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 here . (Similarly, other regular members of the Carry On cast abbreviated their real first names in the films: Bernard Bresslaw was Bernie and Barbara Windsor Babs.) There were "Carry On" films in which James played characters who were not called Sid or Sidney: "Carry On Constable" (1960), in which he played Sergeant Frank Wilkins; "Carry On Henry" (1971), a parody of the TV series "The Six Wives of Henry VIII"; "Carry On Abroad" (1972), in which James's character was named Vic Flange; and "Carry On Dick" (1974), a parody version of the legend of the highwayman Dick Turpin. In