The Soulpranos Forum
Posted on BBC Website. 4th Oct/05
Comedy legend Ronnie Barker dies.......
Ronnie Barker entertained millions during his career
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."
The actor had suffered a long history of heart trouble.
Last year he was awarded a lifetime achievement Bafta for his TV work.
That led to a return for the Two Ronnies on BBC One, 34 years after the show first appeared on TV screens and 17 years after he had first retired from showbusiness.
Barker also delivered a number of dramatic performances, most recently as Winston Churchill's manservant in the award-winning TV film The Gathering Storm and in HBO film My House in Umbria.
At the peak of his career Barker, along with Corbett, entertained 17 million people every Saturday night.
BBC arts correspondent David Sillito told BBC News 24: "In many ways Barker and Corbett were the heirs to Morecambe and Wise."
In an interview with the BBC looking back on his career, Barker said: "I would like to be remembered as one of the funniest men people have seen on TV."
Gutted ----the man was a genius!
