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Ronald William George Barker
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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.
His began his show business career when he left his safe job in an
Oxford bank to join the city's Playhouse |
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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, and starred with
David Jason as a bumbling aristocrat in the sit-com Hark at Barker. |
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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. |
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Barker has made occasional TV appearances since his 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. |
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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