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Ronnie Corbett
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ronnie Corbett | ||||||||||
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| Birth name | Ronald Balfour Corbett | |||||||||
| Born | 4 December 1930 Edinburgh, Scotland |
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| Occupation | Presenter, Actor, Writer, Comedian | |||||||||
| Years active | 1952 - present | |||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Anne Hart (1965 - present) | |||||||||
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Ronald Balfour Corbett, OBE (born 4 December 1930) is a Scottish actor best known for his roles as Timothy Lumsden in the British comedy television series Sorry!, as Ronnie in the British comedy television series No, That's Me Over Here! and as various characters in the British television series The Two Ronnies.
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Corbett was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of London-born Annie Elizabeth (Main) and William Balfour Corbett, a World War I veteran and master baker,[1] to a church going family. He has a brother about 6 years younger, and a sister about 10 years younger than himself.[2] Corbett decided he wanted to be an actor while performing in amateur theatricals at a church youth club. However, his first job was with the Ministry of Agriculture. He then did his National Service with the RAF during which he was the shortest commissioned officer in the British Forces. After National Service he moved to London to pursue his acting ambition. Starting in 1952 his first foray into professional showbiz was playing schoolboy roles in films. At 5 ft 1 in (1.52 m) tall, Corbett was ideally suited to playing younger than his years. References to his height - or lack thereof - frequently crop up in his self-deprecating humour.
He has worked in film and television since the 1950s, appearing in Crackerjack as a regular in its early days during the 1950s. He had a walk-on role in an early episode of the 1960s series The Saint (credited as 'Ronald Corbett') and made appearances in several films, including Rockets Galore, Casino Royale, Some Will, Some Won't and the film version of the farce No Sex Please, We're British.
In the 1960s he was appearing in cabaret at Winston's, Danny La Rue's Mayfair nightclub. This was very much the 'in' place and was patronised by the show business glitterati. It was here that Corbett was first seen by David Frost who asked him to appear in The Frost Report. Ironically, Corbett's appearance was made possible by a career low point. In 1965 he was in the West End playing Will Scarlett in Lionel Bart's Robin Hood musical Twang!, which was expected to be a big hit. As it turned out it was a dismal failure but its closure meant that Corbett was free to do The Frost Report.
Corbett married the actress and dancer Anne Hart in 1965 with whom he has two daughters, the actresses Emma Corbett and Sophie Corbett. His first child, a son, Andrew had a heart problem and died, only weeks old at St Thomas' Hospital.[2]
It was in The Frost Report (1966-1967) that Corbett first worked with Ronnie Barker. The writers and cast were mostly Oxbridge graduates who had come out of the Footlights tradition. Corbett has said that he and Barker were naturally drawn together as two Grammar school boys who had not gone to university in among a crowd of privately-educated graduates. The show was a mixture of satirical monologues, sketches and music and each show had a theme. It seems that even at this time - considerably before the idea of their own show was mooted - Corbett and Barker were beginning to be thought of as a pair.
Corbett and Barker appeared with John Cleese in one of the most famous and regularly repeated comedy sketches in British television history. Cleese, Barker and Corbett are standing in line abreast facing the camera with Cleese (tall, leftmost) representing the Upper Class, Barker (average height, in the middle) representing the Middle Class and Corbett (short, rightmost) representing the working class. Each of them relates what they think of the other classes and what they get out of the class system while turning their head to look at the object of their remark, looking up at their so-called superiors and down at their inferiors. Corbett gets the pay-off line: "I get a pain in the back of my neck."
Continuing under the auspices of Frost, Corbett next starred in No - that's me over here, a sitcom written by fellow Frost Report refugees Barry Cryer, Graham Chapman and Eric Idle (ITV 1967-1970). Cryer and Chapman then wrote two follow-up series: Now Look Here (BBC 1971-1973) and The Prince of Denmark (BBC 1974). Corbett also appeared in Frost on Sunday (ITV 1968) and hosted The Corbett Follies (ITV 1969).
His BBC television comedy sketch show with Ronnie Barker, The Two Ronnies, lasted from 1971 to 1987. This show saw both Barker and Corbett performing various comedy sketches and musical numbers. Additionally, in the middle of the show, Corbett would present a lengthy monologue. Sitting in a large leather chair (emphasising his small size), and usually wearing a Lyle & Scott golfing V-neck sweater, he would tell a simple joke over the space of several minutes, often deliberately allowing himself to lose his train of thought. Although seemingly improvised, these were tightly scripted affairs.
Corbett is perhaps best known as the comedian's straight-man and achieved a unique cult status in this way – a relatively small individual who loves to play golf, he often became the butt of other comedians' jokes, even when he was not present and even if there was no obvious connection between him and the comedian in question. However, his own skills as an outright comedian were never doubted and his peers thought extremely highly of him.
Ronnie Barker, with health problems, first informed Corbett in 1986 that he wanted to retire after the Christmas show after the following Christmas.[2]
His best known role away from The Two Ronnies is as Timothy Lumsden in the sitcom Sorry. He also hosted the game show Small Talk and has continued to play minor parts occasionally since the end of this – notably playing Griselda in a television production of Cinderella in 2000, and reviving his armchair monologue routines for a weekly guest appearance in a stand-up show hosted by Ben Elton, a lifelong fan.
In 2003 he appeared in a series of advertisements for the Sky+ digital television service alongside Alice Cooper. The premise was a running gag about them being blissfully happy housemates.
In December 2004, Corbett made an appearance as guest host on the popular BBC news quiz, Have I Got News For You.
In 2005 Corbett teamed up again with Ronnie Barker for a series of shows called The Two Ronnies Sketchbook, comprising selections of classic comedy sketches from their original series with original linking material. Also in 2005 Corbett appeared with comedian Peter Kay, another huge fan, in the spoof music video for the number 1 single Is This the Way to Amarillo?, mimed to the song by Tony Christie. Corbett is well remembered for falling over in the video.
He recently performed in Children's Party at the Palace as Mr. Tibbs, the Queen's butler.
In 2006, he played a hyper-realised version of himself in Extras, caught taking drugs at the BAFTA Awards. He also starred as himself getting molested by Bubbles DeVere in Little Britain Abroad.
He currently lives in Shirley, Croydon, Surrey, where he has resided for many years. He is a keen golfer.
Corbett was the "castaway" in the BBC Radio 4 show, Desert Island Discs, which was broadcast on 21 October 2007.
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Sheep's Clothing | Valet |
| 1967 to 1970 | No - That's Me Over Here! | Ron |
| 1971 to 1973 | Now Look Here | Ronnie |
| 1974 | The Prince of Denmark | Ronald |
| 1981 to 1988 | Sorry | Timothy Lumsden |