Ronald William George Barker was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as Porridge, The Two Ronnies, and Open All Hours.
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in 26a Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC in black and white from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974 in colour. The lead roles were played by Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett. The theme tune, "Old Ned", was composed by Ron Grainer. The series was voted 15th in a 2004 poll by the BBC to find Britain's Best Sitcom. It was remade in the United States as Sanford and Son, in Sweden as Albert & Herbert, in the Netherlands as Stiefbeen en zoon, in Portugal as Camilo & Filho, and in South Africa as Snetherswaite and Son. Two film adaptations of the series were released in cinemas, Steptoe and Son (1972) and Steptoe and Son Ride Again (1973).
Porridge is a British sitcom, starring Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale, written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977. The programme ran for three series and two Christmas specials. A feature film of the same name based on the series was released in 1979.
Ronald Balfour Corbett was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show The Two Ronnies. He achieved prominence in David Frost's 1960s satirical comedy programme The Frost Report and subsequently starred in sitcoms such as No – That's Me Over Here!, Now Look Here, and Sorry!.
The Two Ronnies is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from 10 April 1971 to 25 December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo sections, serial stories and musical finales.
Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead, is a British comedy radio sketch show, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1971. Two series of eight episodes were broadcast, the first from 15 February 1971 to 5 April 1971, the second was transmitted from 9 July 1972 to 26 July 1972. In addition, there were two special episodes. A Christmas special, entitled Lines From My Grandfather Christmas's Forehead, was broadcast on 24 December 1971; and a compilation of selected items from past editions, under the title Just A Few Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead, was broadcast on 27 August 1977.
The Frost Report is a satirical television show hosted by David Frost. It introduced John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett to television, and launched the careers of other writers and performers. It premiered on BBC1 on 10 March 1966 and ended on 12 December 1967, with a total of 26 regular episodes over the course of 2 series and 2 specials as well.
The Two Ronnies Sketchbook is a collection of sketches from the BBC comedy series The Two Ronnies, with newly filmed introductions by the stars, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was first broadcast 34 years after the first episode of The Two Ronnies was aired and 18 years after the final episode aired.
The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town was a 1971 episode of LWT's Six Dates with Barker that was written by Spike Milligan and later adapted by Ronnie Barker for The Two Ronnies sketch show in 1976. Set in Victorian London, it featured a Jack the Ripper–style madman who stalked the streets and killed or stunned his victims by blowing them a raspberry.
Alec Bregonzi was an English actor who appeared in a number of stage and television roles.
Four Candles is a sketch from the BBC comedy show The Two Ronnies, written by Ronnie Barker under the pseudonym of Gerald Wiley and first broadcast on 18 September 1976. Comic effect is largely generated through word play and homophones as an ironmonger or hardware shopkeeper, played by Ronnie Corbett, becomes increasingly frustrated by a customer, played by Barker, because he misunderstands what the customer is requesting.
Hark at Barker is a 1969 British comedy series combining elements of sitcom and sketch show, which starred Ronnie Barker. It was made for the ITV network by London Weekend Television.
The Funny Side of Christmas is a Christmas special broadcast by BBC1 on 27 December 1982.
Pett Productions was an independent production company, established by Bob Mortimer, Vic Reeves and Lisa Clark in 2001. The company was based at the Maidstone Studios in Maidstone, Kent and has produced several television shows in comedy, reality, documentary and internet format. It was dissolved in May 2015.
Sooty is a British children's television media franchise created by Harry Corbett incorporating primarily television and stage shows. The franchise originated with his fictional glove puppet character introduced to television in 1955, with the franchises focused around the adventures of the character – a mute yellow bear with black ears and nose, who is kind-hearted but also cheeky, performs magic tricks and practical jokes, and squirts his handler and other people with his water pistol, including on other television programmes the guest stars on. The franchise itself also includes several other puppet characters who were created for television, some of whom became the backbone to performances, and features additional elements including an animated series, two spin-off series for the direct-to-video market, and a selection of toy merchandising.
Christmas Night with the Stars is a television show broadcast each Christmas night by the BBC from 1958 to 1972. The show was hosted each year by a leading star of BBC TV and featured specially-made short seasonal editions of the previous year's most successful BBC sitcoms and light entertainment programs. Most of the variety segments no longer exist in accordance with the BBC's practice of discarding programmes at the time.
Bea Ballard is a British television executive producer. She is chief executive of 10 Star Entertainment, a production company set up in 2009 with investment from Fremantle. She is the daughter of novelist J. G. Ballard.
The Class sketch is a comedy sketch first broadcast in an episode of David Frost's satirical comedy programme The Frost Report on 7 April 1966. It has been described as a "genuinely timeless sketch, ingeniously satirising the British class system" and in 2005 was voted number 40 in Channel Four's "Britain's 50 Greatest Comedy Sketches". It was written by Marty Feldman and John Law, and features John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett.
The One... is a comedy sketch television series starring Ronnie Corbett, of The Two Ronnies, Lenny Henry of The Lenny Henry Show, Jasper Carrott, comedian and former presenter of ITV game show Golden Balls and Welsh comedian and actor Griff Rhys Jones, also presenter of ITV clip series It'll Be Alright on the Night. It was devised by Matt Lucas, David Walliams and Geoff Posner for Little Britain Productions. Walliams departed the project by the time of the full series.
