Money. He had a role in A King In New York.
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This page is based on the article Sid James published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 20, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
