Charles Hawtrey (1914 - 1988)
"Hellooo young man!"- Charles Hawtrey
Charles Hawtrey's career as a Carry On regular was long and memorable. His first appearance was as Peter Golightly in the very first film, Carry On Sergeant, in 1958, and he subsequently made appearances in a further 22 movies, as well as the 1969 and 1970 Christmas TV specials. However, his unrepentant alcoholism was what called time on his Carry On career in the end, and what ultimately sounded the death knell for his performing career overall. By the 1960s Charles was drinking heavily, and his behaviour was becoming more and more erratic.
It even got to the point where his love of drink was worked into the Carry On scripts, so much so that by 1972's Carry On Abroad, he was seen sunbathing on the beach and swigging from a bottle of sun tan lotion like it was booze! This was his very last Carry On assignment, although the films continued until the end of the decade (he was to have played Cecil Gaybody in the next film, 1973's Carry On Girls, but the role went to Jimmy Logan instead).
It even got to the point where his love of drink was worked into the Carry On scripts, so much so that by 1972's Carry On Abroad, he was seen sunbathing on the beach and swigging from a bottle of sun tan lotion like it was booze! This was his very last Carry On assignment, although the films continued until the end of the decade (he was to have played Cecil Gaybody in the next film, 1973's Carry On Girls, but the role went to Jimmy Logan instead).
Charles's penultimate screen acting role was in Eric Sykes's celebrated silent comedy short The Plank, released in December 1979, when Charles was 65. Finally, Charles made a guest appearance in an episode of the children's series Super Gran, broadcast on April 12th, 1987, when he was 72. Super Gran and the State Visit concerned the visit to Chisleton of the Duke and Duchess of Claridge, the former played by Charles. Sadly, Charles really did look his age in this, and was no doubt performing through a fog of alcohol as ever!
Charles had been living at 117 Middle Street, an old smuggler's cottage in the seaside town of Deal in Kent, since 1968, and had become known as something of an eccentric, often getting drunk in the the local pubs and flirting with students from the nearby Royal Marines School of Music. In his diary entry for December 14th, 1987, Carry On comedian Kenneth Williams records that he met a man who said he once lived next door to Charles in Deal. The man said: "He's always pissed. Several of the pubs barred him. He can get very nasty, you know." When he arrived in Deal, the locals would ask him for his autograph but he didn't like that and would tell them to fuck off and rip up their pieces of paper. That upset children and angered their parents. He would also refer to people down the pub as peasants.
Charles had been living at 117 Middle Street, an old smuggler's cottage in the seaside town of Deal in Kent, since 1968, and had become known as something of an eccentric, often getting drunk in the the local pubs and flirting with students from the nearby Royal Marines School of Music. In his diary entry for December 14th, 1987, Carry On comedian Kenneth Williams records that he met a man who said he once lived next door to Charles in Deal. The man said: "He's always pissed. Several of the pubs barred him. He can get very nasty, you know." When he arrived in Deal, the locals would ask him for his autograph but he didn't like that and would tell them to fuck off and rip up their pieces of paper. That upset children and angered their parents. He would also refer to people down the pub as peasants.
Charles hit the headlines on Sunday, August 5th, 1984, when a fire broke out at the 69-year-old's Deal home. Reportedly, Charles had gone to bed with a young rent boy and left a cigarette burning on his sofa, although some reports claim the male prostitute deliberately set fire to the house when Charles refused to pay him. Photos from the time show a fireman leading an emotionally distressed, partially-clothed and wig-less Charles away from his house. Apparently, he'd insisted on being rescued by the biggest firefighter!
An extract from Barbara's memoir 'All of Me: My Extraordinary Life' published in 2000.
On October 24th, 1988, Charles collapsed in the doorway of the Royal Hotel in Deal and shattered his femur. He was admitted to Buckland Hospital in Dover where he was diagnosed with peripheral vascular disease, caused principally by his lifetime of smoking. Charles was told that in order to save his life, his legs would have to be amputated, but he refused the operation, apparently claiming he preferred to die with his boots on!
