Hearty, backslapping South African comic actor Sidney James called England his home from 1946 until his death. James gained nationwide prominence as a supporting actor on Tony Hancock's popular BBC radio and TV series. In films, James was cast in leading roles in the long-running Carry On series, (Mark Antony in Carry on Cleo, for example) not so much out of devotion to his craft as to his constant financial difficulties due to his addiction to gambling. Carry On producer Peter Rogers, not normally known as "Mr. Nice Guy," proved to be James' principal benefactor during the actor's heaviest gambling binges. Sidney James was also a regular on the British TV series Taxi (no relation to the American sitcom of the same name) and Bless This House.
by Hal Erickson
biography
