caption death_date death_place years_active birth_place children other_names name birth_date spouse image article_title birth_name occupation death_cause
during 1980s filming of '' the two ronnies '' , 3 october 2005 adderbury , oxfordshire , england , uk 1946 -- 1988 , 1999 -- 2005 bedford , bedfordshire , england , united kingdom larry barker charlotte barker adam barker a huggett jonathan cobbald gentleman bob ferris jack goetz gerald wiley david ronnie barker 25 september 1929 joy -rrb- tubb -lrb- 1957 -- 2005 ; his death ronnie barker -lrb- cropped -rrb- . jpg ronnie barker
 ronald william george barker actor , comedian , writer heart failure
ronnie barker

ronald william george `` ronnie '' barker , -lrb- 25 september 1929 -- 3 october 2005 -rrb- 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 '' .
barker began acting in repertory theatre and decided he was best suited to comic roles .
he had his first success at the oxford playhouse and in roles in the west end including tom stoppard 's `` the real inspector hound '' .
during this period , he was in the cast of bbc radio and television comedies such as `` the navy lark '' .
he got his television break with the satirical sketch series `` the frost report '' in 1966 , where he met future collaborator , ronnie corbett .
he joined david frost 's production company and starred in itv shows including a short film .
after rejoining the bbc , barker found fame with the sketch show `` the two ronnies '' -lrb- 1971 -- 1987 -rrb- , with ronnie corbett .
he starred in the sitcoms `` porridge '' , its sequel `` going straight '' and `` open all hours '' .
he wrote comedy under his own name and the pseudonym gerald wiley , which barker adopted to avoid pre-judgements of his talent .
he won a bafta for best light entertainment performance four times , among other awards , and received an obe in 1978 .
later television sitcoms such as `` the magnificent evans '' and `` clarence '' were less successful and he retired in 1987 .
he opened an antiques shop with his wife , joy .
after 1999 , he appeared in smaller , non-comic roles in films .
he died of heart failure on 3 october 2005 , aged 76 .
