Charles Hawtrey

He lived in an old smuggler's cottage near the seafront at Deal, from which he was rescued during a fire in 1984.
A fan of the "Carry On" series in which Hawtrey starred, John Lennon introduces the song "Two of Us" by saying, "I dig a Pygmy by Charles Hawtrey and the Deaf Aids . . . Phase One in which Doris gets her oats," on The Beatles "Let It Be" album.
Had a very unusual acting style, where he would often deliver his lines directly to the camera. This is obvious throughout many of the "Carry On..." films and was encouraged by director Gerald Thomas. His acting style, laugh and spectacles became instantly recognizable trademarks.
Along with Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, and Joan Sims and Hattie Jacques he became one of the longest serving Carry On stars, appearing in 23 of the films.
Hit the headlines after his house caught fire on 5 August 1984. He had gone to bed with a much younger man and had left a cigarette burning on his sofa. When the fire brigade arrived, he insisted on being rescued by the biggest fireman. Newspaper photographs from the time show a fireman carrying an emotional, partially clothed and toupee-less Hawtrey down a ladder to safety. According to some reports a 15-year-old rent boy set fire to the house after Hawtrey refused to pay him.

[in reference to the Carry On films] Those films haven't made me rich but they've given me a world wide identity.
[in 1984, speaking about Ist ja irre - Kopf hoch, Brust raus! (1958) and his salary on the Carry On films] We worked for bread money. Nobody would take them, I was in the first one, Ist ja irre - Kopf hoch, Brust raus! (1958), it was an idea of Peter Rogers, who is quite a clever fella. He didn't write it, but he had the idea. So he hawked it around and nobody would take it. He eventually went to two gentlemen at Anglo Amalgamated, and what happened--they made a fortune.