Kenneth Williams Unseen: The private notes, scripts and photographs

To mark the 20th anniversary of legendary comic actor and broadcaster Kenneth Williams’ death, this beautiful coffee table book includes never-before-seen photographs, sketches, and personal testimony from Williams’ closest friends, for the very first time. Among the actor's bequests, in a will which itself was controversial enough to require re-examination, was a large cache of private papers and memorabilia inherited by his godson, Robert Chiddell, and subsequently acquired by the broadcaster and Williams fanatic, Wes Butters. This material, none of which has been seen before, includes scripts and drafts by Williams, lectures and speeches delivered by him (to an audience of policemen, in a couple of cases), a large number of superb photographs from all phases of his career, and creative writing which even extends to a fictional recreation of his own turbulent Cockney childhood. Without ever arranging it formally Williams had unwittingly assembled a brilliant scrapbook of his life. Kenneth Williams Unseen is that scrapbook, enlarged and emboldened by contributions from those who knew and loved him and is a must for every fan of the great man himself. This is the first authorized book on Williams in over a decade and will re-define the Williams legacy.

Russell Davies is a freelance writer and broadcaster. Wes Butters is a former radio host who wrote and produced the two-part documentary The Pain of Laughter: The Last Days of Kenneth Williams.