Ronnie Barker was one of the greatest comedians Britain has produced. Brian Viner remembers a writer and actor who combined a gigantic talent with a very modest demeanour
The phrase "national treasure" is bandied about with diminishing discernment these days, but if Ronnie Barker wasn't a national treasure, then nor are The Fighting Temeraire by J M W Turner, Stonehenge and the spire of Salisbury Cathedral.
Barker, whose death on Monday at the age of 76 came as a shock even to those friends who knew he was suffering from a recurrence of heart trouble, was a colossus of television comedy, perhaps even its pre-eminent colossus, in that he mastered all its forms - the sitcom, the sketch show and the gag-laden monologue direct to camera - both as performer and writer.
Ronnie Corbett led the tributes to his erstwhile comedy partner, saying: " Ronnie was pure gold in triplicate, as a performer, a writer and a friend. We worked together since 1965 and we never had a cross word. It was 40 years of harmonious joy, nothing but an absolute pleasure. I will miss him terribly."
To some extent, we all will. After all, Barker was that extraordinarily rare animal: a funny man who made everyone laugh. There are those who remained resolutely untickled by Spike Milligan and even Tommy Cooper; others who are immune to the ramblings of Billy Connolly and Eddie Izzard. But only a statue could sit stony-faced through the comedic output of Ronnie Barker, from sketch-based shows such as The Frost Report and The Two Ronnies, to his classic turns as the resourceful jailbird Fletcher in Porridge and the devious, stammering grocer Arkwright in Open All Hours.
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The phrase "national treasure" is bandied about with diminishing discernment these days, but if Ronnie Barker wasn't a national treasure, then nor are The Fighting Temeraire by J M W Turner, Stonehenge and the spire of Salisbury Cathedral.
Barker, whose death on Monday at the age of 76 came as a shock even to those friends who knew he was suffering from a recurrence of heart trouble, was a colossus of television comedy, perhaps even its pre-eminent colossus, in that he mastered all its forms - the sitcom, the sketch show and the gag-laden monologue direct to camera - both as performer and writer.
Ronnie Corbett led the tributes to his erstwhile comedy partner, saying: " Ronnie was pure gold in triplicate, as a performer, a writer and a friend. We worked together since 1965 and we never had a cross word. It was 40 years of harmonious joy, nothing but an absolute pleasure. I will miss him terribly."
To some extent, we all will. After all, Barker was that extraordinarily rare animal: a funny man who made everyone laugh. There are those who remained resolutely untickled by Spike Milligan and even Tommy Cooper; others who are immune to the ramblings of Billy Connolly and Eddie Izzard. But only a statue could sit stony-faced through the comedic output of Ronnie Barker, from sketch-based shows such as The Frost Report and The Two Ronnies, to his classic turns as the resourceful jailbird Fletcher in Porridge and the devious, stammering grocer Arkwright in Open All Hours.
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