Carry On star Kenneth Williams was reflecting on Yootha Joyce's death just days before his own passing, revisiting her final TV appearance in his diary. The comedy icon, who died on April 15, 1988, had been haunted by the loss of the George and Mildred star for years.
Yootha Joyce's rise and tragic fall
Yootha Joyce was one of the biggest stars of the 1970s, known for her role in George and Mildred. Her fame, however, did not carry into the next decade. She died at the height of her success, four days after her 53rd birthday, on August 24, 1980, as years of alcoholism finally caught up with her. She had been admitted to the hospital amidst growing concern over her health, with her on-screen husband and good friend Brian Murphy at her bedside.
Her final TV appearance was posthumous, as herself, duetting with Max Bygraves on his variety show Max on ITV on January 14, 1981, nearly five months after she passed away. They sang the song "For All We Know We May Never Meet Again."
Williams's diary entries
Kenneth Williams was one of those watching and wrote in his diary at the time: "She looked as though she was crying... as she got up [and left the set] one had the feeling she never intended to return."
Her death would continue to haunt him. Seven years later, on April 9, 1988, just days before his own death, he revisited her final appearance. In an era before the internet or on-demand reruns, this was triggered by his own memories rather than something he had seen on TV or online. He was simply reflecting on that moment he had so eloquently recorded years beforehand.
Final reflections and death
In echoes of his previous entry, he wrote that "there was a break in her voice when she got to [the line] tomorrow may never come... she was a lady who made so many people happy and a lady who never complained."
Six days later, on April 15, 1988, he himself was found dead in his flat in Bloomsbury, London, at the age of 62. His cause of death was an overdose of prescribed sleeping medication. The coroner recorded an open verdict, as it was unclear whether the overdose was intentional or an accidental accumulation alongside his other regular medications.
He suffered from chronic depression, severe stomach ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome, and at the time of his death, he was awaiting further medical treatment and potential surgery for his gastric ulcer. He had faced periods of deep personal isolation - admitting he was lonely, financial worry, and distress over his mother's declining health.
Much like Yootha, he too had made so many people happy over the years - although whether this was on his mind as he reflected on her legacy no one knows. But it is clear her death struck a chord with him. However, his last written words in his famous diary on April 14, 1988, weren't about Yootha, or indeed his own legacy. It was the simple five-word sentence: "Oh, what's the bloody point?"
