Charlie Williams

Charles Adolphus Williams, MBE (23 December 1927 – 2 September 2006) was an English professional footballer and one of the first black players in British football after the Second World War, Later he became Britain's first well-known black stand-up comedian.

He became famous from his appearances on Granada Television's The Comedians and ATV's The Golden Shot, delivering his catchphrase, "me old flower" in his broad Yorkshire accent.

Early life and football career

Williams was born in Royston, a small mining village in Barnsley, south Yorkshire. His father, also Charles, had come to Britain in 1914 from Barbados and enlisted in the Royal Engineers. He then remained in the reserves until 1955, when he became an established first team player for four years.

He played 171 times for Rovers in total, but scored only one goal, in a Second Division game away to Barnsley on 24 March 1956. in the Midland League.

He married twice. He was first married to Audrey Crump on 1 April 1957. They had two children. He later married a second time, to Janice, who survived him.

Showbusiness career

Following his retirement from football in 1959, Williams tried his hand as a singer in local working men's clubs, but it was his comic chat between the songs that was best received, so he decided to move into comedy full-time. He eventually became Britain's first well-known black television comedian. Like other popular comedians of his era, his comedy included jokes about "Pakis" and "coons". when almost all others were white.

He reached the pinnacle of his comedy career in the early 1970s. In 1972, he spent a six-month season at the London Palladium; presented his own show, It's Charlie Williams, on Granada Television; was a subject on This Is Your Life, when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the Batley Variety Club; and appeared at the Royal Variety Performance.

In 1973, he presented a one-off special Charlie Williams Show on BBC2, and published an autobiography, Ee-I've Had Some Laughs. He was popular enough at this time to be featured as the star of his own one page comic strip in IPC's Shiver and Shake comic at this time. He was also the host of ATV's popular game show The Golden Shot, along with hostess Wendy King, for a six-month period from late 1973 to early 1974, although he often struggled to hold together a fast-moving live show, and it ultimately had a detrimental effect on his career.

In 1976, Williams toured Rhodesia and appeared before audiences at packed nightclubs in Salisbury. At that time, the white minority rule government of Rhodesia had unilaterally declared independence from Britain, which had severed all ties with the Rhodesian government.

By the late 1970s and early 1980s, his brand of humour was becoming old-fashioned and his career was in decline. He caused offence to some, and was praised by others, for defending the Robertson's Golliwog trade mark and for saying that immigrants to the United Kingdom should conform to the British way of life. In 1973, he also had an album issued by the label, You Can't Help Liking.......Charlie Williams.

In 1974, he released the pop single Ta Luv, on the Pye Records label, a song taken from The Good Companions musical.

Later life Williams was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1999 New Year Honours "for charitable services to the community in Yorkshire." He was given a lifetime achievement award at the Black Comedy Awards in 2000, where it was recognised that he had "broken down barriers". Williams suffered from Parkinson's disease in his later life, and died on 2 September 2006, aged 78.