IN MEMORIAM

RONNIE BARKER

(1929-2005)

Ronnie Barker was - and still is - considered one of Britain's best comedy actors of all time.

Ronald William George Barker was born in Bedford on 25th September 1929 to an upper working-class family. He had two sisters, Eileen and Edith, and his father was a worker from Shell Oil. When Ronnie was four, his family moved house to Cowley, Oxfordshire.

From a young age, Barker liked to dress up and developed a love of the theatre. He often went to see plays with his family - as a child he saw plays starring Laurence Olivier (his idol) and George Cole. After the plays, he used to stand at the stage doors and collect autographs from the actors - the first of which was the signature of actress Celia Johnson.

His first television role was a bit part in a series called I'm Not Bothered in 1956. His first important role was in The Seven Faces of Jim alongside actors and actresses such as June Whitfield, Richard Briers and Jimmy Edwards. He also appeared in the two sequels. But his roles in The Frost Report and Frost on Sunday made him even more famous, appearing along side John Cleese and Ronnie Corbett in the well-known class sketch. He also played his long-running character, Lord Rustless, in many shows such as Hark at Barker, which also starred the famous actors Sir David Jason and Josephine Tewson. He also appeared in the lead role in Futtock's End.

In 1971, Barker and his new comedy partner Ronnie Corbett were offered a show of their own, The Two Ronnies, which made them two of Britain's most famous and much-loved comedians and comedy actors. Barker and Corbett both starred together in the sketches, Corbett had his famous chair monologues, performed with a rather jazzy golfing sweater, and Barker would usually have his speech, for example Pismonunciation or Repetition.