Ronald William George Barker OBE (b. September 25, 1929), more popularly known as Ronnie Barker is a British comic actor. His
best-known appearances were as Ronnie Corbett's partner in the
long-running TV variety show The Two Ronnies, and as Fletch in
the sitcom Porridge. His skills as a character actor, his love
for and facility with the English language, and his gift for comedy have made him a well-loved performer.
Barker was born in Bedford, England.
His began his showbusiness 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 then worked as an actor and assistant stage manager with the Manchester Repertory Company, but was soon spotted by Sir
Peter Hall who gave him a West End role. His first radio appearance was in
1956; he went on to play a variety of minor characters in The Navy
Lark, a navy based sit-com on the BBC Light Programme (still available on tape and frequently rerun on BBC 7). On television, he wrote and performed many satirical
skits in The Frost
Report, notably a series of trios which he performed with Ronnie Corbett and John Cleese. He starred with David Jason as a bumbling
aristocrat in the sit-com Hark at Barker. Both he and Jason are widely recognised as having an excellent sense of comic
timing and delivery, which accounts for their enduring popularity. Jason apeared in several episodes of Porridge, and
co-starred as the assistant to Barker's stuttering shopkeeper in the sitcom Open All Hours, written by Roy Clarke (who also wrote
Last of the Summer Wine). Both Porridge
and Open All Hours originated as part of the Seven of One
series.
He is also an accomplished comedy writer. 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 Filthy.
Barker has 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 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 that he would make new episodes of The Two
Ronnies with Ronnie Corbett.
In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted amongst the top 20 greatest comedy acts ever by fellow
comedians and comedy insiders.
Further Reading
Barker,Ronnie (2001). All I Ever Wrote: The Complete Works of Ronnie Barker. Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 0283073349
Barker,Ronnie (1994). Dancing in the Moonlight: My Early Years. Trafalgar Square Publishing. ISBN 0340591048
McCabe, Bob (1998). Ronnie Barker: The Authorised Biography. Andre Deutsch LTD. ISBN 0233993827
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