Charles died three days later, aged 73, in a nursing home in Walmer, near Deal. There is a story that a nurse asked him for his autograph while he was on his deathbed, and he threw a vase at her! Charles was cremated and his ashes scattered at Mortlake Crematorium, near Chiswick in London. There were just nine mourners at his funeral, none of them friends or family.
Charles died three days later, aged 73, in a nursing home in Walmer, near Deal. There is a story that a nurse asked him for his autograph while he was on his deathbed, and he threw a vase at her! Charles was cremated and his ashes scattered at Mortlake Crematorium, near Chiswick in London. There were just nine mourners at his funeral, none of them friends or family.
The cottage where he lived out his bitter retirement now appears to have a ghost… according to the current owners. On one occasion the couple went to France on holiday, and upon returning found wine that they had left boxed in the cellar now laid out in neat rows on the cellar floor. On another occasion, the husband found himself inexplicably locked in a cupboard when there was no one else present in the house. Since this required the physical turning of a key on the outside, the couple were completely perplexed as to how it could have occurred on its own.
They have also heard footsteps in empty rooms and generally felt that a mischievous ‘presence’ is in attendance at the property. If this is the ghost of the late Charles Hawtrey, he appears to be still typecast into the impish role he so loathed. The fixation on alcohol in the house seems to point to him being the culprit.
They have also heard footsteps in empty rooms and generally felt that a mischievous ‘presence’ is in attendance at the property. If this is the ghost of the late Charles Hawtrey, he appears to be still typecast into the impish role he so loathed. The fixation on alcohol in the house seems to point to him being the culprit.
In the Summer of 2017 I went on a mini 'pilgrimage' to Deal to visit Charles Hawtrey's former home and old stomping ground. The cottage where he spent his final years is now a private holiday home and the new owner advised me that the interior bears little resemblence now to how it did when Charlie lived there due to extensive renovations over the years. It is on a quiet narrow back street a stones throw from a pub and the beautiful Deal coast. I even visited the pubs where he used to drink (and more often than not either flirt with young men or offend the locals!) and many of these are unchanged despite the passage of time and retain the same names. It is a sleepy and peaceful place and I can see why Hawtrey liked it there. The blue plaque that has been erected on his old cottage is an unofficial one yet depite his reputation it remains in good repair.
I even have my own 'weird story' about my visit; one morning as I left my hotel through the small reception into the car park I stumbled down the small stone step at the entrance. Cursing mildly (more for my own stupidity) I thought nothing more of it. Later that day I left my room to go and move my car that was in the hotel car park to a closer space that had become available. As I left the hotel, down I went again on the same bloody step! I am clumsy at the best of times but this was an achievement even for me, twice on the same day!
I even have my own 'weird story' about my visit; one morning as I left my hotel through the small reception into the car park I stumbled down the small stone step at the entrance. Cursing mildly (more for my own stupidity) I thought nothing more of it. Later that day I left my room to go and move my car that was in the hotel car park to a closer space that had become available. As I left the hotel, down I went again on the same bloody step! I am clumsy at the best of times but this was an achievement even for me, twice on the same day!
I had not done a lot of research ahead of my trip apart from looking for directions to Hawtrey's cottage. The following day, taking some time to relax and research the history of Deal and Hawtrey in more detail, to my utter amazement I discovered that I was in fact staying in the same hotel (The Royal Hotel) which was not only a regular haunt of Charlie's for his 'tipple' but also the same hotel where he had his last 'tipple' (literally) when he fell down at the entrance to the Royal Hotel in 1988 breaking a leg and leading to his eventual death a short time later. There is only one main public entrance to the hotel itself which is adequately lit and easy to access and this remains as it would have been in 1988. It then dawned on me that I had in fact fallen down the same step (twice!) that poor old Charlie had come to blows with all those years before! Make of it what you will, I didn't know whether to laugh or shiver!
Top Left: Me outside Charles Hawtrey's cottage, Summer 2017. Above Right: Charlie's Blue Plaque at 117 Middle Street, Deal. Below Right: The Royal Hotel, Deal. Below (left to right): Charlie in his last TV role as the Duke of Claridge in 'Supergran', An original publicity shot of Charlie in 'Carry On Don't Lose Your Head (1966), Two pictures of Charlie looking old and frail outside his home in Deal after being rescued by fireman from a house fire in 1984.
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