Charles Hawtrey

gaymen2
Jun 27
6 min read

Charles Hawtrey (actor, born 1914)

George Frederick Joffre Hartree (30 November 1914 – 27 October 1988), known as Charles Hawtrey, was an English actor, comedian, singer, pianist and theatre director.

He began at an early age as a boy soprano, in which role he made several records, before moving on to radio.

His later career encompassed the theatre (as both actor and director), the cinema (where he regularly appeared supporting Will Hay in the 1930s and 1940s in films such as The Ghost of St. Michael's), through the Carry On films, and television.

Hawtrey was born in Hounslow, Middlesex, England, in 1914, to William John Hartree (1885–1952) and his wife Alice (née Crow) (1880–1965), of 217 Cromwell Road, as George Frederick Joffre Hartree. He took his stage name from the theatrical knight Sir Charles Hawtrey, and encouraged the suggestion that he was Hawtrey's son (though his father was actually a London car mechanic).

Although the Carry On films made a handsome return for their producer, Peter Rogers, the cast were not well remunerated, commonly receiving a standard fee of £5,000 per film. Hawtrey used public transport to get to and from work, and was once given a lift to Pinewood Studios by Laurence Olivier. Requested to embrace Barbara Windsor at a meeting with the press, Hawtrey hurriedly left the room, requesting a man in her place.

Hawtrey moved in 1968 to Deal, in Kent, reputedly because of the sailors at the local naval base.[17] He lived at 117 Middle Street, Deal, where he remained until his death. There is a small commemorative blue plaque on the front exterior wall of this property to identify his former residence. Hawtrey cut an eccentric figure in the small town, becoming well known for promenading along the seafront in extravagant attire, waving cheerfully to the fishermen and for frequenting establishments patronised by students of the Royal Marines School of Music.

In 1970, he appeared with Sid James in the South African film Stop Exchange. He made an appearance in Grasshopper Island (ITV 1971), a children's programme, alongside Patricia Hayes, Julian Orchard, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Frank Muir. Filmed in Wales and Corsica, this adventure series featured three small brothers nicknamed Toughy, Smarty and Mouse, who run away to find an uninhabited island.

Hawtrey's last film was Carry On Abroad (1972), after which he was dropped from the series. Hoping to gain higher billing, Hawtrey withdrew from a television programme, Carry On Christmas, in which he was scheduled to appear, giving just a few days' notice. Peter Rogers, the producer of the Carry On films and shows, said

"He became rather difficult and impossible to deal with because he was drinking a lot. We used to feed him black coffee before he would go on. It really became clear that we were wasting time"

Hawtrey's alcohol consumption had noticeably increased since Carry On Cowboy (1965), which was released in the year his mother died.

Without steady film work, Hawtrey performed in pantomime and summer seasons in the regions, playing heavily on his Carry On persona in such shows as Carry On Holiday Show-time and Snow White at the Gaiety Theatre, Rhyl (summer 1970), Stop it Nurse at the Pavilion Theatre, Torquay (1972), and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs again at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham (April 1974). His last pantomime season was Christmas 1979.

Hawtrey also played parts in a series of radio plays about a criminal gang written by Wally K. Daly for the BBC, alongside Peter Jones, Lockwood West and Bernard Bresslaw. These were Burglar's Bargains (1979), A Right Royal Rip-off (1982) and The Bigger They Are (1985).

Little is known about Hawtrey's early years or later private life. He guarded his relationships very carefully as male homosexual sex was illegal and punishable by a prison sentence, until decriminalised by the Sexual Offences Act 1967. His outrageous drunken promiscuity did not attract sympathy, nor did his general peevish demeanour and increasing eccentricity earn him many close friends.

If fans asked him for an autograph, Hawtrey would often swear at them and rip their paper in half. He was not a pleasant man full of contradiction, resentment and booze.

Kenneth Williams recounted a visit to Deal in Kent where Hawtrey owned a house full of old brass bedsteads that the eccentric actor had hoarded, believing that "one day he would make a great deal of money from them".

Hawtrey spent most of his life living with his mother, who suffered Alzheimer's disease in later years. Another anecdote recounted by Williams describes how during the filming of Carry On Teacher, Joan Sims cried out to Hawtrey that his mother's handbag had caught fire after her cigarette ash fell into it. Without batting an eyelid, Hawtrey poured a cup of tea into the bag to put out the flames, snapped the handbag shut and continued with his conversation. He would often bring his mother onto the set and then lock her in his dressing room when he was required to film a scene. Williams also recounted his gathering up of the sandwiches left over from a buffet for the Carry On cast. Williams was envious of Hawtrey's acceptance of his sexuality: "He can sit in a bar and pick up sailors and have a wonderful time. I couldn't do it."

On 6 June 1981, Hawtrey suffered a heart attack. He next hit the headlines after his house caught fire on 5 August 1984. He had gone to bed with a 15-year-old rent boy and had left a cigarette burning on his sofa. Newspaper photographs from the time show a fireman leading an ill-looking, emotional, partially clothed and toupeeless Hawtrey to safety. Hawtrey told the press that "The smell of smoke woke me up and there were flames coming up the stairway. I've lost a lot of valuable antiques and sentimental keepsakes but I am all right. It was all very frightening".

Death

Charles Hawtrey - A Flamboyantly Wasted Life

CLICK HERE - YOUTUBE VIDEO

In late September 1988 Hawtrey was admitted to the Buckland Hospital, Dover. He was discovered to be suffering from peripheral vascular disease, a condition of the arteries brought on by a lifetime of heavy smoking. Hawtrey was told that to save his life, his legs would have to be amputated. He refused the operation, allegedly saying that he preferred 'to die with his boots on' and died at 3:30 am on 27 October 1988, at Windthorpe Lodge Nursing Home in Walmer, near Deal.

It was claimed that on his deathbed he threw a vase at his nurse who asked for an autograph.

On 2 November 1988, he was cremated and his ashes were scattered in Mortlake Crematorium, close to Chiswick in London. Just nine mourners attended; no friends or family were there.

How incredibly tragic.

The sad thing is, all too often, we fall in love with the person on the screen and the real person can often be very different, as was Hawtrey. Loved and adored by millions, and bitterly hated by those close to him for his drunken manner and his abusive ways. He was very resentful he was not taken seriously as an actor or that he was never a 'leading man' - as he was hardly Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt or even Arnold Schwartzenager. He was - to be honest - a frail camp old queen, - decades ahead of his time as a gay man - and hardly a leading man, bless him.

It seems as if he hated his life, hated everything about it and hid in the booze lashing out at others.

Interesting how so many famous comedy figures have such tragic personal lives.

When you speak of the Carry On crew and ask about the camp gay actor, people automatically think of Kenneth Williams and many do not even know the name Charles Hawtrey and even Williams led an embittered life ending in suicide. It seems that most the actors from the 'Carry On' films, found it all to be too much of a carry on and only made any money and fame outside of the films, like Barbara Windsor in Eastenders.

Charles Hawtrey made us laugh, and that's what we need to remember and forget the tragedy that was his life.

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