Comedy genius Ronnie Barker dies aged 76

Comedy and character actor Ronnie Barker has died aged 76 following a long struggle with a heart condition.

Most famous for his long-running television series the 'Two Ronnies' in which he teamed up with Ronnie Corbett, Ronnie Barker was one of the most respected comedy actors of his generation. He was also a renowned scriptwriter and had received many awards for his prolific career in television that saw him take the lead in two of the most popular television sitcoms - 'Porridge' as the irrepressible inmate Norman Stanley Fletcher and 'Open All Hours' as tight-fisted shopkeeper Albert Arkwright.

Ronnie Barker passed away peacefully after what his agent described as a long period of heart problems. He leaves a wife, Joy, and three children Charlotte, Adam and Larry.

Last year he received a Bafta award for lifetime achievement.

While Barker will be best remembered for his sitcom roles and comedy sketches in the Two Ronnies, he was also a capable character actor and had delivered dramatic performances in a number of films.

Born in 1929, Barker went to school in Oxford and had considered a career in banking, a middle-class profession which he was later to acerbically parody in many of his most successful sketches.

Joining a repertory company in 1948, he was invited to appear in a 1955 West End production of 'Mourning Becomes Her'. He then went on to join the cast of the radio play 'The Navy Lark' and first began working in television with Ronnie Corbett in sketches in 'The Frost Report'. The two were to go on to become a national success in their own show the 'Two Ronnies' in 1971.

Ronnie Barker, who was a perfectionist, was memorable for his delivery of hugely complex, yet hilarious, wordplays and his masterful timing, in many of the scripts he had penned.

Paying tribute to his late partner, Ronnie Corbett said he was "pure gold in triplicate - as a performer, a writer and a friend."

BBC Head of Comedy Jon Plowman said he was a genius who had an "everyman" quality.

Writer Barry Cryer said he put Barker in the same league as Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers.

BBC Chairman Michael Grade said: "We have lost a national treasure. He was a comic actor of real genius and a naturally funny comedian in the vaudeville tradition - a unique combination.

"In the history of television comic legends, Ronnie stands alongside Morecambe and Wise. That is how great he was. He was also a pleasure to work with."

Today the BBC announced schedule changes to tonight's BBC ONE schedule with a special programme at 10.35pm to celebrate Ronnie Barker's life.

On Friday, October 7 on BBC ONE at 9.00pm there will be a repeat of the Bafta Tribute to Ronnie Barker.

(SP/KMcA)