: ''This article describes the all-original 1975 TV series. Not to be confused with the later "Carry On" film-clip compilations or
the stage play of the same name''.
''Carry On Laughing'' is a
British television comedy series produced in 1975 for
ATV. Based on the ''
Carry On
Carry On may refer to:
* ''Carry On'' (franchise), a British comedy media franchise
*Carry-on luggage or hand luggage, luggage that is carried into the passenger compartment
* ''Carry On'' (film), a 1927 British silent film
* ''Carry On'' (novel), ...
'' films, it was an attempt to address the films' declining cinema attendance by transferring the franchise to television. Many of the original cast members were featured in the series.
''Carry on Laughing'' ran for two series, the first for six half-hour episodes and the second for seven episodes. The episode ''Orgy and Bess'' featured the final ''Carry On'' performances of both
Sid James
Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series.
Born to a mi ...
and
Hattie Jacques
Hattie Jacques (; born Josephine Edwina Jaques; 7 February 1922 – 6 October 1980) was an English comedy actress of stage, radio and screen. She is best known as a regular of the ''Carry On'' films, where she typically played strict, no-non ...
.
The TV series is not as widely known as the original films, which - by contrast - are broadcast regularly on British television.
Production
The series was conceived after the departures of two long-serving ''Carry On'' contributors: writer
Talbot Rothwell
Talbot Nelson Conn “Tolly” Rothwell, OBE (12 November 1916 – 28 February 1981) was an English screenwriter.
Life and career
Rothwell was born in Bromley, Kent, England. He had a variety of jobs during his early life: town clerk, poli ...
and actor
Charles Hawtrey. Furthermore,
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was an English actor of Welsh heritage. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 '' ...
declined to appear in the series. Other ''Carry On'' regulars only appeared in a minority of episodes: Sid James in only the first four, Hattie Jacques in only one; and
Bernard Bresslaw appeared only in the second series.
In the absence of Rothwell, other writers were brought in. Lew Schwarz and experienced ''Carry On'' writer
Dave Freeman each wrote six, while
Barry Cryer
Barry Charles Cryer (23 March 1935 – 25 January 2022) was an English writer, comedian, and actor. As well as performing on stage, radio and television, Cryer wrote for many performers including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory ...
and
Dick Vosburgh
Richard Kennedy Vosburgh (27 August 1929 – 18 April 2007) was a Grammy-nominated, Tony-nominated American-born comedy writer and lyricist working chiefly in Britain.
Early life
Vosburgh was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He persuaded his ...
penned ''Orgy and Bess''.
Each episode parodied a famous TV series, film or book. Three episodes feature a character based on
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey (later 17th Duke of Denver) is the fictional protagonist in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers (and their continuation by Jill Paton Walsh). A dilettante who solves mysteries fo ...
- Lord Peter Flimsy. Another two episodes are nods to ''
Upstairs, Downstairs'', with the character of Hudson the butler parodied as Clodson, and the cook Mrs. Bridges as Mrs. Breeches.
The series provided an opportunity for
David Lodge - little more than a bit-part player in some of the later ''Carry On'' films - to play leading characters.
Note
ATV had already helped to bring the ''Carry On''s to the small screen in 1973, when it broadcast ''What A Carry On'', a one-off show hosted by
Shaw Taylor
Eric Stanley Taylor (26 October 1924 – 17 March 2015), known professionally as Shaw Taylor, was a British actor and television presenter, best known for presenting the long-running five-minute crime programme ''Police 5''.
Early life and c ...
featuring clips from the stage play ''Carry On London'' and interviews with its stars - Sid James, Barbara Windsor, Bernard Bresslaw, Kenneth Connor, Peter Butterworth and Jack Douglas. It is believed that this footage is missing from the archives.
''What A Carry On'' was also the title of a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
The title ''Carry On Laughing'' was also used for:
*a ''Carry On'' stage play performed in Scarborough in 1976 and featuring series regulars
from 1981 to 1984, featuring classic clips from the ''Carry On'' film series, although footage was also drawn from other British comedy films of the era, such as the movie spin-offs of ''
''. In 1983, a Christmas special of this series was made, entitled ''Carry On Laughing's Christmas Classics'', featuring classic film clips, linked by newly filmed material with
The entire series was released as DVD bonus features spread over various UK releases of ''Carry On'' films. A complete 13-episode collection was released in a 2-Disc DVD box set on 25 May 2004 by
, under licence from Carlton International Media Limited (Region 1 format, US and Canada).
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*''Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema'' by Simon Sheridan (third edition) (2007) (Reynolds & Hearn Books)
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