Ronnie Barker

He was a great collector from antique and junk shops. He liked collecting things to have them around, but was never interested in anything valuable, just what appealed to him. He collected little porcelain statuettes of 1920s bathing belles; toy soldiers, boxes of cigarette cards, some unopened; thousands of postcards; albums of the seaside from the turn of the century and one with postcards made of silk, etc. His home was considered a house of wonders, and the walls were covered with wonderful pictures, of all shapes, sizes and styles. David Jason described his house as a treasure trove. He had a driver who took him and Jason looking for bric-a-brac. The tinier and the more offbeat the shop was, and the further it was into the middle of nowhere, the happier he was.

He attended David Jason's 50th birthday party; he parked his car in a neighbouring drive so as not to spoil the surprise. He delivered a speech at the party. Jason said it was a lovely, high-spirited evening and the nicest of surprises, but he wasn't surprised though, because all the lights were off when he arrived - something his wife never did.

Melvyn also gave Ronnie his break into television by offering him a role in I'm Not Bothered (1956).

He was the father of the actress Charlotte Barker, the actor Adam Barker and Larry Barker (born in 1959).

During the 1960s, Ronnie became well-established in radio, providing multiple voices for "The Navy Lark" and working with comedy great Jon Pertwee.

According to Doctor Who (1963) script editor Terrance Dicks on the DVD commentary for Doctor Who: Planet of the Daleks: Episode Three (1973), Barker was considered by producer Barry Letts for a guest role in the series, then starring his friend Jon Pertwee, until inquiries discovered that he would have been too expensive due to the higher fees paid to actors in the light entertainment department of the BBC than the drama department.

He also became a regular face on television, appearing in The Frost Report (1966) (perhaps most memorably in a sketch about Britain's class system, with John Cleese and Ronnie Corbett) and playing character roles on The Saint (1962) and The Avengers (1961).

In the 1970s, Barker and Corbett were two of the highest-paid performers in British television. In 1979, he and Corbett took their families to Australia for a year which enabled them to avoid paying the year's income tax, which then stood at 83% in the UK for top earners. Many film stars and rock stars also left the UK in the 1970s for the same reason.

In 1971, Ronnie teamed up with Ronnie Corbett again, this time for a BBC sketch series called The Two Ronnies (1971).

He was a heavy smoker until 1972, when he gave up after having a pre-cancerous growth removed from his throat.

He turned down the roles of Frank Spencer in Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973).

In addition to "The Two Ronnies", Barker starred on the popular BBC sitcoms Porridge (1974) (as a cockney prisoner) and Open All Hours (1976) (as a stammering Northern shopkeeper). In fact, only Leonard Rossiter could be said to have rivaled him during this time for the crown of British television's most popular comedy star.

Ronnie Barker's remarkable versatility as a performer can be traced back to his time in repertory theatre, where he was able to play a wide range of roles and develop his talent for accents, voices and verbal dexterity. It was during this time that he met Glenn Melvyn, who taught him how to stammer (something he would later use to great effect in the sitcom Open All Hours (1976)).

He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1978 Queen's New Year Honours List for his services to entertainment.

This series proved enormously popular, continuing until the late 1980s.

In 1982, he revived silent comedy in By the Sea (1982). Despite his extrovert performances on television, Barker remained a quiet, retiring individual in his personal life, much preferring to spend time with his family rather than mix with the celebrity crowd. This humility, combined with memories of his extraordinary abilities, meant that he continued to be greatly respected by his fellow professionals.

He turned down the role of Coleman in Trading Places (1983) that went to Denholm Elliott, his co-star in Robin and Marian (1976).

He rejected an offer to play Falstaff in in a Royal National Theatre production of Henry IV, Part 1 & 2 in 1987.

In 1988, he retired from acting to run an antiques business.

He turned down the role of Victor Meldrew in One Foot in the Grave (1990).

He was considered to voice Zazu in The Lion King (1994).

He underwent heart bypass surgery in 1996 and suffered a pulmonary embolism in 1997.

He wrote the play Mum for his daughter Charlotte Barker in 1998, which was performed at The King's Head Theatre, but garnered a negative response, with Barker stating it got "the worst notices of any play in the history of the theatre.".

In a BAFTA special shown by the BBC in 2004, stars as diverse as Gene Wilder, Peter Kay and Peter Hall paid tribute to his contribution to comedy and British television in general.

He liked to send poems to David Jason. He was constantly playing with words and was very quick at composing verses. He sent one to Jason to commemorate his knighthood in 2005.

A memorial service was held for him at Westminster Abbey, London on 3 March 2006.

A bronze statue of him sculpted by Martin Jennings, and showing him in character as Norman Stanley Fletcher, was unveiled at the entrance of the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre in September 2010 by his widow Joy, David Jason, and Ronnie Corbett.