COMEDY actor Kenneth Connor died yesterday after a battle against
cancer, his agent, Jean Diamond, announced.
Mr Connor, who was 74, died at his home in Harrow, London, with his
wife, Margaret, at his side.
He will be remembered for his roles in the Carry On films after
starring in the first, Carry on Sergeant, in 1958.
More recently he was known as the amorous undertaker Alphonse in the
television series 'Allo 'Allo.
He appeared in an episode of Noel Edmonds's Telly Addicts only last
week.
Mr Peter Rogers, producer of the Carry On films, said: ''That's
another one of the team gone. He was a wonderful artist and a very funny
man and will be very sadly missed.
''He always kept us in fits of laughter on the set and when he and
Joan Sims got together, it was hysterical. He was in everything we did
and we always loved to have him in the films and even when we weren't
shooting, he would come around for lunch and keep us all entertained.''
He became a MBE in 1991 for his services to showbusiness and was
widely respected within the profession.
He served for six years with the Middlesex Regiment during the Second
World War when he entertained the forces in shows before he eventually
arrived on the West End stage. But his first love was the movies, where
his comedy talents were used for more than 40 years.
He appeared as a taxi driver in the 1955 Ealing comedy, The
Ladykillers, alongside Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, and Herbert Lom.
His agent said: ''He was working up until the last few weeks and will
be very sadly missed. He loved the character of Alphonse in 'Allo 'Allo
and he had a wonderful time in the show.''
He and his wife had two sons.
Arrangements for his funeral have yet to be made but it is expected
that there will be a memorial service early in the New Year.
Barbara Windsor, who appeared with Connor in many of the Carry On
films, said: ''It is all getting sadder and sadder now that the old team
are dying. We can just be thankful that there is such a legacy of films.
''I always felt that Kenny was one of the best of the team and that he
should have been a bigger star than he was.
''So I was so glad that he got a part in 'Allo 'Allo, which I know he
loved so much and everybody else loved him in it.''
The Carry On series ran for more than 30 films and Connor was one of
the regulars alongside Sid James, Charles Hawtrey, Kenneth Williams,
Hattie Jacques, and Bernard Bresslaw, who are all now dead.
Last month Gerald Thomas, the director of all the films in series,
died from a heart attack at his home.
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