Sid James attack while performing on stage at the Sunderland Empire Theatre; he died in hospital an hour later. Some, including comedian Les Dawson, claim to have seen the ghost of James at the theatre, and subsequently refused to appear at the theatre again. James was born Solomon Joel Cohen on 8 May 1913, to Jewish parents in South Africa, later changing his name to Sidney Joel Cohen, and then Sidney James. His family lived on Hancock Street in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. Upon moving to the UK later in life, he claimed various previous occupations, including diamond cutter, dance tutor and boxer; in
Sid James "Henry" and "Dick", James played the title roles, while in "Carry On Cleo" he played Mark Antony. In "Carry On Cowboy", he adopted an American accent for his part as "The Rumpo Kid". According to Adrian Rigelsford: The cast make valiant attempts to maintain American accents, with the most convincing belonging to—surprisingly—Sid James, who made no attempt to disguise his accent in any other film, either before or after this one. Rigelsford was mistaken, as James had previously played an American (with an American accent) in the films "Give Us This Day" (1949), "Orders Are Orders" (1954), "A Yank in