|
Home
Page
> Celebs
> News
05
October 2005
Stars Pay
Tribute To Ronnie Barker
Comedian
Ronnie Corbett has led a host of tributes
from across the entertainment world to
comic actor Ronnie Barker, who has died
aged 76.
Corbett
said his late partner was "pure gold in
triplicate - as a performer, a writer and
a friend".
Barker
died peacefully on Monday with his wife
Joy by his side, after a long period of
heart trouble.
The
comedian was best known as one half of
long-running TV double act The Two Ronnies
with Corbett.
Corbett
described the 40 years they worked
together as "an absolute
pleasure".
At the
peak of Barker's career, The Two Ronnies
entertained 17 million people every
Saturday night.
The
show, which ran for 15 years, mixed
sketches, wordplay and funny
songs.
Barker
also starred in two of the most popular
sitcoms in BBC history - Porridge and Open
All Hours, creating two classic
characters, the laconic inmate Fletcher
and the stuttering shopkeeper
Arkwright.
By
Tuesday evening, some of the biggest names
in British entertainment had paid tribute
to the comedian and his work.
Actor
David Jason, who co-starred in Open All
Hours, called him "a dear friend and
someone for whom I had the greatest
respect".
"Working
with Ronnie was always a joy and were
without doubt some of the best years of my
career."
TV host
Bruce Forsyth said: "He was so good at
everything he did. You can't call Ronnie
Barker a comedian. He was an actor, and a
great writer."
Phoenix
Nights star Peter Kay said Barker's
passing would leave "a huge hole in our
lives".
"Just
like Eric Morecambe, you feel like you've
lost a dear friend," he said.
"Ronnie
was a straightforward man who had this
extraordinary ability to make the nation
laugh," said former Monty Python member
Michael Palin.
Fellow
Python John Cleese, who worked with Barker
on The Frost Report, called him "a great
comic actor to learn from."
"Ronnie
loved his audiences and they invariably
loved him," added Sir David
Frost.
Eric
Sykes, meanwhile, praised the way "he
never sought the limelight and let people
judge him for his work".
"Everything
he did had a very evocative ring, of
something great. He had a
gift."
"I will
always remember him for the many and
various characters he portrayed," said
actor David Suchet, who once bought a
house from Barker. "He has left behind a
library of work which will entertain this
nation for many years to come."
"There's
no doubt he was in his own way a comic
genius," comedian Nicholas Parsons told
BBC News 24. "He had this wonderful warmth
and humour that came right through the
screen and just embraced you."
Sir
Peter Hall, who directed Barker on the
West End stage in 1955, said: "He
illuminated more than 50 years of our
lives with laughter."
Entertainer
Danny La Rue, a lifelong friend, said: "He
liked to hide behind his characters, but
his shyness was one of the lovely things
about him."
The
comic Les Dennis, another friend of
Barker's, called him "a genuine, warm and
lovely man" with a "brilliant
presence".
Comedian
Jimmy Tarbuck said: "Not only could he do
it, he could write it as well."
Chat
show host Michael Parkinson, who
interviewed Barker twice, said he was "one
of our very greatest comedy actors. He was
also a generous performer. The people who
worked with him regarded themselves as
very fortunate."
"He was
like a chameleon, an amazing character
comedian," added writer Barry Cryer. "If
you watch him in Porridge and Open All
Hours you can't believe it's the same
person."
Comedian
Ben Elton said: "He lives on in an
incomparable body of work which will
continue to bring joy to
millions."
Chat
show host Des O'Connor commented: "City
toff, country yokel - all his characters
were brilliantly observed and so
believable. He was a kind, warm and
friendly man and, most of all, a
gentleman."
Actor
Sam Kelly, who appeared with Barker in
Porridge, told BBC News 24: "It's too
early - he deserved another 10 years.
We'll remember him as someone who made us
all laugh, and someone who made us feel
better about ourselves."
BBC
bosses also paid tribute to the performer
who became one of the corporation's most
established stars.
"We have
lost a national treasure - a comic actor
of real genius," said BBC chairman Michael
Grade.
BBC
director general Mark Thompson said:
"Ronnie Barker will be numbered amongst a
select band of comedy greats who shaped
British comedy in the 20th
century."
Return
To News Index
|
