Ronnie Barker has died

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4307216.stm

British TV comedy actor Ronnie Barker, who starred in Porridge and The Two Ronnies, has died aged 76.

One of the most loved and respected comedy performers of his generation, he was best known as one half of a double act with Ronnie Corbett.

But he also proved himself as an outstanding sitcom actor and script writer, winning four Bafta TV awards.

BBC reporter Charlotte Hume said: "His wife wanted everyone to know that he died at home peacefully."

:cry: very sad.

:cry:

and Porridge perahps the best sitcom. :cry: too.

The Skin

One of the last of a generation.

Open All Hours.
Brilliant, intelligent, Brit comedy.

RIP A-A-Arkwright.

It's a sad event, and Barker had some comic talent and some great moments over the years, esp. Porridge, but Open All Hours? People with speech impediments are funny, right? I admit I only saw one of those, years ago, but it semed like the most awful, formulaic, cheap laughs usual Brit TV drivel to me.

... you'd know he didn't do drivel.

He played a mean, old, stuttering grocer - exceptionally well.
The stutter was fundamental to his charachter and was indeed funny, without being demeaning. It provided the ever exposed vulnerability which kept his meanness in check.

Starred alongside David Jason (Granville), who IMHO is almost Barkers equal.
Clever series with brilliant use of language, lots of slapstick and other sight gags, great charachters, and more.
Anybody who liked Porridge would certainly enjoy Open All Hours.

Maybe google could find a DVD?

I'm afraid that David Jason is one those people that, you see them and just have an urge to punch them in their smug little faces. Unfunny, bad actor etc.

Porridge was great though.

Fairly dull, repetitive, and it only had about three jokes, but it was a nicely crafted bit of writing.

David Jason, although unworthy of the adulation that is heaped upon him, has his moments. I rather liked some episodes of "A Touch of Frost".

:eyes:

...if you want to trash David Jason (who only brings out the urge you mention in those people with less than two I.Q. digits to rub together, is a brilliant actor) then may I suggest you start your own thread.

THIS thread is about paying respects to a comedy genius...

Mr. Barker was, in most peoples' book, a good comedy actor who performed well in a number of well-loved series.

However, no-one is to everyone's taste. If his stuff wasn't to your taste, that's your choice. But surely those who did admire him can simply say so?

The Skin

Each person will react in their own way, of course, and I'm not about to say that anyone is wrong in their reaction to that character. But my speech isn't very good, and I stammer at times of stress. (This is one of the reasons I like the Internet). Not as bad as Arkwright, true, but enough to be a problem for me. Nevertheless, I liked the character. It's about the quality of the writing and, mostly, the acting. Stuttering can be used for cheap laughs, in a demeaning way, and mostly has: I'd like to think of examples, but I seem to have erased them from my mind (though there are lurking shadows of 'Carry On' films there). But Arkwright was a strong and rounded character, and although he was mean, exploitative and dishonest, Barker succeeded in making him likeable and even rather admirable. In that context, the stammer was, as you suggest, the clue to his humanity, a glimpse of the squishy heart inside the hard-as-nails image he'd cultivated over the years, and a suggestion that maybe he stood a chance with Gladys Emmanuel after all.

I've often found it interesting that comics usually make excellent straight actors. I've never seen any of Barker's straight work, but perhaps I should.

I'm still yet to see the complete Porridge and my memory of "Open All Hours" is happy but vague, but watching "The Two Ronnies Sketchbook" made me truly appreciate the mans greatness - especially his dexterity with the English language.

I truly gifted man, absolutely brought his characters to life, and a true gentle-man.

We will not see the likes of him again.

with a pedigree running back to the days of the Frost Report and the great satirical shows of the 1960's. He had the gift of lifting the performances of all those who appeared with him. Despite thirty years of repeats Porridge is still very watchable and funny. A class act who will be greatly missed.

... and let us all in America see his comic genius.

A few old VHS tapes on Amazon is hardly representative of his work.

out at the end of the month if you're feeling flush! (and can do region 2, PAL):

Open All Hours (Series 1-4)
Porridge - Series 1-3 & Christmas Specials
Going Straight
Clarence
Seven Of One
The Magnificent Evans

@ £72-99

--

Open all Hours, Porridge & two "Best of" The Two Ronnies DVD's are also available on region 2 (PAL)

I don't know what BBC's track record is for releasing Region 1 DVD's. I know The Office got one, but that's about it.

Genius. I'm glad he died peacefully.

I don't share the modern taste for public sentimentality at the death of a public figure, and I won't say it's a sad loss, because he was old and in poor health. But I'm glad that he received the recognition he deserved while he was still alive. As a comic, he had it all: he was an excellent writer, one of the best comic actors around, he had near-perfect comic timing and a great ear for language. A lot of his work is very enduring: everyone remembers the "four candles" sketch and can quote scenes from Porridge, for example. When I started wearing glasses last year, I told people they were "only for reading and seeing things", and everyone recognised the reference. Of course, with TV comedy it's easy to forget that the performer is often not the writer: for example, Porridge was written by Clement and La Frenais. But his intuitive grasp of comedy and keen observation of human nature made him able to bring a character to life, and I'm sure that without him (and Richard Beckinsale) Porridge would not have become one of the country's favourite sitcoms, or added "scrote" to the English language. I seem to remember that he was not the first choice for that role (I may be wrong about that), so we were lucky.

Possibly the equal of Anthony Aloysius Hancock, and that's high praise.