TV Cream

Hall of Fame

JAMES, Sid

jamesTwo separate careers, or two ends of the same cackling candle? There’s the filthy Johannesburger’s comedy cockney sark, from Hancock through to the Carry Ons, it goes without saying, but the serious and semi-serious pre-’60s dues-paying years gave Sid a more gritty, shifty persona, as henchmen (The Lavender Hill Mob) barmen (The Small Back Room) barrow boys (The Yellow Balloon) and even dance instructors (We Joined the Navy). Who’s cackling now?

FINEST HOUR: We’ll be accused of being willfully obscure if we don’t pick a Carry On, so how about his obsessive-turned-repentant cab firm owner in Cabbie? The first name of his character escapes us for the moment.

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