Ronnie Corbett

Ronald Balfour "Ronnie" Corbett, CBE, was a Scottish actor and comedian who had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the television comedy series The Two Ronnies. He achieved prominence in Sir David Frost's 1960s satirical comedy programme The Frost Report and later starred in the sitcoms Sorry! and No – That's Me Over Here!.
== Early life and career ==
Ronnie Corbett was born in Edinburgh in 1930, the son of London-born Annie Elizabeth (Main) and William Balfour Corbett, master baker. He has a brother about six years younger, and a sister about ten years younger than himself. Corbett was educated at the Royal High School in the city, but did not attend university. After leaving school, he 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 national service with the Royal Air Force, during which he was the shortest (in height) commissioned officer in the British Forces. A former Aircraftman 2nd class, he was commissioned into the secretarial branch of the RAF as a pilot officer (national service) on 25 May 1950. He was given the service number 2446942. He transferred to the reserve (national service list) on 28 October 1951, thereby ending his period of active service. He was promoted to flying officer on 6 September 1952.
== Rise to Fame ==
It was in The Frost Report (1966–67) that Corbett first worked with Ronnie Barker. The writers and cast were mostly Oxbridge graduates from the Footlights tradition. Corbett said he and Barker were drawn together as twogrammar school boys who had not gone to university. The show was a mixture of satirical monologues, sketches and music. Corbett and Barker were beginning to be thought of as a pair. They appeared with John Cleese in one of the most repeated comedy sketches in British television, the Class sketch, in which Corbett got the pay-off line: "I get a pain in the back of my neck."
Continuing under Frost, Corbett starred in No – That's Me Over Here!, a sitcom written by Frost Report writers Barry Cryer, Graham Chapman and Eric Idle (ITV 1967–70). Cryer and Chapman wrote two follow-ups: Now Look Here (BBC 1971–73) and The Prince of Denmark (BBC 1974). Corbett also appeared in Frost on Sunday (ITV 1968) and hosted The Corbett Follies (ITV 1969).
== The Two Ronnies ==
thumb|220x220px|On left, with partner Ronnie Barker in their regular news anchor spoof.
His BBC television comedy show with Ronnie Barker, The Two Ronnies, lasted from 1971 to 1987, an was considered a "national institution." Barker and Corbett performed sketches and musical numbers. 
Corbett presented a monologue sitting in a large easy chair (emphasising his small size), and usually wearing a Lyle & Scott golfing V-neck sweater, he would tell a simple joke over several minutes, often allowing himself to appear to lose his train of thought.
== Personal Life ==
Corbett married actress and dancer Anne Hart in 1965; they have two daughters, actresses Emma and Sophie Corbett. Their first child, Andrew, had a heart defect and died, six weeks old, at St Thomas' Hospital. He lived in Shirley, Croydon, for many years. He also had a home in Gullane, East Lothian, in Scotland. He was a beekeeper and kept hives at his second home in East Lothian.
Corbett was a golfer and appeared in celebrity and pro–am events; in 2009 he made a documentary with Colin Montgomerie in which they played at Gleneagles. A keen cricket fan, Corbett was also a past president of the cricketing charity the Lord's Taverners (1982 and 1987). He also supported his local football club, Crystal Palace, as well as his hometown club, Heart of Midlothian.
== Filmography ==
===Television===
Year 	Title 	Role
1952 	You're Only Young Twice (film) 	Student
1953 	Rheingold Theatre 	Young Hooligan
1955 	The Vise 	
1957 	Sheep's Clothing 	Valet
1963 	The Saint 	Call Boy
1966-1967	The Frost Report 	Various Roles
1967-1970	No – That's Me Over Here! 	Ronnie
1969 	Hark at Barker 	
1970 	Jackanory 	Storyteller
1971-1973	Now Look Here 	Ronnie
1974 	The Prince of Denmark 	Ronnie
1971-1987	The Two Ronnies 	Himself & Various characters
1981-1988	Sorry! 	Timothy Lumsden
1994-1996	Small Talk 	Host
1998 	Timbuctoo 	Narrator &
All Characters Except Giant Squeak
1998 	The Ben Elton Show 	Himself
2000 	Cinderella ITV Panto 	Griselda (One of the Ugly Sisters)
2004 	The Keith Barret Show 	Himself With His Wife
2004 	Monkey Trousers 	Various roles
2005 	The Two Ronnies Sketchbook 	
2006 	Extras 	Himself
2006 	Little Britain Abroad 	Himself
2008 	Love Soup 	Gordon Baxter
2009 	Sarah Jane Adventures (Comic Relief)	Ambassador "Rani" Ranius/Slitheen
2009 	Strictly Come Dancing 	Host
2010 	Ant and Dec's Push The Button 	Voiceover
2010 	The One Ronnie 	Himself
2011 	Ronnie Corbett's Comedy Britain 	Himself
2013 	Ronnie's Animal Crackers 	Himself
===Film===
Year	Title 	Role
1956	Fun at St. Fanny's 	Chumleigh
1957	Rockets Galore! 	Drooby
1962	Operation Snatch 	Soldier (uncredited)
1967	Casino Royale 	Polo
1970	Some Will, Some Won't 	Herbert Russell
1970	The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer	Interviewer
1973	No Sex Please, We're British 	Brian Runnicles
1997	Fierce Creatures 	Reggie Sea Lions
2010	Burke and Hare 	Captain Tam McLintoch
Category:Cast and Crew