Charlie Williams (comedian)

Charlie Williams
MBE

Charlie Williams appearing on The Comedians in the 1970s.
Personal information
Full name	Charles Adolphus Williams
Date of birth	(1927-12-23)23 December 1927
Place of birth	Royston, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Date of death	2 September 2006(2006-09-02) (aged 78)
Place of death	Barnsley, Yorkshire, England
Playing position	Centre half
Youth career
	Upton Colliery
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1948–1959	Doncaster Rovers	151	(1)
1959–196?	Skegness Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Charles Adolphus Williams, MBE (23 December 1927 – 2 September 2006) was an English professional footballer who was one of the first black players in British football after the Second World War, and later became Britain's first well-known black stand-up comedian.

He became famous from his appearances on Granada Television's The Comedians and ATV's The Golden Shot, delivering his catchphrase, "me old flower" in his broad Yorkshire accent.

Williams was born in Royston, a small mining village near Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire. His father, also Charles, had come to Britain in 1914 from Barbados, and enlisted in the Royal Engineers.

After the First World War, his father settled in Royston, where he sold groceries from a horse and cart, and married a local woman, Frances Cook. His father had been forced to give up his job as a greengrocer as a result of trench foot acquired in France, and depended on National Assistance.

After leaving school aged 14, Williams worked at Upton Colliery during the Second World War, a reserved occupation. He played football for the colliery team, before turning professional, and signing for Doncaster Rovers in 1948, aged 19. A centre-half, he played for the first team in 1950, but then remained in the reserves until 1955, when he became an established first team player for four years.