Spotlightingnews

Legendary Comedian Ronnie Barker Dies At 76; Stars Pays Tribute

Ronnie Corbett, Sir David Jason, John Cleese and Michael Palin Pays Tribute

British comedian Ronnie Barker, partner and friend with Ronnie Corbett, in the long-running TV variety show The Two Ronnies, died on Monday after a long period of heart trouble. His agent Rosalind Chatto stated the actor died in the presence of his wife, Joy Tubb.

Among the celebrities who came to pay their tribute to the great actor were Ronnie Corbett, Sir David Jason, John Cleese and Michael Palin.

Veteran actor Richard Briers, interviewed by BBC News website, declared: "What a marvellous friend Ronnie was.

Everyone liked Ronnie - there was nothing about him to dislike - he was a generous man, a very nice man and a great family man too."

Ronald William George Barker OBE (25 September 1929 - 3 October 2005), popularly known as Ronnie Barker and (as a writer) Gerald Wiley, was an English comic actor and writer. His best-known appearances were as Ronnie Corbett's partner in the long-running TV variety show "The Two Ronnies", and as Norman Stanley "Fletch" Fletcher in the sitcom "Porridge" and its sequel "Going Straight".

His skills as a character actor, his love for and facility with the English language, and his gift for comedy made him a well-loved performer.

He began his show business career when he left his safe job in an Oxford bank to join the city's Playhouse Theatre, then under the actor-management of Frank Shelley.

The two appeared together there, in Ben Travers's "A Cuckoo in the Nest" and, subsequently, in a number of other venues and roles. In 1993, Barker dedicated his autobiography to Shelley, whom he called one of the "three wise men who directed my career; without men like these, there would be no theatre."

He provided a good deal of the sketches and songs for "The Two Ronnies", and contributed material to many other radio and TV shows—often under a variety of assumed names (most famously 'Gerald Wiley'), so that his work would be considered on merit.

His other credits include the (almost) silent films "Futtock's End", "The Picnic" and "By The Sea", the sit-coms "His Lordship Entertains" and "Clarence", the plays "Rub A Dub Dub and Mum, and the "LP A Pint of Old and Filth".

Barker made occasional TV appearances since his 1988 retirement, most notably to play Winston Churchill's butler—a 'straight' role, but with opportunities for comic asides—in the BBC drama "The Gathering Storm" in 2002.

This was followed up by a role in the film "My House in Umbria" 2003. In 2004, he was given a special BAFTA award and announced his return to television—in early 2005 he reunited with Ronnie Corbett to present "The Two Ronnies Sketchbook", a clip show of their sketches along with newly recorded introductions.

He was voted amongst the top 20 greatest comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders in a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian.

On his death Ronnie Corbett said that throughout their many years working together there was never a cross word between them.