Link TV Comic Ronnie Barker Dies Sky News Tuesday October 4, 10:21 AM Legendary TV comic Ronnie Barker has died at his home, aged 76.The BAFTA-winning comedian became famous for his roles as stuttering shop keeper Arkwright in Open All Hours and as jailbird Fletcher in Porridge. He died at his home yesterday at 12.15pm after a long period of heart trouble. His wife Joy Tubb was with him at the time. Agent Rosalind Chatto said: "He died peacefully and his wife was with him. He had been nursed at home for a long time." Despite previous success in theUK, it was with comedy partner Ronnie Corbett that he found worldwide fame in their sketch show The Two Ronnies. The pair met in 1966 while working on the Frost Report, for which Barker was a writer and performer. The Two Ronnies ran for 16 years and had audiences reaching 18 million but Barker once said that Porridge was the best thing he had ever done. "I knew with Porridge from the first episode. It was in front of an audience which is a wonderful sounding board as to how well it's going," he said. "My wife was in the audience for that and she said afterwards, 'This is going to be a big success' - and she was right." Yet his favourite charatcer was Arkwright in Porridge, on which he worked with a young David Jason. "We had a whale of a time," Barker recalled. "We did thoroughly enjoy that." David Jason is said to be "absolutely shocked and distressed" and is too distraught at the news to talk. Paying tribute to Barker, comedian Bernard Manning told Sky News: "He was a comic genius, there is no doubt about that. He was in the golden era of comedy." Following years of popularity, Barker surprised the showbiz world by announcing his retirement in 1987 - at the peak of his career. He chose to give up the limelight in favour of running his antique shop in the Cotswolds. Ronnie Barker will always be remembered as one of the most successful television comics of all time. ---- I'm not sure how well known he was in the States, but he was very popular in Australia. RIP +
