Found Stuff

Ronnie Barker was one of Britain’s best-loved comedians, best known for his roles as Norman Stanley Fletcher (Fletch) in Porridge, as one half of the duo The Two Ronnies (with Ronnie Corbett), and as the stuttering shopkeeper Arkwright in Open All Hours (with David Jason of Only Fools and Horses fame).

What some people may not know is that Ronnie Barker, in addition to being a great actor and comedian, was also a very accomplished comedy writer. He wrote under the guise of Gerald Wiley, and hid his true identity for many many years, before coming out and admitting to the ploy some time later. His reasoning behind this was that he thought his writing would not be judged on merit, if everyone knew it came from him.

Ronnie Barker sadly passed away on 3rd October 2005, and will be sadly missed, though he lives on in his comedy sketches and series, which never seem to date in the same way which others do.

Anyway, lets get onto some of his finest work:

1. The Two Ronnies - Fork Handles
This sketch is probably one of the finest and most widely known of the Two Ronnies sketches, and has been the winner of many awards.

2. The Two Ronnies - Mastermind
This is excellent, and typical of the style of Ronnie Barker’s humour.

3. Porridge
A couple of short clips from the popular Porridge series, showing Fletcher (Barker) at his best.

Richard Bekinsale also starred in this series with Barker, maybe better known as the father of Kate Bekinsale, the actress. Bekinsale acted an excellent part in Porridge alongside Barker. Unfortunately Richard Bekinsale died prematurely in 1979 at the age of 31 after a heart attack. Bekinsale was a great partner for Barker in Porridge and was portrayed as the young con to Fletchers older more-experienced con, but who were also cell mates. Bekinsale also starred in another of Britain’s comedy greats ‘Rising Damp’ with Leonard Rossiter.

4. Open All Hours - Intro
A short clip of the opening titles of Open All Hours

If you want to watch an episode of Open All Hours, there is one on Youtube, split into three portions. How long they will be allowed to stay there I am not sure, but the following links will get you to them for as long as they are available:

• Full of Mysterious Promise, Part 1
• Full of Mysterious Promise, Part 2
• Full of Mysterious Promise, Part 3

5. Ronnie Barker - BAFTA Award
Ronnie Barker was given this BAFTA award in 2005, just before he died. When he teamed up with Ronnie Corbett to work on the Two Ronnies Sketchbook (basically a ‘best of’ series) and a Christmas Special (filmed in August 2005 as Barker knew he was gravely ill), it was to be his last, and most everyone knew it.

Ronnie Barker, OBE - Comedy Genius

25 September 1929 - 5 October 2005

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