, hero of British comedy from the BBC’s better days.
RIP Ronnie Barker
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Here’s my (Don’t) Have Your Say tribute to Ronnie:
A great loss to British comedy – but what a treasure trove of laughs dear old Ronnie has left for us to laugh our way through. A marvellous man.
I wonder if the censors will pass it!
A Legend, i will miss him. He was a great guy. Humble, but extremely affable.
“Its good night from me, and its good night from him.”
God Bless
A great comic talent who will be sadly missed.
Dear Old Ronnie! Well it means we will get a week or so of good repeats and reminiscences; a chance for the other Ronnie to make a few bob. Just imagine the reunion party in Heaven when Ronnie Barker and Gerald Wiley simultaneously arrived. Luckily most of his best work lives on and will be enjoyed by our descendants for many years, or until Sharia Law becomes universal anyway.
Particularly enjoyable were the musical numbers at the end of each Two Ronnies show, especially in the eariler years.
My favourites were:
With the Aldershot Brass Band
The Short & Fat Minstrel Show (so unPC !)
Gilbert & Sullivan Tribute
The Plumstead Ladies’ Male Voice Choir
Very sad news indeed, and a remimnder of just how good BBC entertainmant was in its heyday. Ronnie Barker’s portrayal of Fletcher in Porridge was one of the greatest acting performances (not just comedy acting) ever seen on stage or TV.
David H
I couldn’t agree more, a sad day. I defy anyone to watch him as Fletcher in Porridge and Arkwright in Open All Hours and say that is clearly the same actor. Easily the greatest British comic actor ever.
“Four Candles”
I liked the one about the toilets being stolen at the local nick – apparently the police have nothing to go on… 🙂
Agreed. A sad passing.
Surely the best sketch was the one where Ronnie Barker was a contestant on Mastermind and his specialist subject being answering the question before last. Brilliant.
Does anybody remember who wrote it? I’m thinking Croft and Perry, but I could be wrong.
My favourite was the end news item with Barker saying (in more innocent times) that they were hoping to have an interview with Albert, the human bomb, but he’d gone off on holiday.
RIP
The two “village idiots” sketch:
“Ere, think of a number between one and three.”
“Oooooh, nooo, oi carn’t do that”.
“Why not?”
“Oi’m ‘aving my dinner between one and three”.
RIP Ronnie.
NW at 5.09pm
“Does anybody remember who wrote it? I’m thinking Croft and Perry, but I could be wrong.”
It could well have been Ronnie himself – he submitted a lot of material anonymously under the pen name “Gerald Wiley”
I was a spotty young teenager in his pomp and thought him amazingly funny. In fact, to be on topic, the seventies were the last time the TV licence seemed “worth it”. Of course, I didn’t actually have to pay it. Thanks Mum and Dad.
Was the BBC so awful back then? I don’t think so.
But I was “brought up” on the BBC and would not have known any difference. Does anybody have any comment on the old days?
Just reading “four candles” made me laugh. Classic!
The corner shop has closed, RIP
And of course, unlike most modern “comedians”, RB was not obviously a Leftist; he kept his political views to himself. And, as other posters have shown, he was very, very funny. RIP, Ronnie.
Another classic sketch in the “Fork Handles” mould was “Crossed Lines” by David Renwick, where Ronnie B and Ronnie C were calling their wives from two separate phone booths. It went something like that:
RB: “..I’ll be taking you somewhere romantic tonight.”
RC: “Sainsbury’s.”
RB: “What perfume will you be wearing ?”
RC: “Cheese & onion, salt ‘n’ vinegar …”